Manila

[TrailerTrashPrincess]

A tropical, humid, lush scent, with a faint echo of Pacific breezes, jungle blossoms, and deep wet woods. Sampaguita blossoms, banana leaf, palm, and narra.

i was kinda hoping for the banana...

impsniff & wet on skin: juicyfruit gum

drying on skin: Fruit Stripe gum...complete with the wierd sharp-ish zingy note that isn't mint, but isn't sweet. if the aftertaste from saccharin had a smell, it'd be that.

about an hour later: ah. banana blossoms... never smelled 'em, but that's what this makes me think. or maybe banana yogurt.

90 minutes later: gone as gone can be. maybe its cuz i hadn't used any lotion or oil beforehand, but even so, most oils don't completely vanish on me that fast!

this is nice, a tropical scent that isn't a floral or a drink -- but i think i'll send my imp to portalkat cuz she really seems to like it.

[sookster]

straight sniff from imp is soury, tangy banana

 

once applied, heavy duty lush florals...it must be the sampaguita blossoms

 

i had such high hope for this because of the banana leaf alas, it is far too

perfumey for my liking

[em_h]

Came as a frimp in my last order.

 

Wet: Okay, not good to start with -- weird plasticky fruit candy smell. But we'll see where it goes.

 

Drying: Not getting much better. It's quite artificial-smelling on me, unfortunately.

 

Dry: Once it gets to dry-down, it's actually not bad, some soft fruity notes and some (oddly) sun-baked grass, which merge kind of nicely. But on the whole I think this would be better used by someone else.

[fairy]

I didn't get the tropical feel on this one but that's not to say I didn't love it. I think from the description the "deep wet woods" part summed it up nicely. It's a very pretty, floral deep scent.

[Meg]

In the bottle: Banana and jungle woods.

 

Wet: Synthetic banana, very tart, that dies down to give way to soft, wet woods and something green.

 

Drydown: A soft, rather faint wood, with a light floral over it that I can't quite pinpoint. Then another wood pops up, much sharper, a little like cedar. There's a bit of a fruity berry scent to this, too.

 

Overall: It's a mostly woody and slightly acidic blend on me, that smells a bit sickly and not unlike cat pee on me. I don't find it particularly pleasant, woody blends don't tend to agree with me. Off to swaps with Manila.

[Dandelion]

Banana, greenery, and heady lush florals. I really like the BPAL tropical blends I've tried so far, but this one isn't as nice as Machu Picchu or Pele. It doesn't seem to have the sweetness of either of them. Or... to use a horribly conceited metaphor ( ), Manila actually smells like a tropical island. Banana, faint tropical flowers, jungle greenery, dirt from the roads. Whereas the other two are like the romantic idea of the tropics. Manila smells like the Dominican Republic - the nicer bits, not the poor barrios. Pretty and tropical, but still real. And I just want the fairytale. ^^

[Dinerdulcinea]

in imp: sour bananas

 

on wet: sour bananas with flowers

 

on Dry: Quickly becomes a bright floral with...jasmine. *does research* Probably the Sampaguita flowers (which appear to be a type of jasmine)

 

LATER: Eventually becomes a nice, WARM floral. The warmth may come from the fruit, which disappears completely at first, but comes back in a more pleasant state. Very pleasant and nicely balanced.

 

Summary: I might wear this every now and then, but don't feel compelled to get a bottle just yet.

[Clementine]

Hm, yes, Manila somehow encapsulates tropical humidity in a bottle. It's really an interesting scent when wet. The drydown is perfectly nice--a sweet and unassuming fruity scent, reminiscent of bananas--but the wet stage is one of those "how can this possibly be replicated and bottled?!" fragrances. I will definitely use up my imp, but I doubt that I will purchase a bottle.

 

ETA: I think I will purchase a bottle eventually. I wore this today, and it was divine. It's especially great when layered with Comptoir Sud Pacifique's Vanille Banane--lovely combination of bananas!

Edited October 8, 2006 by Clementine

[supremegoddessofall]

Fairly light scent. It went on *very* banana. It's pleasant, but I can't pull out any notes other than banana and a general "forest" scent.

 

Score: 3 out of 5

[LiberAmoris]

Bananas! Manila goes on with a strong banana note and a mix of lush florals. The banana note soon fades and it's a cheerful tropical blend---fruity floral with a slight sweet undercurrent. Banana is probably my least favorite fruit note, but it doesn't bother me here, which is really saying something.

 

I like this. I don't need more than my imp but I think this would be terrific in the bath.

[steffanina]

Manila-

 

In Bottle: Froooooooot! And bananas! Which, well, are fruit too, but you get the idea.

 

Wet: An odd little musky bloom with the fruit.

 

Dry: This is pleasant and fruity and sweet for a while; the fade is fairly quick, but it was pleasantly sweet while it lasted. I wish the banana had stayed around, but it was gone when I put it on.

 

Overall: Nice.

[swilde]

Dang- overripe bananas. Where is my tropical beach?

[maribouquet]

Weep, weep, this does not work for me!

 

I get bananas, pencils and sunscreeny feet. Meh. Silly skin.

 

Also rather light on me, and fades quickly...

 

 

I can see how this would be a lovely, breezy tropical scent on others, though.

[kwsix]

In the imp: Tropcial fruit!

 

Wet on my skin: Still tropical fruit, but some I detect some lush flowers in the background. Something reminds me of tobacco, actually a sweet cigar, but from the description I have no idea what that would be. Maybe the wet woods?

 

Drydown: As it dries Manila turns into fermenting fruit and pencil shavings on me, which oddly enough isn't as bad as it sounds. It's a soft scent without a lot of throw, and it fades quickly.

 

Overall: Manila is nice, but it isn't distinctive enough to hold my interest.

Edited November 23, 2006 by evilmistressoftoast

[fruitycake]

Mmm, I smell fresh, authentic bananas - none of this artificial, overly sweet fruit scents with an earthy, wooden note that grounds the sweetness of the fruit (do I smell a bit of coconut, too?). This is not your typical tropical-type of fragrance - it's complex with earthy, ozone notes that adds a level of sophistication to the ripe bananas. Lovely.

[KassiK]

This scent is the smell of drinking a tropical smoothie on a beach. Very nice smell because it does what it says it will do, but too fruity for me. I'll have to pass this one off to my step mom.

[oh_the_horror]

This is super perfumey at first. It smells like latex paint on me. Uh.. That's not a good sign.

 

Now I smell florals turning sharp. I guess those jungle blossoms don't like me too much. Something starts to smell like coconut and/or banana and pencil shavings. This is really bad on me. I bet this would be great on someone else.

 

It ends up being another floral gone wrong with my chemistry.

[femmefatale]

Wow, I'm starting to think that having a cold is messing w/my chemistry far more than I thought. I asked hubby if it was my nose, though he is picking up the same scents.

 

That said, I LOVE this scent. So far it is not fruity or sweet at all, but more tropical musky on me. I can't stop sniffing my wrists trying to figure out the exact scent.

 

I will definately try this scent again. Maybe a bottle if it stays this way.

 

 

ETA: I tried it in a locket today and OMG, what a difference! It does smell like a tropical island. Fruity, but true fruity, not the fake oversweet fruit. More like fruit still on the trees, green and lush with hints of flowers on a watery breeze. I really love and I will definately be getting a bottle!

Edited February 8, 2007 by Femme_Fatale

[nemaihne]

Got this as a frImp and it's not one I would have chosen. But I gave it a try and I liked it a lot more than I thought I would.

In the bottle and wet, it smelled green and lush with hints of coconut- or at least the coconut scent they put in sunscreen. Within a few minutes on, I smelled like one of the surf shops. It was a very warm and almost humid scent. Very nice and perfect for hiding from winter. But I think it might be one that makes me sneeze, so it will go in the oil burner instead of on the skin.

[maijasu]

This is a very sweet banana at first, morphing quickly into a very light tropical floral. It's nice enough, but not something I like enough to need a bottle.

[starcr]

Hrm. I’m not sure I know what half those things even are. In the bottle, I definitely smell fruit, though it’s not a strongly specific smell. Some banana and some coconut? Maybe a little floral. Certainly a tropical scent. I don’t know about lush and humid, though. I’d have expected some greenery from the description, but I don’t smell any.

 

On me, the scent sort of rounded out, eventually. At first the coconut kind of took over, but not in a suntan-oil kind of way. It must’ve been mellowed by something, although I couldn’t say what. In a bit, the greenery did start to come forward, and then it was a really tropical scent. Not tropical-drink tropical, but tropical-island tropical. If that makes sense. After a bit longer, though, an earthier, almost smoky smell started to make itself known. Eventually it came to remind me of tropical-scented incense, and that was pretty much where it stayed. It’s really different from anything else I’ve tried from BPAL, and… I think I like it, in its own way.

[little_galaxie]

Yummy yummy yummy, Manila smells like banana flowers to me.

 

Not the actual flowers from a banana tree, per se, but rather imagine a basket of sweet, ripe yellow bananas combined with the gentlest, most buttery blooms available.

 

Love it!

[lapillus]

In bottle: Smoky rum and vanilla

 

Wet: Smokey rum and vanilla into which something lighter and fruity has been tossed.

 

Dry: Lovely smokey sweetness. However for me it is absolutely sinus clogging and I am washing it off.

 

 

Too bad because it’s lovely warm mellow scent that I’d otherwise enjoy at least the imp.

 

 

Summary: my nose says yes, my sinuses scream NO!!!

 

The sinuses win and I’m sticking it in the to trade pile.

Edited February 23, 2007 by lapillus

[filigree_shadow]

Well, I don't really know what any of these notes smell like on thei own, so I'm not sure exactly which notes I'm smelling. I do know that I like this, though. It doesn't exactly smell like bananas, but it does smell tropical. Sweet. And there's a lovely undercurrent of something creamy, too.

 

Actually this scent reminds me a lot of Vasakasajja. Sweet, slightly floral, a little bit creamy and a little bit fruity... all in all, lovely.

[mspixieears]

Heavenly, flirty combination that reminds me of both Jezebel and the Little Shop of Beauty ‘Island Baby’ fragrance, but better! I think that this is more floral than Jezebel, which is sweeter. The faintest hint of jasmine when wet and much fruitier then dries down to that soft powdery floral with a touch of tropical fruit – with just the barest hint of that faecal-type jasmine note – just a hint! Truly breathtaking and very reminiscent of life in the Philippines (in my experience, anyway), especially after a nice, fresh rainfall. The smallest trace is still evident even six hours after applying, though I did reapply so perhaps that isn’t fully accurate. It does last behind ears a real treat though!