Transilvania by Calaj

It’s a risky perfume. At first it smells of iron, as if they’re trying to simulate blood, then it fades but remains hardly usable and unpleasant. It is original, yes, and if it smells of blood, then who wants to smell like that?

The opening is harsh because the civet is too prominent, but after half an hour the sweet notes of honey and coumarin blend with cherry and florals, making it much more bearable. Longevity exceeds eight hours with a moderate sillage if you don’t overapply, otherwise it could become overwhelming. It’s for the brave who can endure that first half-hour to enjoy a truly rich scent afterwards. I see the dry-down as completely unisex.

I’m sorry, it’s awful. Kilograms of periwinkle, patchouli, honey and civet. During a blind test with other perfumes, out of five of us, none of us liked it; quite the opposite, it generated repulsion. To my misfortune, it projects and lasts longer than stated. I don’t detect any sweetness or cherry anywhere; in short, a super-intense floral with a huge amount of honey.

I’d been waiting weeks for this perfume to be restocked at The Perfumery Barcelona, the only point of sale in Spain for this house, as Miguel Matos’s creations have sparked great curiosity in me after I surrendered to Jungle Jezebel and Atlante. It was a blind buy, but reading Emorandeira I knew I wouldn’t be disappointed, and so it proved. Transylvania shares a certain link with Jungle Jezebel, with the latter being much denser and more complex; I’d say Transylvania is its younger sister, more versatile and docile. The opening is a bit scary with that sweet cherry, but shortly after it gives way to more discreet notes and softens without losing that animalic touch that characterises all of Miguel Matos’s fragrances. The sillage and longevity are spectacular; it’s not a perfume I’d recommend buying blindly (I went along with it and formed an idea of what I might find), and I think it’s completely unisex. Thanks Miguel and Calaj for wonders like these.

Transylvania is, above all, a beautiful perfume. That fruity blend of cherry, with its floral heart and a sweet, animalic base, is spectacular to me. The cherry note is quite subtle, in my opinion, and initially gives more of a cherry gum impression… It reminds me of the cherry-filled Bubaloo gums I used to have when I was young. As it dries down, the scent gets a bit dirty but not too much. While it bears some resemblance to Sarah Baker’s Jungle Jezebel, it doesn’t reach the same level of potency and animalic character, making it far more versatile. Nevertheless, it is dense, intense and boasts excellent longevity. I consider it a very good perfume, brought to us by Miguel Matos, and it has gone straight to my wishlist. I see it as totally unisex and suitable for a wide audience. Scent: 10, Longevity: 9, Projection: 8, Versatility: 9, Originality: 10, Value for money: 8, Overall: 9.5.