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dim4ikhot – :
A wonderful, spice, resins and incense scent. I have Reve d’ossian and that is a much drier and dusty scent. Both are gorgeous scents.
I get as much spice as the resins. It’s warm and lush. Just the right amount of spices. It reminds me of a spicey rice dessert.
I’m really enjoying this one. Very unisex. I love spicy resin scents so yep I’m a bit biased. I keep thinking I can detect banana? The banana skin smell. It could be the angelica playing tricks. Interesting.
There is nothing harsh in this.
I get good longevity and sillage.
superposter852 – :
Very, VERY dark, very smoky, very moody. The notes listed will certainly brace you to expect a spice-and-resins powerhouse, which this definitely is, but may not prepare you for quote how unapologetically tough, hard and unyielding it is. So fiercely aromatic it creeps toward the acrid – on me in particular, the longer it wears, the deeper and almost-bitter it gets. (A super-muscular sort of labdanum maybe, or the pileup of cloves and smoked ambergris?) About 5h in it’s still very much detectable on me and beginning to have that nearly burnt-rubber aroma of Montale Dark Aoud territory. Miles more nuanced and with gorgeous rich and rounded nutmeg and cinnamon, though.
Yes, it’s pretty butch, but not male-exclusive, in my view; the real question is not your gender, but just how rough and rowdy you want your spices & resins to be, because this one’s an absolute brawler. Projection not giant, but uncompromisingly THERE and rock-solid for hours; longevity tough as old boots. Despite the name and the oriental-temple associations of the notes, this is most definitely NOT a scent of calm, aloof meditation for me – rather, of noisy, sweaty, chaotic rites full of clanging cymbals and blaring horns and maybe a bit of wrestling?
In short: looks tough, plays rough, carries a big spicy stick.
bjladik2011 – :
Mandala smells of spices and slightly burnt sandalwood with thin volutes of pungent incense.
I imagined a soft, woody and almost ethereal fragrance but the real experience is totally different: this perfume smells thick from the olibanum and labdanum, dense from the ambergris, while a slightly overdosed cedarwood lends an aggressive edge to it.
It smells like a toned down version of Ortoparisi Terroni, but while I truly admire the intensity and courage of Terroni, this one leaves me unimpressed.
Also, I’m no believer in the male/female dycotomy, but this is definitely masculine.
FreeZy121 – :
The Italian Masque is one of the brands that throughout its launches has conquered me for the excellence of its perfumes and coherence of its concepts. So I looked forward to the brand’s new releases. Mandala had everything for me to enjoy: a mysterious theme and a set of notes that include incense and resins. The light and delicate interpretation of them could be very interesting as well.
However, the expectation does not correspond to reality and what bothers me most in Mandala is precisely the absence of delicacy. I feel myself in front of another perfume with aggressive amber and woody notes that I have been constantly smelling everywhere, from the cheapest to the most expensive perfume. This to me is a negative point, as it distorts the scent of the perfume and makes it more common as well.
It is a pity, because what develops behind this noise is very pleasant. It is a combination of a contrast between fresh and hot spices, a light green floral look, and sweet, velvety nuances of resins and incense. There is a well-made perfume there that represents well the peace and mystery of the monastery of thematic. However, there is someone constantly screaming within that environment and spoiling with the contemplative part of the silence. Too bad that it happens this way.
master_kill007 – :
A great fragrance, definitely masculine, highlighting an experienced, rich, educated man. A lovely scent of ambergris and incense, with a touch of nutmeg (luckily, not too much). Expensive, luxurious and classy – just the way I love it!
makeu – :
Now this is an extension of his line, i can sense Masque’s stamp. It is quite salty, with some incense & allot of washed ambergris. It has that myrrh cardamom mix going in with doses of sandalwood and lapdanum.
It is quite incensy, yet spicy with some slight sweetness, and honestly i sense some aquatic scent! something like a sea breeze because of that salty note with some washed ambergris! and i believe it’s the olibanum although i am not sure that it is the most dominant one cause i most likely smell the ambergris, the myrrh, and the incense.
It begins quite a splash in the face and calms down a bit later on, but since it’s myrrh, olibanum, cardamom, and ambergris i don’t think it’s going to be soft as it will remain loud and strong.
I believe the character of this is quite strong, yet bold and charming! it could be the scent of “V” in movie “V for Vendetta”.
Later (20 minutes in) actually the scent went quite soapy yet salty with doses of ambergris. Slight myrrh, slight incense, lapdanum, cardamom, sandalwood, cedar, and oakmoss! no more cinnamon, no more cloves.
tosik02 – :
I agree with Delicoux there is a battle going on in this fragrance. I smell a lack of balance from start to finish. I think one of the main things imo is the Ambergris. I smell a saltiness that just detracts from the composition and I don’t care for it. On top of everything else the cloves make this way to heavy for me to really get in to it.
KeKc24 – :
Mandala is yet another oriental beauty from Christian Carbonnel. This beautiful and subtle incense based fragrance has beautiful notes of cardamom, cinnamon, woods in a resinous ambergris base which dries down to reveal beautiful iris and sandalwood notes. I just wore this a few days ago on a long haul trip and my flight attendant told me this is the most spiritually beautiful thing she has smelt her whole life. Pricey, not very unusual ( in the same league as LIllipur and Trayee) but beautifully constructed and radiates on your skin forever. A haunting mystical new entry!
Namor – :
Unsure.
There is no doubt this fragrance is created with a great deal of talent and fabulous artistic flair.
To my nose (personal opinions will differ) there is a constant battle between the incense, cardamom and ambergris (natural tincture of).
I say battle as I didn’t find this fragrance calming or serene. It seemed chaotic on my skin, never resting or blending.
In the end the ambergris won out, not the salty/sweet or tobacco version of but the fermenting organic fecal perception.
The write up or inspiration for the fragrance where the cows are lazily grazing, does really sum this up.
Like I mentioned, fabulous artistic flair.
t-ponomar – :
A very well-crafted, incense-based oriental fragrance. Goes on with a big frankincense note and dry, dusty spices – cardamon mostly, though I smell ginger in there, too. Slowly dries down to a creamy sandalwood and smoky cedar accord. I notice the nutmeg and myrrh much more in the drydown as well.
I’m reminded of Trayee, but this is much more transparent and arid, and a bit less lush; more meditative. Trayee if it had been part of the CdG Incense series, perhaps.
The lack of powder, syrup, or amber makes this feel quite refreshing for an oriental scent, but it avoids being one-note in the way incense fragrances can be.