No, I’m not talking about the rash of festivities celebrating the closure of New York Fashion Week, silly. I’m referring, instead, to the release of the impossible to find (in the U.S.) Italian designer fragrance The Party in Manhattan — an homage to a perfume originally launched in the 1930′s at a star-studded party in Manhattan (natch).
Everything old is new again, and the reintroduction of The Party is one more notch in the belt of the retro game now being played across the entire luxury goods industry. March from Perfume Posse states: “(The Party in Manhattan is) incredibly elegant, and in an unmarked vial I’d have guessed vintage Guerlain or Caron . . . it’s very sexy, but only if you find Jicky and Mitsouko sexy.” And while I don’t necessarily find fragrances “sexy” period, I will say that The Party in Manhattan is extremely well formulated, exhibits a base that’s structured like a classic French fragrance and it smells terrifically layered and warm — not at all synthetic, cheap, screechy or strident.
The vetiver and patchouli rein in the sweetness of the amber to a good extent, the musks melt into the skin and the florals exist to bring balance to the composition rather than acting as a main focus. There’s a good argument that can be made regarding the perfume’s “sweaty” party vibe, as the Party in Manhattan does not function as a distraction from the smells of everyday life, but rather, it works to enrich your own natural scent by adding a dollop of brown sugar to your body-heat and a sense of depth to your personal space.
Definitely a perfume that’s meant for the “I love a good, deep, musky oriental” crowd, and it’s a perfect example of something I’d purchase immediately if I could get a hold of it. It’s similar to Bal a Versailles, but with the florals and amber toned down in favor of highlighting the earthier elements.
It seems to be for sale everywhere in Italy, but I have yet to stumble across anyone selling it in the United States. The Scented Salamander provides a phone number in Italy should you wish to make a long-distance call and inquire about having some shipped to the U.S. Now Smell This notes that it’s also offered for sale at Harrods in London. I’ve sent out some emails asking about export policies and what it takes to get it shipped to the United States, so I’ll update this post with any answers I receive (should I receive any answers at all).
OFF TOPIC:
Racy new Guerlain Shalimar commercial:
“If you looked like me, you’d roll around naked on your sofa, too.”
What does it smell like? Who cares!
UPDATE:
This is the email reply I received from Harrods: “Thank you for your e-mail regarding “The Party”, yes we do stock it in our Parfumerie. Unfortunately, we cannot send perfume to the United States due to their new security regulations. I have spoken to the Harrods dispatch department and they informed me that the US customs department is not accepting parcels containing any chemical/fluid from abroad.”
So, no ordering from Harrods. Plus, in the comments below, March from Perfume Posse stopped by to note that the Italian telephone number listed in the Scented Salamander post doesn’t appear to yield any results. It looks like this is one of those “You must apply in person to purchase this perfume” kind of fragrances.
UPDATE 2:
And Lucky Scent now has it available on their site — The Party in Manhattan
Click here to see some photos I snapped of the bottle and packaging.
{ 4 comments }
Sounds lovely! I’ve just emailed a colleague in our Rome office to see if they can pick one up for me.
Let me know what they say, because I want one, too, and I’m having the darnedest time trying to get a bottle.
Hi, Nathan — I saw your incoming link. I am pretty sure Patty gave up on Italy having tried numerous times with no response. I think she got a friend to pick her bottle up from the Roja Dove boutique in Harrods London. Don’t know if you know anyone there, or they might ship directly. Good luck.
Thanks, March. That’s good information to be able to pass on.
I did contact Harrods, and they were very apologetic while telling me that they absolutely do not ship perfume to the United States. Someone is presently checking into sources in Italy for me, but if worse comes to worse, I may just bite the bullet and accept the offer I’ve received from someone in London to pick me up a bottle.
The exchange rate of U.S. Dollar to British Pound is, however, horrific at the moment, and I would much prefer to go the Euro route if I can — provided that it turns out to be less expensive than getting it from Harrods.
Thanks for stopping by and providing an update on the info. I, too, did not hear back when I emailed ‘The Party’ website directly.