FRAGRANCE | Transilvania Extrait Parfum by Calaj: Because Dracula has a sweet fang

[Updated, Nov. 14, 2020] 

Out of curiosity—and perhaps the lure of exclusivity—we got two bottles from the maiden release of new niche house Calaj Limited Editions some months ago. Black Beard was the first I wore and wrote about, and boy was I not disappointed at all! It's a reimagined fougère by Miguel Matos, who I must say is quite the talented perfumer. And since Halloween is just around the corner, I thought it was time to bring Transilvania out of its cardboard coffin. 

A honeyed cherry with an animalic touch fills the rather strong opening. Apparently Dracula had a sweet tooth, er, fang. Because honey is employed to sweeten the cherry instead of something denser like vanilla, the result isn't thick and heavy but more like a thin syrup coating the whole lot. In some fragrances like Arabian Oud's Kalemat, I find that honey gives off a boozy sort of vibe. It's not the case with Transilvania, though, so no, this ain't no Tom Ford Lost Cherry. 

A few minutes in, something like varnish enters the picture but doesn't stay long. It's also not as powerful as the one in Amouage Opus X and is perhaps easily missed if you're not paying attention. Meanwhile, the animalic note (from civet, I've read) is amped up a bit but is kept in check by the sweetness of the cherry. After several more minutes, the cherry becomes even sweeter, almost as saccharine as Mugler's A*men Pure Havane. There's some florals shadowing it for some time until the civet gradually mellows, leaving the sweet cherry syrup to carry the scent unto the end. On some occasions, though, the civet is a little more assertive, resulting in a more balanced scent. 

I wasn't actually quite satisfied with Transilvania during my first few wearings. After being smitten by that interesting opening, the drydown left me underwhelmed. With nearly nothing else left but sweetness, I thought it was just flat and thin. However, something changed when I wore it on Halloween. I don't know if it was the weather but the animalic accord was on par with the sweetness in terms of strength. The result was way better with the sweetness tempered and I enjoyed it much more. 

Personally I wanted it to be a darker scent although I understand that this wasn't the direction the house was going for. In the same way that Black Beard wasn't literally a scent about pirates, Transilvania isn't meant to be a Dracula cliché. But if anything, at least it performs really well.