Yesterday I decided to compare these two fragrances to answer Morticia from POL’s question.
Mandragore by Annick Goutal is characterized as Fresh, woody, elegant; Bergamot - mandrake - black pepper - ginger. I bought the men’s version, which is supposed to be identical except for the bottle. It is said to be
· Spicy top notes of pepper, coriander, and ginger.
· Magnetic heart notes of mandrake mixed with unusual roots of valerian, marjoram, and liveche.
· Dry, woodsy base notes.
What makes this fragrance unique is the mandrake. I don’t know that I would recognize mandrake if I smelled it, but this is a very nice fragrance, very nice indeed. And if it is the mandrake that makes it, well, it is very enjoyable. If you remember the Biblical story, mandrake is/was supposed to have aphrodisical qualities, and for the price of the mandrake her son had gathered, which Rachel wanted, Leah was allowed to be with Jacob. The result was another son for her, Issachar. That makes it an interesting fragrance just for the story … and a sort of modern day link to the past.
Bigarade Concentree by Frédéric Malle, Creator: Jean-Claude Ellena, has notes of Bitter Orange, Cardamom, Pepper, Rose, Hay, Aldehyde.
To my nose, they smelled very similar. The rose is not distinct, which is good for me as I cannot wear a lot of roses. Both have orange/Bergamot and pepper notes. Neither is real sweet. I had one on each arm. After they had dried down for at least an hour I asked College Girl and her friend which arm they preferred. At first CG’s friend picked Mandragore and CG picked Bigarade. (At that point they were still very similar to my nose. The difference might be in the initial first minutes.) CG described Mandragore as being very citrusy at that point. They both resniffed and agreed they liked Bigarade a little better.
You understand, they had to put their nose to my skin. There wasn’t any sillage. Partly that is because I didn’t spritz more than once.
Personally, I like them both, real well. And when I want a citrus/orange, they are both good choices.
I didn’t like the effect on me of L’occitane’s Ruban d’Orange quite as well. It is even less sweet. I did not buy this one. OTOH, I love the shower gel and body lotion, which are sweet and juicy in fragrance, distinct from the edt, and bought them. I can use these with just about any fragrance I wear, straight from my shower.
I think what I like about either of these is that neither has a lot of sillage. (Mandragore might have a bit more.) But I can enjoy it through the day by spraying my arms or wrists and enjoying a sniff here and there. It is like transporting myself to another place and time, an instant vacation, so to speak.
I’ll go into my stash of MMU and B&I and see if I have any orange fragrances there and report later or next week.
Karin
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