Mandorla L'Erbolario for women and men

It's an essence of almond. Gourmand as a real nut freshly bitten. Wonderfully sparkling and sweet, but also a little bit bitter - a perfect balance. Remains quite close to skin like a warm embrace but lasts for several hours. I truly enjoy it, it's simply wonderful. It's so comforting, bringing pleasure and relax.

A spiced fruitcake on a bed of benzoin. I prefer wearing this at night or cool weather. It's interesting.

This smells like dessert! At the same time, it’s not sickening. The almond has a soft bitterness to it that makes the scent interesting. It is definitely gourmand but not candy-like. It’s a pleasant choice for cold days. Not unisex, totally feminine, in my opinion. Worth trying!

NOT a dessert almond, not amaretto, at most a light almond cream or something. It is sweet, but not too much. One of the most balanced almond scents I have tried. It kind of smells like a lotion due to how creamy and smooth it is.

Great for everyone who dislikes amaretto-like almond perfumes with cherry. This is a wonderful balanced almond <3

Ok, I owe you a comparison with the old formula, since it was I that updated you on the restock of this scent:
new version has a more alchoolic opening, the previous one was floral and oily in consistence, extra warm. The new one is more sweet, in line with the modern taste, the old one had a well defined bitter almond, that was really reminiscent of the glue called "Coccoina", used for children projects, a tad medicinal. Also the nuts were more "toasted" in the old edition.
The new formula has a boozy element that the old one lacked, yet manages to stay away from proper amaretto territory, so it is more balanced.
The dry down is the same powdery heaven, and the overall doll head - play doh effect is preserved. Previous formula had more tonka (which was undeclared in the note) and a little bitter woody touch, probably the very same almond wood. With the old one it was as if you were intimately knowing every part of the almond tree (its flowers, its berries, its wood, its oil, its green parts). Now the sweet elements have more space.

The old formulation lasted and projected better probably due to the more oily consistence.
This on lasts for about 5 hours one me, dry down lingers a bit more and projects moderately.
It is possible that the bottles just put on sale have to macerate a bit...this was a very anticipated return for the brand so maybe they rushed a bit? Because they swear it is the same, no reformulation they say.
I will update with a more in depth review soon! In the meantime I can say that it is still a love for me.

This on is perfect for layering and if you want a pure almond detached from the usual cherry or strong boozy notes.

EDIT: New version has this notes declared on packaging:
-Bergamot, Hawtorn flowers
-Almond flowers, Heliotrope Flowers
-Vanilla

This piramid seem to be different from the one declared on Fragrantica for the old formulation.
I am still very happy with my bottle, new version is even more powdery, but less balsam and bitter.

Good news guys! This will be back on L' Erbolario web site and retailer just on the end of April 2023. Together with it there will be Dolcelisir, Neroli Neroli, Petali e Fiori and Orangerie. It will be limited edition, so just while stock last and they said to me it will be the same, not reformulated.
Do not steal my bottle though 😅
So happy it will be back because I really aprreciated it!

Found a barely used bottle for a good deal (considering is a hard to find perfume) completely blind purchase, since I love everything almond related. When it arrived I spritzed on my bath robe and immediately got repulsed thinking I could never get myself to wear that what reminded me of Yankee candle car air freshener. Had to wash the robe. THEN, one week later I gather the guts to test on the skin and BAM! I liked it. Don’t ask me how. On my skin is way more pleasant, I think it blends better maybe? It is a liquorous almond, amaretto-like at first sniff, then it softens a bit, with that vanilla note very present. I do get the benzoin, but the flowers and citrus scape me. All in all, a good fragrance! Specially when I don’t have anything similar in my collection.

Amaretto on the rocks? Yes please !!!! Sweet, intense, enveloping, voluptuous .... great perfume. It has that certain flavor of liqueur that persists all day on my skin. Very intense, almost suffocating at the beginning but gently evanescent throughout the day, until reaching the vanilla note that accompanies us towards the evening ...
Too bad it's discontinued. Erbolario, can you rethink?

@naht...There is a used 50ml bottle on eBay now for $70 with both bidding and best offer option. Seller says she sprayed but 4 times and there are no watchers. Auction has 1 1/2 days to go...eBay seller sammarco96. Good luck!

If anyone has an unloved bottle of this, or a decant please PM me

Artificial. I sell this. Live in Sweden.

Simple but perfect for me. Almonds or rather marzipan in its most pure form. Sweet (but not too sweet) and slightly bitter. Also a bit powdery like a lot of fragrances of L'Erbolario. It stays with you for a long time, although the drydown has a slightly dusty note. Like pure almond oil has. This is the second gourmand discovery that i like this month. My tastes seem to change.

I apparently didn't get around to writing a review of this beauty when I got it! This is my holy grail almond scent, and for good reason. I don't get any distinguishable bergamot, jasmine, vanilla or benzoin, just a true almond with a hint of moreish bitterness to keep it from being cloying. In terms of amaretto goodness, it kicks the ass of both Cartier Le Baiser Du Dragon and Cacharel Gloria, two very raved-about amaretto-heavy scents. One spray of this to the chest is enough for me to catch whiffs of it throughout the day. This was also what I got in my first swap so for that reason it is special as well and I couldn't be happier with it!

slightly bitter, like...tonka-ish at the beginning...but your patience will be rewarded with a warm, fuzzy and very comforting drydown. the almond and vanilla goodness simply cushions you. stays close to oneself and doesn't scream in anyone's face but gently hums a lullaby bringing back memories of almond goodies being baked in the kitchen from days of yore!
a simple bottle cuddling a beautiful scent!
can't keep away from it. absolutely...absolutely love it!

I had the chance to try Etro's Heliothrope yesterday at Liberty London and it smells EXACTLY like L'Erbolario's Mandorla with the difference that Mandorla is a lot cheaper. Is you're into bitter almonds and vanilla then this is the perfume for you. I love it but unfortunately the sillage on me is very poor. I wish it could've lasted longer.

odore di coccoina :) per chi, come me, ama il profumo della mandorla con le originali note amare, questo è un accordo perfetto. a poco a poco si stemperano in un gourmand polveroso, conservando le note dolci. come spesso capita per i profumi de l'erbolario, sembra un clone di heliotrope di etro, ad un prezzo più che abbordabile. molto buono e molto persistente.

Pure and good quality almond, this is one of the best almond smelling perfumes!
Longevity on me is over 10 hours, which is more than good for any perfume, especially for a perfume with that kind of pricetag. Mandorlo has waken my interest towards L`Erbolario and I'm curious to try out several perfumes from this company.

I bought this from Italy after reading the description here. I adore almond fragrances and hoped this might be the 'one'! On me, this is a simple scent. It begins smelling slightly synthetic and bitter (yum!) but then quickly fades out to a sweetish light almond scent before it evolves into an innocuous, polite vanilla. It doesn't last long on me and I don't love it. In fact it is sitting on my shelf and I haven't used it for months!

At first it smells a little too syntetic, but after a while it becomes more subtle and you can feel some vanilla in it. It does last long!

Was waiting soo long to buy Mandorla, and finally bought it enthusiasticaly during a trip to Italy. But ended up giving it away, unused. Even though I love almond, heliotrope and Etro Heliotrope (and Mandorla resembles all the above) it wasn't a good match with my chemistry. Whereas the Etro perfume was ethereal and well balanced, the L'Erbolario one was synthetic, heavy and nauseating. I had the exact same headache-y reaction to Dolcelisir, which I bought as a replica of Ambre Narguile. What you pay is what you get I guess...

This fragrance is perfection for almond lovers. Caution! This is not the vanilla-sweet almond! This one is a masterpiece, as being realistic.First it is bittery-sweet almond, green leaves and parts, partly powdery, mild but strong.If you know Castelbajac, you can sniff the similar salty, bittery almond and pistachio. The drydown is roasted, sweet powdery almond, like in L'artisan Jour de fete; this part is real gourmand!
Not a touch of arftifical moment.

took me some time to figure out if i like it or not - and i do, actually. i love how the scent is going from sharp-ish at the beginning into soft & sweet (on my skin), lasting like a veil.
Very strong silage by the way.

I just bought this blind, I'm not sure if I like the playdough smell I get from it! By everyone's reviews, I was hoping for a powdery,gorgeous scent! I guess I will hold on to it and try it in the fall/winter time to see if it smells any better on me! I have almost given away a few fragrances, thinking they aren't that great but if you don't try them in the right season , you can be missing out! So remember before you give up on a scent try every season! :) unless u live somewhere the weather is pretty consistent, it could be hormones too, try a different day in the month!

The strongest vanilla-almond so far, perfect for vanilla lovers. I feel even more vanilla. Nice at first, is actually quite difficult, gourmet, extremely long lasting. Only for those who prefer stronger fragrances, could appeal to those who love Angel.

I think "Mandorla", despite being a simple bouquet, has many more notes than they are indicated in Fragrantica.
I can feel undoubtedly almond, but also vanilla and caramel notes.
The opening note is a very strong almond scent (maybe too strong and not very natural), but after some time caramel and vanilla begin to emerge, making of "Mandorla" really a satisfying gourmand scent.
The sillage is incredibly powerful, and very enjoyable: when I'm at work people say they are feeling such a delicious fragrance... someone asks me if it's chocolate and milk, someone else thinks to pistachio, licorice, cream, caramel... I've heard a lot of flavors attributed to "Mandorla"!
I was very amazed to hear so many sophisticated people to express their enthusiasm for "Mandorla", the same people who had shown indifference to many great scents, or to perfumes in general. They all asked me to spray a little upon them, where I had taken it and how much I paid for it... and soon the whole department was smelling of almond, milk chocolate, caramel and so on!
Sistertricked gave the best definition of this perfume: the smell of an Italian ice-cream shop! It is so delicious!
I tried many popular gourmand perfumes, and although "Mandorla" is quite cheap and easy, the awakening of senses is just as tasty as with many expensive, famous perfumes.
Thanks to the sweet bitterness of almond, this fragrance is round and creamy, but it doesn't lack of mordant.

Not only the sillage, but also lasting-power is insuperable: if I wear "Mandorla" during the morning and LouLou (one of the strongest fragrances I have) in the evening, the scent of "Mandorla" makes its way among LouLou's notes, even after a shower.
So I recommend not to put too much of this perfume (if you don't want to get a stomach ache), and absolutely not to spray it on your clothes: it clings to them without leaving any hope to any other perfume you want to wear.

To sum up, I like this perfume very much: when I want to satisfy my desire for gourmand fragrances, I wear "Mandorla" and I feel happy!

I like Mandorla. It's not a complicated fragrance and it doesn't have a great evolution. I can smell the sweetness of the almond but also the bitterness.
I have also the body cream but it smells like cocoine glue. I prefer the fragrance. It's very cheap. It remembers me a bit Heliotrope by Etro. It's cheaper and it is fairly long lasting.

This is one of my favourite fragrances! Someone says it's too sweet, like marzipan, but on me it's rather a bittersweet fragrance, in the kind of (my beloved) Heliotrope by Etro! It's very long lasting and powdery in the base notes. I still have to find a fragrance with almond that I don't like But this is special: not too sweet, powdery and... cheap!!! :)

I wore this in high school when a friend went to Italy and brought me a bottle for my birthday.
Many people always complimented and wished to know what I wore.

A bit bitter in the opening (like it has been said), but from then on it is truly almond and vanilla yumminess!


P.S. This little beauty has great lasting power, too!

Biter almond, very intensiv, it smells long after spraying. It reminds me on the artificial food backing essence for cookies, this artificial almond esters we made at a school in chemistry classes and I loved it. A good alternative for Mandorlo di Sicilia, which does not last even 10 minutes on me. The bottle is creepy and not adorable for me, but the juice is really delicious and mouthwatering good. I got it!

I was lucky enough to be able to get a bottle of this in a swap with the very nice Fede who'd mentioned the L-Erbalorio range of perfumes to me and said I could choose one I wanted and she would go and buy it for me! I'd never even heard of L-Erbalorio perfumes before (and it wouldn't be easy for me to get a bottle usually because I live in England and its an Italian perfume) so I was curious to try this one and was very excited to be able to get it in the swap! So, big thanks to Fede!!

Well, I received my bottle this morning and it's very nice. As Lafefe said, it is a little bitter in the beginning but that disappears quite quickly and the perfume then becomes sweeter, softer and creamier on my skin. It's long lasting too and I could still smell it on my wrists 24 hours after I used one spray of it! I think it smells good worn on its own but I'm also thinking this would smell very nice too layered with my Dana French Vanilla perfume for extra creamy sweet yummy'ness!

One of the reviewers here has compared this to Burberry Brit but I'd have to disagree. Personally, I don't think it smells anything like Burberry Brit! It smells very unique and not really comparable to any other perfume that I've smelled, except VERY slightly like Nina Ricci's Almond Amour perfume although it's not as sweet as that and I prefer this perfume to Almond Amour.

It's definitely worth hunting this perfume out and I'm really happy to have it in my collection. :-))

At the beginning it's quite a strong bitter almond extract, almost artificial but later it turns into a delicious, lighter, sweeter and natural almond. The drydown is delicate and yummy: almond, vanilla and pistachio, so nice!

Remember the smell of an Italian ice-cream shop? Whipped cream, vanilla, merengues, pistacchio, peanuts and almond? It's what I get from my test strip, almond and vanilla are definitely there, and whipped white cream, I soooo like to indulge. The sillage is good, just to make a comparison, the smell is sweet (like Burberry Brit) and envelopping like that of Casmir. The bitter touch coming from the almond rounds the sweetnes (like the bitter feeling you have with Organza) and the vanilla adds to the woody side. Oh, and it's so gourmand, such a feel good Christmas joy to have or to give as a present. If you like the fragrances mentioned you will like this for sure, so relax and enjoy it.