Mentor.

Mentor arrives as the name suggests, a calculated opening move. In the Mind Games collection, where each fragrance represents an aromatic movement inspired by the chess board, a fragrance called Mentor had to mean something. It had to command. The brief was clear: bold, composed, crafted for those who lead with purpose. Carlos Viñals translated that ambition into an extrait de parfum, the highest concentration the house works with, where sweetness and darkness sit together without either apologizing. The result isn't subtle. It isn't trying to be. It's the kind of fragrance that walks into a room and makes people wonder what they're smelling. That's not accident. That's strategy.

The choice to pair salted caramel with boya oud is the kind of move that either works completely or falls apart entirely. Here, it works. The caramel brings warmth and edible appeal, the kind of opening that makes people lean in. The blackcurrant liqueur adds a tart, sophisticated counterpoint that prevents the sweetness from becoming juvenile. Coffee in the heart keeps things grounded. Then the oud arrives: smoky, resinous, almost meditative. Tonka bean and sandalwood in the base don't soften the oud, they support it, adding cream and warmth so the darkness doesn't become heaviness. This is a fragrance with a backbone. Sweet on the surface, composed underneath.

The opening hits fast, Italian lemon, plum, salted caramel arriving together in the first seconds. The lemon gives a brief brightness before the plum and caramel take over, creating an immediate sweetness that's almost edible. Caramel arrives last in the opening trio but anchors the sensation, the sticky, warm note that makes this unmistakably gourmand. Within 20 to 40 minutes, the heart opens. Blackcurrant liqueur introduces a tart, dark berry quality that shifts the sweetness from playful to sophisticated. Coffee appears, but it's wrapped in amber, warm, resinous, not sharp. The lemon fades but the plum and caramel linger in the background, still present, still doing work. The composition feels like it deepens rather than shifts. By the second hour, the base notes emerge. Tonka bean amplifies the sweetness while adding a warm, vanillic dimension. Sandalwood provides creamy woodiness. Then the white oud arrives, smoky, slightly animalic, unexpected. It doesn't overwhelm the sweetness. It contrasts it.

Mentor positions itself as the house's boldest statement, an extrait de parfum concentration in a collection known for strategic precision. For wearers who want to be remembered rather than liked, the boya oud and tonka base create that impression. The 2024 release marked an escalation in the brand's ambition, trading subtle sophistication for something more declarative. At the price point, it's a commitment. One that, based on community response, most wearers don't regret making.