Manhattan

[Meg]

Sexuality, power, confidence. A meeting of modern, sleek elegance and rich, passionate history: sheer amber, black leather, white mint, lemon peel, white tea, grapefruit, kush, teakwood and orchid.

 

In the bottle: ice tea?! lemon, tea and mint, with some woods.

 

Wet: a bit of leather, woods, citrus, some tea and a teensy hint of mint. It smells quite like classical Eau de Cologne, at this stage.

 

Drydown: Ah, the orchid comes right out, as well as the amber and grapefruit. It's much more floral now, with a slightly waxy scent that seems to be the woods. I read the kush is similar to cannabis, and I think that I do get a bit of a whiff of that, too. The leather in it is very soft and supple, like an expensive couch.

 

Overall: A comfortable scent of tea, woods, leather and perfumy florals. It works very well to create the atmosphere of an extremely elegant lounge where you'd go for tea. It's very evovcative, though it's not a scent that actually suits me to wear, I'll probably keep it around and think up a way to use it.

Edited October 21, 2006 by Meg

[Jishin]

I love this! Tea and lemon and soft undercurrents of wood. Some days it's more tea, other days there's more of the wood and orchid and leather. Really, really lovely -- lots of lush power and money scent to this.

 

It's not an everyday scent for me, but definitely something for special occasions.

[PilotKitten]

Ooh this smells deliciously yummy! Like a hot lemon tea. Oh this is sucha comforting scent. At least it doesn't smell all exhaust fumes and such like one would expect Manhattan to smell like.

[supremegoddessofall]

Barely there. I get a light tea scent with a bit of amber, and everything else is simply not there. It's so faded...

[tempestteapot]

I smell the lemon and the tea. It kind of reminds me of the lemonheads candies.

[Luhtarian]

A lot of lemon and mint. Some creamy musk in the background... it doesn't really work on me, it seems sharp and unbalanced.

[stardreamer]

First impression: Citrusy. This could be a problem; BPAL citrus scents don't last well on me.

 

Fresh on: Yes, very citrusy -- lemon and grapefruit -- and not very strong.

 

Drydown: I get a bit of the orchid and some tea once the citrus backs off. What I don't get: amber, leather, mint, wood.

 

Bottom line: I actually wore this 3 different times before writing the review. The notes I had hoped would dominate in this blend are almost completely absent; what's left is a citrus/tea mix that quickly fades to tea with a hint of floral. Staying power is poor; after 6 hours it's pretty much gone. It's a pleasant enough scent, but there's no reason to keep it when I have Kumiho and Embalming Fluid. Swap pile for this one.

[jessiesquash]

This is what I was hoping Namaste would smell like, light lemon layered over a rich wood base. It's the smell of wealth and sophistication. This is very light and I think it would be perfect for the hot summer months. As it dries, it gets spicier and more refined. I really really like this and I didn't even expect to! I'll add this to my bottle list for this summer.

[kwsix]

Maybe it's because I tried Manhattan at the same time as Shanghai (although on different arms), but I don't get much scent at all from it. It's very indistinct on me from the wet stage through the drydown. After reading what it's supposed to smell like, I think I can detect orchid, grapefruit, and amber. It's a very pleasant scent, but it's so light as to almost be undetectable. I'll give this one another try all by its lonesome, and I 'll revise my review if anything changes.

[Voleuse]

On first application, this is a light, almost candied lemon. Hm! Sweet and sharp at once. As it dries, the tea mellows the sharpness, but not a lot. After a while, I can smell the effect of the amber, a halo of warmth blooming from the scent, creating a comfortable citrus blend.

 

I can detect a bit of a floral note, and when I concentrate, the barest hint of leather, like the lining of an expensive handbag. For the most part, however, this is a nice lemon tea, but not what I was hoping for.

[Shollin]

First sniff: It smells like a cocktail. Is it supposed to smell like a cocktail? *checks* Nope, I guess not. But it does… there’s nothing specifically boozey, but all the different citrus notes make me think of a vodka tonic, a bubbly vodka tonic with lots of lime.

 

Wearing: All kinds of sophisticated citrus. This isn’t a bubbly bouncey scent; it’s elegant and a little snooty.

[maribouquet]

imp/wet: Sharp, Oriental citrus

dry: Money

 

After five minutes the amber and mint start to emerge and they are unexpectedly gorgeous together. This is superbly blended...makes me think of cocktails at a shiny, sleek bar. Mmm, and there's just a hint of leather. This smells like the cloakroom at a very expensive, oak-paneled restaurant in Midtown east. Fur coats, bankers and rich artists, a small brass dish full of creamy mints, sleeves slipping away to reveal bare, hungry arms.

 

The teak and the leather bring Manhattan to a finish that I don't find all that wearable on me, at least not day to day. But I would love this for a locket, or to scent a coat or the inside of a handbag. Might get an imp for my mom, too.

[Peaches 2]

In the vial, I get a lot of citrus, lemon with a bit of a bitter grapefruit edge, deliciously blended into the tea. It seems very similar to Kumiho while wet, although a touch heavier. During the mid-stage, whoa, the gorgeous leather and woods really play up, making this too masculine for me personally to wear, but I love, love, love to smell it. I can't quit sniffing my wrist! While fading, I get a mere whiff of the orchid, but not enough to "girly" it up. While I know I wouldn't wear this on a regular basis, I intend to give it to my DH so I can enjoy it on him. I hope it agrees with his chemistry as well as it did mine!

[eleventhousand]

No tea, no citrus.

Leather and upscale, expensive perfume.

[Katinka]

Now, leather and woods normally have me running for the hills, but this is some seriously GORGEOUS stuff... I get an initial blast of the grapefruit note that I love in Cheshire Cat, but whereas CC is soft and cozy underneath, Manhattan is sleek and self-assured. There are hints of woods and orchids -- notes that often amp on me -- but in this they blend together seamlessly to create an elegant base to the yummy grapefruit. I will definitely want more of this.

[mellie]

Bottle: Very fresh smelling, and almost citrusy. I can pick up a little more of the lemon than the grapefruit, but the other notes stay down for now.

 

Application: That fresh, citrusy scent comes out a little more, but there's also something else here that I can't quite pick out. It's too faint. It may be the orchid and the tea. Not sure. It's very subtle and light.

 

Dry: I really have no other way to describe it now other than an upscale Manhattan boutique. It's very light and feminine. The citrus faded, and some of the floral and tea scent came out, and then that faded. It's not really any on distinctive note.

 

I like this one. It's a nice light, feminine smell that makes me feel upperclass and pretty.

[destructivedelight]

Wet: In the vial, this smells of citrus, mostly lemon--it is tart, but not sour, somehow tempered by mint.

 

Dry: On my skin, citrus pops out immediately, providing a fresh, vibrant scent that matches the energy of the city. Within 30 minutes, however, the citrus had disappeared almost completely, leaving a dry tea smell, with a hint of orchid. What began as a vibrant, aggressive scent became somewhat passive and tired.

 

This is not the Manhattan I know! The description seemed so exciting, so East Village. But the scent is little old ladies dining on the Upper East Side.

[space girl lost]

hrm. you know, i was sure this one would probably be terrible given that it has mint in it somewhere, but i cannot place it. this is quite bright and thin. playful. citrus cut back with something soft and pleasant. so the citrus isn't overly in my face realistic oh my god who cut a lemon.

 

i smell no leather.

i smell no amber.

i smell no mint.

i smell no orchid.

 

it's just nice. i'm shocked! think i'll keep this one! thanks, labbies! don't think i would have picked this out myself.

[crazyredhead17]

I'm a bad imp mommy - I throw them all in a pile in the same box as my bottles. Well, a couple months ago I noticed that the box smelled really good and that a bunch of the imp labels were wet. Today, when I opened my imp of Manhattan, I found the culprit as it was pretty much empty. I was able to get a lil bit on my wrists for testing but that's about it.

 

Wet on me: Mint with a hint of citrus. Not very Manhattan to me.

 

As it dries, the mint and citrus goes away, and the orchid comes out, because I'm getting florals tempered by something - maybe the teakwood - I'm not quite placing it. I'm not a floral person, so I'm not sure if I like this.

 

And the more it sits, the more it's flowers and wood. Guess it's not a bad thing my imp is empty.

 

My memories of Manhattan are just not meshing up with this scent though - I lived in Northern NJ (about 5 minutes by car / 15 minutes by foot from a mid-town direct train station). I worked for a few summers as an intern in Spanish Harlem, but I've never been to the fancier stores or spent any time in the ritzier neighborhoods - I usually linger in midtown/Times Square area or in the Village. I think this scent is just too upscale for me.

 

Although it makes my bpal box smell damn good.

[Castrensis]

In the imp: Lemon & Grapefruit rise to the forefront, sparkling mint suffuses the two and an undercurrent of amber softens & sweetens the lot.

 

On the skin: Surprising floral initially then suddenly soapy. All citrus has fled, no mint remains, amber amps a bit then disappears. I can detect no leather, tea or teakwood.

 

Skin reaction: This took more time than most to turn my skin against me, but alas, a defense was mounted & I was forced to put down the rebellion.

 

Me judice: A feminine fragrance that smells like a cheap scented candle on me.

 

edit:sp.

Edited April 28, 2007 by Castrensis

[Naamah_Darling]

Citrus lemon/grapefruit. Hint of some rare perfume.

 

This is really, really interesting. The grapefruit is a very true and juicy scent, but under it is the perfumey sweetness of amber and the delicate aroma of white tea. Both of those blend seamlessly into the woody bottom notes. The leather here doesn't stand alone; it's mixed up with the other scents and sits somewhere between the amber and the wood. I don't smell the mint at all.

 

This is complicated, busy, intricate. It doesn't smell sexy to me, but it does smell confident and assertive. And it is, indeed, an admirable fusion of new and old-style perfumes. It smells very modern at first, but the drydown is more traditional.

[ralenth]

Bottle: Citrus abounds in here! I think I can catch a floral livening things up.

 

Wet: Lemony, slightly like Pledge. Faint floral lingers in the background.

 

Drydown: Still very citrusy, but less like a cleaning product. Not "sleek elegance" yet, but at least I don't smell like the cleaning lady.

 

Dry: It's bright and slightly cloying. I thought it would be a bit more swanky with a name like Manhattan, but this smells more like I imagine cheer practice would. Overly bubbly.

 

Overall: I want to like it, but I don't. I'll come back to it again later on before it goes in the swap bin.

[Trish]

At first this is all lemon, grapefruit and orchid on me, making it a bright clear citrus floral, and very nice it is too. Gradually the leather emerges, but it's quite a subtle leather mingling with the other notes underneath the citrus. It's a far cooler scent than I usually like, but I am quite enjoying this.

 

And then the amber powder curse strikes yet again.

[waternight]

In the imp: Very faint – I can barely smell anything out of the imp. If I really whuff at it, I get hints of amber and citrus.

Wet/Drydown: First on – citrus and mint. But it’s a gentle mint. The lemon peel and grapefruit are also pretty gentle, not really biting. I think the white tea is calming down those usually-biting notes. There’s a hint of a gentle floral – that’s the orchid. But it’s not overwhelming the other notes. This is very well blended, it’s difficult to pick out separate notes. It’s a sexy, slinky, sophisticated blend. Very polished. There’s a hint of “Department Store Perfume” in this, but it works.

Dry: Fades a lot, but I love it. I wish the scent stayed in the wet/drydown phase.

[Browneyes]

Imp: Lemon lollipop

Wet: Lovely sparkling citrus... over some sort of woody smoothness

Dry: Soft and smooth citrus cologny type scent. Very nice. I like it