I tried 20 Mancera perfumes, so you don’t have to
A relatively affordable niche house that divides the online fragrance community
If you’ve scrolled through your favourite fragrance forums or tuned into YouTube reviews, you have probably seen reviews of Mancera and its parent house, Montale, by various fragrance influencers. Some swear by their scents, praising them for their unique blends, long-lasting sillage, and affordable luxury. Others? Well, let’s just say they’re not exactly popping bottles of celebration.
But why the divide?
Mancera haters vs Mancera lovers
Those who hate the brand mostly say:
- they smell too synthetic (spoiler alert: most scents on the market nowadays are synthetic);
- the scents are a tad ‘screechy’;
- they don’t like the bottles.
Those who love Mancera fragrances, paradoxically, love them for the same reasons:
- the scents are long-lasting;
- they have good projection and sillage;
- the bottles are simple, with decent caps and good atomisers.
I do not own a full-size bottle of a Mancera fragrance (yet). I only have a bottle of ‘Intense Café’ by Montale, which smells like one of Mancera’s most popular fragrances. But I use it only on special occasions — like in very cold weather or in the evening if I go out to places with sweaty crowds and smoke.
I am doing this exercise with you in part because I would like to purchase a Mancera flacon in the future, and I hope it will help me choose.
Mancera Discovery Kits
Mancera offers completely customisable sample and travel sets. However, you can order only up to four at a time, so you cannot try all fragrances at once. I opted for the sample set option because it is quite affordable.
I ordered four alphabetically organised sets. Each set contains five 2 mL mini sprays, which I will review one by one.
Set 1: A-F
Amore Café
Oh, I love this one, and I cannot wait to purchase it in the winter. I say this because I have difficulties finding a gourmand fragrance that suits me. The note description fits it very well. It opens up with a boozy coffee note and dries down to an amazing, sweet vanilla gourmand.
It reminds me of — Irish coffee in the opening and then a vanilla latte.
Would I buy it? Yes!
Black Noir
This is a strong masculine scent and another newer release by Mancera. I feel like the newer ones are getting better and better. Again, the note description is spot on. It opens with pepper and lavender, and the leather lingers in the background. It is a good oud scent, and I would love to smell it on a man. I just don’t find it revolutionary. It has a DNA similar to Tom Ford’s scents.
It reminds me of — a floral version of ‘Tobacco Oud’ by Tom Ford.
Would I buy it? I don’t know. Maybe. For a man in his 30s. Or my dad.
Choco Violette
Oh, this is interesting. Strangely, another gourmand I like. It opens with hazelnut and bergamot. I cannot smell the orange as much as in Montale’s ‘Chocolate Greedy’. Then, the floral chocolate note comes through and dries down to a musky vanilla base.
It reminds me of — Valentine’s Day! Chocolate pralines, a flower bouquet and two glasses of Muscat wine.
Would I buy it? Yes.
Fabulous Yuzu
I love citrus scents, but I have a hard time finding a good yuzu perfume. This is still not it. I thought I might like it because I love cinnamon, but I cannot really smell it here. The citruses dominate. It smells fine, just really unspectacular, to say the least. I would not wear it on my skin. This is good as a bathroom or room freshener.
It reminds me of — toilet bowl cleaner tablets.
Would I buy it? No.
Fig Extasy
This is a masculine-leaning fig scent. The dominant notes in the opening are fig, ginger and relaxing incense. Then the leather comes through, as it develops into a green and woody, aromatic blend of fig leaf, thyme and lavender. It is nice, but I feel like there are better fig perfumes out there.
It reminds me of — Tom Ford making a fig perfume.
Would I buy it? No.
Set 2: H-M
Holidays
This is one of those scents that smell like a vacation. The mix of coconut, citruses, tropical flowers, and marine notes reminds me of tropical beaches. There is a musky vanilla and sandalwood base. I find this one smells better than their other beach holiday scent — ‘Coco Vanille’. It is more complex. It’s fine; it’s just unoriginal. There are better alternatives, although it is not a bad choice.
It reminds me of — suntan lotion on salty skin.
Would I buy it? No. I would buy one of the alternatives.
Instant Crush
This is a popular and decent dupe of ‘Baccarat Rouge 540’ by MFK. So, it is not for me, although I like the saffron and ginger opening. Scents like these give me a headache, and I tend to avoid wearing easily recognisable scents. There are exceptions, of course, but not when it comes to this one.
It reminds me of — the obvious.
Would I buy it? No.
Jardin Exclusif
It has the ‘Erba Pura’ DNA. It is a sweet, fruity floral perfume. Again, it’s not for me. It smells a bit of a mish-mash; I cannot differentiate the individual notes well. However, I still smell the floral notes, mostly rose, jasmine, and violet, with some sandalwood and musk.
It reminds me of — Erba Pura and Kirke; expensive shampoo.
Would I buy it? No. And if you do buy this (or Erba Pura or Kirke or any of the dupes), please do not overspray!
Melody of the Sun
Here, we have a fruity, citrusy tea scent. I love tea scents. It smells a tiny bit like Nishane’s Wulóng Chá, which I absolutely love. I can differentiate all the citruses, fruits, spices, and herbs quite well here. It is just not as sophisticated as Wulóng Chá or as delicate as my favourite tea scent—Green Tea by Elisabeth Arden, which is a cheap must-have.
It reminds me of — lemon-flavoured iced tea.
Would I buy it? No, although I like it.
Musk of Flowers
This is a bit of a granny scent. It has a very familiar musky-floral DNA. I would gift this to a more mature person.
It reminds me of — old-school Dior perfumes.
Would I buy it? No.
Set 3: M-R
Musky Garden
Again, it's an old-school scent, but I like it more than the previous one. It has a familiar DNA. Citruses, fruits, jasmine, rose, patchouli and musk.
It reminds me of — Chanel’s ‘Coco Mademoiselle’.
Would I buy it? No. I would rather buy ‘Coco Noir’ or ‘Allure EDP’.
Pearl
Oh! It’s both a fig and a tea scent! I also smell bergamot and white peach in the opening. Green apple is listed, but I don’t smell it as much. I don’t smell the rose. I smell jasmine a lot. Yeah, this is mostly a citrus, fig, and jasmine blend. It’s like Tom Ford ‘Jasmine Rouge’ meets Acqua di Parma ‘Fico di Amalfi’. I mean, it’s nice!
It reminds me of — a cup of expensive jasmine tea.
Would I buy it? Yes, if I didn’t already have ‘Philosykos’ by Diptyque.
Pink Prestigium
This is an okay gym scent. I actually have something similar, but it is not as fresh nor as bitter, a bit more refined, and not for the gym. I smell citruses, black currant, a woody rose, and patchouli on a musky base.
It reminds me of — some cleaning product, not sure what.
Would I buy it? Not really.
Purple Flowers
Such a pretty bottle! I wish Choco Violette had this bottle instead. They chose this bottle because ultraviolet was the Pantone colour of the year when the perfume launched. I don’t know why it is called ‘Purple Flowers’. This is a spicy, woody rose scent; I guess there are purple roses. It’s nice, a bit musky…
It reminds me of — a love child between Le Labo’s ‘The Noir’ and TomFord’s ‘Velvet Orchid’.
Would I buy it? Yes, for the bottle.
Red Tobacco
Behold the ‘Red Beast’! This is a spicy-fruity explosion of tobacco and woody notes. I actually wrote a whole review on this in my article on my five favourite tobacco scents, so check it out. I know this is a polarising scent that causes headaches for some people, so please don’t overspray it and wear it in appropriate settings.
It reminds me of — a sexy and confident person.
Would I buy it? Yes.
Set 4: R-W
Roses Greedy
I love rose scents, so I am disappointed with this one. It is a fruity rose that smells like it was launched at least ten years too late. It is neither modern nor a classic. It smells fine, but nothing special.
It reminds me of — a coconut version of that Juicy Couture perfume.
Would I buy it? No.
Roses Vanille
This is another best-seller. I love ‘Roses Vanille’! It smells like a lighter and fresher version of ‘Intense Café’ by Montale, which I own. That one smells like coffee and rose-flavoured Turkish delight, but I feel like this is more wearable. I would not spray either on clothes, as the base can be a bit synthetic and screechy.
It reminds me of — a rose and lemon sherbet initially; then it turns into a rose-flavoured locum.
Would I buy it? Yes, if I did not already have ‘Intense Café’.
Sicily
It is a fruity shampoo scent. In the opening, one can smell mandarine, peach, and pineapple, followed by jasmine and ylang-ylang flowers. It’s fine, but it is not nice enough for the price. There are better pear and pineapple scents out there.
It reminds me of — a synthetic version of some Aqua Allegoria by Guerlain.
Would I buy it? No.
Tonka Cola
Ah, yes! This is one of my favourite cherry cola perfumes. I love smelling this on a man. I was trying to convince my husband to buy this, but he is not a fan. I feel like Coca-Cola perfumes were popular this winter, and I love that. I love fizzy perfumes on myself and on men, as well.
It reminds me of — Haribo cola gummies.
Would I buy it? Yes.
Wild Phyton
This is another Mancera perfume that is undeserving of its bottle. It’s a nice, familiar white floral. These types of perfumes usually suit me well, and this one smells nice, but I expected something more, I guess.
It reminds me of — ‘Carnal Flower’ by Frederic Malle, ‘Good Girl Gone Bad’ by Kilian, and a bunch of other niche white florals.
Would I buy it? Yes, for the bottle.
The Verdict
I get the critiques, but I also think they are unjustified. To me, Mancera is more wearable than Montale, so that is a plus. And I like glass bottles better. I do not think they are that screechy, especially compared to some other hyped and more expensive brands that also do a lot of clones. Three letters: P, D and M.
I will probably get a full-size bottle from Mancera this year. It will either be Choco Violette or Amore Café. Or maybe I will try to pull off ‘Tonka Cola’ if hubby doesn’t want to. We’ll see.
