Mancera

Fig Extasy by Mancera 2021
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Fig Extasy by Mancera 2021

Hi Crew, Not sure if you know but over on Perfume posse I’m doing this challenge called New Idea 2023. It’s a challenge to use up some of the squllion perfume samples and decants lying in waste around this apartment. I’m finding things in boxes and bags that were bought, given as Press Samples, given as GWP or even given from other perfumistas. I thought there was a lot BEFORE I started opening up everything. Now it’s just stupid and overwhelming. I can feel the weight of these unloved and unused beauties bearing down upon me like….. well I have no analogy but it’s hefty. I’m also really sad at how many of them are now a smudge of oil in the bottom of a vial. So wasteful. Today I’m using up a carded sample of Fig Extasy by Mancera. I know why this remains unused, because their spelling of EXTASY is so annoying to me. Well, I know it sounds stupid but when you are looking at 20 samples then anything to help you decide what to put on your skin real estate is helpful. Yeah I know. Problems of someone with WAY TOO MUCH.

This carded manufacturers sample came from a Libertine purchase GWP bag.

Fig Extasy by Mancera 2021

Fig Extasy by Mancera

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Fig Nectar, Incense, Ginger, Black Pepper
Heart: Fig Leaf, Leather, Sandalwood, Cedar, Thyme, Lavender
Base: Siam Benzoin, Vanilla Pod, Styrax, Tonka Bean

Yes, I know loads of you Poo Poo Mancera. That’s fine but after you take away all the nearly exactly the same oudhs there are still some other gems to be found amongst the line. BTW I do love some of those oudhs too and their The Aoud is one of my favourites of the genre.

Anyway, how does Fig Extasy smell? Delightfully figgy. HA! Well it does but it also has some excellent bells and whistles. That opening raspy black pepper and fizzy ginger are a lovely counterpoint. The heart is more about amber/woods with sweet and green fig-ness. Jin, whose nose is so much more acute than mine yelled CRAYONS!! I don’t personally get that but it’s his take. Most of the mentioned notes don’t make themselves clear to me. From the notes I expected the dry down to be much more amber/vanilla and sweet but it remains unsweet and becomes quite dry. Even the fig that continues into dry down is desiccated  but still maintains interest over the top of this resinous woodiness.

Fig Extasy by Mancera

The vial lasted two really full wears. I’m madly in love with this perfumes progression and story. Though it’s not a brand new idea it works for me in ways that make it very different from my other big fig loves Neela Vermeire Creations Ashoka and L’Artisan Premier Figuier. 

Unisex, longevity is excellent , projection moderate after the initial fireworks. This has gone onto the list of wants, jumped in quite close to the top. SO GOOD!

Would you Fig Extacy? Even with the spelling?
Portia xx

 

 

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Mancera Red Tobacco

TOBACCO. We’re not supposed to like it any more because it kills you. Perfume is one of the few places where you can say “tobacco,” and people swoon and discuss exactly what kind of tobacco it is. Pipe, cigar, a fresh rollie (that’s one for the Australian readers). I suspect that in one more generation these nuances will have to be explained as real life associations with tobacco become a thing of the past. That’s an interesting shift for perfumery. Many people are attracted to tobacco in perfume because of warm memories of a father or grandfather; the smell of their jacket, a well fed visit, a dog long passed at your feet.

The cost of cigarettes in Australia is nearly 40.00 for a pack of 30. The government raises the tax on all tobacco products 12.5% every year and the traditional “pack a day” smoker’s habit is a thing of the past. Teenagers no long stand around in clumps puffing away, their parents have long quit, and the scent of tobacco is something you will have to seek out, not have blown second hand all over you. This is, of course, a good thing. Though future perfumers may not be seeking to recreate their own memories, they will still be using tobacco in perfumery because tobacco is delicious.

I have always loved the smell. My dad had a pipe and cigar phase, and I was fascinated by both of them. Once, he let me puff his cigar. It was gross, but the blue smoke and the smell were fascinating. Pipe tobacco was even better . The enjoyment and study of tobacco in all its varying nuances and styles is a close cousin to perfume. While we may appreciate the smell of wine, it’s not designed to fill the air with its aroma the way tobacco and fragrance are. And so, in search of beauty without nicotine I’ve always put my hand up to try a fragrance with tobacco as a note. Most of the time I’ve found it elusive. Smothered by oud, reduced to being a sweet note for vetiver, serving only to brighten a leather and then fade. Shrill. An abstract painting titled Tobakkō. Nothing has ever smelled like burying your face into a fresh tobacco pouch until Mancera Red Tobacco. It has other things going on, but the tobacco note is rich and true, lasting from first spray to drydown.

 

Mancera Red Tobacco

 

Mancera Red Tobacco 2017

Top Notes: Saffron, Cinnamon, Incense, Nutmeg, White peach, Green apple, Nepalese oud

Middle Notes: Patchouli, Jasmine

Base Notes: Tobacco, Amber, Woody notes, Vetiver, Vanilla, White Musk

Red Tobacco is almost a gourmand: it’s so sweet, it makes me think “tobacco milkshake”. This may sound unappealing, but it’s an addictive scent, like tobacco itself. There is a brief fruity phase I’m not keen on, but that doesn’t last long. Saffron and patchouli are wonders here, macerated together like the filling of an exotic pastry. The cinnamon is an absolute joy paired with tobacco. I find myself fantasizing about cinnamon flavoured tobacco and tobacco flavoured spice mixes. And through it all the pungent, warm, appealing scent of a freshly opened pouch of tobacco dominates. Red Tobacco is not for the timid, it lasts all day, and I recommend you have just a wee spritz until your brain gets used to the potency. If you love it, you will love it deeply and be inhaling yourself for hours.

Oh, and yes, it goes very well with a nice whiskey!

 

Image: my own