Mania by Giorgio Armani

Mania is a stew of meat and spices bottled as perfume. Animalic sweet spicy with a waxy and pasty texture it feels matte and openly sexual much like perfumes from the 2000s. It has that dry woody point almost masculine because back then fragrances were gender-bending: feminine unisex scents and masculine ones with nut saffron tobacco and incense. It smells of human skin used sheets and sweat just like an old well-worn leather watch strap injected with sensual odours and traces of sweet sweat. It is one of my favourites alongside the chaos of a box full of vials offering a realistic and hyper-sensual sweetness. We were hypnotised by those minimalist oriental scents of the 2000s incense-laden and edible. Mania was one of the best of that hedonistic breed yet undervalued because it didn’t last long. Years later they re-edited it in a clear bottle but it is not the same; trying the new version will disappoint if you loved the original. Armani in the 90s created pure art: from the tuberose of Gió to the cold talc of Lei passing through this elixir with hints of hedonistic drug. I must not forget Sensi that velvety almond. Mania captures the moment of a kiss on the neck and falling apart in a shower. A rare gem for fans of sexy opaque and dirty scents such as Organza Indecence YSL Nu Trussardi Phyton Dior Homme Wonderwood Le Baiser du Dragon D&G By Nemo Feminité du Bois or YSL M7.

Mania 1999 smells like Friends and Monica’s New Year’s Eve party. It is that efficient clean New York woman who hides a dark slightly perverted side. It does not smell of one specific thing but rather of an eternal workday followed by a night out without returning home. It is clean yet dirty sticking around after a morning shower and after a night out fitting any season. Clean notes of white musk and powdery iris that warm up over time into spices amber and non-gourmand vanilla with a citrusy skin note not fruity. I love it because it has its own personality better than any launch from the last 10 years. Beastly performance versatile and it smells glorious. I have two bottles I will not waste; it is a gem from an era when you paid for character in a scent not to imitate but to create a trend. Furthermore it has been out of production for eternity; no one knows it and there are no cheap equivalents. Ole.

This fragrance was a Christmas present. To be honest I wouldn’t have chosen it myself as the scent is extremely dry and woody with a masculine edge on my skin reminiscent of incense and labdanum. I wore it occasionally in winter due to its intense longevity and staying power; half the bottle was gone before a thief stole it. I hope the thief developed an allergy to the labdanum and couldn’t use it making them a bad person… at least they left me the body lotion.