Best Mandragore by Goutal Alternatives & Similar Perfumes

A sea breeze weaves through the slumbering streets of Pompeii at dawn. Here, the Mediterranean aromas of citrus fruits and aromatic herbs blend with the wild scent of dew-kissed apples. The talcum-like fragrance of frescoed walls, suggested by powdery iris, grounds the fragrance.

Your hand guiding me in a firm but gentle hold, we slipped into the wings of the Mariinsky theatre. While the dancers warmed up to the sound of Tchaikovsky, you lent towards me and tenderly kissed my cheek, enveloping me in a sweet, lingering aroma of incense.

A story of contrasts finding its inspiration in Carine’s Slavic roots. The story of a family, of love and transmission. Vladimir is the name of Carine’s son. The contrasting ingredients of orris, incense and amber blow hot and cold, express rigor and fluidity. The fragrance opens with the icy effect of grapefruit and natural bergamot enveloped in the aromatic notes of French sage. The heart reveals the spicy notes of natural cedar and Egyptian geranium. Then arrives the warmth of Moroccan orris, a modern leathery note and a complex ambery accord composed of sensual, woody, vanilla notes.

“Hey Bitch! You smell fucking good.” In Perfume World, that’s what we call a result. Hey Bitch! raises eyebrows with its dissonance between buttery, blowsy orange blossom and tough, bitter leather. Tangy rhubarb at the top snaps its fingers in your face, before dissolving into a blur of suedey iris and milky sandalwood. The dance between bitter and sweet keeps you on your toes throughout, conjuring hints of…what? Photocopier ink? Coffee? For sure it conjures ambered black leather, Bitch!

In Sanskrit, “ankura” refers to the sprouting or budding of a plant. It can also signify the seed of an idea or feeling. This uplifting green chypre teases feelings into play with its sunny opening of lemon, bergamot, mint, and the honeyed spice of helichrysum flower. Oakmoss brings shade and mystery, accompanying an earthy blend of patchouli, sage and soil tincture. At its full bloom, the smoky allure of Prachinburi oud fills the soul, turning Ankura into an enchanted forest.

Orkney, an archipelago located to the north of Scotland, plays host to the inspiration for this fragrance. According to ancient Orkney myth, shapeshifting creatures – selkies – inhabit the bodies of seals who, coming out of the water, shed their skin to walk among humans. Often in these legends the selkie’s skin is found and hidden by local men, and they are forced to marry their human captor.

But in our version of this tale, the selkie takes control. Furious that he has tanned her precious skin, the selkie poisons her captor, reclaiming the leather and returning finally to the tumbling sea.

Sirenide Eau de Parfum is a suitably formidable fragrance: powerful and haunting, with triplicate aspects of ‘skins’ developing on your own. PVC melds with pinseal and an unnerving bitter almond note; water flowers blossom and die, returning to the water.

Perfumer: Sidonie Lancesseur

The Materie Premiere collection. 

A soft, bitter-sweet tonka and cooling lavender blend. Marie Jeanne’s beautiful vision of a 21^st century fougere.

The Riviera. The Mediterranean fills the horizon. You’re driving along a coastal road with the roof down, feeling free. In this extrait, lemon caviar, zesty ginger and icy cardamom puts jut in your strut, while tomato leaf, neroli and black tea summons an aromatic dance. Frankincense and cypriol offer shade in the sunshine.

Perfumer: Paul Guerlain

Brocéliande is a bewitching concentrate inspired by the enchanted forest of Arthurian legend. Combining the power of the forest with the magic of the animal world, this extrait’s bergamot and lime opening leads to an unexpected wander through ginger, cinnamon and iris. A whisky sweetness rubs up against the velvet leather of civet and castoreum.

Pergola opens with the most incredible rush of twisted green vegetation and instantly transports you back to the heyday of that decadent walkway. There is so much happening in here but the notes of galbanum, bergamot, and ivy are particularly spectacular. The floral heart is a swooning blend of narcissus, tuberose, and jasmine but the pergola’s passage of history is provided by an earthy pairing of patchouli and vetiver. You get a real impression of its heritage from touches of resins and moss and, whilst it’s described as a fougere, there is definitely a feeling of the most glorious aromatic chypre.

The never-ending war between what you “should” do and what you want to do. Where being loyal to your dreams and desires clashes with societal expectations. Well, here’s where the conflict ends. Inner War is an amber carnival of too-muchness, a stop at the candy floss stand, a ravenous kiss on the big wheel. This extrait is a billowing cloud of talcum powder and almond, suggesting delicate heliotrope. Curling like tendrils into the air is a phantom, licorice-like anise, adding freshness and subtle weirdness. Rose supplies the syrupy “mmmmm” that glues together ambroxan, vanilla and patchouli.