Goutal Paris Mandragore Pourpre photo by Lauryn
“Cleopatra: Give me to drink Mandragora.
Charmian: Why, madam?
Cleopatra: That I might sleep out this great gap of time my Antony is away.”
– William Shakespeare, Antony and Cleopatra, Act I, sc. V
Mandrake root, illustration from De Historica …via Wikimedia Commons
Mandragora. Mandragore. Mandrake. The name itself conjures ancient potions stirred in cauldrons or gobleted draughts drunk recklessly by doomed heroines. Mandrake, whose root resembles a human form, was said to wail a scream when pulled from its soil, a sound fatal to those who heard it, and it grew from the spilled blood of those who died on the gallows. Certainly, the plant possesses the dark qualities needed for myth. Fittingly a member of the nightshade family, mandragora officinarum is purple-flowered, narcotic herb whose every aspect, especially its fleshy roots, are poisonous. In modest doses, however, mandrake was a useful ancient surgical anesthetic, a sleep aid, and small wonder, a hallucinatory aphrodisiac. Someone simply had to make a perfume inspired by it.
Isabelle Doyen and Camille Goutal© photo per Camille Goutal for Michelyn’s interview with Camille Goutal in 2009!
And someone did: Goutal Paris Mandragore, a wonderful, witchy brew of herbs, peppery spice and citrus, was created by Isabelle Doyen in 2005. The original Annick Goutal Mandragore was dark and bodily, with citrus overlaid on a prickly bed of ginger, cumin, and anise. In 2009, Goutal Paris reworked the original, this time named Mandragore Pourpre. It dropped the ginger and cumin, amped up the herbs, pepper and citrus, and housed it in EDP form rather than 2005’s EDT. While I have seen some describe Goutal Paris Mandragore Pourpre as the stronger of the two, I don’t get that. The siblings share a spicy-citric DNA, but they have quite different characters and are equally tenacious. But to me, this latter version is airier, brighter and saucier than its dusky predecessor. If the original was Bellatrix Lestrange, all madness and dark art, its sister Pourpre is quirky, tranquil Luna Lovegood.
Luna Lovegood played by Evanna Lynch, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, image Warner Brothers
A lightning crack of bergamot, clove-like anise and black pepper bursts from the first spray, followed by a cool sweep of mint that breezes through the spice like an April wind. For some time, Goutal Paris Mandragore Pourpre sways between citrus and mint, the pepper and anise simmering quietly. But then, Mandragore Pourpre fills in like the Weasley brothers’ mischief map; colours and textures seeping in and expanding gradually. The star of the mid-section is green geranium leaf, its velvety, loam-and-pepper scent a perfect foil to the pungency of the top notes. The anise becomes more pronounced at this stage, but slightly sweeter thanks to the arrival of some amber. It becomes less like clove and more like ouzo. Incense curls through, damp and balsamic, smelling like the vestiges of a ruined forest temple.
Three People Plucking Mandrake by Robert Bateman, free domain image
As time goes on, Goutal Paris Mandragore Pourpre gravitates away from sorcerer’s dram and moves towards Elizabethan elixir. The herbs are more apparent, the pepper tamer, the citrus fruitier and more edible. Myrtle adds a lovely, strange, camphorous touch, while rosemary intensifies the mint, cooling down the composition from its sparky opening. It is like standing in Culpeper’s Garden on a chilly spring morning. Hours later, even into early morning, herbs, citrus and mint linger like remnants of last night’s dreams. Mandragore Pourpre is a one-off in the Goutal collection; eccentric and aromatic, genderless, a Medieval herbalist’s philtre set to a modern incantation. It’s magick.
Notes: Bergamot, mint, star anise, amber, rosemary, geranium, black pepper, patchouli, myrtle, incense, heliotrope.
Disclaimer: Bottle of Goutal Paris Mandragore Pourpre generously provided to me by Europerfumes, U.S. distributor for Goutal Paris. My opinions, as always, are my own.
Lauryn Beer, Senior Editor
Goutal Paris Mandragore Pourpre via the brand
Thanks to the largesse of Europerfumes, the US distributor, we have a 100 ml bottle of Goutal Paris Mandragore Pourpre for one registered reader in the U.S. To be eligible, please leave a comment saying what strikes you about Goutal Paris Mandragore Pourpre based on Lauryn’s review and whether you have a favourite Goutal perfume. Draw closes 4/4/22
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