Isle of Man

Isle of Man has that Frapin artisanal DNA, and I adore it for the versatility it offers when worn in changing seasons, when its less obvious facets dominate. Sometimes the marine quality presides, at other times it’s peppery and vegetal, or woody with a slight smokiness. IoM is a also great layering tool, making it versatile and well worth the cost to me. The official Frapin site has it listed as a Citrus fragrance, and Fragrantica as an AromaticGreen. According to Frapin, this is the pyramid Top notes: grapefruit, bitter orange, basil Middle notes: accord of salt, freesia and violet Bass notes: ironwood, Haitian vetiver, musk I would have said that Isle of Man falls under the woods group myself, but you see what I mean. This is a fragrance with many faces. I can’t say I have much in common with the description issued by the house though. “Isle of Man is a resolutely masculine fragrance, a celebration of the fearless and intrepid for those who laugh in the face of death-defying odds. It salutes free spirits and adrenaline addicts who know that truly living means pushing boundaries. You’re never more alive than when life is on the line”. Well....I’m a woman who has never once wanted to parachute/swim with sharks/climb an erupting volcano or even frolic naked across a sporting field during a grand final. I did get a speeding ticket once though. What I do know is that Isle of Man is very weather dependent. On autumn or winter days the musky base notes are warm and cosy, and even better in the cold. On cool wet days I enjoy IoM even more. I don’t find that it works well in high humidity or heat, despite the citrus and green vegetal top and middle notes. Then the musk and woods just annoyed me, so I suspect that might be ISO E Super. I have the same issue with Lana by Santa Maria Novella. That smothering sensation you just can’t escape. It doesn’t happen in many fragrances for me, and because I love IoM so much, I just won’t wear it out in hot humid weather. So, all in all, Isle of Man is a worthy addition to your wardrobe to be worn as Alienor Massenet created it, or as an extremely versatile layering tool. Below are are some options I enjoyed. If you get a sample, have some fun with it. Prada Infusion d’Vetiver, Creed Green Irish Tweed, Eva Santa Maria Novella(citus&musk), Hermes Eau de Marveilles, Dior Homme Cologne, 4711 Basil & Blood Orange, 4711 Pink Pepper and grapefruit, Guerlain Du Coq, Chanel Coromandel (has bitter orange), Givenchy Eau Demoiselle (Basil and citrus) Acqua Allegoria citrus range, Bleu de Chanel Parfum, Chanel Chance Eau Tendre, Santa Maria Novella Fresia, Creed Milessime Imperial, Paco Rabanne Olympoea, Batucada L'Artisan Parfumeur.

I'm obsessed with Terre d'Hermes but I can't wear it because it was the signature fragrance of an ex of mine. I think Comme des Garcons Man 2 is one of the best fragrances ever created but you can't walk down a single street in Melbourne without smelling it at least twice. Bal d'Afrique to me is brilliant, but not enough to warrant purchasing a full bottle (not yet anyhow). I have been on the hunt for a dreamy woody vetiver fragrance for what seems like forever and I've finally found a strong contender in Isle of Man - it fits the bill entirely. Dreamy, creamy, sweet and citrusy vetiver with an uber masculine backing that smells mature, rugged and sophisticated. I am this close to buying a bottle, but there is something holding me back. It's the overwhelming masculinity of the profile that just makes me wonder... can I really pull this off? I don't know how many times I've had to learn the important lesson, that just because you love a perfume does not mean it will suit you. And this is one of those instances where I'm on the fence. I am keeping it on my wishlist for now, if I can’t find something more appropriate I’ll take the plunge. All that aside, it's a brilliant perfume and it deserves a very high rating. I think it's more appropriate for cooler weather and definitely 30+ with a lot of confidence.

I picked this up on a Luckyscent sample binge on a lark — I'm a total vetiver hound and enjoy watching old Isle of Man racing footage, so why not? The ultra macho brand copy had me expecting a classic, masculine barbershop scent, which I'll wear even if it tends to startle people on a woman. Whatever, vetiver is great. I was pleasantly surprised at what I got instead: a note-perfect grapefruit that mellows into a softly salty and powdery driftwood vetiver with the occasional sweet burst of freesia. It's not resolutely unisex; it kinda wobbles between masc of center to almost feminine depending on the minute and the mood. I spent the first half-hour wearing this with my nose pressed to my arm where I'd applied it, huffing deeply, hooked on the vibrant citrus and then reminded of Northern California beaches as the wood and musk came in. It's ocean-y in a cool, bright, relaxed way, and while it's not especially complicated, I couldn't get its light, easy balance of green and wood and floral off my mind, and ended up ordering a full bottle.

For me this is very close to Hermes Vetiver Tonka. Opens very orangey / mandarin, with green notes of vetiver and basil. Then it turns creamy, with the same sweet praline note as in VT. I get really good longevity with moderate projection. I rate this really highly, it's not spoken about much but is worth a try for a very well balanced masculine fragrance

Amazing vetiver fragrance, woody, bitter but still smooth and very enjoyable. It has this salty, creamy, fresh coconut like vibe to it. It has the same feeling as Bal D ́Afrique or Vetiver Tonka.

Salty Orange with Creamy Coconut feeling A little bit weird but after 2-3 times of wearing i really love it. Longivity was good as citrus fragrance

Smooth, slightly salty skin in the morning. This person owns a cabin by the beach and is wearing linen and and a cable knit jumper at night.

Smells like Froot Loops milk. I love it. 9/10

Awesome unique scent not sure if there is quite anything like it. It’s NOT anything like Creed Viking and it doesn’t have pineapple. It has an exceptionally bright realistic grapefruit opening bodied out with a tart orange quickly drying down to reveal a not too strong salty soft wood and musk with a little freesia and a tinge of dried basil behind the orange. It sometimes comes across a little caramel like, nose to skin I sometimes get walnut shell and a little creaminess. The solid orange becomes more prominent and stable over time becoming the more prominent note. For me this is a scent to bundle amongst Acqua Di Parma Arancia Di Capri or Eau D’Orange Vert or Kerosene Summer of 84 or Imaginary Authors Sundrunk. It’s unique enough to have its own spot next to them, I’m tempted to buy a bottle though I know I will have to pour it on. I can imagine salt spray hitting me in an orange grove by the sea side. It’s fresh and light. A number of retailers are listing this as a male scent but it’s definitly unisex. I’ll have to come back regarding the longevity but I fear it’s typical Frapin and a little under par for an EDP but if you like orange citrus I would suggest give it a go!

This starts out with a semisweet, juicy, very realistic grapefruit note. The basil which follows close on its heels adds depth and some warmth. I can feel the salt before I smell it; as with all salt notes, it feels like I've just rinsed my mouth out with salt water and can feel the remnants lingering at the back of my throat. The citrus starts skewing away from grapefruit and towards orange about five minutes in. After a few hours, it transforms into a smooth, creamy vetiver. This is one of very few fragrances which has an early stage I actually like; top notes are usually my least favourite part of a fragrance's evolution, but these are great. It's really nice! It barely projects at all on me, though, and I wish it lasted longer. If the performance was better, I'd definitely buy a full bottle of this. As it is, I'll have to think on it for a while. I definitely suggest trying it out, though, because if it performs well on your skin, you may have found a great fragrance.

Purchased this from a female youtuber recommendation, who described it as a "salty citrus". While those notes are definitely in this blend, the most prominent ones are the woody notes, especially the vetiver. To me it's a crisp, cold woodsy frag with the spiciness of the citruses. The salt helps to mellow it to the skin, making it more wearable. It performs best in cooler weather, with no heat or humidity (which is hard living in Australia, so mine doesn't get much of a workout). Can be pulled off as unisex, but definitely leans toward male for my nose.

A nice easy to reach for aromatic green fragrance. The perfume opens with citrusy aromatic notes of grapefruit, basil and orange peel. The heart is mostly sea salt with a bit of violet and freesia. The perfume settles on a powdery base of synthetic musk, vetiver and cedar. While this is not particularly unique, the perfume has a fresh easygoing feel about it. Masculine leaning with moderate sillage and projection and good longevity. Pleasant but unexceptional. Enjoy!

Isle of Man is described as citrus fruit over vetiver and ironwood, which I liked the sound of. But the smell didn't really match the description for me. When I wear it, the woody notes are overpowered by a juicy fruit smell, but not recognizably orange or grapefruit, or even citrus. In fact, "Juicy Fruit" is appropriate because it reminds me of a "tropical mix" chewing gum with an indistinct blend of flavors like pineapple, mango and kiwi.

Really nice green woodsy scent. There’s a lot of dimensions to it, but they’re all very smooth and subtle, each note bleeding into each other: green leaves, sea salt, a whiff of flowers, a grounded base of woods. The smell of a coastal forest, but softened and rounded out. I’d say it’s full bottle worthy but the sillage and longevity are very low.

- calming, relaxing, and subtle - the vetiver and wood are present yet well-blended; this is not like the other vetiver / wood frags you've smelled 1000x before

Interesting take on the Vetiver which is usually a note I find very nauseating. It is fresh, salty, polite and as often with Frapin, a bit too weak. 6,5/10.

I really love this. Sadly it does not last on my skin for very long at all or give off a large sillage for me. Only reason why I wouldn't get again.

For me this is like a woodsy version of a traditional cologne. Like 4711 + vetiver. It's pleasant enough.

Testing this blind, the opening gave me elements of orange and floral but was quite fleeting and reduced down to a skin scent quickly, leaving me with only a soft aura of itself and not really indicative of any specific characteristics. But later, it blossoms and I get a fresh and slightly sweet powdery feeling. Not sure if my skin warmed up or it just has a delayed reaction, but it was a rebound I've never experienced before. Looking at the name and notes now, while fresh, isle of man I do not get. While the bitter orange, grapefruit, and salt bring in the refreshing feeling it's not breezy, all that salty, or island of anything. The delayed violet and freesia powder is clear and the most apparent. And while I don't doubt the woods provide a base, they're quite soft and far in the background. I don't get the basil at all. Overall, it's pretty light and airy and I don't feel it matches its name.

At first impression, I get sea salt, citrus and basil (weird, but I like how well done the basil is here). Off the bat, it reminds me of a more masculine twist on my beloved Air di Gioia. As the citrus accord begins to fade (around 2 hours in), the vetiver shines through, and the basil remains steadfast. Again, unexpected and a bit weird, but still digging it big time. Longevity is on the longer side of moderate, lasting about 5-6 hours on my skin. For the asking price, I'd much rather go with my Air di Gioia, although it would appear both are discontinued, and are therefore going to be a bit more difficult to find than scents still in active production. I'm glad that I was able to score my back-up bottles of Air at Marshalls when I did. If you find Air di Gioia to be a touch too feminine for your tastes, it might be worth seeking out a sample of Isle of Man.

On my skin, Isle of Man burst forth with airy greens and zest, evolving within minutes to a rounded, dry vetiver. This vetiver forms the main presentation of this scent for me. Isle of Man performs slightly better than its Frapin siblings, though remains mostly a skin scent throughout. Not a bad vetiver, but this particular presentation of the grass root is not uncommon. I do like Nuit de Megeve better, which has a very similar vetiver accord presented with a better background of coffee and tobacco. Worth sampling for vetiver fans.

Fairly generic warm/woody scent. Strong dislike from my partner - she thought it smelled like the drydown of a thousand men’s colognes (and that was when freshly sprayed). Fair enough. Seems like this brand sometimes aims for trying-to-fit-in, pleasant but typical scents, and it’s not bad until you picture yourself in a bar-room full of faceless cologne-hounds at last call.

The notes looked interesting but I was dissapointed. Opens up with a blast of citruses and woods but the dry down was weird : green, salty woody/nutty fragrance, nothing unique, borderline boring and quite generic. Sample before buying.

Great opening but way too short lived

I agree with Lorenzo, reminded me of Creed Viking. Starts with a big grapefruit note that leads into the salt accord which then leads to a big dose of basil, Vetiver and piercing woods. A big pass for me, I will stick to Frapin’s greatest work, Speakeasy.

Persian فضای این عطر بنفشه است اولش فضای سنگین ادویه ای چوبی پلاستیکی داره بعد از دو ساعت ترکیب مرکبات بالا می آید یک مزخرف تمام عیار 02/10

2017 Alienor Massenet Top: Bitter orange, Grapefruit, Basil Middle: Salt, Violet, Freesia Base: Vetiver, Woodsy Notes (Ironwood supposedly) Musk Upon Open: the orange is readily detectable, but not for more than a few minutes. Super mild smokiness maybe from the woodsy notes. This Vetiver is really, really nice. I am a Vetiver hater convert. It took Roja Dove and Tom Ford to really help me out. Later on I looped back to Guerlain to find it to be so playful, light, and right in the no-nonsense zone. On Frapin Isle of Man, it seems like the Vetiver, Violet and maybe the basil are combining to form some kind of abstract accord that has a touch of Vanilla or yumminess. I am not sure about the salt--there is a straight-forward salt t 'maybe' factor with no ocean. I love Frapin because I am tired of messing around. I want fragrances with some direction. I don't want my mind blown, I want a work of art that still makes sense. Right now I am enjoying Floris, Grossmith London, Dunhill, Miller Harris, alittle Roja( bring more money, and worth it), alittle Tom Ford Grey Vetiver. Extended Rant hope it is not 'Bossy Boots' or 'Advice from a Fool': Carefully examine the notes of many niche players and you will see they probably looked at some of the older houses. Note that lots of bases have Musk, Vetiver, Oud. Note that lots of opens have citrus and middles have lavender. Musk will increase the duration. Ambroxin will also add a liveliness. Amber will fill it out with some depth. Often used: Oud or Jasmine--so varied some need to be wrestled with because they can have some dank factor. Forget to change the cat box? Ahhhhh, that would be Civet. Got a date with a whale? Hit the Ambergris. Lots of fragrances select from this limited list. So why are they so different? This shows it is the blend that is crucial. Many of the older houses like Floris go back to the 1730's and Grossmith London (1835). The blend and the interaction take lots of time. I let others more educated or even just specialized figure it out. Face it, if you have been told, 'this crap stinks, this crap is trendy, this crap is just crap, this crap is here and gone so why pay?--you will learn a thing or two over hundreds of years. Synthetics bring excitement and creativity from a new position in the timeline. Look. . . I want to recognize my own limitations. I think I have a good but not great nose. That dog on the floor has a more sensitive nose than you have --unless you have a unique gift. Even a pig can smell more acutely than a human. Just ask the truffle hunter. If the note arrangement gets too complex, I don't know whats going on. It's like the cliche, 'I don't know much about art but I know what I like.' I love elegant note-heavies, but just for their overall sense. Uh yeah, I get a little carrot seed. Sure ya do. I kind of like to set my expectations before I smell the item. If I want something fun and different--Cacharal or Lalique (wow, wow wow). If I really need to know what's what--Roja or Ormonde Jane (I have omitted many greats, sorry.). If it is just plain time to frolic I like Paris Hilton pour Homme (secret treasure, but keep spraying) or even Victoria's Secret Very Sexy Platinum or Juicy Couture. These are carefree, fun and do not burden your mind or your wallet. Now lets get heavy. . . Marlou Ambilux or just some real imported Oud (Ooooh, still not quite there for me.) Long rant I am sorry: No point in fumbling around. Keep a fun attitude. Don't be reckless these days or you can end up being a POOR HOMME.

I have been sampling the entire lineup from Frapin. I like that they don't rush out fragrances that are forgetful. When Frapin actually does a release, I pay attention. This is one of my favorite vetivers out there. There is so much going on with the citrus and basil. This almost smells like Creed Viking, but way better to me. I highly recommend this to anyone that likes vetiver. If you haven't liked vetiver, this may be your exception!

This is more sugary and less fizzy version of PDM Sedley with orange in it. It’s nice better performance then any other Frapin I have checked. It’s also a dumb reach fragrance. Edit: I changed my mind. It smells like a chainsmoker after have a ciggy, sprayed knock off Sedley to unsuccessfully hide the stench.

I smell bitter vetiver with creamy opulent undertones of vanilla or milk. It is very potent. Grapefruit is faint but present. Terre d'Hermes intense vetiver or parfum blended with vanilla milk.

Initially I get a burst of a toasted rice accord. I couldn’t quite put my finger on it. Then it starts settling to a citrusy/woody scent. It’s unique for sure, but doesn’t last long on my skin.

Smells nothing like Viking. The reviews below are mistaken. I'm not a fan of this one, it's a bit feminine and can pass for a designer offering. Pass.

A creamy orange vetiver with subtle florals and woods. Definitely has a Vetiver Tonka & Bal d'Afrique vibe.. A lovely fragrance.

Testing this sample on me.. It actually reminds me a lot of Jo Malone 154. Does anyone else gets the same vibe?

Pleasant light and sweet vetiver scent. Good but not exceptional or original.

Lemon, aromatic, lavender, orange, vanilla. Very nice.