The Party in Manhattan The Party for women

There is definetly something vintage going on in this fragrance, but it should be as it's created intentially with the 30's - 40's decades in the perfumers mind.

The Party has strong similarities with ADP Profumo edp. But Profumo is a tad sharper, a little less sweet, less powdery with a prominent patchouli infusion in the top, while the party is sweeter and more flowery in general. Both are exquisite fragrances though and I love them both.

Kterhark is right, the sample I ordered from TPC differs quite a bit from what I got when I ordered a bottle. But my sample doesn't smell like a wet sock, instead it smells like a beautiful oriental chypre with sweet benzoine in the base. Perhaps I got the pure parfum In my sample vial? It also smells similar to Scherrer's Nuit Indiennes edp.

Anyway, what I got in the bottle is a crisp rose chypre with a little sweetness and bitter oakmossy undertones. I do love The Party a lot, but my hunt for a sweeter oriental fragrance will continue.

Before getting my sample I read all the reviews I could find, and my expectations were high. So when my sample arrived I thought one of two things: 1)I got a lemon; 2)Chat had lost her mind.

Of course I got a bad sample. So note to future testers: this should smell like a high quality, crisp, sparkling chypre. If it smells like a wet sock send it back.

Opening: It's driving me crazy that the opening is so familiar and I can't place it. Definitely 30s, from a high quality house, but i"m stumped. Love it though, as it opens with a big BOOM and you're hooked.

The rest of the scent plays out like lovely symphony of florals and basenotes. Nothing twangy, harsh or discordant. Glorious.

One well-read blogger claimed she could easily mistake this for a Guerlain or a Caron. Between these two houses I have 9 fragrances, so I was really curious to see what I would think.

My takeaway: while I have zero complaints for Mitsouko or Or et Noir, I have one for Manhattan. When I take a big whiff or stick my nose in the scent, I'm ecstatic. But when I go about my day and get distracted with work, I think someone is sitting next to me with a Peg Bundy hair-do kept in place by a whole lot of hairspray.

I dont have a problem with the price tag, however. For what you get it's reasonable. I just wish it didn't come with Peg.