MANAKARA

3/13/17

Rose. Lychee.

Sweet and rich, Manakara, my favorite of the Indult offerings, smells like flowers laden in ripe, stewed summer fruit. Creating a blushing fragrance compote that is rosy and comforting, yet perfectly positioned to withstand the heat and complement it, it is a coquettish little firebrand of a perfume. The roses here are full-bloomed and heavy-headed, smelled in the afternoon blush of a June sojourn. It is a hazy sfumato rose portraiture, whose creamy lines are slightly blurred by an undertone of powder. The lychee, itself vibrant with juice once you peel back the leathery exterior, brings a quirky twist.

Slotting easily into all seasons of a fragrance wardrobe, Manakara is not a sickly sweet confection that will chase you down and chew you half to death like a swarm of blood-hungry mosquitos, but rather will be equally welcome in warm weather and in “weather.” There is an almost dessert-like gourmand note that teases the wearer, but also may well appeal to the rose aficionado as a unique interpretation of our most beloved flower. This is elegance personified in youth; a sophisticated ingenue.  I find it beats for me Indult’s cult-level status Tihota, a straight shooter of vanilla and white musk. The wonder of the Indult line is that their fragrances are pared down to very few notes, a brave move in a business where too often a cacophony of ingredients deafen and then mute individual perfume quirks and dilute quality with quantity. I appreciate the pared down exposure of the former, believing it bold and risky to chance the success of such a scaled back frag, but as with Tihota, you really get the chance to begin to understand how different mass market fragrance and pure, carefully sourced ingredients that are spun into these liquid works of art can be.

Rating: 4 sticky summer puddings, oozy with fruit and berry stains.