Manoumalia

Manoumalia managed to feel refreshing without any citrus or acquatic accords, and while retaining a lush darkness. Since Les Nez is a niche house, I'd be interested to know if most of the ingredients here are natural. I've worn essential oils for years, and Manou has a similar feel on my skin and to my nose. I wore this last night for the first time, it's morning now, there is no ghost of a scent. . . and I'm dying to put it on right now again - but I just can't. I *must* save the precious 2.5 mls inside my decant! My precious! *gollum* Below, the capn makes an astute distinction between "tropical" and "exotic", saying that Manou falls into the latter definition. I agree! To my nose, other beautiful, exotic perfumes are Dune by Dior (I've never owned) and Shalimar (I've owned twice). Manoumalia, though, does have more of a tropical air than either of those. Why do I think it's refreshing, you ask, when it's dark and lush not light and airy? Look at the notes - there aren't many! I can identify the notes on my skin easily, and although the overall effect of Manoumalia is intriguing and somewhat mysterious, it isn't overly complex and therefore refrains from being taxing intellectually. You can apply this perfume after midnight, when you can't sleep, and just want to hang out watching Sex and The City reruns with a cup of raspberry ginger tea... It will not distract your mind... you will simply feel it's warm presence; it is a sensual perfume and nothing more. How refreshing it is to find a warm perfume that doesn't contain the spices or vanilla that will remind a western woman of wintertime, or to find one that is sensual without the usual musk, jasmine or other indolics, and how refreshing it is when a dark and lush perfume is intriguing but not complicated... Yes, Manoumalia is a bit strange, yet not weird at all. It's about as strange as Dune by Dior. It has a natural feel, the sillage and longevity are considerable but considerate. I'm very picky with amber, and only like sandalwood in a perfume when it's blended and complimented very well. Manoumalia is full-bottle worthy and it can battle it out with Alien Parfum de Cuir for the next full-bottle spot on my dresser this fall (yes, I would certainly wear this perfume year round). Les Nez - body cream please? :) Update: I dug out my old tiny jar of sandalwood oil and managed to pour one of the last few drops onto my skin, then followed with this perfume - ohhhhhhhhhhhhh mmmmmmmmm. Manoumalia. Precious.

Very, very rich ylang ylang at the opening, with extreme warmness of spicy sandalwood is what welcomes me when I first apply this perfume. The scent itself is very, very sweet and rich, almost feel oily to my skin. Is is extremely powerful stuff and should be applied with light hand. It's very hard to describe this as it it's very complex. It might even be one of the richest perfumes I have ever smelled, it's so warm, rich, oily, buttery that I'm extremely impressed. The best part is that it has this amazing natural quality as well. My relationships with ylang ylang and sandalwood are not VERY good, but I somehow enjoy this very much. And I must say, if you do love ylang ylang and sandalwood which dominates here the most, you just MUST give this a try. It's like a cozy, warm blanket.

A beautiful non cloying tropical flower composition that is similar to Guerlain's Terracotta (or the other way around, seeing that Terracotta came out in 2014). The ylang ylang and tiare stay fresh throughout, from the opening to the base many hours later, where they are joined by a woody amber. Compared to other tropical beauties, this stays on the lighter end of the spectrum without losing the lushness of white florals, yet never thick or heavy, which is lovely as well but inappropriate in settings like the office. For lovers of tropical flowers and for those who have been searching for an alternative to Terracotta, I would definitely recommend this. It lasts longer too!

opulento e burroso, è un accordo che, benchè sia incentrato su ylang ylang e tiarè, restituisce una sensazione esotica assai diversa dal solito. questo è un tropicale maturo, complesso, con uno splendido assestamento su sandalo e ambra, che esplora territori resinosi, che definirei "grassi" ma mai dolci. è un floreale esplosivo, molto persistente (come fosse un mix di olii essenziali) e decisamente adulto. molto buono. io, come al solito, con i floreali non vado molto d'accordo, e dopo qualche ora mi stanca.

this reminds me of Montale's Intense Tiare but smells more natural to my nose. If you like blooming big fleshy tropical flowers - this is for you! :)