What does Mango smell like?
Ripe mango smells sweet and creamy, with a faint turpentine note, especially near the skin. That resinous side is what sets it apart from peach or apricot. In perfume the accord leans either toward tropical juice or toward something greener and peppery. It brightens a top without making it childish. Like most fruits it fades within the hour.
Origin and production
The mango tree (Mangifera indica) is native to the Indian subcontinent, where it has been grown for millennia. The fruit is too watery and too fragile to yield an oil. Perfumers rebuild the note with fruity esters and lactones. They add terpenic molecules for the resinous part you smell when peeling a mango.
How perfumers use it
Mango is often a counterpoint. Kenzo Jungle L’Éléphant buries it in the heart of an oriental loaded with spice and licorice. Lacoste L.12.12 Rouge uses it at the top of a spicy woody, making it juicier. Rochas Eau Sensuelle and Paco Rabanne Fame keep it lighter, serving a floral. Molinard Nirmala put it at the top of a woody oriental back in 1955.
How to wear it
Mango suits summer and hot weather. In a spicy oriental like Jungle L’Éléphant it handles winter too. Spray from a distance to keep the fruity top crisp.