Manhattan

[mooncityminx]

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 vial: fruit punch with lemons

Wet: Lemon candy, something powdery, some kind of clean floral

Drydown: sweet lemon floral. The floral is subtle enough. This is reminding me of Vampire Tears but with a more subtle lemon, and more floral. This still maintains a slight fruit punch feeling.

This would make a nice feminine summer fragrance, like flowers, candy and lemonade.

[toomuch]

This blends so smoothly that I can't pick out the individual notes, but it evokes elegance and success, high-rises and expensive shops. It is subdued but sophisticated.

[Ajila]

In the bottle – Predominantly grapefruit

 

Wet on me – The lemon peel and, I think, the kush with a hint of the teakwood. A bright clear scent with warm undertones

 

Dry on me – A warm, slightly spicy vanilla scent that fades out to nothing

 

Overall – It was pleasant enough, but very faint and what there was faded quickly

 

[Ceri]

In the vial: Grapefruit, lemon and white mint. Is this Manhattan? :/

 

Wet: The floral makes an entrance, white mint and some spiciness makes it quite nice.

 

Drydown: Sweet, soft floral with a touch of leather. If sophistication has a scent this will be it.

 

Overall: I'm definitely keeping my imp. But I'm not sure if I like it enough for a bottle. Shall see.

[Bluestocking]

In the imp: Excellent! It's a very fresh, light and citrusy floral fragrance, with definite lemon, grapefruit and tea. I can smell the orchid in there somewhere, along with the barest suggestion of mint—it's not aggressively minty, but it's just freshening things up, as white mint does.

On, wet: Lemon, grapefruit and pale white tea, with that delicious freshness of the white mint. I think I'm in love with this one. It's so smooth!

On, dry: I'm starting to get a little bit of leather and some very beautiful, nuanced sweetness from the orchid—less lemon, but that fresh quality remains. Gah, this just gets better and better.

Later: Oh, bliss! It mellows to an exotic, subtle and rich teak/orchid/amber combo, with just a whisper of leather—think gleaming wood, dim lighting, polished leather chairs and designer clothes. Most definitely the sweet smell of success, not to mention sleek and stylish luxury.

Overall: Elegant, posh, sophisticated and smoothly stunning. It looks like such an odd collection of notes on the page, but they all work together so well, blending seamlessly into something greater than its individual parts. I don't know if it smells like Manhattan--maybe the Manhattan of Sex and the City?--but it's a definite winner for me. I'd bathe in this stuff if it wouldn't bankrupt me.

 

 

[unlaced]

In the imp: Citrus-y and a teensy bit minty with leather undertones... Ooohhh I think I'm gonna like this one. The citrus reminds me of Carnal a lot and I love Carnal so big plus there.

 

Wet on my skin: It moves away from the Carnal feeling and takes on its own kind of citrus-y/fruity smell but a little darker thanks to the leather. I don't get any teak or anything right now but I think there's a little tea in there? It's so light it's hard to tell.

 

Dry: Wow. I really love this. Not so fruity anymore. It's a little bit floral, a little bit fruit, with the leather tying it all together... I have to get a bottle of this right now.

[rayvn1]

I would not have guessed there was amber or leather in here, though that is why I tracked an imp of this down - drat it... The citrus really amps on me and it's a refreshing light tea and citrus blend with only a hint of deeper, darker things. Pretty and I think I'll try again with this one later.

[catatonic1242]

In the imp: I get the notes in this order -- leather, teak, lemon and mint. It's delicious.

 

On, wet: Very lemony and I kind of want to say that it smells kind of dusty, but not in an unpleasant way. It's like a man's study that has just been dusted with lemon Pledge. Which I like the smell of, apparently.

 

On, dry: Mmmm, lemony leather with a touch of mint. It smells like a distinguished older gentleman. I'm not sure how I feel about wearing it out, but I could happily huff my wrists for the next couple of hours...

[asciident]

Wet: Super sour. I'm nervous about putting it on.

 

First on: Cherries? Weird.

 

Dry: Same on drydown.

[femmefatale]

I was really hoping this one would work, since I love leather, but it starts off smelling like bathroom hand soap.

 

After a little while though I think the black amber is struggling to come out and it becomes a bit less soapy. It's rather pretty now, but since I'm trying to only keep what I love, it's off to swaps.

 

 

[Seismogenic]

I admit that I was more intrigued by this oil because I like New York City and haven't been there in five years than I was by the specific notes. It was, though, a combination that I couldn't quite picture, so I figured I should actually try it. Lastly, I admit that my decision to try this scent right now was influenced by a recent reading of Watchmen and amusement over ordering Manhattan and Ozymandias in the same imp pack.

 

In the imp: Citrus, leather, and vetiver.

 

Wet on skin: Mostly grapefruit, with a little edge of mint, and some vetiver and leather in the backdrop.

 

Drydown: Freshly dry, the citrus notes are already fading. Oddly, so is the vetiver. What's under there is orchid, leather, and a bit of amber. At one hour later, there's a smooth mix of orchid and amber and maybe the tiniest bit of leather. Whatever it is, it's already much fainter than before.

 

Five hours later: Pretty much gone. If I sniff my wrist, I can tell that it's a little different from the skin that didn't have oil on it, but it doesn't smell like any particular distinct thing.

 

End of the day: Very gone.

 

Overall: Thanks to the rapid disappearing act this oil pulled, I was pretty underwhelmed by the whole thing. When I could still smell it, I think it did fit the description of smooth and sleek. I'm not sure that's my immediate association with New York City, though, if only because I find its history as interesting as its modern image. But mostly, yeah, disappearing act is not appreciated. Will probably be swapping this one.

[Kikkervisje]

Wet: Slightly sweet and herbal? Maybe the amber, mint, tea, and orchid? With a slight… sensation of grapefruit? Nothing overt, although I think the main notes I’m getting are probably orchid and leather. The leather seems a touch off on me, but it gives the otherwise fresh blend an animalic edge. Extremely light. I’m guessing wear time is going to be decidedly low. None of the strong citrus that others have reported, but that just lends strength to my theory that my body negates citrus notes. Hard to pick out distinctive notes on this one.

 

Dry: My mind reads the combination as dry/herbal/grape.

 

Wear Time: All day.

 

Fits Description?: I would say initially it had a power and confidence, sort of… “See, I don’t even have to try and I’m better.” But that didn’t last.

 

Overall: Subtle and complex. Something about it reminds me a bit of Bess, but I can’t put my finger on it. (Actually, very Bess-like at the end.) Doesn't do it for me.

[bronwyn]

Oooh, this is a new favorite for my 'work' blends - it's sleek and yummy and sexy but hasn't got a lot of throw to it with my skin chemistry. The lemon is bright, but the teak keeps it seductive. LOVE this.

 

In the bottle, it's mostly citrus, but once it's on, it becomes this pleasant, dusky scent that stays to the nice side of powdery (maybe it's the orchid?) - I love it! And best of all, even if I slather on far too much, it isn't overpowering.

 

I am definitely getting a full size of this when my imp runs out.

 

:heart:

[liquidtrance]

In bottle, primarily grapefruit. Immediately on wrists, (slightest) leather-lemon-grapefruit. Teak and perhaps the tea very far back. There's a little bit of a weird combo cropping up.. The citrus is much less prominent.. Could be the amber, taking this a little powdery... If there is any mint it is very faint..

As this dries out it really balances itself. The citrus comes even. There is a soft hint of the leather, and the florals and amber balance out the citrus kick. Unexpectedly nice. The leather is nothing like Dee's biker leather... Here it is very soft and elegant and goes great with the other notes (not that Dee isn't great, too!). Perhaps not an all time wear, but worth hanging on to for a little while. It really turns into something subtle and nice. Not a lot of throw. But it is all of it's parts combined, without any one note screaming out. If I didn't know already what was in this, I wouldn't be able to name any individual scent. Soft, delicate but not too innocent. Not too creamy the way Morocco is. Has a little more edge to it. Good blend once it's dry. On second thought, this scent is damn good. A cool, sexy scent. Definitely does start to inspire glamorous women walking through Manhattan is heels and couture clothing. I'd consider a large bottle of this.

[Shadowdawn]

In the Imp: grapefruit and.... incense? :S Something thick and sweet....(in a non foody way)

 

Wet on: all the citrus has vanished, but it has morphed the "thick" sweetness into a clean sweetness.

 

shortly after: like.... some sort of yellow flower... marigold? daisy? some "yellow" flower type thing. But fresh flower, nothing like airfreshener.

 

a while later: kinda like.... :S herbal... soap.

 

Final verdict: I am not a huge fan of flowers, would have LOVED it if the citrus hung around. but, again, another one that is lovely on my mother.

[tajana]

Starts off with citrus, all swanky grapefruit and lemon zest squeezed into chilled white tea. As the astringency of the citrus smooths out the sprig of cold, luminous mint comes into focus, harmonizing with one of the strongest white tea notes I've yet to smell in a BPAL oil. This doesn't smell like a mere tasty iced tea drink, oh no. It's got a lovely dose of sharp black leather, too. This is a relative of Severin at this point, but more feminine, expensive, sleek, and domineering. About ten minutes in the orchid comes forth with an elegant flourish, blending perfectly with a kush and teak wood cologne. The leather gets stronger as the citrus-mint tea gradually fades, but it retains a cool and fresh quality.

 

The lasting power is pretty weak, but that's par for the course with citrus-tea blends. I can't speak as to how true this is to the spirit of Manhattan, as I've never even been to NYC, but I can say that this an urbane sort of perfume. I really enjoy it, and my imp will be in heavy rotation as long as the weather stays warm.

[Gin]

Manhattan, fresh out the imp is grapefruit and tea and I think I got a mislabeled imp. Then it goes leatherLEATHERleather, and I know it's no mistake. It's very smooth. Beyond the leather, I don't know what I'm smelling. Cool swankiness, I guess. Very nice--much nicer than I expected!

[topazphoenix]

This is mostly bright citrus tea, powdery, with something floral in there. There is leather in this too but it's practically non detectable to my nose.

[donnatron]

Imp: Light citrus with a hint of creaminess to it. Slightly metallic smell.

 

Wet: This goes on super faint. It's mainly citrus and tea on me--sort of like an urbane Embalming Fluid. It hits my skin and nearly disappears.

 

Dry: A light hint of orchid with citrus and tea. No leather or wood. Despite the faintness and the lack of complexity this seems to have fairly decent wearlength. The more I smell it the more I'm like, "I bet Tom Hanks smelled like this when he filmed Bonfire of the Vanities!" Why? I don't know. That's the association I get and it's probably largely influenced by the name. It does evoke urban elegance and there's a certain androgynous edge to it.

 

Throw: Mild.

 

Overall: I actually really like this. I might consider a bottle for next summer. It's refreshing and cooling with a bit more of an edge than I get from a lot of the lighter citrus scents.

[Reaver]

Lemon and tea all the way. I had to re-apply after about 15 minutes as I usually apply and then sniff for a while (applying - when it's fully dry to get all the stages of the scent ) before writing reviews but this was faded before I got the chance to! It gets a little soapy too, which is a bit of a downer. Looking at the notes in this, I would have thought it would stick around a LITTLE longer but no. Fail. I get no leather or teak out of this, which are some of my favorites. Fail. All kinds of fail after wanting so much from this. Darn. It smells really nice before it disappears though. Maybe save it for summer when I want really light scents?

 

7/10 as it's so nice before it vanishes!

[SlySionnach]

Imp: Something sharp, almost making me want to sneeze. And something fruity. My nose sure loves fruit.

 

Wet: I smell some sort of ‘girly’ drink. I would say it’s a cosmo but I don’t get the cranberry scent. It’s something more citrus. Probably the lemon and the grapefruit.

 

Dry: Is that mint? Perhaps more of a mojito then. I’m really not sure why I get this boozy, bubbly scent from this but…alas.

 

I wish I could smell more of the leather or flowers. So many fruit blends just turn to fruit. It’s a shame. Silly chemistry.

[angelicruin]

It's like the lab knew I just got back from NYC and decided to frimp me some Manhattan.

 

This is a light citrus blend...I get lemon, tea, leather, and light mint on my skin. Fades kind of fast, but is a really refreshing, clean scent.

[Calligrafiti]

Imp: sharp, bright citrus. This reminds me of a perfume called Nonchalance that my mom use to have. I was always stealing it.

 

Wet: still citrus, but darker, richer notes are coming out.

 

Dry: the citrus is pretty much gone, leaving leather, amber, and something slightly sweet. A good work fragrance. I'll definitely keep the imp, and I might consider buying a bottle when it's gone.

[Invidiana]

I don't live too far from Manhattan, so I definitely had to try this imp when I got it, because I wanted to see if it had anything at all in common with my personal impression of that part of New York. It's not really me; a very bubbly white-tea-and-grapefruit scent that I can definitely see Carrie Bradshaw types wearing, but on the whole I generally gravitate towards darker, more sinister stuff. The amber does come out more on the drydown, but I would have loved the leather and amber notes to really be dominant.

 

 

[jennythereader]

First worn on: 6/14/2009

 

In the Imp: Fruity/chemical

 

Wet: A little fruity, tropical drink smell

 

Dry: It smells like the "White Ginger" soap that the (I think Mariott) hotel Arisia (a SF convention in Boston) is in provides. Goes away fairly quickly.

 

Rating: 1 - get rid of it! In fact, I already traded it away.

 

Comments from others: My husband says: soapy