Today I went with Cosmic Pepper from Mancera, and the first thing I’ll say is don’t let the name make you think this is some huge pepper bomb. The pepper is definitely there, but this is much smoother, fresher and easier to wear than the name suggests. It opens bright with lemon and tangerine, followed by that combination of pink and black pepper that gives it a nice fizzy, spicy kick. There’s also some sage running through the opening that keeps everything fresh and aromatic. As it starts settling down, the pepper stays around but becomes smoother. I get some rose coming through, but it never turns into a rose fragrance on me. The oud is also very restrained. It gives the fragrance a little depth without taking it into that heavy oud territory. The drydown is probably my favorite part. You start getting more of the white musk, tonka, amber, oakmoss and labdanum, giving it a creamy, clean and slightly sweet finish. This is definitely one of those Manceras that leans more mass appealing and versatile than really challenging niche. There is something familiar about the DNA, and I can understand the comparisons people make to the Chanel Allure Homme Sport family, but I don’t look at Cosmic Pepper as a clone. It has enough pepper, musk and that Mancera style to do its own thing. Performance: This performs very well for this type of fresh fragrance. I get good projection for roughly the first 2 hours, with a noticeable scent trail around me. After that it settles down but continues pushing off the skin instead of disappearing. Projection: 7.5/10 Sillage: 7.5/10 Longevity: 8-9 hours Overall scent: 8/10 For me, Cosmic Pepper is an easy reach. Fresh, spicy, clean, slightly sweet and very wearable without smelling boring. It may not be one of Mancera’s crazy powerhouses, but it has more than enough performance to get you through the day. Mancera Cosmic Pepper=fresh with some bite.

@Raymond Reeves was super kind to send this to me. I've been enjoying a decant of PDM Percival over the summer, but the OG is too expensive for my usual budget. Montagne is, quite literally, the next best thing. I've heard that it is very similar to A&F Fierce, and I can tell that it is definitely inspired by it. There's a bit of that 1990's / 2000's mallrats scent to it. I used to kind of hate that, but over the years, it's really grown on me, and now it's a good nostalgia that brings back some of the friendlier memories and good times wandering around the mall with my friends and girlfriend. The nice thing here is that the dry down shifts quite a bit away from that and becomes a very fresh, lavender, clean soapy scent that's great for hot summer days or being at the office when you need something that won't offend anybody. Just keep the sprays light as the projection in the opening is incredibly strong, and it's quite easy to choke people out if you go too heavy. This is definitely a Top 10 in the clone department for me. It's taking a place of pride next to my other Montagne bottles.