Christmas is over, and it’s time for another fragrance review. With Amoral, Mansa and Masar, I would like to start the round of the first three creations by pernoire, after I was able to present you with a two-part interview with the two founders from Switzerland last week. In these articles, which I will of course also link to, Nico Mannino and Robin Dünner tell us a lot about their own background, the history of pernoire and the label’s fragrances, which is why I will concentrate today on the review of the three extraits de parfum and recommend these two articles to anyone who wants to know more about the brand’s background:
- Interview with Pernoire – Swiss fragrance art
- Interview with Nico Mannino and Robin Dünner from pernoire – Part II
Amoral – Immorally good
I chose Amoral as my first test candidate. The fragrance plays with the concept of the indecent, the immoral and the uninhibited, which definitely makes me curious. As we have learned, the perfumer Andreas Wilhelm created the composition from the ingredients lime, black tea, cardamom, cinnamon, cumin, plum, violet, iris, agarwood (oud), nagarmotha, orange blossom, ambergris, sandalwood and tonka bean.
The dark side streets at night are your territory. No one can explain your success or your rise to the top. Rules and laws are just further measures to keep the masses from reaching the top. But not for you! You have broken and bent morality in various ways to achieve your goal. More fame, money and power through ominous actions – mysterious yet attractive – your essence is amoral.
Dark, gloomy and with intense black tea nuances, Amoral opens and reveals an olfactory soul that could hardly be more sinister. However, a little light soon appears in the form of lime, whose tart citrus freshness brings a delicate glow to the composition. Fine earl-grey vibes are released, soon accompanied by spicy accents and a fine, liqueur-like plum sweetness. Iris and violet steer the creation into powdery, wild realms and take over the olfactory rudder before the smoky, medicinal aspects of oud and nagarmotha enter the olfactory stage. The fragrance gradually fades out with warm and gently spicy woody nuances. Amoral is an incredibly multi-faceted composition, very complex, expressive and playing with diverse nuances. An extrait de parfum with an exciting fragrance progression and a medium presence that I would wear on cooler days for any occasion. A terrific prelude! 🖤
Mansa – Spendable luxury
We are traveling to Africa with Mansa, at least as far as the name of the creation is concerned. This is because it was inspired by a former king of Mali, about whom you will learn a lot more in the following quote. The fragrance is intended to be an “olfactory metaphor for wealth and generosity”. The composition was created from the ingredients blackberry, pink pepper, iris, agarwood (oud), rose, ambergris, blackcurrant, saffron, patchouli, heliotrope, moss and musk, which sounds incredibly delicious.
Mansa Musa was the ruler of the Mali Empire in the 13th century. During his reign, Mali was one of the richest kingdoms in Africa and Mansa Musa was one of the richest people in the world. During his pilgrimage to Mecca, he built mosques, met with the Sultan of Egypt and spent so much gold that there was 12 years of gold inflation. Spanish cartographers depicted Mansa Musa in the atlas, sitting on a throne and holding a lump of gold and a golden staff. Mansa means “king” or “ruler” in Maninka, the family name of the ruler of the Mali Empire.
Dark berry nuances, fluctuating between sweet and sour, unite in the opening of Mansa with lucid rose coolness and the finest iris, which enters into a seductive combination with woody, leathery oud that I really like. Berries, flowers and agarwood are accompanied by warm, velvety ambergris and accentuated by the finest pepper. The fruity and floral sweetness harmonizes perfectly with the ambery, leathery and woody facets of the creation. The finish adds creamy, earthy nuances that round off the fragrance beautifully. Very harmonious and elegant, I would wear Mansa in the evening or for a night out. Great for all fans of fruity-floral and powdery-woody leather creations. Beautiful! 🖤
Masar – Olfactory self-discovery
Yuzu, ozonic notes, cinnamon, ambergris, labdanum (cistus), clove, honey, tobacco, vanilla, rosewood, tonka bean, leather, sandalwood and animal notes are the ingredients of Masar, whose bottle is adorned with a dragonfly. The fragrance is dedicated to the challenge of realizing one’s own dreams and thus oneself.
Masar is the symbol of independence. As a tribute to the founders Robin Dünner and Nico Mannino, Masar stands for this idea, for the desire to create something truly unique. Getting there involved risk, stress and many challenges – you leave your comfort zone. It was therefore clear that the first fragrance from Pernoire had to reflect the personality of the self-confident entrepreneur.
In the opening, Masar reveals spicy-fresh and sweet nuances thanks to ozonic-citrusy airiness, aromatic cinnamon and the sweet nuances of labdanum, honey and tobacco. An exciting prelude! Soft rosewood combines with the greenish coumarin accents of tonka bean, the finest leather and the balsamic warmth of sandalwood, rounded off with animalistic moments. A creation for all those who appreciate resinous-woody compositions with honeyed tobacco, fine spices and a certain amount of animalistic wickedness. More suitable for the cooler season and special occasions or the evening than for the office and everyday life. I would classify the presence as medium, the longevity is – as with all creations tested so far – excellent. 🖤
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