White Nights: Mantarang

Finally, after months of anticipation, I present to you my first project: White Nights!

With many ideas in my head as to what kind of fragrance I would want if I had the choice of different ingredients, I thought back to my first ever full bottle EO purchase: Iris Noir.

To me, Iris Noir beautifully captured the dichotomy between light and dark—the Iris being light and the Noir being the oud. Not only did I want something that would amplify this juxtaposition, but flip it on its head. How about adding the most ivory-like oud out there, White Kinam, with some decades old orris as the darker component? Boost it with my favourite, Tibetan Musk, and this is what it resulted in. I thought it would be fitting to name this fragrance “White Nights” after the Dostoevsky short story and as a way to capture the nature of this fragrance.

This fragrance opens in a very thought provoking manner. The type that challenges your perception of what a fragrance can smell like. The vintage orris is something else. It is juicy, delectable, dark, and unbelievably refined. It resembles the feeling of walking under the pitch black night sky, where the smell of florals outside of your path let you know whether or not you’re on the right track while also enticing you to veer off. There is also that spicy, vegetal, stems-in-boiling-water smell which is without a doubt rose ruh—spicy roses like this are my favourite. What stands out however is the White Kinam; the yang to the orris.

Scintillating beyond belief is how I would describe it. There are hints of sweet citrus and an overflowing amount of powdery airiness. The kinamic buzz with the radiating sweetness here is unreal, as it feels like you are huffing the Sprite syrup used in soda dispensing machines. You don’t even need to consciously smell it—just slowly breathe it in and let it carbonate your brain.

It definitely evolves as it dries down, but the White Kinam continues to gleam and brim with effervescence. The Jasmine in this is indolic and somewhat waxy, like a white candle burning into the night. The Spring scented honeysuckle and orange blossom though convince you that the sun is out.

The Sandalwood here is creamy like most Sandalwood, but feels very white for some reason. The thyme makes it feel slightly midday with its dryness, while the suave Tibetan Musk gives the same feeling of smelling all of these components from a tropical humid night time breeze. The orris has gotten even more smoother and has taken on an opulent yet almost skin-like tone

While being up against the White Kinam though, the orris now has the Cambodian Oud backing it, which is brooding with dark incense-like smoke. One thing I can’t really ascribe to any ingredient, but is definitely there as a note is this fruitiness.

At first, it was slightly peachy, but once it dries down completely, it definitely feels like pears. Very sweet, has a soft feel, and ever so slightly spiced, as if it had been poached. I think it might be a combination of the two ouds, but nonetheless, this unintentional note is divine.

Words can’t describe how happy this fragrance makes me. It’s something that I just want to keep on smelling whenever it is on me. The interplay between night and day with this fragrance is captivating, while the smell itself is built for the Spring weather.

I had some doubts about this fragrance as I was unsure how White Kinam would end up interacting with the rest of the ingredients. It felt like cooking a new dish during the day while fasting and only being able to taste it once the sun is down, so even in the best case scenario did I not imagine myself enjoying this fragrance as much as I do now.