Intricate Entanglements

[Seajewel]

Mandarin and orris root with bourbon vanilla, ylang ylang, benzoin pearls, and sweet labdanum. 

[rivetted]

oh my gosh. wow. what a powerhouse. 

 

i was really indecisive about whether or not to purchase this one as a bottle, or decant, or not at all?? like, orange-y scents can sometimes just be... orange-y. in a "well, that smells great but i really dont need that many citrus perfumes" sort of way 😅 so, my preconceived notions were really undecided. ultimately, i couldnt help myself and added it to the cart at the last minute. the bourbon vanilla/labdanum/benzoin combo sounded promising and likely to make the mandarin very resinous and sweet.

 

and holy hell was that accurate. i am SO GLAD i threw this in my purchases. 

 

the mandarin is at the forefront, and everything in here is just swelling with sweetness, sexiness, resinous-ness.

 

if i only keep 1 or 2 mandarin-dominant perfumes in my collection, this should probably be one of them. 


edited to add: my boyfriend described this as "a deliciously sweet boozey drink that i would drink way too much of and would definitely give me a hangover" 😂 
while i don't necessarily agree, as i think at a baseline it falls more in the range of "sugar & orange blossoms", i can see the resemblance of scent profiles to a sweet citrusy cocktail, and i found the comment too amusing to not add it in here

Edited March 27, 2022 by rivetted

[milo]

I love orange scents, and this one is heavy on the mandarin at first.  It fades into soapy territory on me, but I’m weird and like that, like an orange soap.  Nothing else really, but I’m sure the other notes are contributing somehow.

[puellacaerulea]

This one starts off with mandarin and sharp, medicinal labdanum in the background. As it wears, the labdanum calms down and the orris, vanilla, and benzoin start to amp up. Overall, it's sweet mandarin with sweet, creamy vanillic notes and a hint of resin in the background. It's pleasant, but I've got other citrus scents that wow me more, so will stick with just my decant.

[zankoku_zen]

Floral white musk. I get notes of mandarin and vanilla. Medium throw and wear length.

[Estamets]

Mandarin in the wet stage. 
 

This goes soapy on me almost immediately. It’s a nice soap, one I wouldn’t be surprised to find in the guest washroom of a house nice enough to have a guest washroom. 
 

The vanilla note in this is GORGEOUS. It’s medium-depth, brown, the seeds you scrape from a vanilla bean to add to a fancy, not-too-sweet orange cake you’ll serve with tea later.