Launched in 2014 by Italian niche line, Mendittorosa Profumi, Le Mat takes its inspiration from the unnumbered card in the Major Arcana of the Tarot deck. Le Mat symbolizes the everyman - a soul on a journey, free from possessions, prejudice and fear, full of awe, wonder and anticipation. 

On me, it opens warm and spicy, supported by a thick, rich boozy accord from curry-tinged immortelle that snakes up from the base and mingles with top notes of nutmeg, black pepper, and cloves. This sets the tone for the fragrance's overall development as the notes weave around and through each other, at times revealing medicinal, floral, or woody glints. Each time you catch a whiff of something special, it’s always a delightful surprise, never a jarring disappointment. As the opening settles, the spiciness draws forward the distinctive, honey-sweet balsamic aroma of rose de mai. It’s lush, opulent and heady. A note of geranium, lemony, green and spicy, gently sidles up to the rose, giving it depth and dimension. At the base, patchouli is earthy, damp, and woody. It’s joined by Cashmere wood, which is ambery, musky, and woody, giving Le Mat a warm, soft sensuality. It seems to ignite the immortelle that lies just below the rose and patchouli; its spicy/fruity/hay-like qualities seem to come alive. An Extrait de Parfum, Le Mat is a potent elixir with a rich, warm, and elegant dry-down. 

In tarotology, Le Mat, The Fool, is free from constraints. His spontaneous soul lives in the present. But he needs to know the past to move forward, just as perfumers need to know past accords to create new ones. A rose and patchouli featuring clove, nutmeg and immortelle? Wow! Le Mat is a gorgeous, new interpretation of that pairing and a reminder that the future is full of exciting niche fragrances. 

Notes: Nutmeg, black pepper, cloves, rose de mai, geranium, patchouli, Cashmere wood and immortelle.