Silver Blue

The name is the first misdirection. Everything about Silver Blue suggests a cold aquatic, and Mancera files it in its own catalogue under Gourmand, with a one-line summary that gives the game away: absinthe, caramel, patchouli and spices. It is one of the odder things in the house's range and one of the few Manceras that does not sound like anything else on the shelf.

Absinthe leads, and it is a genuinely unusual opening note, herbal and anise-tinged and slightly bitter, with a cool green edge that briefly justifies the name. Then the caramel arrives underneath it and the fragrance turns. Mancera's official heart is blond toffee, patchouli leaves, cinnamon stick and warm labdanum, and the effect of toffee against absinthe is strange and rather good, sweet without being childish, the way a dark caramel is bitter at the edges. Cinnamon gives it a dry warmth and patchouli grounds it. The base is oakmoss, ambery notes, white musk and sandalwood, which pulls it back towards the classic chypre territory Mancera rarely visits, so the last few hours are earthy and resinous rather than sugary.

This is cold-weather wear, and evening wear at that. A Cape winter night suits it; a hot afternoon does not, because heat pushes the caramel forward and the balance collapses. Wear it with a jacket.

On performance, this behaves like a Mancera should. Expect eight to ten hours on skin with heavy projection in the first two, and treat the sprayer with caution because the sweetness compounds quickly. One to two sprays is a complete application for most people. It reads as unisex in practice, slightly more masculine in the opening and slightly more feminine in the drydown. If you already own several ambers and gourmands and find them interchangeable, the absinthe here is the reason to pay attention; if you want something clean and blue as the name implies, this is emphatically not it.