Manifesto

So, I have to edit my original Manifesto review with the following: I STILL LOVE IT!!! It's well on it's way to being my 'go-to' fragrance. It does begin on a rather 'present' herbaceous note of basil and pepper, not so much going on with the bergamont, but that's fine by me-bergamont can be headache inducing sometimes. It's a bit medicinal in the opening...but when you wear floral green fragrances, that's a strong possibility anyway. And I happen to ADORE floral greens!! After about 15 minutes, the basil and pepper do settle into a fresh and semi sweet fragrance, no doubt enhanced by the orange blossom and rose. I don't feel much pear in the heart, but that's fine by me as well. Strangely, I also find that the bergamont turns up here to the degree that it makes the fragrance a bit sparkling. The jasmine makes an extremely subtle appearance throughout the fragrance. The heart gives the most in floral notes but it blends very well with the still herbal backdrop from the head notes. At the drydown, the fragrance becomes softer and slightly more musky and warm. It smells fresh and classic, something I wear to work often because it smells magnificient on me and is inoffensive to others. I get a LOT of compliments with this fragrance. It is very much workplace, business meeting, or happy hour friendly. I understand that this one may not work for everyone, but if you love herbal scents with a hint of flowers, I think you'll like Manifesto.

I bought a very inexpensive dabber-vial of this for less than a dollar and discovered that I love it. Yes, I was predisposed to love Manifesto because I love the actress behind it so much, but I think I would love this even if the divine Isabella had nothing to do with it. So fresh, so green, so bracing--and yet with a clean smell, too. It smells like you entered a very exclusive spa or hair salon. Basil can sometimes come off as a bit too savory, but not in this context. It's very grassy and slightly peppery, a good balance for the rather subdued floral notes. I would call this perfectly unisex without being at all masculine, sort of in the tradition of Aliage. Yet Manifesto doesn't smell like a throwback, even though it is now 26 years old. In fact, the drydown reminds me quite a bit of a niche offering like Santal Greenery by Dries van Nooten (or the excellent Dua dupe Green Santal). I would love to find a full bottle of Manifesto, but it appears to be impossible, and who knows whether a quasi-freshie like this would even hold up over time. In the meantime, I know I will order more of these inexpensive dabber vials whenever I see them.

I just got a mini of Manifesto and, so far, I like it a lot. Yes, it might be a "yet another generic floral" but do you know how long I have searched for something that will smell of linden flowers... this one does, despite there is no "linden" note (listed) in it. Perhaps it is the sweet pea... There is quite a bit of lily, a touch of bergamot, basil and musk; that is what I can detect with my totally untrained nose :) It is very feminine, like Isabella herself. On another note, I just watched "The Accidental Husband" (a "chick flick", nice, lighthearted comedy). Isabella Rossellini has a minor yet memorable role in it. I love her. She has aged and put on weight (heck, so have I) but she is still full of grace, and I still love her ultra feminine, soft spoken, alluring ways. Manifesto is so Isabella... I think this one has no "age limit" - you can wear this whether you're 12 or a 112. Sillage so so, could be better but then again, do I want everyone to smell me before I'm even in the room? Nah. Lasting power ok, about 5 hours on me. This will be my go-to fragrance for spring.

Got this fragrance today was a blind buy came in a limited edition gift set in red fancy box. With 2x bath milks 1 scented body cream and a 30ml EDT $20 at an op shop must of come from someone personal perfume collection. Well I love jasmine and thank god that I do . I don't get any orange blossom scent but the intense jasmine is upstaging this perfume right through on my skin but there is another hint of sweetness mingling with the jasmine the sweet pea which I do not own any in my collection till now. The creaminess of the sandalwood is enhancing the creaminess you get from the jasmine I applied this at midday and that was 6 hours ago and scent has only slightly mellowed down since then. This would be a lovely scent in spring. Great for day or night, it actually reminds me of when I was a child my bedroom window was covered by jasmine and the sweet scent waft through my window in the warm night air nostalgia to me if you love heady jasmine this is the one

This was my signature perfume in the early 2000s! I loved the unusual combination of fragrant basil, zingy bergamot and pepper. A unique and unusual fragrance for the time and a refreshing change to the uber-sweet florals and heavy orientals of the era. As Flashshock1 said, skin chemistry was the deciding factor, and on my skin this was sheer perfection! Sadly I have never found another fragrance like Manifesto, although my current signature scent, Black Pepper by Korres, has a similar peppery and citrusy zing. Sadly my last bottle of Manifesto was stolen from my home in a robbery. Had I known it would be discontinued, I would have stocked up at the time on lots of bottles!