Mania

[Teggy]

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.

Lies! Horrible vicious lies!

That is...unless musks are supposed to smell like bubblegum. I get zero grapefruit or strawberry leaf in this...unless they're supposed to smell like bublegum. This one is for the Lolita/Jailbait/Smut + any other musk fan.

But it's not for me.

[Emma2403]

In the bottle: red musk first, then chemical strawberry, then orange (I suppose it's the grapefruit… citrus anyway). They follow each other in a very quick and odd way.

 

On my skin: it gets much better. Spicy strawberry. The chemical tone of the strawberry is gone… somehow; it's what I wanted Strawberry Moon to be.

Some citrus in the background (I still think it's orange more than grapefruit though).

 

After a couple of hours: something in there makes me think of Snake Charmer. Don't get me wrong, it doesn't smell like Snake Charmer, but they must have something in common (maybe the same kind of musk, I don't know).

This being said, it doesn't morph all that much, and remains very pretty spicy strawberries.

 

Verdict: it's a new love. There's something bubblegum-like in the bottle, I agree with Teggy, but as soon as I put it on, this was totally gone.

I'm really happy to see something with strawberry (and to me, it really smells like strawberry fruit not leaf) finally working on me.

[Mountaingrrl00]

In the imp, Mania smells similar to Hollywood Babylon, with a sugary strawberry roundness. Wet, there's a sparkling grapefruit note, too - very pretty and happy. The strawberry backs off, and the white musk melds with the grapefruit to make the scent lighter and higher. Later, the deeper red musk comes out and the strawberry comes back with it, but less sugary and more sultry. It stays melded after it dries, and becomes complex, retaining a playful edge.

 

This scent is a lot of fun. I enjoy the way it morphs, and like all of its phases. I recommend it to anyone who likes fruity BPAL and wants to try something a little different. Strawberry and grapefruit work surprisingly well together, and the white and red musks give the blend a lovely richness.

[themerrybaker]

Sweet and musky in a way that reminds me of Lotus Moon and Bastet, but nary a lotus blossom in sight. Mania does not become cloying, or overly chemical the way some of the other "fruity" blends tend to go with me.

 

Mania is a happy, flirty, girly, gently-screeching oil.

 

I like it, but have enough bottles that serve the same purpose.

[Heavenlyrabbit]

Mania has a gentle, naive quality to it. There is a bit of the strawberry scent here... but it's not overt and almost has a pleasant herbalness to it.

 

I can imagine a character in a Jane Austin novel wearing this out to the countryside on an early summer day whilst picking flowers.

[GypsyRoseRed]

This is strawberry at it's most wearable, IMHO, blended with white musk to create a soft and creamy, girly perfume with light throw and short wear length. Really lovely, although I do wish it stuck around a little longer.

[filigree_shadow]

OK, first off, I usually don't like white musk or strawberry. Grapefruit is a maybe. So even though I love red musk, I didn't think that one of the notes could save the whole blend for me.

 

And I was wrong.

 

This is awesome! It reminds me a little bit of Shango, not in the scent but in the feel of it. There's that lovely dark musk, and then there's the strawberry leaf smelling squishy and round (rather than artificial, which is what strawberry does on me). The grapefruit gives it a bright, kind of humorous kick. Like that sexy red musk is laughing.

 

I really like this. It's not too serious, but it has an element of power to it. I'll be adding this to my bottle list.

[edenssixthday]

Mania - I was really excited about this blend because red musk and strawberry are two of my very most favorite notes. Sure enough, this blend did not disappoint me. I don't smell the white musk at all, but it rarely does show up on my skin, especially when combined with scents that are so strong as the scent of thick, sweet, red musk. The strawberry leaf definitely lends the blend a quality of fruity strawberry, but not as sweet. The fact that it's strawberry leaf and not strawberry fruit leaves the blend a bit more earthy than it would if it were pure strawberry oil. The grapefruit slices through the musk with a shiver of cold crispness, providing just the lightest hint of tartness to the overall blend. As with all red musk blends, this one lasts for hours upon hours on my skin, and the sillage is amazing -- just the tiniest drop on the back of my hand leaves my entire body enveloped in the gorgeous, sweet scent of this blend. This scent is strikingly similar to one of my all-time favorites, Hollywood Babylon, and if you like that blend, red musk, or others such as Smut, Bon Vivant, or Mme. Moriarty, I highly recommend this blend to you!

[Little Bird]

Yay! A citrus blend that I actually like . Mania is such a lovely blend. Red musk itself always smells slightly sweet and fruity on my skin, so it meshes very well with the other fruity notes.

 

The red musk plus the sweet strawberry leaf help to calm down the grapefruit and keep it from going sharp on my skin. The grapefruit's zesty citrus, in turn, keeps the other notes from going overly sweet. The grapefruit and strawberry balance each other perfectly. And all of the notes are wrapped up in a blanket of creamy, clean white musk.

 

Heaven. This will be a 5 ml bottle purchase in my next order, and I'll be hoarding my imp until then. It's sweet and creamy enough for me, & citrussy and clean enough to make my boy happy.

[LiberAmoris]

I've been really excited to try Mania, because I'd love to find a strawberry note blend that works on me, and because I red and white musks. And I do really like this.

 

Mania's primarily a second skin blend on me. The musks are delicious and warm and the strawberry gives them a bit of freshness and sweetness, while the grapefruit lends them a bit of tang. But the fruits burn off pretty quickly on my skin, leaving just a trace of themselves amongst the yummy musks. It doesn't throw very far. It's intimate.

 

If you're a fan of red musk, this is definitely one to try. Nothing can top Smut as my number-one red musk blend, but Mania is fun and I’ll definitely enjoy using my imp.

[valentina]

Wow, is this a crazy blend. ( Bad joke! Bad joke!) In the imp, Mania is sweet and musky, a lot like Hollywood Babylon. And I had two different reactions to Mania on my skin. At first I put on just a teensy bit, and I got a nice warm voluptous red musk with a sharp fruity, almost spicy, undertone. I thought I was in love, so I put on more than a tiny dot, but not that much -- just a small swipe. Uh-oh! The evil fruity scents just sit there and scream. Seriously -- on me, they really scream -- it's strawberry and grapefruit in some sort of a "Crossfire" debate. The musk sits there and steams away in the background, but that's only evident when I sniff closely enough to get past the dueling fruits. My tendency to be unable to wear fruit, unless it's in just the right blend, continues to hold true, and I do so wish Mania would have smelled the way it did after I used just a teeny tiny dot. I think that for lovers of both fruit and musk smells, this would be a gorgeous, sexy scent full of great juxtapositions.

[slave1]

MANIA

 

In Bottle: Fruity love!

 

On Skin: I get super sweet strawberry right off, almost bubblegummy. I thought there might be lotus or heliotrope in this because I get a strong sweet note like theirs. The musks are gorgeous, not overly animalistic, just deep and velvety. I also get a slightly dirty/earthy note which may be coming from the red musk. White musk usually is quite soapy on me and I don’t detect that at all here. The grapefruit is very very light, just a quick little bright star the shines through every once in a while. All in all a sweet fruity scent with a dark background that keeps it from being too cutesy or young. I would place this in the same category as Jailbait, Hollywood Babylon and Aunt Caroline’s Joy Mojo. Light throw and average wearlength.

[nyxluna]

This is so strange- I didn't get anything fruity at all. Just almost a dead-ringer for Smut and also it smells like something else dead-on, but for the life of me I can't place it. I wore it all day from 8 am until 8 pm and I can still smell a trace of it and I barely dabbed it on. A nice scent, but I was hoping from something a little fruity and sweeter.

 

Nyxxy

[birdiefu]

OMG, I'm so happy I got this as a frimp! For some reason the description didn't call to me, even though it had red musk that I love. I'm usually not a fan of most citrus and white musk barely shows on me. But as soon as I saw the imp I knew I had to try it as I usually like the oils that deep dark red color.

 

I was very pleasantly surprised as I applied Maina, as my first impression was that it's a variation of Holywood Babylon, my First True Love . Deep lucious red musk and a touch of sweet strawberries (but not too sweet). This strawberry doesn't go through the fake plastic fruit stage either and stays true on me, very nice! The main difference I see in this blend from Hollywood Babylon is that there is an almost champagne-like effervescent feel to it, making it lighter. I'm thinking this is due to either the grapefruit or the white musk even though I can't single the notes themselves out.

 

I'm debating if I should get a bottle as it is divine, but so similar to Hollywood Babylon which I still have a 10 ml to work through. Regardless, it is a top BPAL oil in my book!!

[Em-]

Fruity musk.

 

Since I love both fruits and musk, I had high high hopes for this blend, but was a little surprised by the sweetness - I guess I was hoping for a little more musk and a little less fruit (having forgotten the actual fruits, i.e., strawberry, by the time my bottle arrived).

 

But this is definitely the blend for people who want to love strawberry but who are often disappointed to try - as it dries and mellows a bit on my skin, the OMG SWEET FRUITness of the blend is settling, and the musks are beginning to shine, making this a really beautiful soft scream of a blend.

[sofaking6]

Sparkling citrus musk

 

On wet, Mania has the strongest throw of any of the BPAL I've tried so far. Which is a good thing. This is a great all-day every-day blend because at first, it's hectic grapefruit and sweet strawberry with an musky underbelly - it's ennervating, pleasing and a little sexy. As it dries, the grapefruit fades out leaving strong red musk (which is hella yummy) with a little sweet strawberry tang, and the throw dies down a lot as well. Another little dab before my 10:00 meeting and I'm good to go!

 

I've tried Hollywood Babylon and I found it a little sicky-sweet. This is more nature-sweet which I much prefer. I have a good time with Jailbait but it's too candylike for me to wear all day.

 

If you like sweeter fruit and musk, I heartily recommend giving Mania a try.

[maijasu]

Wow, a strawberry scent that works for me!

 

This is definitely a sweet, fruity musk. I can barely smell the grapefruit, but I think it's keeping the blend from becoming too sweet. It's a very happy scent, and one I could see myself wearing a lot, especially when the weather gets warm again. I think this will eventually be a 5ml purchase.

 

Wonderful!

[storme]

In the imp: wow, my brain is confused by this. Red musk and strawberry bubblegum?

 

On me, wet: Red musk is so awesome on my skin. It's pretty much the only note in this at first, aside from a faint fruity trace.

 

On me, dry: Hmm, the fruits come forward a little on my skin, and the wafts (mm, throw!) of sweet-fruit-and-red-musk from this are rather gorgeous.

 

Verdict: This is girly-sexy, light and carefree but with red musk grounding this and stopping it from becoming childish. Yum.

[supremegoddessofall]

Fruity musks that almost become a sweet wine. I'm getting more strawberry than grapefruit. Very rich and pretty.

[thecaitycat]

In the bottle: "Screech" and "howl" is right! This has lots of bite to it. It's almost like a tart strawberry, but the red and white musk really pack a punch. It does not smell like bubble gum to me.

 

Wet on skin: Less fruity, but still very tart. The white and red musk really DO screech and howl, almost.

Dry on skin: This has REALLY good throw. It smells like musk and strawberry to me, but somehow that doesn't quite describe it.

 

Verdict: I really, really love this. I've had bad experiences with buying bottles unsniffed, but this was a great choice. It's chaotic, sweet, sour, and just yummy.

[Alchemy21599]

This is going to be a very short review: strawberry bubblicious bubble gum. The red musk (one of my favorite notes) tried to come out, but it was beaten down by the strawberry. I wore this scent for about twenty minutes before it became so sickly sweet that I had to wash it off

[PurringPulsar]

Mania

 

In the imp: sweet, sugary strawberry, sharp grapefruit, and red musk. Gorgeous!

Wet on skin: melon? There’s an almost melon like fruitiness to this, along with grapefruit and musk.

Dry: oh, I like this. Fruit and red musk are always so good together, this is another example of excellent fruity musk. The sharp, bittersweet grapefruit comes first, and then a hint of sugary strawberry which has turned melon-like and green (is that the strawberry leaf?) with the soft freshness of white musk and a wonderful depth from the red musk. There’s only one problem here…there’s something popping up in this scent which reminds me of plastic doll heads. I really hope this plastic note dies down-I have no idea what’s causing this.

After a while: the ‘plastic doll head’ note still hangs around, and it distracts what would have been a gorgeous mix of musk and fruits. It does add a ‘cheerfully synthetic’ feel to the scent, young and pink and reminiscent of toys and childhood, but it does get in the way, when at the back I smell the wonderful red musk mingling with strawberries and white musk and that unexpected melon note.

The scent seems to move through phases of delicious fruity musk, odd ‘doll plastic’, and cool strawberry juice with ice cubes (I like the way the white musk adds fresh coolness to the scent).

The drydown is less plastic but I do get watermelon, in fact, it’s a similar strawberry-melon-sugar scent to that of Treat #1.

Verdict: this is a mad little scent! There are aspects of it that drive me crazy in both good and bad ways. I love the depth of the red musk, the coolness of the white musk, the sugary fruit notes and the way the musk and fruit bond with each other…but there’s a nagging little note which smells of plastic doll heads in here and it’s really bugging me! it pops up regularly and tries to spoil the lovely fruity musk, and it’s the only thing that stops me from enjoying this scent. There’s also another strange note that pops up here which is much nicer-melon. I have no idea where the melon comes from but I smell it here, it’s like watermelon sweets. So I think, due to that maddening ‘doll head’ note, I’ll have to pass this scent on. I prefer Hollywood Babylon, which has a similar feel but is more complex and rich.

Emoticon rating:

Is it a keeper? Probably not.

If you like this, try: Hollywood Babylon, Bon Vivant, Shango, Blood Lotus

[Aredhel]

Rating (on skin): 2/5

Summarised in a few words/smilie: Red musk!

 

In the imp: Cold, sweet red musk and grapefruit. Surprisingly muted and lovely.

 

On skin, wet: I too get a distinctly melon-like something from this, but it's very faint, and overshadowed by the grapefruit and strawberry lead. The red musk dominates Mania from the start, and I can't really be sure if I can smell the white musk.

 

On skin, dry: A fruity, sweet, still oddly melon-like strawberry-musk scent. It strikes me as a darker, musk Strawberry Moon, which I loved until the ylang-ylang crashed the party and ruined the scent for me. In Mania, the only downside is the almost dirty quality of the red musk. As the scent wears, the red musk grows stronger and stronger, until it almost completely dominates the other notes. Nice if one is crazy about red musk; I'm not.

 

Conclusion/Notes: I'd hoped that the red musk would cooperate in Mania, but it just didn't. That said, I doubt I'd have worn it anyway: fruity scents aren't generally my thing as far as perfumes go (I tend to prefer those as room scents).

[zankoku_zen]

In the imp: Red musk and grapefruit.

 

On skin: The grapefruit is pretty distinctive and the red musk is very, very present.

 

On Drydown: I get more of the strawberry feel. The grapefruit is pretty much gone. It's like a sweeter version of Lust and a less-sweet version of Hollywood Babylon.

 

Verdict: This doesn't have the "deviousness" of Hollywood Babylon... Nor the staying power. On the other hand, I enjoy the sweetness more than in Lust. It's a very pretty, very girly scent. I think that if you wanted Hollywood Babylon to like you, and it didn't... you should definitely give this a shot.

 

And so far, my skin loves red musk.... but it didn't in Madame Moriarty (the one exception so far... *sniff sniff*

[Iceblink]

Hollywood Babylon's sluttier cousin. The strawberry dominates but the red musk is right up there in the blend, with just a whiff of grapefruit. This reminds me of strawberry wine and is a fruity scent that manages to be sexy and not too girly. So far it's lasting well too. I might get a bottle of this for summertime.