Tuesday, June 03, 2008

In Which I Actually Do Fresh Citrus- Manuel Canovas Route Mandarine



The sample carried the demure name Route Mandarine. The brand is Manuel Canovas, a design house famous for super luxury textiles. The list of notes from Beauty Habit includes just about every fragrant material known to mankind, and , frankly, sounds like a big mess:

Top: An airy blend of Egyptian Geranium, Florida Orange, Bergamot from Calabria, Italian Mandarin, Clove from Madagascar, Ivory Coast Citron, Cinnamon from Ceylon and Ylang Ylang from Madagascar
Middle: A provocative blend of Patchouli from Indonesia, Bulgarian Rose, Muguet, Egyptian Jasmine, Orange Blossom, Indian Sandalwood and Haitian Vetiver
Base: An oriental mix of White Musk, Vanilla from Madagascar, Amber, Spanish Labdanum, Indian Incense, Raspberry flowers and Egyptian Civette


The overall impression is of a mildly fruity citrus with fresh tendencies, and as my scent twin and I have already agreed: We don't do fresh. So, why did I go through the sample with so much pleasure and where do these thoughts about a full bottle come from?

It's both the aesthetic sensibilities of this perfume and the fact that it smells good and fully blooms on my skin, especially in the heat. It's pretty, uncomplicated, very cheerful and reflects the colors and fun I see in Canovas fabrics. It goes perfectly with this tote by the designer:


Maybe it's not really me, but I have a thing for seahorsies and it's such a happy little thing (the bag was available from Harrods two years ago for £139. Yes, for a canvas tote). In a similar manner, the perfume may not be my usual fare, but wearing it cheered me up significantly.

Images: bottle from beautyhabit.com, tote from The Daily Mail and fabric samples ManuelCanovas.com

I got the sample from BeautyHabit with a recent purchase. A full bottle is $95.

8 comments:

  1. i'm with you on the citrus thing. i also hate fruit in perfume (it all turns sour/over-ripe on me) but citrus, especially mandarine, can be a pleasant surprise.

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  2. Does this mean I need this?

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  3. Oooh, I have a thing for seahorsies too...thanks for sharing!

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  4. I'm so envious you got to try this! LOL! I loooooooooooooooove his candles so I'm really aching to try his 'fumes. I'm glad you didn't hate it, even though it makes me want to smell these even more!

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  5. Kamo- I'm discovering an affection for mandarin lately, so it must be it. I'm with you on the iver-ripe thing. Barfalicious.

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  6. Tom- Good question. I'm not sure even I need it, but it sure is tempting. It's lovely, but probably not interesting enough to justify a full bottle. Or that's what I'm telling myself. We both have the Miller Harris geranium juice, which should cover our "fresh" needs. Ask me again in August...

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  7. Always in Style- Another seahorsies lover! Have you seen the J. Crew necklace?

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  8. Divina- I suspect the line has some other gems to offer. I'm going to order samples very soon.

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