Manhattan Eau de Parfum

I sifted through all the praise and FUD on YouTube and Fragrantica to eventually blind buy a bottle...my reasoning was that I already have Enigma (Parfum Cologne and a 7.5 mL of the Parfum, both of which I greatly admire, but I can't get around the fact that when I wear it I feel like a bearded man in a suit standing at a bar in a posh cigar and whiskey bar) and was looking for a tobacco fragrance that was more youthful and complex than Parfums de Marly Herod, which always reminds me of an old Professor smoking a pipe. The mixture of notes sounded intriguing and I was prepared to give up a little performance (seems to be what people were suggesting) for something unique and not the usual honey or vanilla tobacco fragrances. Boy was a surprised! I absolutely love it! The juice is so well-blended that it is hard to pick out individual notes, but there is a wet tobacco quality as well as pine and something very clean hovering behind it all. Very unique. If I were to compare it to anything I would say it is like Xerjoff Starlight without the cardamom mixed with Herod, but with pine and something that is white, laconic, musky, and powdery and also very clean. It is very versatile and is best for colder weather, but could also be used as a spring or summer date night scent. It is totallyunisex and has a bright airy feeling like BR 540, which makes it even more youthful than Elysium PC, which is on the youthful end of the house IMHO, but obviously totally different than this blue fragrance. So it checks all the boxes, gives me a tobacco-centred fragrance that is totally unique and most of all does not smell "old". My other "tobacco" frags are Enigma, Kilian Back to Black, Xerjoff Uden Overdose, and John Varvatos Dark Rebel, none of which go overboard on Tobacco. Herod is just "too" Tobacco for me. Manhattan is just right! A few hours later I notice it has become salty and woody very much like Xerfoff 40 Knots and the next morning it was still very present, smelling a lot like the deep dry down of Enigma Parfum. Amazing how it transitions through so many phases. As an update, tonight I compared it on my arms (one spray each) with PDM Herod and Enigma Parfum and followed them through the dry down. Enigma was the strongest at first, with Manhattan 2nd and Herod 3d. Enigma more about cognac and tobacco against a coca cola vibe, while Herod is just that old man bag of pipe tobacco all the way. After about half an hour what became apparent was that Manhattan had changed its scent from a more aromatic opening to a creamy almond and tobacco mid, while Herod and Enigma were the same, just more mellow. 3 hours on, Manhattan (the EDP) smells like pine and tobacco, but Enigma and Herod smell the same, only weaker. At this stage the Manhattan pine and tobacco note is quite strong, Enigma and Herod are still going but weaker than Manhattan. However Manhattan does not project as much as Enigma did at first, although it seems the equal to Herod in this regard. After 4 h all three are skin scents, however Manhattan is the strongest - that pine and tobacco lasts forever, even until the next morning. It also changed scent the most, shifting through many phases while the other two were quite linear. Bottom line is that Manhattan is no less a performer than Herod and several hours in smells stronger than Enigma. The weakness of Manhattan (and all three in fact) is that they don't project so much. I haven't tried Manhattan Parfum, so maybe that is the zenith? But at what price? After all this I think Manhattan EDP is the sweet spot between Enigma (Parfum) and Herod, and also in the middle price wise. Nice buy because so many winter fragrances dry down to amber and vanilla in some way, but Manhattan dries down to a powdery and woody pine and tobacco with hints of clove. Unique!

“At night the buildings shimmer vertically, against the dark sky. In the morning the sun rises over Manhattan illuminating the city that never sleeps." This beautiful bottle really shimmers against the darkness. ✨ There is a lot of notes in this perfume and a lot of going on like in New Your city. Happily I still don’t get a hectic or chaotic vibe from this scent - it’s rather calming and relaxing by forgetting all that traffic and hurry and I’m thinking myself watching all that up in the sky in my own peace. That never sleeping Manhattan with a millions of people is under my eyes and I concentrate on my own business. Manhattan is captivating and uplifting scent with ingeniously blended juice and the main notes Heliotrope, Coconut, Patchouli, T***cco, Cedarwood and Vanilla open up brightly together with aromatic Lavender and other floral notes. In my skin this doesn’t change so much during a couple of hours. You don’t have to be worried about overspraying this since after the opening it settles down to a beautiful skin scent, not too weak but just perfect for wearing at the office. I can get easily a little bit sweet Vanilla and Coconut while Patchouli is giving the fresh, earthy take on it, other spices are tuning the sweetness down with Oakmoss, and t***cco gives a unique polished touch to this juice. It’s really sophisticated so you shouldn’t be worried about that note if you are not into that note. It’s not dirty nor literally smoky. Coconut here is beautiful as well, not at all cloying or sun lotion type - what else you can get from Roja Dove than divine, luxurious vibe in notes. Overall this perfume is posh, modern masterpiece from Roja Dove! 💯💎 Thank you for reading, I hope my review was helpful. I would appreciate a lot if you want to follow me on IG and/or YouTube (English subtitles): @ninamariahperfumes It gives me a lot of motivation to write more. 🤗

A beautiful tobacco and vanilla. I’ve not tried the first iteration of Manhattan but I hear they are different. There’s definitely a different experience to what the notes suggest also. The opening has a brightness from the Bergamot but the fades pretty quickly. The heliotrope is very much present adding a sweet, powderiness that comes across on my skin like cherry and tonka bean. These notes are not listed but I definitely experience that with a mild leather note underneath. The patchouli, coconut, benzoin and vanilla create such a creamy base to this fragrance. It feels almost white chocolate like. It doesn’t necessarily smell of white chocolate, more so the feeling that I get. Thankfully the tobacco note is prevalent enough that I can pick it out amongst all the sweetness and earthy touches. My first resemblance was the tobacco that’s used in PDLN 2 more than the Enigma type of tobacco, obviously less intense and less animalic than PDLN 2 as the price difference is vast and it reflects that. Overall it’s a very pretty bottle that’s has a lovely smelling fragrance inside, and considering the price per ml value I would go as far as saying this is probably the best fragrance he has in that category. At least try it before you vote to hate it.

Got mine on deep discount ($185) so I’ll not be reviewing it from a lens of $385 retail. This is a wild scent. It opens very much ambery and vanilla forward with a powdery, classy profile. Tobacco adds a lot of support underneath but this fragrance has a bunch of evolutions. Ultimately you’re left with a spicy, aromatic scent reminiscent of Eau de Baux or 1899 but better than either (IMO). I’d say it’s ultimately more in the vein of Guerlain Heritage or his own Danger than most of the “similar to” scents listed here. Comparisons to TV seem weird as that might be sort of, kind of true for the opening blast for a moment but that quickly disappears. Also this is nowhere near as sweet or loud (and far better blended) and it evolves to more of a gentleman’s scent than the party vibe of TV. I get very good longevity, smelling whiffs of this 8-10 hours later. It’s a more near skin scent but it has some sillage. Not a screamer. An 8.5/10 for me. I’m partial to the aromatic men’s scent profile and this is very good stuff.

I know part of it is the price/marketing but Roja perfumes smell so luxurious. Whenever I put this perfume on, I feel obligated to dress up (not suit & tie, just dress up nice in general). Just a great confidence-booster. In terms of scent profile, this is a relatively linear perfume made up of: coconut, tobacco, vanilla, floral, and woody notes. To me, the coconut and vanilla is very much present, but it is not overwhelmingly sweet due to the mix of tobacco and woody notes. As a result, you get this classy, smoky vanilla with a touch of coconut. It's not a sensual/sexy scent, but more of an upbeat, get-your-shit-done type of scent. I guess that's why it's named Manhattan. Performance-wise, you'll get great longevity and decent silage. I tend to do 2-3 sprays as I feel this creates a decent scent bubble without choking anyone. I'd put this on in the morning and still smell it in the evening. Same scent, just more intimate at the end of the day.