Atelier Cologne Advent Calendar Days 6 and 11: Clémentine California and Mandarine Glaciale

Disclaimer: I purchased this.

Day 6 of Atelier Cologne's advent calendar brings me a happy scent that was particularly welcomed on the rainy, cold day I opened it: Clémentine California. Some days are so dreary that you need something sunny for counterbalance, especially when you can't just curl up with a book in bed.

Dreary day

Clémentine California was launched in 2016 and is new to me, and the scent story on this one features vibrant orange and turquoise colors which draw me in. I also like that this story is not about star crossed lovers, although I have the feeling that a romance between the director and woman he sees is inevitable....

Source: Atelier Cologne

• Top notes: clementine from California, mandarin from Italy, juniper berries from Macedonia
• Middle notes: star anise from China, sichuan pepper from China, basil from Egypt
• Base notes: vetiver from Haiti, sandalwood from New Caledonia, cypress from France

Clémentine California is a cheerful scent that opens with a burst of mandarin and clementine that is reminiscent of both the pulp and skin of both fruits. I get a feeling of warmth from this one, and while the opening notes do not last long enough for my taste, it's my favorite of the two mandarin based colognes from Atelier. The other one, Mandarine Glaciale, goes tinny and sharp on me almost immediately. 

Which is a shame, because I now have two of the sample bottles in Mandarine Glaciale, having obtained one somewhere along the way earlier.  I'll have to find some way to use them up (maybe as a spray air freshener), as this one just does not sit well on my skin.

• Top notes: mandarin from Calabria, lemon from Sicily, bergamot from Calabria
• Middle notes: ginger from China, jasmine from Egypt, petitgrain from Paraguay
• Base notes: heart of vetiver from Haiti, oakmoss from Slovenia, white amber

I'm not sure what notes are going wrong on me, because I love the smell of ginger and jasmine, although I saw some descriptions of this ginger as being like the dry, dusty ginger found in Chinese herbal shops.   This is indeed dry and dusty, and the petitgrain which is derived from the leaves and twigs of the bitter orange plant lends a green and woodsy scent almost from the get go, making it one of Atelier's fragrances which leans decidedly more masculine in it's composition, IMO. The staying power of Mandarine Glaciale is a bit longer than Clémentine California, becoming a skin scent on me after 4-5 hours.  

Source: Atelier Cologne

Mandarine Glaciale is all chill to Clémentine California's warmth.  If Clémentine California only had more oomph and staying power, it would have captured my heart.  But alas, it is not to be.