The hype train for this scent starts here. Climb aboard.

Listed notes

Orange, almond blossom, pineapple, cocoa absolute, cardamom, jasmine, ginger, tonka bean, vanilla absolute, sandalwood, amber.

Top notes

Coreterno are a new brand to The Sniff, and one of the standouts from this year’s Esxence trade show for us. Two of their fragrances in particular caught our nose and Mystic Sugar is the first of those to make it to review.

One of the things which seems to give fragrances an edge in the current market is a mildly disruptive irreverence and Mystic Sugar absolutely feels like it has that, the whole Coreterno brand does in fact. There’s a playfulness about Coreterno, a fusion of different influences both old and new which give them a freshness, and Mystic Sugar encapsulates that brand ethos beautifully in a single scent.

You’re not going to be able to get away from the fact that Mystic Sugar is both sweet and bold. The name says it all really. Spray this and you are hit with a warm, sweet blast of a scent with a fruity undercurrent. It can sometimes feel like you have opened the oven door on a tray full of warm muffins when you spritz this, but to our minds that is no bad thing.

Sweet and powdery, the start of Mystic Sugar is the scent of penny sweets and pineapple cubes in particular. There is a hint of juicy pineapple in the mix at the start for sure, but it feels like some sort of sweetie rather than the real fruit itself. It’s apparent from the very first sniff that firstly, Coreterno are not messing around with the character of this fragrance – it’s bold and brash from the outset – and secondly, they aren’t taking perfumery in general or themselves too seriously. There is something deeply fun, a little nostalgic, and very lively about the gutsy and yet moreish way Mystic Sugar opens. It’s the sort of scent you will either love or hate, but that’s a good thing – there is no room for half measures and fence-sitting here!

Heart notes

Coreterno could have called this fragrance Powdered Sugar and it would have also worked. Once the fragrance has had chance to settle and open we get waves of lovely sugary vanilla, the powderiness of the almond blossom, and the gentle soothing quality of sandalwood humming along under it all to anchor and tie the fragrance together.

This sandalwood and vanilla concoction, which is given a light and powdery treatment, forms the main body of the scent and then the other ingredients whisper across the face of that structure; a little white floral tone here, a touch of something fleetingly fruity there, the warmth of spices peeping through. Nothing is too forceful and despite the fact that the scent does heavily lean towards the sweeter side of the spectrum, it still feels balanced and satisfying. Wearing the scent during this phase is almost like picking a dusty cube of Turkish delight and inhaling that half floral half sweet fragrance of the confection before you bite into it. The child residing in many of us will find this delightful!

Base notes

The final throes of Mystic Sugar leave us with something which smells like candied wood. I know that isn’t a thing, but if it were then that’s what the last section of Mystic Sugar would smell like. It’s candyfloss at a funfair, sticky fingers, aching teeth, and yet despite all that the fragrance is hugely wearable and very easy to like. The warm shine of amber radiates through the final phase like sunlight peeping through trees made of sandalwood and vanilla, and it gives a sense of glowing which is perhaps what the “mystic” part of the name was going for.

Mystic Sugar has the potential to become a very popular scent and one which would appeal to many perfume wearing people of all ages and demographics. There’s enough space in Mystic Sugar for you to be able to customise it with your own chemistry, but at the same time it is a gutsy and forceful fragrance which doesn’t just disappear at the drop of a hat.

Mystic Sugar is also one of those scents which could be worn anywhere and by anyone. That olfactory peregrination which takes people of all sorts to somewhere pleasant is something which hugely successful fragrances of recent years have managed to do, Mystic Sugar taps into that vein of sweetness and yet delivers something distinct and as yet lesser known. So if you are bored of your high street blockbuster, Mystic Sugar could indeed be a very welcome replacement.

The other stuff

The longevity of Mystic Sugar is really good – lasting six to eight hours following application, and going for basically the full working day on many occasions.

The projection of the scent is also more than acceptable. With minimal sprays it seems to go to about handshake distance, but if you went heavier on the trigger it could prove itself to be quite a big scent indeed. The powderiness seems to give it a fair amount of lift, but thankfully it isn’t anything near obnoxious or choking.

Mystic Sugar is the sort of fragrance that could be worn easily to the office, to bring a touch of playfulness into your day, but for me it would be best worn to a daytime date – out for lunch or a coffee, that sort of thing. Indeed it could be a very nice first date scent as well. It has that easy, carefree sort of feel that one may want to portray in such situations.

The brand

Coreterno have one of the best executed brand concepts that we have seen for a long time. It’s funky, fresh, interesting and quirky, all without being cliched or trite. The brand have seriously thought about everything, from the font they use on their website through to the beautifully designed bottles. The overall aesthetic is a fusion of a kind of punk, historical, pop culture, illuminated manuscript vibe. They’ve executed this unusual concept really well – check out their website to see what we mean.

Coreterno aren’t just a perfume brand, however, they started out doing candles, adding scents at a later date, but their range also includes clothing and jewellery. So if you are looking for a whole experience, and to cover yourself and your home from head to toe in Coreterno goodies, you are in luck!

All the Coreterno EdP fragrances are vegan and cruelty free.

Buy it

Mystic Sugar is available from the Coreterno web boutique where it is priced at €149 or $156 for 100ml EdP.

We were kindly gifted a sample of this fragrance when we visited the brand at Esxence in Milan, 2022. Our thanks to them.

Header image by Luminas Art from Pixabay. Images of the product by The Sniff.