Mandragore

1 Aug '26: smelled the decanted sample vial when it arrived. Immediately imagined a much older, incredibly beautiful butch with a sense of mystery and the erotic about her; I'm fascinated by her, I want to follow her around and listen to her tell stories about her life. Had to put the vial down as I was running out of the house, but thought about it all day. When I returned home I reopened the vial while sitting on my front stoop (the weather was just absolute perfection at a breezy, cloudy 84*F in the late evening, and I wasn't ready to go inside). This time the fragrance smelled... astringent? Sharp, a little cold. I was surprised, but applied some out of sheer curiosity. Immediately smelled the star anise, and perhaps the mint? A strong combination that feels medicinal and not entirely unpleasant, just matter-of-fact. "That makes sense", I thought, "I'm not that older hot butch yet, still a ways to go for me". But a few minutes later gentle floral notes came up in the wind, softness to cushion the sharpness of the anise/mint. By the time I made my way indoors it had settled in to replace --or perhaps perfectly balance-- the star anise. Smelled "purple", majestic and calm, maybe the iris? But still soft & now incredibly erotic. I realized too late that I needed to shower, and would therefore be washing this gorgeous scent off, but before I did my napping partner woke to declare I "smelled like the moon". Will definitely be revisiting. Don't think it's "me" for day-to-day use, but would be during witchy hours, and has a lot of erotic potential.

this is super fascinating!! I don't think I've ever smelled a fragrance with such an authentic anise note. that being said, i think whether or not you'll like this is determined by your feelings on anise and licorice notes. Very fresh but also "dark", hard to describe haha. An elevated "witches medicine" type vibe too

Yum. Love this. Summer citrus cologne/chypre. Different from the usual - not as lemony or bright. Not at all soapy. Not overbearing in any way - could wear this with a headache and feel refreshed. Greenish in a slightly Australian native mint way, not in a grass or cedar way. Green isn’t the main theme though. Contemplative and delicate. Light. Lasts a few hours and doesn’t change much during that time. One of my top 5 perfumes.

Smells more like an edible scent. Not wearable at all. Way too vintage in my opinion. Not a safe blind buy.

This is 10000% a magic potion! On first spray I get spicy liquorice and ginger beer—it's distinctly fizzy. The dry down is super bittersweet and reminds me a lot of Amaro Montenegro. Notes that I get throughout the wear: candied ginger, melted black liquorice, something green and herbal, pepper, and citrus rind. Not for me, but would recommend to an Etsy witch!

Blind bought this one day and it was so good it got me hooked on blind buying I just had to put my wallet in jail bc this scent had me trying to recreate the high of guessing a scent would be your favorite without ever smelling it. This and Nuit etoilee tbh. Every time I smell this it reaches somewhere so deep within just wow. It lasts forever on me too so I don’t suffer what some of u have. Ian bellow me is correct the compliments will flow all the women I know die for this

Masterpiece in my opinion, even if there is more like than love in the smileys... Fresh and distinctive, whith a sage and mysterious aura. One of my most complimented fragrance with always the same question : "what do you wear ?"

This is THE hot weather fragrance for me. The note I get far and away the strongest is bergamot, which I love dearly. The other notes exist simply to support the bergamot to me, even the star anise and pepper. This combination gives it the effect of a long lasting (relatively speaking) freshie, since I get a decent few hours out of it on skin and more on clothes. There is no musk or vanilla in the drydown, so it maintains its herbaceousness all the way through until it's gone completely. In some ways it feels like a tea fragrance, but there's no sweetness or creaminess. It's old-fashioned in a way but also minimal and modern. It's perfectly unisex and impossible to label, it's just ✨Mandragore✨. This fragrance is too precious to me to be spritzing like a body mist but it serves that function, as a refresher when I'm feeling a little wilted. This is the only fragrance in my collection that I have actually managed to finish (only took 15 years 😅) but luckily I was able to snag a backup for a reasonable price.

MANDRAGORE by ANNICK GOUTAL Why some wonderful scents get discontinued? Is it because they are low sellers? Is it really true tnat we are no more capable of appreciate challenging and evocative scents? Mamdragore by Annick Goutal has nothing to do with the current version sold today Mandragore Purple by Goutal Paris The original version is a stunner: herbaceous and woody. It belongs to a fairytale world. Yoiu get the freshness of the earth, the mustiness of old furniture, and the scent of dried herbs and spices. There are no flowers or fruits at all, although there is iris butter, but it doesn’t come across as floral. Instead, the orris softens and smooths the fragrance, making it homogenous and velvety. The herbs I get the most are anise, ginger, and mint while the bergamot in th eopening impart a certain zest. The drydown is woody, but soften by the orris. Consider following me on IG @alexolympia6

I've had my bottle of this for 10 or 11 years, and I can actually remember the time I bought it. It's unfortunate, because I've actually boxed this up, and transported this perfume more times than I've worn it, which is a pity. It was one of my first obscure mainstream-niche brands I sampled, and this was a love at first sniff. And I'm glad to see that I love this today just as much as I did when I first bought it way back when. I am immediately enveloped by a non-biting black-pepper and aniseed -- the citrus does effectively balance the two pungent spicy notes, but there is something else in the background that I cannot discern that carries this scent forward. Something kind of woody, kind of resiney, I really cannot pick what it is! Whatever it is, I am a big fan of the role this plays in the scent because it ties the 3 aforementioned notes together and makes the scent really pop. It just comes together, I feel, and if I'm being honest, I feel this is unique enough to appeal to people looking for oddball scents, but at the same time it's not an alienating scent. Definitely one to try. I love this one as much as I did in 2014...

Mandragore by Goutal was launched at 2005, not 2009

I smell Wrigley's mint chewing gum. My fiancé smells orange.

"Neither the poppy, nor the mandrake, nor all the narcotic syrups in the world will medically give you back that sweet dream you had yesterday." William Shakespeare, Othello (1604), III, 3 Mandragore is a magical interpretation of the mandrake, a mysterious plant surrounded by legends. Used since ancient times in magical and medicinal rituals by sorcerers and witches. This fascinating fragrance opens explosively, fresh and bright. Aromatic and spicy. The florality of bergamot gives way to a herbal heart with minty freshness, small hints of citrus and gently camphor. Followed by the warmth provided by the star anise and something powdery that the iris provides to the entire beautiful composition. As the hours go by it becomes slightly woody and gently drier with a delicate clean smell, blending beautifully into my skin and enveloping me in an aura of neatness. The substantivity on my skin reaches 12 hours, and even I still smell it the next day on my skin, with moderate diffusion. I'm trying to judge if Mandragore is retro and I'll say no. It is classic, in the best traditions of cologne fragrances, completely unisex. Apparently simple composition, but very refined. Goutal knows how to make perfumes in which nature does not smell of farm, but of luxury.

First, I must admit to loving Goutal fragrances. Annick had such a brilliant way of blending notes that one wouldn't think would blend well, but they always did. She was a master! Mandragore is a bewitching (literally!) concoction that is everything you could wish for in a fresh, licorice-y, herbal delight! Longevity is brilliant (I can still faintly detect it after 24 hours) as is sillage (at least arms-length). It's typically French and so very unique. It's not just a mere citrus bomb. The star anise, ginger, and pepper give the citrus it a spicy kick while never overwhelming the other notes. The mint cools this brew down. Boxwood is such an unusual addition and along with Iris and labdanum, you have nirvana. I'm convinced there are more notes than are listed but therein lies the magic. Don't hesitate to experience this one! Literally every time I wear it, I'm complimented and questioned. I can't blame them, it's magnificently enigmatic.

I’ll need to do a side by side, but impressions wise, this reminds me a bit of Atelier Cologne Cedrat Enivrant In that they’re both citrusy spicy. This one feels more full-bodied and rounder. Whereas AT is fresher and more fleeting. Mandragore is more satisfying in the winter time. I love Celestial Seasoning Mandarin Orange Spice herbal tea and this gives me the same, warm vibes, but classier and better :)

This one's a mischief maker. Fresh and clean, clever and quirky, prickling with niche character - all those aromatics, herbs and spices, having a fizzy but civilised battle of wits together. I should love it ... but just don't warm to it much. Maybe I chose the wrong time - autumn - and the wrong format - the hated tiny dabber! - to try this out on, to be fair, as it seems like the sort of deal which works best in big puffy sprayed clouds on a warm-to-hot day. It has a dry sort of intelligence to it - those very oddball bedfellows anise/mint, pepper/sage, doing all sorts of weird but jaunty two-steps together in various combinations. The citrus is lovely and un-harsh but vanishes all too soon. Pepper a bit too toned down for my liking; it rumbles away there but never really bursts out boldly. Though smelling nothing like them it reminded me of Olympic Orchids' Arizona and Miller Harris Fleur de Sel - outdoorsy, nearly medicinal, with fascinating flits back and forth between hot and cool notes and themes. Or say Different Co Santo Incienso - again, this smells nothing alike, but shares that admirably weird status as a scent going in two apparently different directions at once (citrus/incense for Santo I, citrus/spice or citrus/aromatics or citrus/floral - or all three - for Mandragore). BUT: so thin it can't satisfy. As with Goutal's other big thing I should like but don't, Nuit Etoilee, Mandragore seems to be doing a lot for other people that I can't even detect. Maybe anosmia to some of their ingredients? It hints hard at spicy magic, and I really do love the smell, but it's all SO faint, SO weak, SO evanescent that on me, the spell isn't even really cast, much less broken too soon. A great big, intriguing fizzle for me then. Abracadabra? Pffft. Away with ye, you wannabe warlock. Your powers cannot hold me! (Don't let me deter you though: definitely a worth-a-try for anyone who loves Goutal or truly fresh and transparent aromatics. Give it a go, and I can absolutely see why many people's bells will be rung by this.)

Explosive of bergamot, pepper, mint, ginger, with a sort of anti-mosquito disinfectant, it soon softens with sweet anise, very light fresh iris and labdanum. Rather thin and listened to, up to the drydown where the warm woodiness of the labdanum and sticky of the boxwood emerges. As described earlier by another reviewer, you have a sweet, woody, compact lutherie aroma at this stage. Like the aroma of a violin chin rest. Warm, sweet, woody, peppery, antiseptic as per paint. Not bad, I love the smell of Boxwood, but on my skin it doesn't last long and is dominated by bergamot most of the time. Despite this it is beautiful!

When I first smelled this it was the most intoxicating, 10/10 scent I've ever smelled, wanted to get a full bottle immediately, but figured I should wait. (Dead of winter, at home, in a really weird place in life.) I nursed my vial, tried it a month later and found it almost repellent and alien, like it brought out something terrible on my skin. (Early spring, trying out a different birth control) And - now it smells really good on me again! I don't understand. It was a good lesson in discovering my preferences are very fluid, I guess. I've noticed I prefer this when I'm not feeling well? There's something comforting in the apocathery feeling of it.

Много красив аромат. Започва много свежо, билково-бергамотово, за да се превърне в млечен зелен крем, такова усещане ми носи и ароматът на зелена, млечна тубероза в някои парфюмни композиции.

This fragrance opens with a strong, spicy anise note with nose-tickling pepper. There is a subtle hint of citrus which stays in the background, complementing the other notes beautifully. The ginger grounds the scent with a deep, woody richness. I find that the lack of sweetness or florals (I can't detect the iris at all) gives it a slightly masculine quality. It is almost a gourmand, with suggestions of gingerbread, but is too dry and herbal. The name "Mandragore" brings to mind a mysterious, witchy sensibility that is brought to life by the aromatic spiciness of the opening along with the herbal elements, not to mention the rich purple juice. The initial burst of fragrance reminds me of a witch's gingerbread house in a fairytale forest. However, instead of developing into a deep and complex scent, it simply fades, and quickly. The concept calls for a heady, potion-like combination of accords, but instead it disappointingly dissipates into a soft, green cologne - pleasant, but nothing special. The drydown is soft and herbal, fading very quickly into a skin scent with the fresh, green notes of mint and sage coming to the fore. The remnants of anise give it a fennel-like quality. Sillage is moderate, but longevity is weak. However, I only have an EDT of this, which might explain the lack of longevity. As with all Goutals I've sampled, the ingredients are natural and of a high quality. Nice, creative mix of notes. Magical opening: to be enjoyed while it (fleetingly) lasts. 3/5.

A dark, misterious fragrance, but still fresh enough for using during a hot summer. It takes me to Kings Arthur's story when his witch sister Morgana used Mandragore plant in a potion, every time I smell it. I think it is the black pepper that always make me think of the Middle Ages. I adore the originality of this fragrance, and believe that even people who don't like spicy notes would wear it, because of the mint and sage's freshness. It's almost unissex due to the absence of flowers.

i've had my bottle for 10 years and the top notes of lime and pepper are still vibrant while the sage, box and ginger are the grounding notes from the beginning. coolness of the mint hovers in the background. i do get a light scent of 5 spice which was much stronger when the bottle was new, and i prefer this milder version of that note.before moving to a cool wet place, i used to wear this in hot desert summers because the cool mint and hot spice open up in heat and produce an interesting prismatic effect. over the years, it has mellowed to become a skin scent, quite easy to wear anywhere. the batch code says that it should be good through january 2018. nearly 2 yrs post it is still a delight. And 6 yrs later it is just as good

I must have tried the Mandragore Pourpre version at the counter (before I bought a pre-owned bottle of Mandragore), because I can remember really liking that. (Annick Goutal is one of my favourite houses, and citruses are my jam.) On me, Mandragore is a thin, anise-infused mint. That's it. Anise and mint. It doesn't even dry down and morph into anything pleasant on my skin. Slightly annoying to my nose, actually. Yet it's supposed to be the perfume most like Pourpre, which I can remember swooning over. Go figure. Must give Pourpre another try.

UNIQUE. Have never smelled anything like that. Name suits the juice very well. It is a potion from Harry Potter, not a perfume. I dislike it a lot. Terrible smell. But I see why people might love it. Try before you buy! Yes, it is a masterpiece. Must try for any perfumista. Still hate it. LOL

This is my second review for Mandragore but my first for the EDP. As suspected, the EDP is the way to go: I get much better longevity - about 3 hours before turning to a skin scent - but this still stays close. Not a huge difference in projection but I also don’t care so much, I’d rather have better longevity. Mandragore Is all about anise with bergamot, mint and ginger in supporting roles. I pick up an overall herbal vibe in the opening and the drydown. This could move up to a love when I test it in warmer weather, but as of now I really like it. Mandragore squarely falls into the unique perfume catergory.

When i was a child I played the violin. For some reason the scent of Mandragore takes me back to my old music room at school with its view of the ancient forest across the field with trees clothed in seemingly eternal autumnal leaves. I am reminded of the smells as I opened my old violin case and the wood of the violin and the dusty block of amber that I coated my horse hair bow with. There are no amber or woody notes in the perfume and yet it smells like my old violin case. I love Mandrgore (and also Mandragore Poupre) very much. It is a very natural yet magical scent and is the perfect autumnal/ winter fragrance for me. It is slightly melancholic, like the notes released into the autumn air from an old violin in the tender hands of an introverted child.

The more I wear this, the better I understand the riddle of the composition. It is like being in the middle of a mysterious experience. This fragrance is a journey of discovery everytime I wear it. What I discover is an evolution in beautifull fragrant elements combined, and together they work like magic on me. This is oe of the most beloved modern fragrances that I have explored. I think that Mandragore would be worth a try for guys who would like a different spicy fragrance, that is not all too harsh, and a very fine alternative to some of the heavy oud fragrances of today.

I tried the mens version. Very pleasant warm weather daytime citrusy scent with star anise. Dominant notes are: very strong bergamot which is too much imo, mint, ginger, star anise. There's a similar scent called Eisenberg Eau Fraiche Homme which feels more fresh and better blended with more pronounced mint, star anise notes and well balanced bergamot. Performance is moderate overall.

Unique. And I really love it: ginger, anise, pepper with a little citrus. It has a dry spicy quality, all on a delicious green base. It has a very natural, niche vibe. What I don't like is the fleeting aspect, it's a skin scent after a few minutes on me. I'm going to try the EDP version with the high hopes that this gets past my longevity issue.

This is my second time trialing this one. Yes, sillage and longevity are not great. But it smells like the green fruit tingle and that’s making me smile so I’m still counting it as a win. No full bottle here, but I’m enjoying wearing it for the limited time I’ll spend with it.