Mond
Slumberhouse (2021)

Wow. First on and in the vial, it smells like yeast, or spilled beer on the floor. That fades back a bit to a more spiced apple cider honey scent in about ten minutes. After an hour it’s a bit more like apple tobacco with high bright notes that are almost dusty. It’s more dry and woody than I like but I can totally see the ‘autumn’ fragrance comparisons. Had to scrub though, coz it’s so dry and loud on my skin, like some of the more overtoned ambers (Nanban, Ambre Nomad). Hard to scrub, so great longevity for those who like it. I didn’t hate it, but don’t want it on me.)

A gorgeous addictive scent.
I'm not usually a fan of artistic perfumes, but this one made me fall in love with it. A natural, semi-sweet, dusty and dim scent that you like to constantly feel when you spray it on your skin. Unfortunately, the performance is a bit weak for me. The set of notes has created an esculent, warm and cozy scent. It opens with a strong honey and dried apricot combo with red wine at its heart. Also, the spicy notes have a captivating presence from the very beginning. Then the initial strongness of the scent is reduced and a soft (sandal)woody-ambery and still spicy smell remains. Not suitable for receiving compliments from others, but if you are interested in honeyed spicy scents with dried fruit top and natural vibe, this can be interesting for you. Perfumes like Kiste and Baque had annoying elements that made them unattractive, but apparently the perfumer has realized that heterogeneity and improved his style in this perfume. Everything is enough and well blended here. With this perfume, a delicious dusty halo surrounds you.

Mond, just like Sova is a very nostalgic fragrance to me. It takes me places. It brings me back to my childhood, holidays spent at my great grandfather's at the countryside. Bales of hay, apple garden, trees full of apples and pears where you can go, grab your hand and pick one then bite into it. Some pipe tobacco smoked by my great granddad's and by his son - my uncle. All smoothened and yes - creamy-like.

Overall impression is, that it is an excellent release by Josh Lobb, the master perfumer and the nose behind Slumberhouse fragrances.

Mond is nice enough, though "nice" isn't really what I look for in Slumberhouse. I've seen comparisons to Yankee Candle, which is honestly fair. Certainly one would expect more from something described as an "olfactory electuary". Mostly reminiscent, to me, of Sova heavily diluted with cream, with the addition of just a touch of the sweet heaviness I associate with Baque, a honeyed kind of vanilla/pipe tobacco/balsam with perhaps a touch of German holiday spice cookie vibe, all rounded, mellow, and very muted. I'm not getting much, if any, of the alleged fruits.

In theory, a diluted, creamy Sova with a little bump of Baque sounds great, especially given how situational those two are (I can't wear either in warm weather, or if I think I'm going to get sweaty, because they get pretty oppressive). In practice, though, it's very whatever and holiday smells at the mall.

It also doesn't last very long. In wearing, it was gone by noon, which in a Slumberhouse is unheard of. (I'm careful about garments like blazers or coats, because any of my other Slumberhouses I'll wear again faintly in my clothes until washed or cleaned.) I checked and sniffed my clothes the next day, in case I'd just gone noseblind, and no, it was just gone.

In short, nice, and maybe a great Slumberhouse for all the many people I've seen say, of other Slumberhouses, "it's probably great, but what an OVERWHELMING BEAST I couldn't POSSIBLY wear this incredibly CHALLENGING fragrance in public." From me, however, a solid "meh."

Ahh...Mond. My initial assessment of Mond was "colored" by the sleight of hand played by Slumberhouse owner and perfumer Josh Lobb with his joke about releasing "Red" Grev. I was completely pulled in by his online joke about Red Grev and was non plussed when he revealed the "joke" and released Mond instead. To be honest, I was put off by the joke, but of course jumped on my purchase of Mond because it had been spoken of by Josh for a long time, and I absolutely love his perfumes with a passionate love. Josh had previously described Mond as a "pumpkin vetiver" fragrance but the actual Mond that was released doesn't and didn't say another word about vetiver which caused additional head scratching among the Slumberhouse faithful. With all that said, I'd like to share my thoughts and feelings about the actual fragrance released by Slumberhouse called, Mond.

I love autumn and I adore autumn fragrances. I've purchased many fragrances that have autumnal themes with varying degrees of enjoyment. I can honestly say Mond is my very favorite of all the autumn fragrances I own or have ever tried and decided not to own. From the standpoint of it's overall accord, it is VERY DENSE. There are after all according to Josh, 73 different ingredients in this fragrance. To my nose Mond smells like a perfect autumn day in a perfect autumn village in a perfect novel that takes place in autumn. It's idyllic and better than the reality of daily life, so it lifts me to a higher plain of enjoyment. This happens with a handful of fragrances for me and one of them at the top of that list is Mond.

I've seen that some feel Mond smells like potpourri, or a fall candle but I couldn't disagree more. This is of course a personal opinion and highly individualized for each person's life experiences. My experience with potpourri is positive and there are some notes in Mond that could also be used in potpourri. However, there are many, many additional notes in Mond, and the way they are blended takes this fragrance in a much different direction than either potpourri or a fall candle, IMO. I smell the pumpkin, the cherry, the grape, the cinnamon, the whipped cream, the hay, the raspberry, the tobacco, the wine. I also recognize other notes, especially in the opening that I can't specifically identify, that give the overall accord of Mond a cornucopia of positive endophine's in my brain and takes me to a place that I absolutely love to be. I don't see how I could enjoy this fragrance more than I do. It is a complete joy to wear. Many thanks to Josh Lobb for the years he spent in developing this formula and fragrance. It is a masterpiece in my opinion. Highest recommendation from me for the brilliance that is Mond.

There's a lot going on in Mond, from the sort of apple cider opening to that mulled wine and tobacco heart. A very autumn-in-a-bottle sort of thing that makes me think of cinnamon brooms and cider and hay.

It all belongs together on paper, but it's brought together in a way that feels indelicate and imprecise. To its credit, there's no moment of unpleasant collision, and the individual notes are very nicely and clearly articulated.

What's missing in its structure is showmanship. Notes phase in and out without aplomb, with no swirl of mystery, no moment of revelation.