Mania

[Voleuse]

The personification of insanity, Mother of Manes, Goddess of Night Spirits, Mistress of Undeath, She Who Gives Life to the Dead. With Mantus, she rules the Etruscan underworld, and her scent is roiling chaos and churning madness, but because she is the mother of the Lares, benevolent household spirits, her perfume also bears an underlying gentleness, and, like madness, a strange sweetness. Screeching white musk collides with a howl of red musk, with sharp white grapefruit and pale strawberry leaf.

While this is predominantly strawberry on me, it's also a bit Juicy Fruit on me, super-sweet and mouth-watering. After a long while, the blend deepens and the musk appears, but the strawberry-candy aspect of the blend dominates the blend. I get hints of a deeper blend, sweet, brisk, and musky, but it never sticks around. A chemistry thing, alas. Edited January 28, 2009 by Shollin

[grifyn_whiffs]

In the imp: This was a little TOO in-your-face sweet in the imp, and for me that's saying something!

 

On the skin: Mmmm... nice! Still very too-sweet and little girl fruity, however (not that that's always a bad thing). There's something sharp in the background that can amp this stuff across the room!

 

On drydown:

What a fitting name for this one! Each time I sniff it, it seems to have revved up somehow. It has spice and tang under that sweet fruity smell. As the hours wear on, the musk is more apparent and sort of mediates between all the different notes and has a somewhat powdery finish. But I like the "vrrooooom!" of this scent when it hits the skin, so that's when I refresh.

 

Like others have mentioned, I don't smell strawberry LEAF at all. There's nothing "green" in this scent, but I do smell a strawberry itself, powdery sweet thankfully and not artificial- or chemical-smellilng.

 

Purchasing:

On the 5ml wishlist, stat! This one's right up my alley. A fun scent for cheering yourself up... or, amping yourself up during any pre-existing mania you might have.

[space girl lost]

oh heaven! a frimp i looooooove!!

 

i'm thinking my skin just loves red musk. it does such wonderful things. this one is no exception. it is sweet on me without being too in your face. it is a natural sweet as opposed to something like ... icing or something. it's all well blended but when trying to describe it the words become quite polar opposite. it's bright and cheery yet there is a sort of thick darkness to it. the strawberry leaf (as has been said before) is not leafy or green - it's straight up realistic strawberries! fresh and perfect off the vine. the grapefruit adds a little brightness and sparkle but doesn't take over for me.

 

this is a great scent for that first day after winter when temperatures warm up enough to get out and enjoy the sunshine and blue skies.

 

thanks labbies for making me add yet another to my "must have in 5ml bottle" list!!

[Miss Lynx]

Mmmm, lovely. That is some nice-smelling insanity. Strawberry leaf apparently doesn't smell all that different than strawberry fruit, though perhaps a little less sweet, and the grapefruit adds a bit of edge without unbalancing or overwhelming it -- just toning down the sweetness, the way the hibiscus does in Maenad.

 

Mania is, on the whole, a very pretty berry-musk that's slighty reminiscent of Bewitched and Lampades, and, especially Hollywood Babylon. With maybe a touch of Maenad as well. It smells a little less effervescent and more... grown up, somehow, than HB does.

 

I really like it -- berries and musk are both nearly always great on me -- but given that similarity, I'm not sure how much point there is in buying a bottle of this one. It's not as dark as Lampades or Bewitched (which are two of my top favourites), but it's close enough to HB that I think when I start getting low on those two imps, I'll get a bottle of one or the other, but not both. It's just a case of figuring out which of the two I like best between now and then.

 

But Mania is definitely a strong contender -- if madness smells this good, who needs sanity?

 

Grade: B+

Edited January 28, 2007 by Miss Lynx

[sookster]

straight sniff from imp is strawberry, fruity and yummy!!

 

once applied i get the lovely musks swirling about with the grapefruit and

strawberry...

 

this is just so lovely!! i cannot wait to wear this in the red hot summertime

months!!!

[sarahmarie]

This is awesome!

 

It starts out kind of sharp and the grapefruit and musk are kind of smashing into each other, just like the description says. It smells good, just...chaotic and sharp.

 

As it dries, the red musk mellows and blends with the strawberry leaf to make a sweet, comforting scent that is just absolutely beautiful on my skin. The sharpness fades, and all that is left is delicious, sweet contentedness. Very mad indeed.

[grrrlennyl]

at first: a sweet, bubblegum/strawberry scent.

on: wow. screeching, indeed. lots of sharp grapefruit. eek!

1 hour later: very fruity and fresh. a young scent. carefree. i like this a lot.

2.5 hours later: a powdery, sweet scent. candyish.

4.5 hours later: a lovely sweet scent. very pretty.

6.5 hours later: powdery and soft.

overall: i was happily surprised by this one. it's a nice, fun scent, which i wasn't expecting. i'll definitely hold onto my imp, but probably won't end up buying a bottle.

[wikkidraven]

i am discovering a love for lots of red musk blends lately, and this one is no different considering how much i like good strawberry and even cherry scents on occasion. the white musk and grapefruit, which would usually steer me clear, only round out this scent. very nice, fresh and fruity.

[Deiicide]

This is deep sparkling fruity love. This is predominately grapefruit and strawberry leaf and very very apprpo for spring. I think this may be a bottle for this coming spring to keep me occupied. Very well done.

[metaldog32]

Frimp compliments of the Lab..thank you again for your generosity!!!

 

I think I was very much intrigued by the whole “insanity” personification…because I really do believe that people who have ever skirted into that territory whether it be temporary or permanent do seem to exhibit the chaotic emotions described. So..why not??? Let’s sink into some mania and see how it smells…

 

Initial sniff from frimp: Fruity…almost grape-like..and there seems to be some sort of musk..but I don’t get any sharpness from the grapefruit. It kind of has a touch of something that sort of reminds me of cough syrup..but it’s not offensive. Another sniff confirms to me that it smells sugary-sweet. Could be grape could be cherry..it’s a toss up.

 

Applied wet on skin: Sugar sweet..and at the tail end..I get a tang of the grapefruit. I don’t get much of the musk actually…but maybe it takes a bit of time for it make it’s presence known???

 

Couple of minutes on skin: Man..my skin is just eating this up. Barely there fruit..which I am assuming is the strawberry and grapefruit is MIA…never really got the musks..and this is just extremely faint on me…DARN.

 

 

Ten minutes later: Faint strawberry…with I think a trace of musk.

 

Drydown: Faint fruit…and that’s about it.

 

Lasting power on me is 1+hour..throw..soft

 

Bottom Line: Mania is a sugary fruity fragrance that was nice enough but didn’t wow me. I think it would be good for either spring or summer but since it absolutely evaporated on my skin in about an hour I don’t see myself considering it for a 5ml purchase. Imp will find someone else who can wear it longer.

 

Edit: Lasting power needs to be updated...2+ hours...but it is still extremely soft..faint strawberry with a touch of what must be musk..again..too faint for me to seriously consider.

Edited March 18, 2007 by metaldog32

[Medici]

In the imp: Red musk, musk musk, white musk, strawberry, sickly, psychotic sweetness.

 

Wet: Red musk and strawberry psychosis.

 

Drydown: Thank the gods the red musk tapers off enough to let this blend chill out a little. The onset shrieked on for a few minutes, there. Had me worried. After the blend warms, its still a little cloying with my chemistry, the grapefruit is completely absent, and the strawberry is tottering along merrily. Unfortunately, the musk in the background and the combination with the other notes has made Mania particularly medicinal (in the cough syrup variety) and that makes her a no-go.

 

I'll be be off to my padded cell, now. Kthx.

[euterpe414]

Mania is basically a strawberry musk scent on my skin. It does start off a little "screeching" at first- the berry and grapefruit are really bright, but then fades to a more musky smell. I really like this one, but it literally lasts for 10 minutes on my skin. After that, I need to really press my nose up against my wrist to smell it. Granted, what I smell is good, but I am not sure if I want to invest in a bottle of this since I would likely burn through it.

[Brianne]

In the vial:

kind of fruity, but in a subtle, low key way

 

On me:

It smells like bubblegum at first. Luckily, this phase passes and I immediately get a sharper, warmer red musk with a faint grapefruit note. I am really not certain I'm getting a strawberry note though - it's just sort of vaguely fruity but it doesn't smell distinctly strawberry to me.

 

Like others have said, this is a skin scent. It sticks close to the skin, it's not very fruity or musky either way and yet smells like both. It's subtle and pleasant. The fruit note is playful and sweet but not candy-ish. The musks compliment this well.

 

Final note:

I like this, it is very nice - but a definite skin scent and without much throw. I will keep the imp but don't think I need a bottle!

[juniperus]

Bottle: sweet red musk

Wet: red musk, and I can discern the white musk floating above it...

Dry: I can feel the tang of the grapefruit but I can't separate the scent of a grapefruit (which is a really strange thing, but I'l rolling with it), and there is a sweet ness underneath is all..yeah, a manic sweetness. LOL

Later: wacky. the sweet is almost painfully so, but not quite...this is right on the edge for me...it's lovely but distracting, I like it, but I don't know if I can often wear it. Does that make sense? No? LOL

[porcelina]

Bottle: All strawberry.

 

Wet: Strawberry, something green (must be the leaf), a lil bit of tangy grapefruit

 

Dry: Musky with heady berry notes. Yum!

 

Overall: Mania is quite nice, although nothing too special... hence my painfully short review.

[neuilly]

I tried this without looking at the notes and what did I write down? Strawberry and patchouli. But there's no patchouli...I can only think that it must be the red musk acting out. Alas I'm not a fan of patchouli-like notes. I also wish I could smell the grapefruit because it's a scent I really enjoy. Not for me but so many seem to love it so I'll pass it on to someone who can appreciate it!

[cvelis]

Red musk! I can see how this resembles Smut. This is nice and spicy, and at least for me very perfumey smelling. The first time I tried this on all I could smell was strawberries! But now, it's much more spicy and less fruity. This is definitely a sexy, evening scent, but not for me.

[Lexie]

Wet: Strawberries!

 

Dry: Strawberries and light musk. I don’t really detect the white grapefruit but there’s a fresh feeling in this scent, maybe that’s the grapefruit.

 

At first I thought this would be overly sweet, but it’s actually quite nice. Like eating strawberries on a hot day in my backyard. I like this scent more than I expected but I don’t think I’m going to reach for it often.

[Jenesis]

Wet: Like Imp's younger sister; darker and muskier, but not as complex.

 

Drydown: No strawberries that others seem to be getting Just straight-up musk.

 

Dry: For some reason, I'm just not getting on with this. No idea why, it has notes I like - strawberry and white musk - it just doesn't leap out and go "SMELL ME!". It doesn't smell *bad*, but it's like a less complex and interesting version of my all-time favourite, Imp. So I'll keep my little implet of Mania, but it won't go in my top ten.

 

Verdict: Like Imp's younger sister, who wears her clothes and tries her makeup, but doesn't manage to get her mood and complexity.

 

Rating: 3/5

Edited June 8, 2007 by Jenesis

[LadyCrow]

I had to get an imp of this, because apparently, if you study English and American literature, it's de rigueur for a poet to have Mania in some form.

 

In imp: Sweet fruit.

 

Wet: Shiny! (I can't believe nobody's mentioned that Kaylee from Firefly would absolutely wear a blend that offered both strawberry sweetness and animalistic musk.) This is so sweet. I can't stop sniffing.

 

Drydown: It takes a while for the musk to come out and ground the blend; all the way through, though, it's really seductive. It wasn't the least bit upsetting... hmm, maybe that's a symptom!

[aquazoo]

Fruity - it’s the multi pack of Lifesavers or Gummi Bears! It’s fun, but trade...

[Shitow_Haruka]

first sniff: Musk under a sweet strawberry.

 

wet: Strawberry and the tang of citrus with a bit of muskiness underneath it.

 

dry: Musk goodness, even 10 hours later!

 

I have to admit that I used to shy away from musks, but BPAL has made me a believer, and this is one of the blends that went a long way towards convincing me.

[Dinah]

Mania is frenetic, in-yer-face strawberry, then the sweet blast gets tempered by something musky and bitter. What is left after drydown is a strange, sweet-bitter, slightly medicinal combination that is interesting but probably not something I'd want to wear as a perfume.

[Narya]

i bought mania as an impulse, from a favorite forumite the description sounded... undescribable i just couldn't tell what to expect.

after getting the oil, the first time i tried it i fully understood why Mania

from the bottle it screams strawberry and red musk.

wet - still the same

dry - still the same

on me it had a throw of about 6 hours, maybe even more. one of the most longlasting scents i ever had, not just from bpal. and thank gods, i love it.

one thing is very important about Mania - the strawberry in it trully doesn't smell like the strawberry fruit. did you ever pick a strawberry leaf and put it to your nose? or smush it a bit in your hands and then smell? well that's EXACTLY how mania smells, only magnified by about a 100 times

i love it, i wish there were more scents with strawberry leaf in it, it is trully a unique scent.

on the emotional side, it smells provocative, sexy and brave. i'd wear it anytime i need to make people think about what lies beneath a first impression

[taramarie]

In the imp and wet on my skin, Mania is pure strawberries. Dry, it's strawberries with a musk base. I love it but I already have a bottle of Maenad, so I'll have to wait before I get a bottle of this.