INDULT Paris Manakara by Olya Bar
I immediately spritzed on INDULT Paris Manakara upon ripping open the package. I admit I have zero patience with perfume mail; I’m sure many of you can relate. At first, it’s all about the rich, almost nostalgic scent of rose candies – the kind that takes you back to childhood days spent at the candy store. As the day went on, this fragrance morphed. The lychee and coconut notes start playing a sensual dance on your skin, intermingling with the lushness of rose petals. If the beginning is reminiscent of rose candies, each dusted with sweet powdered sugar, the heart becomes a sumptuous fruit liquor. The mouthwatering lychee, muddled with coconut milk and fleshy rose petals, kind of liquor. It’s jammy and tart, leaving a creamy, custard-like trail with a hint of burnt sugar. This nuance is borrowed from Tihota, a renowned vanilla perfume in the brand’s lineup, which I consider one of the best vanilla-centric fragrances.
Inspired by the wild heart of Madagascar’s famed lychee village, think of it as a rebellious twist on the sweet, honeyed essence of fruit interlaced with mysterious floral undertones. A tantalizing fusion of tropical and ripe red fruits with a soft floral essence. A dessert for the senses, it’s a custardy, sweet fruit delight subtly infused with rose water.
Francis Kurkdjian courtesy of Vogue Business
Francis Kurkdjian is a maestro in the world of fragrance who shows his genius in every perfume. INDULT Paris Manakara is undoubtedly one of them. He masterfully drowns the roses in this syrupy liquor, and when each one reemerges, it drips with lychee caramel and is impossible not to fall in love with. A hidden gem, known mostly among true perfume connoisseurs, it was one of the first rose-lychee-centric works born over a decade earlier than most of the rose-lychee fragrances we have today. Proving once again how much ahead of the curve Francis Kurkdjian always was.
Lychee Fruits via Unsplash
Beguiling, flirtatious, and fabulous, INDULT Paris Manakara feels like a multitude of pink layers of tutu skirts, the sweet smell of sugared goods in the candy shop, rose-infused meringue candies popping on the tongue, and not a care in the world. Let’s pause briefly and spotlight the main star here: lychee. The lychee’s scent profile is remarkably similar to that of a lush, juicy grape, marked by a subtle, aqueous sweetness and a delicate rose-like aroma. This resemblance extends to certain varieties of Gewürztraminer wines, where the lychee-rose scent is a natural characteristic. In these wines, the rose-lychee quality is inherent to the grape variety rather than a byproduct of fermentation. It is sweet but subtle, refined, and mild, with a hint of vanillin in the background and lots of freshness. Still, it cannot be distilled. It is always recreated as an accord where it is synthetically produced by combining some of the above ingredients to satisfy an increasingly globalized world culture and the demand for its exotic scent and flavor.
INDULT Paris Manakara by Olya Bar
In INDULT Paris Manakara, its aqueous tonality works well in tempering with the tropical coconut and candied berry accord. It proves to be incredibly well balanced while keeping the focus on the fleshy fruit, wrapped in an enveloping custard hug, reminiscent of a warm pastry topped with fluffy meringue.
Perhaps not a fragrance for the office, but just like decadent desserts and all the delicious things in life, there is a time when you will yearn for it, savoring every spritz with utmost pleasure.
Notes: Damask pink rose, Bulgarian red rose, lychee from Madagascar, coconut note, candied berry accord, vanilla, custard note (chantilly cream) musk.
Bottle was kindly gifted to me by the brand but opinions are always my own.
Olya Bar, Editor
courtesy of Jovoy Parfums Rares
Thanks to the largesse of INDULT Paris, we are offering a 50 ml. bottle of INDULT Paris Manakara for one registered reader in the U.S. or a registered reader in the EU. To be eligible, please share what appeals to you about Olya’s review of INDULT Paris Manakara and where you live. Have you tried any other Indult perfumes? Draw closes 12/8/23
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Please read Ida’s Review of Indult Paris My Ju-Ju here .
My Ju-Ju was in Micheyn’s top 10 of 2021
Tama Blough (RIP) reviews of INDULT Paris Rêve en Cuir, Isvaraya and Tihota.
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