Juan Manuel

After trying several of Fueguia 1833’s offerings at Bergdorf Goodman in NYC, this one really stuck with me. I first read “rose” in some reviews here and then noticed the fragrantica limited notes offering, and now that I know rose is a major component, I guess I can “see” it, but it didn’t come to mind prior to this. Whatever the case, this rose is definitely a jammy one. But my mental image of this for a couple of years of living with it before reading any reviews was of dark, spiced stewed cranberry with other rich, spiced stewed berries/fruits; herbal, deep, earthy immortelle; and a hint of an amber accord. I still think the rose is thickly cloaked in these other elements, whatever they might be in reality. It’s a very special, compelling fragrance with depth. It feels to me like it would reside under the same umbrella as Mendittorosa Le Mat.

It was a sunny, late spring afternoon when I walked into this little niche perfume shop in the narrow alley. It was my last month in Budapest, and I was 20 years old. I saw this perfume on the shelf, along with some other perfumes from the same brand, named after my favorite author. It was way more expensive than all the other perfumes I bought at stores like sephora, but I paid for it without a doubt. I could really use a good souvenir, I thought. This perfume was a love at the first sight (sniff), just like Budapest. Now, every time I open this bottle, I can't help thinking about Budapest, the winds by the Danube, as well as the spring of my 20th year. This bottle is also my absolute favorite of all perfumes. I would put my other perfumes in the checked suitcase when I travel, but always carry this bottle with me in my purse/backpack/etc.

I've been wanting to get this perfume since checking it out at the Fueguia 1883 Soho store. Orig $240 + tax for 1.7oz = it is not cheap. Ended up snagging it when it went on sale online via Neiman Marcus approx 25% off + 10% Rakuten discount money back. The notes are point with this. To me it smells like very rosy, very woodsy pepper spicy. Maybe a woodsy, stone fruity rose. Quite strong at first on skin, lasting that way for over an hour. Past 4 hour mark, it's about the same but there's a powdery and sweet candy undertone. Mild rose dry down at hour 13. It lasted awhile. If you love roses, and a hint of woody spice, you're in for a treat!

I love this fragrance. It is one of the best rose fragrances in my opinion. I do have an older batch (don’t remember which number exactly) and the performance is pretty good given that most perfumes do not project well off of my skin. Juan Manuel is signature worthy in my book. It is natural, jammy, classy, and refined rose. I find it very feminine and appropriate for all seasons. FYI: I am a big fan of Amouage Epic as well and they smell nothing alike, at least the batch that I have. I do know that differnt batch is can vary quiet significantly, so perhaps another batch can be more similar, but I just can’t see even that being the case.

The first impression may be to have sprayed a given rose water. In fact, Juan Manuel is far from being trivial and given. And 'no doubt it is a tribute to pink, but is expressed in different facets which make the fragrance very original. And it is the maximal expression of freshness and romance of the rose. When the scent finds its balance on the skin, it makes you think of summer, and in particular to the skin warmed by the sun: this gives an identity to Juan Samule very cheerful, sweet and bright. If you want to have a rose fragrance, you have to buy it.