Yves Saint Laurent Manifesto

This is an extremely unremarkable, boring, generic, vanilla scent. I am quite surprised that YSL would produce such a dull perfume, and give it such a bold name. Remember when Vanilla Fields came out maybe 30 years ago? This won't offend anyone and is suitable for all ages, but that is hardly a compliment.

This perfume is beautiful. Upon first sniff you might just shrug and not think much, but let it dry and then smell again. You'll be convinced. It is not your typical fragrance, it doesn't lean heavy on any floral notes. This is all sugar. It will have you smelling like creme brulee.

When I first tried Manifesto it was by no means "love at first sniff." I thought it lovely, simple, mature & pleasant, but I didn't rush to the register to purchase after testing.

Then it happened... as I made my way through the mall I kept thinking "who smells so good?!" It was me! It really grew on me. Because of the price, I STILL didn't return to Nordstrom to buy it. I would regret that decision a few hours later.

I got home that evening a good 5 hours later. Upon greeting my husband with our routine kiss he pressed his nose into my neck, inhaled deeply and emphatically exclaimed, "Mmmmmmmm, what are you wearing?" He ended up giving me 100 dollar bill and telling me to go back and buy it if I like it as much as he did. He has NEVER been that enthusiastic about a perfume I've worn like, EVER.

Still to this day I like it and wear it often and while I personally don't see it as a perfect scent, I get more compliments on it than anything else I've ever worn hands down! It seems to be a safe scent that is well received by almost everyone. Men just love it! For this reason I will always have a bottle on hand. Oh, and it lasts and lasts. Mega staying power. My coat still smells like it from 3 days ago.

This perfume was a major let down. I don't know why but it smells very weird and it's one of those scents that I usually picture grandmas wearing! It's very strong but after a while you can't really smell it anymore as if it vanishes with time. I feel bad for not liking it because it's quite expensive but to be completely honest it's still sitting there on my shelf like an ornament.

For me, this is a very 'grown up' scent. I usually go for scents like Nina Ricci Nina L'Eau, Mark Jacob's Daisy or Victor & Rolf Flowerbomb which are all quite light and summery. However, Manifesto by YSL is much heavier, with blackcurrant, cedar core and sandalwood, and undertones of vanilla and Tonka bean. On me the blackcurrant and Tonka bean stands out, which are two scents I wouldn't usually find appealing. But in this, it works. And it lasts all day, which is just amazing as usually scents only last a few hours on me (something to do with the pH of my skin, I'm told).

The only downside for me is the bottle this comes in. It's soooo 1980s!! The first time I took it out of the box I couldn't believe how ugly it was. It truly looks like the sort of thing Joan Collins would have had on her dressing table in an episode of Dynasty. Whenever I see it on my dressing table, I can't help but imagine shoulder pads, power dressing women and men in badly cut suits. It's a good thing it smells so good, otherwise I'd hide it away in a cupboard!

Interesting fragrance choice for me, I usually lean more towards sweet and fruity but lately I am trying out more musky floral type fragrances. This doesn't smell much like vanilla to me, I know others have said it has that note in it but it's not present on me at all. I picked this up in the eau de parfum rollerball from sephora (a great way to try out new fragrances without committing to a whole bottle). I find it's quite long lasting and a scent I really enjoy wearing for fall/winter. It's unlikely I'll use it in the spring and summer. Would repurchase.

I love this more than I thought I would. Vanilla picked up with fresh black currant. On me it develops into something that smells a bit like an almond cookie. Light, but rich. Yum! :)

I really like this perfume. I have tried several different high end perfumes, and have several bottles of them still. I asked for some lady samples when I bought my boyfriend's black code and I got this one as one of the samples. I tried it and I was very intrigued. There was something about it though, that made me think of some kind of after shave and left me uncertain how I felt about it. I kind of didn't like it, but at the same time, I really did like it.

Over the next several days, I kept reapplying the sample of this stuff and I couldn't stop smelling it. I started to fall in love with it. But I still didn't know what people around me would think of it. I asked my boyfriend if he liked the scent and he said, "Yes. That smells really nice, actually." I told him he could buy that for me for Christmas if he wanted :p that is the real test.. I wouldn't buy any perfume if he disliked it.

Anyway.. So I got the full size bottle for Christmas and a small body lotion in this scent and a really nice YSL case that wasn't even available as an additional gift. My bf has a way with words :p

I only have one complaint though.. It doesn't last long. It smells really strong when you first apply it. After a few minutes, it calms down but then idk maybe a few hours later I don't smell it on me at all but can still smell it faintly on my wrists. Then a while later, the smell is completely gone. It does however, last on your clothes. I put it on my sweater one time and the next time I wore it, I smelled the yumminess.

I won't remove one point for that reason, though. I still love it.

I recently bought the Manifesto rollerball and I'm in love! I'm definitely going to be picking up a bottle of this stuff when I get the chance. It's a very strong vanilla-ish scent. I find it to be a really elegant perfume and it lasts so long (seriously if I don't shower at night and I can smell it on my pillow the next morning). Less is definitely more with this stuff, because I find if I put too much on the smell is very overpowering, but in moderation it's a wonderful perfume. That being said, I hate the packaging. I feel with a brand like YSL, the packaging should be top-notch (especially since you're paying a lot for the product). Manifesto's packaging looks tacky to me. (Why is that weird jewel thing in the centre of the bottle? Is it supposed to look like a upright bow? I just do not understand.) I expected more from the brand in that regard. But I buy my perfumes for how they smell, not how they look on my shelf, so I'll get over that particular flaw.

I'm compelled to write this review solely based on the audacity of the YSL brand to put out something like this. Manifesto is such a mediocre offering not reflecting the YSL brand as a perfume power house; this smells like something Coty would put out as a flanker to luxury lines. I agree with the review below that it is very similar to Armani Code, especially in the middle notes and dry down. Code is actually a bit more interesting since I can actually detect berries and acidic qualities. Manifesto is all tonka beans and vanilla. Offensively inoffensive, if there is such a thing.