Turn of the century,
a carnival
travels at dusk.
A scrumptious,
gourmand perfume.
A splendid wonder
swirling
in enchantment.
Top: Bergamot, Pink Peppercorn, Ananas & Cotton Candy
Heart: Cistus, Labdanum, Nuts & Geranium
Base: Patchouli, Caramel & Wood Chips
MAGIC CIRCUS opens playfully with a lively burst of juicy tropical fruits, carrying a hint of metallic and spicy note, with an edible allure drawn from the fruit pulp. As the initial fruitiness fades, the focus shifts to nutty balsamic elements, pepper hints, and a rounded sweetness, leading to a sensual and addictive trail resembling a patchouli enveloped in caramel cream and comforting balms.
hairgod93 –
Magic Circus! What a perfect name for this fragrance. I don’t think this is as gourmand a fragrance as I imagined it would be. I suppose it really is gourmand but with the wood chip, patchouli and pink pepper it really helps to give this fragrance a multi layered effect. Its such a beautiful “experience” from the very beginning its like walking into the circus tent with cotton candy, and peanuts, the wood chips scattered on the ground. It just continues to evolve on me throughout the day. I can’t stop sniffing my arm where I applied it. I applied one spray from a sample 5 hours before and I can still smell the fragrance up close and if I move my arm around I still have a decent scent trail. It is a very comforting happy scent that takes you to a place and time in my head when life was much simpler and I was in awe of all the excitement of the circus. I must have this!
Yurpdod –
As a huge lover of gourmand fragrances, I knew I had to try Magic Circus. A friend of mine very graciously acquired a sample for me, and I’ve spent the past couple of days testing the fragrance and seeing how it wears.
This fragrance is very sweet, dark, and heady. There is a very prominent labdanum note which combines with patchouli and woods to create a deep, leathery tone. Magic Circus is an interesting type of gourmand scent that does not smell entirely edible — it has gourmand elements, but the overall composition does not make you think “”I want to eat that.”” The bergamot, pink pepper, and geranium notes allow this fragrance to pass as a more mainstream men’s cologne and almost disguise the gourmand notes, allowing them to slip in unexpectedly.
I very much enjoy the way this smells, although the longevity is disappointing. The projection is good, but it is too short-lived to justify the hefty pricetag. But I know that this will make an amazing signature perfume for some lucky person out there.”
esteban747 –
MinNEW YORK sent me a sample of Magic circus.
I have to say that before smelling it I read the notes, and it’s not really my cup of tea.
But…it does smell like no other fragrance. The opening is like a blend of coffee, vanilla and burned sugar. Sort of like an aromatic crème brulee.
It’s abover everything else a sweet fragrance, but the woods, spices and nuts are present too.
It’s almost like a literal translation of a circus or carnival in the form of perfume.
As I said before, this is not the type of scent tht I tend to like. But the originality and quality are impressive.”
Mikeyd –
Ok this one is awesome!
It starts like a cotton candy with a little nutty smell accompanying it. It’s kind of flinty smelling throughout. .difficult to explain and great to smell
Full bottle worthy 9/10
Very creative!
deadidol –
This is a maltol-driven sweet scent with citrus notes upfront over a somewhat buttery base. Unlike Long Board where the connection to the name eluded me at first, this one is very literal: cotton candy, fried candy, syrupy sodas, fried soda, soda candy etc. With that said, any cavity-inducing sweetness is undercut by a subtle peppery note that keeps the scent from becoming a saccharine warzone. Also, an impish wood note of unspecified species haunts the backdrop, smelling a tad out of place but suggesting the presence of a boardwalk—which, once again, is very literal. As the scent progresses, the sweetness subsides to reveal a trenchant sour floral note that struck me as perhaps on loan from Momento. Despite this, the scent’s overall impression is of jocular sweetness with a slight vegetal edge. While I’d say it would best appeal to fans of more candied scents, it sustains an ominous and disconcerting tone throughout—which is perhaps the most non-literal, creative evocation of a carnival type space.
claudia0219 –
Magic Circus and it is definitely magic on me, a gourmand that swirls on your skin, never to sweet, perfection, cotton candy, peanuts, popcorn, sawdust, happy children and laughter. FB is a must for me.
Tresor –
Today I am enveloped within the exquisite embrace of MiN’s brilliant Magic Circus. The air outside is infused with a Skaðian breath of ice and glacial chill and I’ve found myself in need of irrevocable warmth and comfort. The only thing within my collection which seemed to have the ability to satiate my desire for nostalgic amenity was this, an undeniably beautiful aria of both sweet fairground confections and a masterfully balanced base of harmonious resins, woods and diaphanous musk, The opening smells of cotton candy which has been dusted with a scintillating fuchsia sparkle of pink pepper. There is the definite aroma of freshly candied nuts as well as just a touch of geranium which acts as a novel juxtaposition to the confiserie-chic aura that dominates the incipience of this elixir. As it dries down you are greeted with the warm nuzzles of a supremely gratifying blend of dulcet musks and airy, gossamer amber. This is easily one of my favourite gourmand fragrances, an ideal example of how with a virtuose hand can elevate a genre which is generally rife with the saccharine and unimaginably cloying. Bravo MiN!
Clayton –
Magic Circus is a carnival ride of amber decorated with geranium and cotton candy. Woods and patchouli keep amber’s sweetness in check but have no control over the momentary flash of fairground nuts and cotton candy that gallops across the nose in the form of ethyl maltol. A touch of pink pepper adds complexity to the top note and the dry down is a subdued and surprisingly transparent amber wood. Unlike L’Artisan Parfumeur’s circus-inspired Dzing! there are no wild animals present in MiN NEW YORK’s circus. Aside from the obligatory musk in the base, Magic Circus is a very clean affair, offering wholesome fun the entire family can enjoy.
Lee-Ann –
All your childhood delights combine in this sweet fruity mixture, decadent like the sights and sounds of a three-ring circus!
This is a Gourmand scent, but not for those with a sweet-tooth. Instead this rich and classy Gourmand scent is mature and refined. Sweet enough for the ladies and not too sweet to be worn by men!
Nose-tickling Pink Pepper and vibrant Bergamot make your eyes light up as you quickly become enchanted by the heady mix of candied Nuts, Cotton-Candy, and Caramel.
Grounding the fragrance are the impeccable additions of smoothing Labdanum and Geranium that hold the scent together and earthy Wood chips and green Patchouli that keep the fragrance from becoming too sweet.
This is not your daughters Gourmand! Don۪t let it۪s playful name deceive you, Magic Circus is an elegant Gourmand that is all grown up!
Christos –
Although Magic Circus is not my favourite, this is the one I admire the most. My first notes on this were: Cedar-iris opening, reminds me of Dzonghka. Turns leathery sweet. A gourmand leather. Sweetness subsides, muskiness emerges. Later on I researched the notes and I was shocked but what I read: This scrumptious gourmand features notes of candied nuts, cotton candy, caramel, sprinkled with pink peppercorns, bergamot, labdanum, geranium, patchouli, and woodchips are staged into this journey to make this perfume a scented wonder swirling in enchantment! If you follow this blog you must know by now that candies nuts, cotton candy and caramel are notes that rub me in the wrong way in all the wrong places. I hate these notes, I hate foody gourmands! I even hated Jeux de Peau! Yet this one is indeed a scented wonder swirling in enchantment. Definitely the most theatrical chapter in this volume, it manages to be a wearable, foody gourmand that does not insult one۪s intelligence nor threatens with the onset of a diabetic coma. All the notes that I hate are there but with all the right juxtapositions to make this a memorable olfactory experience.
thesmellyvagabond –
This was definitely the most surprising of the lot. It started off with an oily, metallic and rubbery incense, which I found intriguing and tough to smell at first, but a couple of minutes later, it had morphed into a sweet, cotton candy, caramel treat. Huh? It۪s_ MAGIC! I۪ll have to revisit this one for sure. As of now, all I can say is that I۪m thoroughly surprised by the stunt that was pulled off on this fragrance.
Catarina Vu –
I’m definitely not a perfume reviewer so this is just an ordinary woman’s review. This smells like Shalimar on me. A very incense heavy, spicy scent with an artificial element to it. There isn’t really a sweetness to it at all. One good thing is that it doesn’t really project very far, this isn’t a crowd pleaser so no one was scrunching up their nose at me. It lasts around 4 hours on me and the dry down wasn’t anything special. The scent didn’t mature on me, what I got in the morning is what I ended up with at night. I don’t hate it but I don’t love it. To me a circus or fair should be sweeter and smokier. I was hoping for notes of smoke, burnt wood, caramel kettle corn and cotton candy. Instead, I got Shalimar.