Manoa

in the heart of the Inca country lies manoa,the city of gold.legend has it that el dorado , a young man entirely covered in gold, would carry the of springs of his people aboard a diamond studded boat once a year .he would navigate on an immaculate lake to unload these gifts on manoa,as island formed over time by the accumulation of treasures. manoa is the house of the sun, a living fruit that offers its opopnax nectar only to the most adventurous..this is what was written on the perfume pamphlet.. this smells like burnong incense from oman yemenand arabia..it smels so smokey rich and full of labednum resenis and woods ..a very pungent smokey mesmerising scent full of wonder and bliss an a million years of mystery and heritage..the perfume opens strong with all those deep mysterious notes so deep so real so full of tonka opoponax labednum and resenoids..deep rich lucious vannila gimger iris lemon and bergemont make it alive ..cypress absoult ..the whole perfume is smokey full deep rich and brown velvety true..almost like roasted coffee beans in this case roasted tonka beans there is a smell of roasting smokiness in a beautiful sweetish way not gourmand not overly dry just earthy full and divine..it sticks to your skin and develops in an imaginable ways..full of grace passion and strength under a vail of holy grail of accords that dance together under the Arabian deserts sunsets..although the perfume was inspired by the inca people yet to me it smells intensely from the 1001 nights.. its such a deep serene meditative perfume something that is still so natural and pure..i cant stop smelling my hands ..and the wonders of it keep growing more profound.. the perfume is sublime...is divine..it almost smells ambery ..it smells the thousand year old civilisations of the incas..and their mystery ..this perfume is almost heavenly it transcends you in to another realm of being...

I love this scent.loved it at first sniff actually! I totally get the "modern day Shalimar" vibe too. I'll be honest, I've never felt able to wear Shalimar. I can appreciate why people love it, it just isn't for me. It just feels too vintage, too old style for my tastes. Manoa however is perfect. It's everything I wanted to love about Shalimar brought right up to date. I love spicy oriental scents and this is everything I want in a winter oriental. It's spicy, a little sweet, deep and soothing. When I smell my wrist I find myself sighing "mmm" and smiling. I get mostly Tonka and vanilla harmonizing as the main notes and the sweetness is grounded by earthy rock rose/labdanum. It dries down a little powdery too which gives the spice a comforting, rounded quality. Manoa lasts a good 8 hours on me with quite impressive projection. People around me can smell it, yet it's subtle and you won't risk choking anyone. I ordered the sample set by Memo (which is a great buy, I was very impressed) and I have to say, Manoa is the standout. I almost can't wait for winter to wear this while cuddling up by the fire, drinking mulled wine and wearing a big fluffy jumper. I can't wait to buy a full bottle of this stuff - it's just beautiful and oozes class and quality. I love it!

Among all Memo creations, Manoa is the one which is more in my mood and therefore I like it best. The reasons can be summed up in 3 basic steps: the pleasure you feel while wearing it as luxury and simplicity goes hand in hand; the good combination together with the happy choice of the elements, the sure quality of the ingredients here employed: a glorious amber and a beautiful opoponax as the main characters of this charming pièce. An apparent simplicity that without screaming shows that a good perfume can be also made without many elements but providing only some, rightly assembled. Good longevity and lovely evolution with a zesty-lavander opening in the very beginning and after a while the massive presence of labdanum, resins and - for me - benzoin and amber. On my skin the result does not yell at the presence of vanilla, and I cannot even detect it on the paper also, being opoponax and labdanum especially rather overwhelming. Of course this would be a perfect choice during the cold season although being rather a warm day today it's still very beautiful all the same!

Manoa opens very labdanum and iris powdery and a is bit sweet. First thing to appear after the opening is lemony and citrus notes, giving a bit of freshness to the mix. The scent becomes a bit dryer from here, the resins start to develop. I still smell freshness from the citrus notes and the fir notes. The tonka and vanilla give the base a certain dry sweetness. The drydown is a sweet vanilla labdanum combined with harsh opoponax and a tiny hint of citrus on top. Sillage is soft to moderate, longevity moderate. A fresh labdanum, I didn't know it existed! Woo hoo! This is a very different take on labdanum, with the focus on the powdery resinous base with fresh citrus notes on top. Memo being Memo there's also sweet vanilla and tonka in the base which gets very strong in the drydown. I really wish the citrus would stay longer, that was so good! The iris doesn't really get out there, just the soft powderiness of it shows. An intriguing scent, I like it!

Because I spoiled by accident a half bottle :-(, I know how the fragrance smells and evolved/develops! In the beginning, the fragrance opens fresh citrus ginger, almost sharp. After a short while the fragrance is sweeter and deeper, my arm (and house..) smelled so fantastic; woody with sweet spices! In the final stage, the more woody scent and smell the labdanum with a sweet melancholy to the tonka bean and spices. It is not a liniar fragrance, not at all!! it is one of the golden MEMO treasures Its again a pitty that Memo don't answer their e-mail, otherwise it was all together perfect!

Love this; Shalimar concentrate stripped of its muskiness with an intense citrus, resins/opoponax, and vanilla & tonka elixir-like scent that is perfect for cold weather and cold weather only. Very much 'winter comfort vanilla' to the nth degree. Projects very loudly, my sample is beaming up quite loudly from my wrists. Definitely full bottle worthy.

I agree with some of the reviews below; Manoa does feel like a modern-day Shalimar, minus the muskiness. It has that typical oriental vibe: a burst of citrus/ginger, followed by resins, but it feels a bit more “sanitised” and “up-to-date”. In a nutshell, Manoa is a delicious opoponax / tonka bomb that lasts forever, and I love it! Recommended.

Most discernable are opoponax and labdanum--resinous, musky, gently sweet and amberlike without being too heavy. I don't detect any ginger or citrus much at all either but I suspect these notes are what keep the resins rather clear and luminous. A clean and radiant comfort scent, exotic and beautiful in its simplicity.

It sets off as an overwhelming incense scent - much like the incense burned in churches - I presume it's the resin that stands out. Memo evokes a strong sense of gravity for me (it is solemn and serious, and it has this atmosphere of long halls with black stone floors surrounded by lands of heavy soil covered in mist). Then it dries down to something that reminds me of Shalimar and Obsession - but smokier and deeper and more complex. This sweet incense-like state is indeed pure gold!

I wish the vanilla heart would stand out a little more. It keeps hiding under a waxy flowery veil and comes out only when I breathe on it from up close. I ordered my third decant of Manoa so I definitely like it a lot; I love its resiny solemnity and the beeswax candles feel. I just need some extra powder power to take it as a signature scent.

Take "Shalimar", remove the leathery, musky components and you have "Manoa"; A dense, powdery vanilla and warm oppoponax scent, tinged with citrus. I personally think "Shalimar" has a more interesting development, but if it's too old style for you than "Manoa" might suit you better. Projects well and long lasting.

Sadly this did not work for me. I got a big wallop of oppopanax. So big a dose that I could barely detect any tonka, vanilla, labdanum or ginger at first. Thankfully on the dry down they do come through and it is very pleasant but thats it. On paper it looks like a certain winner for me. I will stick to my Shalimar edp. Average sillage but good longevity.

I knew this smelled familiar, Shalimar! Similar yes, but they are still not the same; Both are opoponax bombs, both have lemon-bergamont tops, both have iris-tonka-vanilla details. Shalimar focuses on a stronger vanilla and Manoa has the focus on opoponax. Shalimar also has rose, jasmine, sandalwood and civet details which makes Shalimar more feminine. Manoa is fresher with even more citrus-spicy features like cyprus and ginger and give this a more androgynous feel. Shalimar is buttery and Manoa is denser and chewy. Comparisons aside, Manoa is amazing. The opopopanx in this is divine! One could imagine golden treasures in a forgotten temple, hidden most likely in a cave with booby traps! Indiana Jones anybody? Thick, sticky, and rich smelling. The vanilla sweetens and smooths this enough to give this an addicting feel. The bit of freshness in Manoa makes this glow with some life and not a dormant feeling like most resins/ambers/incense. This treasure wants to be found despite being hidden; The temple is still lit with fire on the torches and beckons you to enter. Beautiful perfume!

I got the sample set of all the Memo scents and Manoa was clearly the one I was most interested in (Shams was second and I am going to review this one as well). Manoa is a warm, cozy scent with lots of opoponax, labdanum and vanilla. It starts with a splash of citrus but this quickly fades, making room for the warm golden heart notes (tonka bean, cypress). I enjoyed this status very much. Unfortunately, the scent grows sweeter and sweeter. After 2 hours it is almost unbearably sweet with too much artificial vanilla and a sticky, cloying impression. If it was only for the top and heart notes Manoa would be my favourite Winter fragrance. But it seems that the Memo parfumeur is very fond of this sweet vanilla base note as it is used in several other Memo perfumes as well. However, if you have a sweet tooth, this one could be for you!

Perfumes such as Memo MANOA make me glad that the weather is cooling off. What a sumptuous, resinous, luxurious oriental creation this is! The labdanum and opoponax along with the tonka, cypress and vanilla produce an amberlike layer which bathes the iris with golden light. To my nose, MANOA is fairly linear, and I really do not find the citrus and ginger noticeable in this composition at all. But the city of gold and opoponax? Well, that's clearly a place where I'd like to be, strolling down smooth shimmering streets at sunset! Happily, wearing this perfume affords me a vicarious journey to such a dreamlike place... MANOA has good longevity and fairly big sillage. Not too sweet (this is definitely NOT a vanilla perfume) but plenty of ambery scrumptiosity. Highly recommended for oriental lovers!

Totally stunning, very powdery, similar to Amouage Gold but much cleaner and less oppressive. A happy and content smell. Beautifully smooth tonka and amber supplement the talcy florals and with a generous stroke of opoponax. Unisex though a touch on the elegant side. Would be charming and demure on a lady, and delightfully juxtaposed on a dark hairy man. This is the smell of a daydream, running through a meadow barefoot clothed in linens with a garland or a daisy chain atop my head. Blonde babies gurgle, children splash in a stream, the grown ups reading classic literature on picnic blankets eat fruit as my nieces and nephews chase me and the dog through the wildflowers in the sunshine.

Absolutely beautiful and clearly a juice of quality. The description above is very appropriate, the perfume evokes the feeling of gold and opulence. Its rich, warm and intoxicating. top and heart notes calm down quickly, leaving the well blended base composed of labdanum and opoponax. Vanilla is very tamed here and not sickly. On my skin the fragrance is very long lasting and projects well. I personally wouldn't wear it all year round, but definitely a keeper for golden autumn days & nights.

It opens distractingly powdery, a virtually non-sweet dull amber. The opoponax here also give a rose-spiced 'bazaar' vibe that is not your standard resinous sticky amber. It's not my type and facets of the all too common powdery orange woodchips lean it toward the dreaded CK obsession even more and it's really not pulling me anywhere fast. Pass My rating: 4/10

Iris, bergamot, tonka, vanilla, opopnax...sounds familiar? Well, somehwat it is. A thick oriental which strikes half-way between current Shalimar EDP and a well balanced amber. Nice stuff but if I'll ever buy a bottle (which currently I doubt will happen), it will be during cooler months... Rating: 7/10

Iris takes over after 30 minutes. I feel myrrh as well. Weird its not noted in the ingrediens. Reminds me an old egyptian library, my drydown comes with honey? I see this more as home freshner and candle than fragrence. Too complicated for women, and men. Scent created for home scent.