Tobacco Mandarin by Byredo 2020

Hey Posse. Do you ever read reviews on here and think, “Shit! I need to try that ASAP!”? Well that’s exactly what happened with Patty’s Tobacco Mandarin review. Patty seemed overcome with the joy of discovery, pretty good considering how much she has sniffed. It sounded so freaking amazing I jumped online to Surrender To Chance and bought a decant (along with some other stuff). Now it’s from the Byredo exclusive Night Veils series and he is charging like a wounded bull for them so the decant was not cheap. It’s the same bottle and cap as the regular range, by the look of the pictures, I really am wondering what cost so much to fill the bottles up with?

Amazing is an understatement.. The cumin phase lasts so deliciously long, but other notes show up and kind of corral the cumin a bit so it doesn’t get too wild and feral… The long drydown – and this thing last forever – loses the skanky cuminy stuff and is soft and snuggly with an echo of smut lingering… I’m in love. I’m not sure I can wear it out of the house until about 2 hours after it goes on… Patty’s Tobacco Mandarin review

So let’s find out, eh?

Tobacco Mandarin by Byredo 2020

Parfumo gives these featured accords:
Top: Mandarin orange, Coriander, Cumin
Heart: Tobacco, Leather, Labdanum
Base: Frankincense, Oud, Sandalwood

WOW! I get quite a different ride to patty. The mandarin is front and centre at the beginning and the whole fragrance as it opens reminds me a little of Tauer’s early work. This is a much more refined, less of an attack and infinitely smoother. My skin seems to go straight from this orange/resinous opening to tobacco and leather. It is underpinned softly by that opening accord.

Maybe I’m used to smelling like a dudes sweaty armpit and the analogy escapes me. It does smell like warm skin. You know that lovely scent of clean body as it warms up during exercise? Just before it starts to sweat. Sometimes if I’m out for a dog walk or doing my first set at the gym and I’m clean there is a smell that is not sweat but is hot body.

As a super strange aside Jin smells candy bar and powder!

OK, I’m about 40 minutes in and suddenly I can smell a pack of gay muscle men on the dance floor. The connection is made. Here’s the difference though. To me it’s the smell of expensive perfume, healthy sweat, pheromones and fun.

Dry down gets so beautifully cozy. Incense, a very smooth, clean, oudishness and powdery sandalwood. We have a sandalwood company here in Australia doing some beautiful sandalwood fragrances. As an aside, I bought their 200ml Calming Cream. The sandalwood heavy dry down of Tobacco Mandarin smells a lot like it. Beautiful, rich and plush.

Deep in dry down we get a revisitation of the opening mandarin accord! Full of surprises to the very end.

OK, so Tobacco Mandarin is still bloody expensive. FiF has 50ml for €245. It’s probably not worth that but if I’m honest and won the lottery there would be a bottle winging its way to me right now. Until then, my decant will have to do.

Sound good to you?
Portia xx