Mania

[spikyfairy]

The personification of insanity, Mother of Manes, Goddess of Night Spirits, Mistress of Undeath, She Who Gives Life to the Dead. With Mantus, she rules the Etruscan underworld, and her scent is roiling chaos and churning madness, but because she is the mother of the Lares, benevolent household spirits, her perfume also bears an underlying gentleness, and, like madness, a strange sweetness. Screeching white musk collides with a howl of red musk, with sharp white grapefruit and pale strawberry leaf.

 

This was a frimp that I did not expect to like - I generally hate citrus anything, and both red and white musk can go very loudly wrong on my skin. But for me, this is one of those crazy blends where a bunch of problem notes magically balance each other out somehow, becoming quite wearable & nice!

In the imp: Strawberry cough-syrup... But in a good way??
Wet: Red musk storms out first and strongly, only to be immediately crash-tackled by white musk. They wrestle, and seem to be keeping each other busy & subdued - neither is amping like crazy on me like they often do. The grapefruit is subtle, but I think it is lending some tartness & helping keep the white musk natural rather than detergent-y. Likewise the strawberry leaf, though not really detectable on its own, is adding some fruity naturalness to the red musk.
Dry: Much the same, although rather faded already. The white musk / grapefruit combo is making it feel almost aquatic. Strawberry leaf seems to be a leafy note that works better on me than many. After an hour or two, the red musk & strawberry dominate more. They are yummy together, if verging on bubble-gum.. The tarter, more aquatic-fruity notes are keeping it from turning to pure candy.
Not much throw, but quite long lasting. After several hours it gets a bit powdery, which would be the red musk on me.

I have had a lot of difficulty finding warm-weather scents that I like or that suit me, so I happily used up the imp over summer. The grapefruit did get a little more offensive with age, though, so I'm not sure I need any more of this.

[LizziesLuck]

Wet: Red musk, strawberry gum, and plastic. Not what I was expecting? I adore musk, but this is very artificial smelling, way sweeter and fruitier than I was expecting. This smells like strawberry candy rather than strawberry leaf. It's pretty terrible on me.

 

 

Dry: This dries down to something absolutely lovely. Red musk, with a hint of white musk peeking through, and some delicate sweet fruitiness. It reminds me of other fruit/red musk combos like Hollywood Babylon and Delight in Disorder. I already have Delight in Disorder, so I may not get a bottle of this right away, but it's for sure bottle worthy. I really like it.

[milo]

Fruity, and slightly musky. This smells like strawberry to me. I don't normally like white musk, but I'm not minding it here. Nice to try in the middle of a nasty winter, but it's not something I would normally wear.

[doomsday_disco]

In the imp: Lots of red musk and strawberry leaf. The combo is almost bubblegum-like.

 

Wet: The red musk and strawberry leaf notes reign, but the red musk isn't as strong as it normally is, probably thanks to it mingling with the white musk and the sweet strawberry. After a few minutes, the white grapefruit note emerges, and the strawberry leaf becomes less like an actual strawberry. The red musk and strawberry leaf seem to be wanting to take this into bubblegum territory, but the white grapefruit is doing its best to keep those notes in check.

 

Dry: Alas, the grapefruit note simply could not compete with the musks and strawberry leaf. It's still present, but it is mostly a sweet, fruity strawberry musk on me.

 

Verdict: Not my cup of tea, considering that red musk and strawberry are not notes I typically enjoy, but I'm glad I got an opportunity to try it.

[Lucchesa]

White musk rarely works for me. Red musk rarely works for me. I didn’t have particularly high expectations for this blend. But somehow the red musk cancels out the screechiness of the white, and the white musk prevents the red from taking over, and this is one of the most gorgeous musk experiences I’ve ever had. Strawberry leaf is subtly sweet and berry-like whereas strawberry can be much too sweet on me — I’ll have to look for this note in future. The grapefruit is just a hint of zesty citrus. I am actually a bit shocked by how much I am enjoying Mania.