Browsing the July sales, I came across what looked to be a new fragrance line from Mango; “The Craft Line” (created in 2021). I was immediately drawn to the sleek, modern and minimalist packaging of the stone-capped bottles and after a quick sniff of each, soon found my favourite to be N°5 “The Creation”.
Finally finding a N°5 I can get behind (sorry to any of my Chanel enthusiasts out there!), it is described on their website as a unisex fragrance (I would argue that it does lean a bit on the floral/feminine side though).
I quote: “A creation tells a story; beginning with an idea and growing into a final piece. An experience that comes to a whole and carries its own singularity. “The Creation” is a perfume that starts from spicy-fresh ginger and mandarin notes, growing into a heart filled with aromatic accords of cistus, anise and copaiba. The fragrance smoothly expands into sweet and mysterious nuances of benzoin and tobacco. An authentic journey to the East.”
Sadly, not to be found on the trusty Fragrantica website I did spot it (with its companions) on Parfumo.
- TOP NOTES: Ginger and mandarin orange
- MIDDLE NOTES: Aniseed, cistus and copaiba balsam
- BASE NOTES: Benzoin and tobacco
Personally, on first spray I don’t detect any ginger or mandarin but rather a warm vanilla with a citrusy undertone that makes it smell more like a modern soft floral. Hence why I disagree a tad on that “unisex” labelling.
It’s a very hard one to describe especially that “je ne sais quoi” factor, but I can say without a doubt that it has staying power despite being an eau de toilette and is in no way sickly, which I know a lot of my more “gourmand” vanilla-based fragrances can be.
Three sprays lasted on my jumper sleeve for a good two days and only wore down to its middle notes at about the 6-hour mark before reaching its base scent, which I would describe more as a soft patchouli than a benzoin/tobacco, by the morning of the next day. But that is on clothing, on my bare arm that transition was quicker and overall only lasted a day in comparison (reaching the base of soft warm patchouli at about the 9-hour mark).
There you have it, my perfect new summer fragrance! Granted, the more of the English garden picnic-kind, than the tropical coconut and beach-kind.
Plus, I can also see it pairing well with Jo Malone’s Blackberry & Bay come next spring, when all those crocuses and daffodils start peeping out from the ground after their winter slumber.
What about you guys? Any unexpected sale or new perfume finds?
I knew Zara had forayed into the perfume world, but Mango was a new one to me. Any other stores you guys know about?
xxxemma