ROSENDO MATEU
9 – Wood, Osmanthus, Vanilla

2025

spicy notes
sweet notes
floral notes
woody notes

iris
osmanthus
Tobacco
leather

whiskey
vanilla
musk

This fragrance completely rubbed me the wrong way for the first hour. Luckily, it redeems itself in the drydown.

Straight away, this has a strong, mushy, slightly earthy vanilla. Or maybe I should say, vanilla-adjecent scent. To my nose, this entire fragrance smells more of coumarin/tonka bean, than it does of vanilla.

I’m reminded of the nutty vanilla scent from Matiere Premiere Vanilla Powder or Tom Ford Vanilla Sex, but the opening is quite strange here. No. 9 has a fruitiness (likely from the osmanthus) that is hard to place. To my nose, it’s a mix of cloying tonka bean, gasoline or burnt plastic and a tiny smidge of green fruitiness.

As mentioned, this gets a lot better after the opening. The fruitiness subsides and it becomes a more generic, but much more pleasant sweet fragrance. Perhaps mostly reminding me of Acqua di Parma Vaniglia at this stage, but with more of that coumarin/tonka scent. There’s still a faint hint of green fruits, like fig, similar to Goldfield & Banks Silky Woods Elixir.

I wore this alongside Atelier Materia Vanille Carbone and while I much prefer the latter (even in the drydown), I can see how the Rosendo Mateu is an easier recommendation for people who want a more outspoken sweetness and slightly more gourmand fragrance (after its opening).