Which Mind Games sample to try first
Mind Games names every Extrait de Parfum after a chess move or idea, and the names say nothing about the smell. Eight samples in order of ratings, with a note map.
Mind Games takes its vocabulary from chess: every perfume is an aromatic movement named after a move or an idea from the game, from French Defense to Double Attack. The creators, Alex and Mariana Shalbaf, started the New York house in 2022 and work with the master perfumers of the fragrance house Symrise, among them David Apel, Nathalie Benareau, Jordi Fernández and Christelle Laprade. Bottles are heavy glass with metallic caps shaped like chess pieces, and the full sizes are Extrait de Parfum. The names give no hint of the smell, which ranges from mango to cherry to chocolate, so a Mind Games sample is the practical place to start.
Mind Games: eight samples, ordered by ratings
We ordered the samples on our list by the number of ratings each perfume has collected on Parfumo, as gathered by NicheGems. Rating counts show how widely a perfume is discussed, not how good it is. Notes are given as the house records them.
French Defense (2023, Christelle Laprade) leads with a dark cherry, then geranium, rose absolute and mimosa, over amber, cedarwood and blond wood.
Blockade (2022, Christelle Laprade) pairs mango skin, pink pepper and tomato leaf with lavender and star anise, over leather, patchouli, Ambrostar and oud.
Queening (2023, Christelle Laprade) opens with a clean cotton accord, cypress and apple, moves through orris, rum and saffron, and ends on whipped vanilla bean, fluffy musk and coconut.
The Forward (2023, Nathalie Benareau) is salty citrus: lemon, mandarin and pomelo, then jasmine sambac, tonka bean and a salt accord, over Madagascan vanilla, sandalwood and Cashmeran.
J’Adoube (2022, Nathalie Benareau) is named after the call to adjust a piece without moving it: red currant and mandarin, pomegranate and Damascene rose, over Ambrostar, benzoin and patchouli.
Mentor (2024, Carlos Viñals) is a dessert with smoke: salted caramel, Italian lemon and dark plum, then amber coffee and crème de cassis, over Boya oud, sandalwood and tonka bean.
Grand Master (2022, Alexandra Carlin) starts soft and gets stronger: black currant, rose and peony, then rose centifolia, Kona coffee and wild violet, over myrrh, incense, panettone and ebony wood.
Lionora (2023, Christelle Laprade) is the light one: passionfruit, tonka bean and ginger, then apricot skin, osmanthus and freesia, over sandalwood and musk.
Two more complete the ten. Double Attack (2022, Christelle Laprade) is a chocolate perfume, not a dessert: orange bitters, pimento and pink pepper, agave flower, cinnamon and geranium, over dark chocolate, vanilla, vetiver and sandalwood. Gardez (2022, Emilie Coppermann) pairs apricot and blackberry leaf with orris, jasmine sambac and cassis, over black leather, cedarwood and popcorn.
The Mind Games note map
Leather sits in Blockade, J’Adoube and Gardez, and vanilla in Queening, The Forward and Double Attack. Rose runs through French Defense, J’Adoube and Grand Master, and sandalwood through The Forward, Mentor, Lionora and Double Attack. Oud marks Blockade and Mentor, and coffee Mentor and Grand Master, while chocolate belongs to Double Attack. For the gourmand side, gourmand perfume samples gathers other houses, and extrait de parfum samples shows the same concentration elsewhere.
A first order of French Defense, Blockade and The Forward covers cherry, mango-leather and salty citrus. Most of the line suits the evening and winter, and how to test perfume on skin gives a simple routine.
From Mind Games sample to bottle
If one holds up over several wearings, the bottle is the next step. Our vial is filled by FragranceGems from the original bottle and labelled by us; Mind Games is not involved and it is not a brand sample. The first perfume in full size is at Mind Games French Defense. The sample set page shows how to combine vials, and the FAQ covers filling and labels.
FAQ
Which Mind Games sample should I try first?
French Defense. It has the most Parfumo ratings of the ten on our list, and its dark cherry with violet leaves, geranium, rose and mimosa over amber and cedarwood is the clearest picture of the house.
Do the chess names tell me anything about the smell?
No. Blockade is mango and leather, Queening is cotton, rum and vanilla, and Double Attack is chocolate and spice. The note lists, not the names, are the guide.
Are all Mind Games perfumes the same strength?
Every perfume we decant is an Extrait de Parfum, and our records mark most of them as strong. The Forward and Lionora are recorded as moderate, which makes them the easiest to wear in the daytime.
