The Story
Why it exists.
The beginning
Mandarine & Maté Vert was released in 2021, and it draws from a specific kind of quiet: the barefoot walk through wet grass at first light, paired with the scorching maté that Mariela drinks in her garden each morning. The composition translates that ritual into scent, building from citrus and herbal freshness on top, into a soft floral heart, and finally settling on the dry, leafy warmth of green maté anchored in oakmoss and vetiver at the base. The fragrance sits among a small group of Carlotha Ray scents that share a similar structural philosophy, where two key ingredients are brought into conversation with each other rather than stacked into a conventional top-to-bottom pyramid.
Green maté is an unusual anchor for a citrus-driven composition. The material carries the dry, slightly smoky edge of steeped yerba without crossing into tobacco territory, and it gives the fragrance a grounded, almost sun-warmed quality that never tips into amber. It sits naturally alongside mandarin because both share that bitter-fresh tension, so the bright opening and the dry, leafy base read as continuous with each other, two halves of the same conversation rather than opposing moods.
The evolution
The first thirty minutes belong to citrus. Mandarin and lime arrive sharp and almost bracing, with passionfruit lending a quick tropical sweetness underneath, the kind of bright sweetness that flits across the surface rather than settling. Thyme and lavender arrive almost immediately too, giving the opening an herbal backbone that keeps the fruit from reading as simple or cocktail-like. The citrus fades gradually rather than cutting out, and as it recedes the linden blossom and osmanthus take over, soft and honeyed without tipping into full sweetness. This is where the maté begins to surface, first as a dry, hay-like quality in the mid-phase, then deepening into something more grounded as the hours pass. After two to three hours, the oakmoss, patchouli, and vetiver settle in, bringing the warm, earthy green that defines the wear.
Cultural impact
Mandarine & Maté Vert takes the green citrus category seriously, treating the genre as a place for real material conversation rather than a shorthand for clean, weightless freshness. The maté base gives it more weight than most compositions that start from a similar brief, pulling the wear closer to herbal-aromatic territory while keeping the opening unmistakably crisp. Wearers tend to describe it as a daytime scent that doesn't ask for attention, the kind of fragrance that reads as a personal detail rather than a loud statement.
The House
Carlotha RayC Ray is a Parisian perfume house born from personal memory and a commitment to thoughtful creation. The house began as Carlotha Ray, a name honoring founder Mariela Schwarz Montiel's grandmother, Carlotha Despierre de Schwarz. Today, the brand operates under the streamlined initials CRay, a deliberate shift toward universal accessibility. Seven unisex fragrances make up the collection, each composed by a single in-house perfumer. The house sits within the HIMCO group, giving it structural backing while maintaining a distinct creative identity. C Ray occupies a particular corner of the niche fragrance world, where proximity to nature and restraint in expression take precedence over spectacle.
The Creator
Jean-Michel DuriezDuriez gravitates toward natural ingredients and uses them in generous concentrations. He seeks out the finest suppliers and builds relationships around quality rather than volume.
