Laboratorio Olfattivo Mandarino apped by Nicoleta
Do certain notes make you want to do your happy dance? For master perfumer Jean-Claude Ellena, the answer is a decided “oui.” Citrus, specifically mandarin essence, is, what is what M. Ellena reaches for to give his fragrances “a radiant smile,” the kind you might find on your lips when the sky is a perfect azure and possibility stretches out like an endless road.
Photo of Audrey Hepburn by Philippe Halsman
Or on an afternoon of hot sun beaming through air thick with the smell of tart tree fruit, where, in the near distance, the trickle of an ancient fountain burbles like a happy baby. Laboratorio Olfattivo Mandarino, is a Frenchman’s love letter to Italy, to summer past, simple pleasures, and pure happiness.
Jean-Claude Ellena, image via Laboratorio Olfattivo
Ellena describes his love of all things Italian as a panacea for the greyness that can creep up: “On days when I am overwhelmed by what Baudelaire called “spleen”, a nice word that covers a sense despondency, boredom, melancholy and restlessness, all I have to do is make the decision to cross the border and go to Italy, just an hour and a half away from my house; then I am happy. This country is redolent of happiness.”
Italian Mandarin beverage image via unsplash
And so, too, is Laboratorio Olfattivo Mandarino. It is generously fruity and deliciously refreshing, the way a perfect glass of homemade lemonade is on a parched day. With a generous first spray, Mandarino unleashes a huge wave of vigorous mandarin and a tart blackcurrant the size of a bowling ball. Compared to other fruits in the orange family, mandarin has less astringency and more pulpy sweetness. Which is not to suggest that it has no zing – the opening is all drippy, tangy juice, with an herbaceous quality not unlike basil. This slightly anisic note adds a refreshing counterpoise to the fruit. Right now, Mandarino smells like that perfect summer cocktail you’ve been waiting for someone to invent.
Image via Italyride
In a short time, the sweetness gives way to facets of rind and green stem as the mandarin note rounds out. In tandem, the blackcurrant takes on darker berry notes so jammy that I almost want to spread Mandarino on toast. The citrus bubbles up again. For a while, the two fruits trip past each other in a lighthearted race, neither quite winning over the other, until they merge with some light skin soft musk.
Laboratorio Olfattivo Mandarino is a cologne and can be worn on its own or layers with other colognes and perfumes. If, like me, you love the carefree lightness of colognes, particularly in hot weather, but despair of their transience, Mandarino’s zestiness, anchored by that piquant blackcurrant, keeps its verve long after many of its fellows have sauntered off into their soapy-musky hinterland. While I won’t make the claim that it lasts all day, Mandarino does stick around long enough for you to wear it out for the evening. But do reapply, and often – that opening is pure giggle and worth reliving frequently.
Children playing, Italy, photo by Michael Potyomin
Ellena’s grandmother was Peidmontese, and the aromas of his childhood are present in Mandarino. But they could be from anyone’s childhood, the fragrance hinting at oranges plucked from the tree, Ribena juice boxes, hot dry days on holiday someplace where laughter rises and falls everywhere like the scales of an aria. If you want an instant shot of uncomplicated joy, this is for you.
Notes: Italian mandarin, blackcurrant, white musk.
Disclaimer: Bottle of Laboratorio Olfattivo Mandarino generously given to me by KAON, U.S. distributors for Laboratorio Olfattivo. My opinions are my own.
Lauryn Beer, Senior Editor
Laboratorio Olfattivo Mandarino
Thanks to the generosity of Laboratorio Olfattivo and KAON, we have a 100 ml tester bottle of Laboratorio Olfattivo Mandarino parfum cologne for one registered reader in the EU,. UK or U.S. To be eligible, please leave a comment saying what appeals to you about Mandarino based on Lauryn’s review and whether you have tried other Laboratorio Olfattivo fragrances. What aromas take you to your happy place? Draw closes 9/5/2020.
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