Manhattan

[fireflower]

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.

Mmmm, citrusy goodness. I don't get any of the leather or kush or teakwood.. just fruits and flowers balanced out by the tea. Don't detect the amber. I get just a teeny bit of the mint.. it makes the scent feel cooler. This is a citrus that doesn't go incredibly sour or cleaning fluid on me, which I'm incredibly grateful for because I love citrus notes. It's a great scent for summer. I think I may possibly have to buy a bottle of this. Thanks to the labbies for this frimp, because I probably wouldn't have tried it if it wasn't for them.

Edited for scent description and a correction. =) Edited May 26, 2008 by Queen Mab

[nightchild80]

In the Imp (wet): From the description alone, I grew unsure if this scent would appeal enough to join my daily collection. My expectations were for an extremely masculine bouquet, but on the first whiff, the sharpness of the lemon peel strike first, refreshing the senses for the scent of fresh sweat and sex from the leather. If this is a masculine scent, it is one from a man who has youth and strength on his side, and a body who is hard from work and sun.

 

On facial cotton (dry): On the cotton, the fruits come out strongest, with mint playing court jester. It is feminine, youth and joy... untainted by time or experience. There is no hint of the man from the imp at all.

 

On me: Ah, there he is. The white tea has softened him and hints of a spring romance with no one but you for company. It is a first love that will be bittersweet at the end, but fondly remembered in old age. What reservations I had before are completely and utterly unfounded.

[theal8r]

This is another of my "I think this is aged 'cuz the script is the old style" imps.

 

I have noticed that aging on several things that list as "sharp" seems to really tone that down. My sinuses are very happy for that.

 

I was not fond of this imp. It smelled, to me, like a minty Tom Collins.

 

The mint amped like nobody's business. This stuck around for ever and had moderate throw, which, if I could stand smelling like mint chewing gum, I'd have loved it.

 

[TPOD]

Manhattan was a frimp from the lovely labbies.

 

This is a wonderfully light and clean scent. It is lemony and minty with a touch of tea wafting about.

 

It smells like a very expensive spa in a good way. For all this clean smelling goodness, it does not smell of soap or cleanser.

 

Unfortunately, Manhattan is all top notes on me and fades quickly. I get no leather, teak or kush. I'm left with a faint amber-lemon on the skin and no throw at all.

 

It's so lovely that I'm going to order a bottle for those times when I really want to wear a scent, but shouldn't (on an airplane etc).

[marared]

This was a freebie with my decants.

 

I smell no mint or flowers, just amber and wood and leather. It makes me think of a high-rise office where the furniture is solid wood and high-quality leather, which adds very subtly to the smell of a room. I think it adequately represents its description, but not something I'd wear.

[LadyLuckDoubt]

In the Imp

Leather notes and lemon, with a beautiful teak undertone. Yum.

 

On Me

Initially I get the leather-- it's shiny, patent leather, though, and the lemon is making itself known, but the woods aren't. I kill wood notes!

 

What does it actually smell like on me? A fetish shop which has had citrussy air freshener sprayed around in it. For about an hour or two, then, it's vanished entirely.

 

I'm disappointed: I have a New York obsession and this just didn't work on me. I SO wanted it to, too.

[greenranger]

Wet, it starts off all citrus and fruit on me.

 

Drying, the grapefruit is most noticable, and then, it tones down as well.

 

The whole scent is less noticable now. I have to really sniff to find it. There's still wood and tea and leather, with a slight hint of citrus. It's still nice, it just would require slathering it to be noticable.

[jehrichardson]

In the Imp: Citrus with a complex ground of tea and leather.

 

On the Skin: Very consistent. Citrus, tea, leather. It is bright and refreshing. There's a touch of sharpness, but the leather and amber keep it friendly.

 

After a While: Nicely blended. As expected the top notes fade, citrus giving way to tea, then leather. The tiny bit of floral sweetness keeps this feminine.

 

Verdict: Keeper! Mmmm!

[prettybird]

I had to check- twice- to make sure I hadn't already reviewed this one. I can't imagine why I didn't, as I got it ages and ages ago and it's one of my favorites.

 

This is one of my favorite scents for professional wear. It's very lemony and clean, with a nice sweetness as well. Something about it reminds me of very expensive hotels. Now that I reexamine it, it smells more and more like Severin without the tea.

 

It is very lovely, but I think overall I prefer my big bottle of Severin.

[iiinterstate]

Wet: lemon peel and grapefruit... and its yummy. I can't wait to see how all these notes work together.

 

A few minutes later: Now I get the teakwood and the leather, but they're taking a backseat to the citrus so far. No florals yet, but knowing my chemistry, I'm expecting orchid at any moment. Ooh, there's the teeeeny bit of mint.

 

 

Dry: This is a fabulous scent on a lot of levels. I want to gift my perfume-loving co-worker with it, because it will be awesome for daily wear. And of course, I'll need a bit more for myself Sophisticated and memorable.

[galahad]

In The Bottle

Tea and a little bit of leather

 

On Application

Citrus and tea. Fresh but musky

 

Dry Down

Becomes more lemon than grapefruit as it warms. This starts off as a really fresh citrus tea and then becomes warmer and slightly smokier as it goes on. Sophisticated and I like it but will keep it to an imp.

 

Rating (0-5)

3.5

[mgrazulis]

In the imp: Citrus lemon/grapefruit

Wet: more of same but a hint of orchid.

Dry: The grapefruit is a very true and juicy scent with a tell tale hint of mint. Underneath is the sweetness of amber and the delicate aroma of white tea, blended into the teakwood. The leather is in there mixed in with the other notes between the amber and the wood..

 

It does smell confident and assertive and a wee bit sexy. This reminds me a bit of the Sex In The City character Samantha--running her P/R firm, wining and dining her clients, trying to get Smith into another movie deal. I would wear this often!!

 

[tacey]

Manhattan

 

Smelled yummy in the imp, but nothing that I could instantly identify. Once it was on (still wet), it was still nice, and I was able to pick out lemon, something floral (apparently orchid -- so noted), and something I think might be the tea. Very light, so I was more generous in applying.

 

About an hour later, the scent is noticeably changing -- going deeper, smoother. Wow. I'm liking this.

 

3rd hr, still smells good (warmer & deeper yet), but barely there. Half an hour later, it's not a nice smelling, and really faint. Half an hour after that I actually got a bit of scent wafting by -- very surprising, since I thought it was about over -- and it's nice again. Sorry, really couldn't decipher the notes through these phases.

 

By 11:30 in the morning it's just about gone, but what's left is still yummy. I loved this one wet, and it had some great moments through the dry-down. Didn't last well at all, but I think I'll try it again, either wearing more or maybe with re-application.

 

I felt...happy. It was a confident, adult, in-control-of-my-world smell. Someone above said this is how Sex in the City should smell, and that sounds about right to me. Didn't so much say Manhattan to this non-New Yorker. I never was able to pick out the leather -- this was lemon, tea, and orchid for me. But I'm pretty sure there was other stuff in the background that I don't yet have the experience to isolate.

 

ETA: Second wearing -- I still like it, but it really doesn't last. Pretty gone after about an hour, this time. The orchid was the primary note this time, with everything else staying in the background.

Edited September 21, 2008 by tacey

[modillian]

Mmm, let's see, what's kush? According to Wikipedia: Kush refers to a subset of strains of indica cannabis. The origins of Kush cannabis are from a landrace plant in Afghanistan and Northern India, with the name coming from the Hindu Kush valleys. "Hindu Kush" strains of cannabis were brought to the United States in the mid to late 1970s and continue to be available to the present day. Kush strains were among those cultivated by the British firm GW Pharmaceuticals for its legally licensed commercial trial of medicinal cannabis.

 

So! Kush is latent marijuana and British medicine. Niiice!

 

I lovelovelove grapefruit. I am on a mission to try at least all the GC BPAL grapefruit scents. Mmm, grapefruit and leather in the bottle.

 

On wet, grapefruit, lemon, mint. Very yummy so far. Oh yes, something delicious is coming up around five minutes, could it be amber or orchid? I think it's both, actually, the orchid coming up as the grapefruit dies down from the high note, warm amber as the anchor. Not getting any leather or woods at this point. It's got a heady perfume quality too. Very sophisticated so far.

 

Mmmhmm, at ten minutes the sweet florals die back some as the woody notes come out, mostly white tea and a little kush. Still very pretty. And it keeps getting yummier at thirty minutes, with lots of orchid, amber and kush with dollops of grapefruit and mint. This stays a pretty solid kush/orchid/amber scent for a few more hours. I wish the other scents had come out more, as I loved it to begin with. I am ambivalent on Manhattan, but I'll age it just to see if more scents pop out in time.

[aquazoo]

A little leather, a little aftershave — lime. Kinda spicy. Soft. Trade. :-)

[tinyvulture]

my shortened descripton of this scent would be “sexy grapefruit.” the grapefruit is citrusy and cheerful, but the orchid and teak add sophistication, while hints of leather and warm amber add sex appeal. also, there’s a nice subtle sweetness to it, like a fine dusting of powdered sugar. refined, yet light and refreshing.

[Hawke]

Smells almost like Sprite or 7-up in the imp.

 

Wet on skin, this is lemony and extremely light. Which is amazing, given all the listed notes. I have to practically put my nose against my skin to get much of a scent at all. It does get stronger as it soaks in and warms up, so that's a good thing, but I can't say the scent itself is getting any more complex. The sparkle that made me think of soda is gone and now it's a very light faintly citrus and possibly floral scent.

 

It's turned into a sort of lemon-floral now, which is all right, but not really my thing. Still not much throw, so pretty much inoffensive, but sadly probably also forgettable. Swap.

[voodoocatwoman]

In the imp and wet: Citrus- I am smelling grapefruit and lemon.

 

Dry: The sharpness of the citrus backs down and it's much softer. I detect tea and something else that is giving this a bit of an herbal quality.

 

Not bad.

[juniperus]

bottle: citrus, foremost, but the teak is discernible

wet: citrus, tea, mint

dry: the lovely orchid is balanced with the pale citrus, but that leather is beginning to take its place (and I fear - usually leather is very unpleasant on me, or amps to high heaven)

later: damn leather - I can't pick up a darn thing but leather and teak, now.

[Iceblink]

I loved the fresh stage of this--crisp mint and bright citrus! So pretty and light. The leather has come out as it's dried, though, and that's pretty much all I smell now; perhaps a bit of teak too. Those combined with the lingering citrus make this a bit masculine, so...not working, but I loved it wet!

[sionnac]

I get leather and teak almost right away, and love it. (I like masculine scents). Throw isn't massive, which is perfect for me.

[kjirstiben]

Initially on, Manhattan is light and lemony, then there's a hint of the tea behind the lemon.

 

A few minutes later, there's lemon, something sparkly that I read as "booze" but was probably grapefruit, and leather with tea, but all of this with a certain minty bite behind it all.

 

For a while after that, the scent takes on an almost pine-like character, still spiked slightly with mint, and the citrus has definitely changed from lemon to grapefruit.

 

Then, after a couple hours, the tone changed again, completely... it smells, of all things, like sun-dried laundry! Clean, freshly-laundered sheets left to dry in the sun... (not exactly what I associate with Manhattan, the place!)

 

It's quite nice, though a very light scent that started to vanish after an hour.

[cymbeline]

Swap test!

 

Smell alike: A tamed eau sauvage

 

Color impression: bright yellow and acid pink

 

On me: An icy scent, self assured and bright. It’s mainly citrusy (only a tiny bit minty in the back) as the grapefruits and orchid don’t seem strong enough to stand out.

 

Wearing: It feels like a modern Casanova: flirty and quietly powerfull. Another one to try on a man

[stefrand]

ITI: Very rich, warm, and layered. There is a lot going on in this fragrance! It smells kind of perfumey, but I bet that's the combo of florals, woods, and amber. Rather sweet...I wonder where that sweetness is coming from?

 

Wet: The orchid, leather, and woods jump out right away. Gosh, this is lovely. The citrus and mint keep it from being too heavy. I'm guessing the sweetness is the amber and the green tea.

 

Dry: This is fascinating. I can smell the leather, but it is a sexy, slinky leather. There is a good amount of sweetness, but not too much. Floral but not overpowering.

 

Drydown: Complex and compelling. I think this would make an excellent evening scent. It morphs. Every sniff of it I get smells a little different, but always good. It is hard to pin down exactly what this smells like.

 

Final Thoughts: I need a bottle. This is riveting.

[batsy]

In the vial: lemon-scented dish washing liquid. Eep?

 

On the skin: Whoa, I swear there's licorice in this. But I know there's not, so I'm not sure what's causing that. Maybe it's the teakwood? As it's begun to dry, the white tea/grapefruit/mint are really taking over. It's not something I could associate with Manhattan -- I've never been there; only seen it on TV and in movies -- but maybe someone who has would. It's certainly different and a complex blend of interesting notes.