Admirabilis

Frangipanilove in the review below captures the essence of Admirabiis: light and luminous. This fragrance has something for everyone: citrus to begin, closely followed by a piny-spicy mix, then a dry down driven by sweet incense and labdanum, which balances out the drier notes of vetiver and patchouli. The blending is subtle and for that reason sillage and longevity are comparatively modest. Admirabilis belongs to the tradition exemplified by modern masters like James Heleley, Maria Candida Gentille and Filippo Sorcinelli, where natural products are expertly blended, not for commercial impact, but as expressions of the perfumer's art. It's the difference between table wine and fine champagne. The first is generic and instantly forgettable. The second is imposing, to be relished, remembered and returned to with abiding satisfaction. You miss it. You delight in resampling it. You love it! Thanks to my Fragrantica friend satago for this recommendation. British readers should hurry to Debenhams where the La Manufacture range is currently available at half price. Share the love!

I've tried a few Catholic Church-style incense fragrances lately and have somehow found them more similar than I expected. This one is different from any other that I've smelt, yet fits right into the group. If Avignon is like a clean, brown, spicy cola incense possibly yet to be lit, Montale Full Incense is like an 8-bit Avignon, and Botafumeiro is a smouldering bright yellow incense, this is like a vibrant orangeade or Irn Bru incense, with the citrus up top and the sweet, vanillic benzoin and so on in the base holding the whole thing together, top to bottom, to beautiful effect. This is brighter than Avignon and Full Incense, but probably richer than Botafumeiro, despite being somewhere near as bright yet nowhere near as smoky as the latter. I would consider this a great three-season incense fragrance, which probably means it's at least as versatile as most other incense fragrances. Also, all the notes listed for Full Incense feature in this fragrance, so this will happily sit on top of Full Incense if you want to give this just a little more oomph for the cooler months.

This is wonderful; it is soothing without being sedative. It is both calm, and crisp, meditative and motivating. It is an all rounder, being suitable for all seasons and occasions but manages to not fall into boring 'Jack of All Trades' territory. On the contrary, rather than being a 'Master of None', I would argue it a 'Master of All' for fragrances of similar scent profiles. 10/10

Admirablis has somehow has managed to create its own scent category - normally fragrances that have this much resinous myrrh, elemi and labdanum end up in the deep ambery / oriental category. Admirablis, however, somehow stays light and luminous. Perhaps its the citrus, mainly lemon which seems to blend into the body of the fragrance as opposed to staying as a quickly vanishing top note. Somehow the interplay of lemon and elemi really works here. This is quite an elegant fragrance full of golden light. Longevity is below 5h so not amazing, and sillage is moderate and gradually gets fainter over the first couple of hours quite a bit, maybe good to spray on clothes for more oomph.

It really took some getting used to (!), but now it's a staple for autumn days. The category should be church-cologne! I say cologne, because of it's aromatic aspect and general vibe. I don't think it is an heavy oriental one. It might seem that performance is average, but I get wafts of it even 7-8 hours later. Very unusual but addictive at the same time. Manufacture is turning out to be a quality house.

Not what I expected. The immediate opening reminds of Shalimar EDT. Then it's soapy cloves and something reminiscent of oakmoss, wax, as if it has gone off somehow. I thought it reminded me of Weil - Suki Essence, but Suki is much sweeter. So far not impressed. Edit: After 6 hours, the dry down is almost identical to Suki's.

A treasured gift, the biggest surprise with this fragrance, technically a cologne, is how much of a beast it is, both in terms of longevity and sillage. Looking at the summary of all of the notes above, I can now recognise that some that I have overlooked are in there. But, the overwhelming sense you take away from this one is its dramatic, Byzantine drama. Just as well: the main inspiration for this seems to have come from medieval monastic life and anyone who has ever witnessed a full-on high mass in a cathedral will immediately understand the congruence. Incense, ecstasy and higher spiritual states are what this baby is all about. It takes no hostages in elevating the wearer and it's all there in all its infused, spicy, narcotic, burning ardour. Nonetheless, there is something wonderfully green about it, as sense of forest leaves too close to a fire and all the while just smelling bloody wonderful. For me it was certainly a gift for which my thanks were heartfelt rather than diplomatic.

Opening has something soapy but it quickly goes away, and scent is dominated by amber for around 2-2.5 hours. At this point it reminds me Bon Parfumeur 302. Then it dries down and all I feel is wood. It's not long lasting - 4-5 hours and quite weak - my 4-5 sprays were not enough. I think it's safe for work, but it's nothing special/interesting for me, so far it's neither like nor dislike. This review is based on my experience wearing it for the first time