Mancera Tonka Cola a men’s cologne launched in 2022, has been making waves in the fragrance community, and it's no surprise why.
With a name that piques curiosity and a brand like Mancera behind it, expectations are naturally high.
In this review, we'll explore whether Tonka Cola lives up to the hype and if it's a worthy addition to your fragrance collection.
Presentation
Box:
So here we have the front of the box.
You have that typical Mancera look, name of the fragrance, name of the house, sizing, and concentration. Eau de parfum is the concentration.
Nothing up top, or on the sides.
On the back, you have your ingredient information and your barcode.
And on the bottom, you've got your batch code, as always with Mancera fragrances.
Bottle:
And here we have the bottle. It's pretty simple, just the name of the fragrance and, the name of the house right on the front.
I don't know if I'm a huge fan. It looks like a Mancera bottle that went on a crash diet and now it's very thin.
This is the newer style of Mancera bottle and has that newer logo up on top of the cap. And the cap is magnetic.
I do prefer these over the old style.
Some people prefer the old style of Mancera bottles where it had a screw cap, but I like this one. I think it's a little bit nicer, a little bit more premium.
And then on the bottom, you are going to have your batch code and a little information etched into the glass.
And of course, the atomizer is very good. It's Mancera's pressurized style of atomizer. Again, I like this newer presentation more.
What does Mancera Tonka Cola smell like?
Let's first unveil the notes of the fragrance:
The top notes are Cinnamon, Cherry, Sicilian Lemon, and Nutmeg.
Middle notes are Coca-Cola, Indonesian Patchouli Leaf, and Orange Blossom
Base notes are Tonka Bean, Vanilla, Benzoin, and Labdanum.
So, when you spray this on, it is sweet.
And now, you would expect that Cola, obviously, is sweet. Tonka is sweet.
When you look at the note breakdown, it's got cherry in there off the top.
So you expect sweetness, and yes, you get sweetness.
The cherry and lemon specifically are strong in the opening. They very much make themselves known.
Does it smell a little bit synthetic, the way the sweetness comes across?
Yeah, it does. It's not like a hyper-natural cherry and lemon combo, but it does smell very appealing, at least for me.
And I don't mind most sweet fragrances, but if you have an aversion to scents that do lean very much over onto the sweeter side of things, you may not like it quite so much.
You've also got a little bit of spice there in the opening. You've got a type of cinnamon. You've got a little bit of nutmeg.
This fragrance has been compared to Creation E or Enigma, depending on where you live, by Roja Parfums.
And I can see where people draw that comparison because it does have this kind of sparkly, obviously Cola-type vibe when you first spray it on, like a Cherry Cola initially with a lot of lemon.
So lemon, cherry, Cola. But it doesn't have as much of that warm spiciness to it.
As I said, there's cinnamon, there's nutmeg, but they are noticeably lower down than that lemon and that cherry and the Cola kind of vibe.
So while it does have this effervescent opening, this carbonated Cola sweetness, it's not as spicy or warm as Creation E/Enigma. So similarities between the two, yes. The same, no.
As it dries down, the Cola sticks around for quite a while.
That fizziness, you know, that fades as it heads through the mid. But the Cola note, the Cola accord, that sticks around.
You get the faintest hint of woody-ish patchouli in the background of the fragrance as it dries.
And then into the dry down, you get vanilla, you get Tonka, a good amount of Tonka, benzoin, labdanum.
So this kind of ambery warmth mixes with that sweetness and the Tonka. You know, some people may find it being a little bit more of a standard fragrance as you hit the dry down because there is such a good dose of Tonka in there.
And Tonka is so widely used across men's fragrances. Of course, Tonka is used so often because people, frankly, love this stuff. It's got a little almond-like sweetness to it. It's got a nice smoothness, again mixing with the ambery notes and the vanilla. It's very warm and it has just remnants of that kind of sparkle from the Cola. Again, not as much fizziness, but it does have a nice little pop to it.
It reminds me at different times of different fragrances.
So a little bit of Creation E, like I said, but not as mature or not as much body to it. It has that cherry kind of sweetness, that berry in your face right at the forefront of the fragrance, the kind of cherry sweetness you'll find in L’Homme Ideal EDP.
So it's got little bits from that. And, as it heads through the mid into the dry down where you have sweet notes mixing with other sweet notes, it reminds me a little bit of what they did with Angels Share By Kilian.
Now, don't take that as me saying that Tonka Cola smells like Angels Share, you know, that it smells the same as Angels Share. That's not what I'm saying. But if you like that one, you will probably like this one.
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How long does Mancera Tonka Cola last?
Because Mancera is known for performance. So is Montale, sister companies.
Of course, everybody goes into Mancera and Montale releases thinking this is going to be a monster.
Well, Tonka Cola does perform well. But I would think when you put it up against all the other Manceras, it's like an average performer for the brand.
So for me, it's not like a monster. You know, it doesn't last 14 hours or anything. But off my skin, it performs well, around 8 hours.
In terms of projection, It projects decently well. I mean, overall, it's an above-average performer.
It's just when you compare it to some of the other monsters that Mancera has, it's more average, like I said, for a Mancera.
But for your typical user, they're not going to be disappointed.
They're going to get a lot of performance from it.
It lasts forever off of clothing and projects well.
When to Wear Mancera Tonka Cola?
As far as seasons, this is going to be more of a fall and winter-time fragrance, more of a cool-weather scent.
I could pull it off during early spring.
Once it starts to heat up a lot, I think I'd go for something else. Mancera doesn't have a huge array of summertime hits.
It's usually more spring, fall, and winter.
In terms of daytime or nighttime use, it's going to lean a little more toward nighttime use.
But like I always say, who cares? Just wear it whenever you want.
In Conclusion – Mancera Tonka Cola
Is Mancera Tonka Cola worth it?
It's going to depend on your taste.
For me, I like it. I like it a lot. It's a different type of Mancera because is there any other Mancera that smells like this? Please, no. And they need more of that.
So for me, Mancera Tonka Cola, big thumbs up, easy.
