The Merchant Of Venice
The Merchant Of Venice
172 votes
A unique visual signature based on accords, character, and seasonality
The Sicilian mandarin explodes with pulpy sweetness, immediately flanked by bergamot's sharp-edged brilliance and petitgrain's green snap. Within moments, those green notes add a slightly herbal restraint that prevents the composition from becoming pure marmalade.
The freesia emerges with creamy softness, dissolving the citrus's harder edges whilst neroli and orange blossom bloom into a subtly powdery floral declaration. The amber begins its gentle appearance beneath, rounding the composition into something considerably more sophisticated than the opening suggested.
The blond woods and amber become increasingly prominent, though without the density one might hope for. The fragrance gradually lightens rather than deepens, the citrus fading to a whisper, leaving only soft amber-musk warmth and woody whispers that fade into skin scent territory.
Mandarin Carnival arrives as a jubilant citrus composition that skews decidedly towards the juicy rather than the austere. The Sicilian mandarin orange sits centre stage—not the thin, watery citrus of synthetic accords, but the full-bodied sweetness of actual fruit flesh, bolstered by bergamot's zesty bite and petitgrain's green, slightly herbaceous counterpoint. This is immediately approachable, almost confectionery in its brightness, though the green notes prevent it from tipping into artificial sweetness.
What makes this fragrance genuinely interesting is how the freesia-neroli-orange blossom triumvirate transforms that initial candy-bright opening into something with actual floral substance. The freesia lends a creamy, slightly soapy quality—a soft focus filter on the citrus—whilst neroli adds a delicate, slightly powdery orange blossom character that feels distinctly naturalistic. This pairing suggests sunlit Mediterranean gardens rather than a sterile fragrance counter.
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3.6/5 (91)