Mortel Trudon for women and men

This is a well-done churchy incense. I mostly get frankincense, myrrh, amber, and woods. The opening is woody and smokey, smoothing out as it dries down. Although this is not unique, it's well done. Sits close to the skin, but I can smell it on myself all day.

A very polite incense with enough complexity that it will have you sniffing your arm for more and more. The woman selling this perfume remarked that she likes to wear it when she is working out at the gym. And after wearing Mortel for a full day, I can appreciate how that might work.

I think of Mortel as a personal scent, and an up-close one at that. Quite lovely, mysterious and refined.

Very interesting take on an incense scent. It one hundred percent takes me into one of those centuries old European cathedrals. The air is thick with dust particles dancing in the light reflecting off the stained glass windows. Red candles slowly burn for days and frankincense fills your lungs. Very reminiscent of Montale's Full Incense. Montale lasts much longer...it's a beast. This one dries down to a very light sweet close to the skin scent in 3 before completely disappearing like the parishioners after service.

i have the 15 ml version of this perfume
i love it
when i wear it i feel like fem fatal
its so mysterious, classy and sexy
in my opinion it is a wonderful unisex scent

In my mind this scent evokes associations with mysticism and the solemn atmosphere of a mass celebrated in Latin - where I understand little verbally, but I experience a lot emotionally. Church is small, made of old, a bit dusty wood you sense as a base; it is richly covered with incense, sprinkled with warmth of the sun shining through the stained glass windows; behind them - an early spring morning. It's still cool outside, but you can warm up inside the temple. A truly unique scent because of the warmth surrounding the incense, which as a scent note can be repulsive with its metallic, cold character. It warms up with the skin, and after some time becomes quite sensual, rich and almost velvety at the end. Many reviews refer to poor longevity - in my case it is satisfactory, yet not outstanding (around 5-6 hours). This is definitely not a scent for blind buy.

If you were wondering what the hot priest in Fleabag smelled like, this would be it. For those who grew up Catholic, this is Catholicism without the nagging guilt that is bound to haunt you for the rest of your life. Myrrh that lingers with aromatic and aldehydic-like elements, there's an inherent sexiness in this perfume. With "Take Me to Church" by Hozier playing in the background, you are instantly transported to a place of worship, and whether that's an entity or another's body, that's up to you.

Mortel Maison Trudon
(Sniff from party)

Incense in woody manner, spicy.
Ok to own, very natural.

Reminds me or Caftan without Musk.
But I would barely wear.

8/10

I'm usually not a huge fan of incense fragrances, partly because incense-dominant fragrances are often too literal, like someone swung a thurible right into my face. Mortel, while definitely church-like, is not one of those fragrances. Mortel smells like the wood of an old church--like pews and wooden beams blackened and infused with frankincense and myrrh, smoothed and shiny from years of constant use. It took me back to when I came upon a small chapel in Honfleur many winters ago, while trying to escape the snow.

The fragrance is pretty linear on my skin, maintaining this beautiful balance of amber, wood and incense. Benzoin and Nutmeg really work to round out the incense facets into vanillic amber territory with just the slightest gourmand quality, in a comparable way to Tauer's L'air du Desert Marocain, with the latter being much sweeter. As it dries down, it becomes more woody-marine-amber with a lingering incense. Projection was average for me and it has some longevity as a skin scent, but I'm quite happy with how it wears on skin. Not domineering but reflective. Modest but not quiet.

I'm not sure if I would wear this regularly, mostly because of my strong church associations, but it's so beautifully meditative and wearable that I might get a smaller size just to have it on hand.

There is no denying that Mortel is beautifully rendered, tender and contemplative, with a solemn undertone. However, I have and love Encens Flamboyant, Unum Lavs, Les Liturgie des Heures, Messe de Minuit, and others that wholly satisfy my penchant for incense fragrance.

Mortel also feels so meek and withdrawn that it's heartbreaking. By no means does it need to be room-filler, but its a bit too subdued and intimate for even those like myself who often champion the subdued and intimate in fragrance.

A little like falling into an old oak barrel filed with golden honey, in the aftermath of a religious ritual, thick with incense.

An unlikely state of affairs, but one that captures Mortel's heady mix of resinous, woody, spicy and floral notes and its mellow, lustrous, luxurious nature.

It is the combination of beeswax and olibanum that distinguishes Mortel from other spicy-incensed fragrances on the market and makes it less churchy, more intimate and wholly delightful.

this is the warm incense for me.
i wear serge lutens l'orpheline often, and it's so, so cold.
this is warm, enveloping, and spiced.

I second the person who mentioned the scent as vampiric and dusty. On first sniff I said to myself, “Wow, vampire dust.” Having said that, I was raised Catholic and I absolutely adore this fragrance.

Mortel by Maison Trudon starts with a heavy Catholic Church smell. Think of Bernini's masterpiece Ecstasy of Saint Teresa. After a while, it turns into Bang by Marc Jacobs.

I was recently introduced to Cire Trudon Olim and I positively love it. The person who introduced me to Olim strongly suggested I try Mortel because I like incense fragrances. I am so glad I took her advice and gave Mortel a try.

So, as INCENSE fragrances go, this is love. Straight out of the bottle and immediately onto my skin, this fragrance is a VERY STRONG "love at first sniff!"

As others here and elsewhere have noted, Mortel's opener is sharp, strong black pepper, usually not one of my favorite opening notes...but oh so prevalent amongst fragrances these days. Spicy notes are not my loves, so if any other "spice" notes appear in the opener, I cannot clearly define them. But I am not a fragrance expert!

Within 10 minutes, I definitely note incense...perhaps frankincense and myrrh. Yet already, this fragrance is not a straight, churchy-y, loud, overbearing, linear incense fragrance. Fragrances like CDG Avignon, Heeley Cardinal, Etro Messe de Minuit, etc. are okay but very linear, leaning towards the masculine side of church. Something in the the sum parts of Mortel makes this fragrance very wearable and pleasant...perhaps it's the addition of the beeswax accord.

Mortel never loses its warmth, complexity or soothing nature. This is not a stone cold fragrance...not remotely metallic or shrill. There is something comforting & soothing about Mortel.

Mortel wears close to the skin and longevity is about 4-6 hours. Wish it threw a bit better and had somewhat more longevity but overall, I like this fragrance a lot. While Mortel doesn't have the impact of similar incense fragrances, it stands nicely in its own without compromise by florals, or intense smokiness.

Quoting another reviewer: Although fans of hardcore incense fragrances might find it a bit too soft, I do think Mortel is solidly made, and its "human (therefore mortel)" tenderness might even distinguish itself from other austere, cold-like-church-stone incense perfumes."

Note: After wearing this all day, several days, I found it to lean a wee-bit too masculine for my preferences. I still like Mortel a lot but I'm not sure it could be a "go-to" fragrance for me.

This one is full on church incense to me. Beautifully done, austere, balsamic, a little smokey, with a touch of dustiness to it and the barest hint of sweetness. I get mostly frankincense here, but I pick up on the pepper and the cedar as well. They bring a gentle spiciness. There is a resinous sweetness as well. I don't detect a ton of nutmeg or pimento. I do get a bit of that coca-cola quality from the myrrh. I'm not sure what note is bringing the balsamic or dusty qualities specifically.

I only had a dabber sample, so it's hard to say exactly how this would perform as a spray, but I would assume quite well. Though I have to press my nose to my wrist to smell where I dabbed it, it somehow also is generating whiffs of church censer that I can smell when my hands are down at my sides. The longevity is good, and it has withstood washing the dishes.

This is a very specific scent, and if you are after this kind of scent, this is the one. If you desire to smell like a catholic mass, get this. For me personally, it is a bit too specific. I can't imagine I would want to smell like this often, or even for an entire day. And for a frankincense heavy fragrance, I tend to like Mississippi Medicine by D.S. and Durga as it has a bit more going on. But overall, very nice for what it's trying to capture.

I like quite a few of Yann Vasnier's creations (TF Plum Jaopnais, Santal Blush, and Vanille Fatale were all winners for me -- and, even though none of those scents resemble the incense of Mortel, I thought it might be interesting to try a perfume in a completely different category by the same nose... just to see what would happen). So, I wasn't surprised when I sprayed a sample of Mortel and found it quite arresting, yet agreeable.

There is something calming and contemplative about this fragrance. Overall, the effect is one of resinous incense, but it's present without overpowering the wearer. If I were to rate it on a scale of similar incense scents I have tested, I would say that Comme des Garcons Avignon is quieter and *much* more of a barely-there skin scent (with more hints of cold stone and dusty notes than Mortel displays)... Mortel is seated firmly in the middle in terms of projection (a little more than a skin scent, but defintely not something another person might smell unless they got close to me)... and my beloved Unum LAVS is a bit more forceful when declaring its presence (and LAVS also has a bit more in terms of dimension/storytelling, and leans more towards floral/incense than Mortel does).

For me, Mortel remained fairly linear when I tested it -- it did not morph into something unexpected, nor did it take my senses for a roller coaster ride. It was a consistent, smooth, steady incense perfume. I approached it with the expectation that I would smell frankincense and myrrh, and it met those expectations. I did not find any of the notes overwhelming (the black pepper was barely noticeable and quite well-behaved, so don't let its presence in the notes list prevent you from trying this perfume). "Meditative" is the word I would associate with this fragrance. I felt centered and grounded when wearing it.

If you enjoy realistic incense scents, you will probably enjoy this one, as well.

dusty sweetness that was almost vampiric. then becomes resinous amber sweet with spices. sweet amber blended and balanced really deliciously with chile spices.

Spicy church incense. The spiciness makes it a bit different from Avignon or Cardinal, for example. I'd say it's a closer relative to Botafumeiro by Carner Barcelona. Unfortunately the performance leaves a lot to be desired, which seems to be the case with many perfumes of this genre. Maybe it's a stylistical choice. Makes sense, but it's just too quiet even for this introspective introvert.

Kick in the throat pimento and black pepper crack open the most distant sinuses. Dry heat and spice for the top notes, good evocation of fire and warmth. Very strong woods/resins and quite consistent throughout. A trickster too, with different parts of your body smelling like strangers. Good way to declare your presence. I’ve been chased 50+ metres down the street, had my arm grabbed at bars by strangers, friends at parties, and close at least five cab drivers, all to asking me what I’m wearing. Up to you whether or not you tell them… Would I buy it again? Probably not. It’s fantastic, just not interesting, I got bored quickly.

A really enjoyable church-like fragrance that has a dominant nutmeg opening. The resin notes underpin the opening, but come to the fore over time. A really beautiful and undoubtedly complex, spicy amber masculine leaning fragrance. Warming and mature.

I don't know if it's the best in the genre, but I like it a lot. I will repeat after s.pellegrino, because he has put it right:
"It's a very calming and grounding scent to me.

Mortel stays close to the skin, which I think is appropriate for this kind of scent, but just a little more projection would enhance one's personal experience of the fragrance."

I tried it yesterday on my skin and I liked it, but my opinion is that it's little bit more masculine. What do you think about it?

Probably my favorite incense fragrance so far: Mortel opens fresh and spicy with a warmth, but without the fizziness of Casbah or Reve d'Ossian. I also like that it doesn't go full amber-y, like Lavs, but stays light on its feet. A serious church fragrance, but church in spring, not winter. It's a very calming and grounding scent to me.

Mortel stays close to the skin, which I think is appropriate for this kind of scent, but just a little more projection would enhance one's personal experience of the fragrance.

This is like a catholic mass:

In the opening, I get a blast of pepper and spices, with some frankincense in the background. At that stage, it reminded me of Armani Bois d'Encens - that is the beginning of the mass, when the priest enter the church, and the incense burner passes nearby the audience.
Then, in the heart the black pepper totally disappear to fully leave the stage for the beautiful nearly pure frankincense note, and at that stage, it reminded me of several church incense fragrances (Goutal Encens Flamboyant, Heeley Cardinal, Jovoy La Liturgie des Heures, Unum Lavs...) - that is during the mass, when the incense burner is still smoking, but the smoke is "atmsopheric".
In the base, it totally changes, as the frankincense disappears to let a green spicy labdanum song, supported by a hint of myrrh and woods, (remotely) reminding me of ELdO Attaquer Le Soleil (but less sweet and more austere) - that is after the mass is over, that leftover smell mixed with the woods of the benches.

At the end of the day, it results in being a finely tuned "best-of" incense fragrances, and may result redundant for collectors who already own different incense fragrances. Furthermore, performance is a serious issue here - especially at that price point - but that seems to be a general weakness of this house. (I needed to stick my nose on the skin to do this review). That said longevity (as a skin scent) is good.

I love this one, even if the poor projection is a real issue. That said, should you not care about the poor performance, and be looking for a high-end fragrance featuring most of the various incenses/resins facets in a single bottle, to add to a small but well-curated collection, don't look further!

Cold to mild days, 25+

The open reminds me of ancient stone churches. It has a stone scent opening which quickly disappeared into church cathedral incense. This is a lot darker than Spiritus Sancti which I like way better. This would be a good wintertime midnight mass scent. The performance of this is shocking at is extremely light. It’s nice but quite boring and weak.

I have Spiritus Sancti and Abd El Kader for my house. They are both excellent and SS is magnificent.

Upon learning the Maison Trudon branched out to do people perfume, I bought a few samples.

For some reason, I find Mortel's name to be perfect. In french slang, saying that something is "mortel" is akin to saying it's awful.

There is a zombie-repulsive oder in it. However my girlfriend really likes it, so I believe it's one of these love it or hate it smell.

The main issue, besides the fact that I don't like the aroma, is that the performance is minimal in my opinion.

Reading reviews from other people, this seems to be a problem with the whole range. Interestingly enough, I can put Spiritus Sancti on my clothes in my luggage and smell it for the two weeks of my trip.

Would not recommend a blind buy at all.

Incense fix for incense fans.

Mortel’s opens up with a spicy mix that evaporates within few minutes into incense accord. It takes your mood into a warm place like a wooden cabin where you read some sacred texts, surprisingly this one in not so churchy to me as it has a modern twist to it. Performance is also quite nice, high on the list of incense experiments.

The Opening Was All Church Incense For Me & As Time Progresses It Gets Darker & Dryer ... It Does Remind Me More & More Of Oliver Durbano's Black Tourmaline In The Dry Down.

Mortel is heavenly, my fave from the brand. I've become a total incense fan, so Trudon is preaching to the choir with me and this gorgeous perfume.

Yep, reads from the same hymnal as Heeley's Cardinal and Avignon by Comme des Garçons. So if you like your incenses in a genuflecting churchy style, you'll appreciate this beauty.

The only caveat, as with the other two incense scents mentioned here, is performance. They're fleeting. None of them boast the type of staying power I'd like.

So I keep searching and testing, looking for my perfect incense fix.

Very clean, strong frankincense, very close to olibanum resinoid. My original sample I got last year was a bit different to the new one I tried in the store recently... whether this was just because my original sample was a bit old, or they updated the formula in the last months - I'm not sure. But it certainly smells even fresher and more pleasant now than the first time I tried it. I would place this on the incense leader board, ahead of Cardinal and Avignon.

Clean, sour, aldehydic somber incense with woody labdanum and olibanum character. There is no ashy, smokey vibe here, only clean, woody, gently exalted resins. It's the kind of incense fragrance that pricks your nose and makes you salivate upon smelling the nozzle cap, as its prickly, puckering Mystikal, an olibanum-characteristic aldehyde derivative, creates a churchy effervescence.

People looking for a rounded, non-linear "wardrobe" fragrance might be disappointed, as this juice lacks such common ambery, musky drydowns or any floral element that might otherwise balance or add long-term dynamism to the composition. It is instead a fabulous note, with a balanced timbre and character of its own that can stylized and layered to impart its rich cistus character or left on its own to drive its clear message across. It's less of a full orchestra and more of a beautifully crafted and designed waveform that is worthy to have an analog synth built around it and an album inspired by it, or like a fine beaver stole rather than a full Dior suit.

What I like about this brand's perfumes is that they smell like candles, they have a distinct facet of candle wax melting aroma which gives an added dimention.

This is another excellent perfume: I find it to be both incensy and greenish. One of the best incenses out there (and incense should definitely be listed as a note).

Reminds me a bit of a very old perfume by Oriza Paris.

EXCELLENT

*The customer service was excellent and super friendly when I visited their Paris shop (at the Marais). I only wish the service was as good online as well....

A very austere, rather sour, church frankincense accord (somewhat similar to Annick Goutal's "Encens Flamboyant") paired with an equally prominent cistus labdanum note (reminiscent of Etat Libre d'Orange's "Attaquer le Soleil Marquis de Sade"). There are other resins here including benzoin and myrrh, along with some Mystikal (a Givaudan aroma molecule) for some extra punch. All these resins sit upon a bed of cedar and precious woods, with n'ere a flower to be found. I am pleased that Mortel didn't veer off into a "soapy" direction, which I've seen happen time and again with resin-based fragrances. Yann Vasnier has my sincere respect for creating this well-balanced Maison Trudon offering that elevates the concept of "church incense" to new, heavenly heights.

lovely churchy incense, very pleasant smell indeed. Sillage and longevity really lacking sadly. Defo not worth the hefty price tag .

Unexpectedly - because that first burst is truly *pungent* and maybe even a bit too aggressive for my taste - I preferred this to Trudon Revolution (which I loved, but which is just my beloved Perfumer H Charcoal but with the rough edges sanded down.) Mortel is more of a one-off and not much like anything else I've tried, though it has some things in common with Piguet Casbah, to my nose.

Mortel is much more distinctive and even odder than Revolution - it somehow manages to be an intensely floral-herbal resin, which is a hybrid I hadn't come across before. However Mortel is a bit of a challenge for a female user; it's definitely wearable but the cistus note is seriously strong and verges on some moments on a whiff of a really manly aftershave. For the first hour I was ambivalent; after that it was all uphill and I liked it more and more and more. The whole scent has me seriously confused - like other reviewers below, I'm a bit flummoxed by how it can be both warm and so very cool and airy at the same time. It might be taken for a near-marine at some points - which is often kiss of death for me. HOWEVER. The spicing is gorgeous. It's full of organic beauty. It's one of a kind. Weird and intriguing. Unisex though skewing strongly male, with better longevity than Revolution (on me anyway.) Very definitely not a blind buy but I would lay bets it is someone's very individual dream. Try before committing, and expect to be surprised.

Salty lapdanum.

It hits first with salty marine like whiffs and remains for few seconds till it gives the impression of incense by the olibanum, pepper, and cedar with hints of chilies.

It remains juicy salty with huge doses of myrrh, pepper, sandalwood, and chillies. Sometimes I feel I want to sneeze somehow! But not sure yet.

An interesting take of olibanum, myrrh, black pepper, and woody blend.

A lovely incense centered perfume carefully constructed and very evocative. The incense here is blended with myrrh, benzoin and a hint of labdanum and woods. The resulting juice is mystical and takes you straight to an ancient church. Moderate in sillage and projection, the unisex scent has good longevity on skin. A must try for incense lovers. Enjoy!

This whole line from Maison Trudon is so tasteful, so calm, tender and beautiful. I cannot add much more than the other reviewers, other than to second their observations and recommend this house strongly. Rare to see a new launch where each offering is strong and assured and truly represents a "brand" style. Bravo.

The opening moment of Mortel on my skin, is dominated by the bracing earthy spiciness of black pepper, flanked by the warmth of pimento and the nutty roundness of nutmeg. The spices are hard to miss, but they are not sharp or aggressive at all. Instead, they induce a fuzzy warmth to the opening of Mortel.

During the first half hour, the frankincense and myrrh are already on the stage. But they're firmly wrapped in this warm cashmere shawl of spices, and don't have the aloof church incense vibe as CDG Avignon, Heeley Cardinal, etc. This fine-tuned warmth of spices manage to bring a human element to the otherwise cold frankincense and myrrh, without setting the resins on fire.

With time, the spices gradually loses the warmth and turn into an uplifting aromatic sheen over the cold resins. Complemented by this aromatic brightness, the frankincense and myrrh now fully display their shimmery, cool woodiness and date-like creaminess respectively. But again, they are never sharp as frankincense and myrrh sometimes can be. Instead, they form a diaphanous, pellucid skin scent of incense, cool but never aloof.

Mortel has a close-to-skin sillage almost right from the beginning, and it lasts around 6 hours on my skin. While I don't particularly mind its performance, I do agree that it's probably the weakest in this department among the five new releases of Trudon.

And this overall weak performance did impact my initial assessment. As I was smelling them together for the first time, Mortel was easily overwhelmed by its siblings and I didn't think much of it. It was until later, when I wore it on its own, that I started to grasp its lovely nuances.

While Mortel doesn't pack the same icy punch as CDG Avignon or Diptyque L'Eau Trois, it makes up for it by showing a tender heart. I especially appreciate its transition from earthy warmth to an aromatic coolness prompted by the spices, which feels like watching orange melt glass slowly cool down to a crystalline craft.

Although I suspect that fans of hardcore incense fragrances might find it a bit too soft, I do think Mortel is solidly made, and its "human (therefore mortel)" tenderness might even distinguish itself from other austere, cold-like-church-stone incense perfumes. I'd definitely recommend it as a more approachable incense fragrance.

Handsome, tasteful skin scent. Very Cire Trudon. Mortel is a scent that fits right into a room lit by only candlelight, filled with 17th century artifacts. It’s what Sir Leigh Teabing from The DaVinci Code would smell like. Begins with a woody, green papyrus note, fresh cut timber, nutmeg and an organic sweetness. Very quickly it develops into churchy incense muddled with rock rose and resins. Mortel seems to describe what a man’s skin might have smelled like, long ago, when the brand was founded. It has nuances of body odor in the same addictive way that Ernesto and Solis Rex candles do. After wearing a few more times, this has shot to the top of my wishlist. It’s like a major improvement on the idea of Goutal Encens Flamboyant. And it is what I wish CireTrudon Spiritus Sancti candles actually smelled like.
Edit: I finally bought a bottle and either my impression of Mortel has somewhat changed (although I still love it) or there has been a formula alteration. I no longer get the green opening or the astringent sparkle of frankincense. I now get a harmony of cistus and incense that is warm and smoldering in much the same style as the brand’s Ernesto candles do with cumin/leather/tobacco/white floral. It’s now a steady one-note blast from a pipe organ that slowly fades over an eight hour work day. Beautiful and still a worthwhile entry in the crowded church incense category. One of the best that manages to soften and humanize a frankincense accord without losing its’ distinctive, ancient and familiar character.

OMG! Cire Trudon ventures in the world of perfumes. I love all their scented candles so I wasn’t likely to be let down.

I have tried mortel directly on the skin. Olibanum, myrrh, benzoin. My three favourite essential oils. I couldn’t go wrong. It really reminds me of their candle « Spiritus Sancti ». It smells like a church. But they successfully translated it into a perfume. I love fragrances that smell « sacred ». Similarities with CDG Avignon are absolutely true. Although I wore the latter about 7 years ago so I could not tell precisely what makes them different. It also has a similar vibe to Eau Trois by Diptyque.My only concern with Mortel is its performance. I must say that the shop assistant sprayed it once and not very generously. After 4 hours it’s clearly closer than close to the skin. Considering its price I would be very careful and try it again before making a decision. But the scent itself is just gorgeous, totally out of this world and makes you directly a very special person.

I get a woody frankincense with other supporting spicy/piquant notes and a some sweetness in the base from labdanum. Not as churchy or cold as CDG Avignon. Very smooth and refined but longevity wasn't great. Maybe 4 hours. Nothing groundbreaking but a nice, sophisticated, wearable incense, perfect weight for all seasons, really, since its not smokey and is fairly sheer. I'd buy it if they made a smaller size or travel spray.