Wave Musk by Mancera

I couldn’t agree more with what the previous reviewer said about Mojave. I picked it up at a Mancera discovery sample set, and by elimination, I ended up with the last one I wasn’t sure about. It gave me a vibe of clean scent, and it’s hard to find that scent without it seeming synthetic. The first time you wear it, it smells odd, surely due to the algae, but in seconds it changes into a sea breeze. It doesn’t smell like the beach or sun cream, but rather like feeling the breeze from the coast. I imagine an island with a pretty lighthouse, a small village without tourism, full of rocks and cliffs, a very familiar place, as if my family had a house there and we all went every year. Walking, you feel that cold, salty breeze mixed with the mineral scent of the stones. More than cleanliness, it’s purity or spiritual cleanliness. It has surprised me a lot because, although it doesn’t seem like much, I like it more and more and it makes me feel great. If you wear it every day, you don’t get tired of it. Unisex.

If I had to define this Mancera in one word: pretty. It’s a pretty perfume, yellow, acidic, and silky. I didn’t feel the grassy or algal touch obviously, but there was a sporty, marine, and very solvent note, informal yet with an interesting twist. The informality comes from the grapefruit, very evident but beautiful; the twist is that grey, cold marine touch that takes you to a winter port. It’s a crystalline and neat impression. The salt arrives late, crunchy and cold. It brings back memories of eighties cleanings, something from my childhood (it reminds me of a cousin, I don’t know why), and if I dig deeper, it smells like new stickers peeling off and putting them in a trading card album, but elevated, pure, and worked on. Yes, it veers towards something more feminine, but I wouldn’t pigeonhole it: it’s a solvent unisex that suits men without problems, with a beautiful discretion, sometimes melancholic but energising. It’s not one that turns heads when you pass (although when they put it on me, I felt full happiness), but it’s a worthy companion.

Looking for a diary fragrance for spring and summer, I came across this gem and stopped searching. Freshly cut grass, gusts of sea breeze, wild beach with vegetation, nothing like Mancera Holidays. Here there’s Ibiza beach, wild, vegetation, a walk through bushes to reach the cove. Scent: 5-star uniqueness, 5 longevity, 5 sillage, 5 versatility, 5 compliments, 5 quality/price. Ideal atomisation. Age range: men, women, and adults. Unisex level: men and women. Formality: casual and office. Use: day, intense heat, and night. In short words: ‘Freshly cut grass next to a little Ibiza cove’. Ideal occasion: daily daytime spring summer. Alternative: Nishane EGE. Blind buy? Yes, full 5 stars.

Firstly, I’m surprised because I’ve seen comments saying it’s feminine, but for me it smells 100% masculine. I bought it because I’m obsessed with Aqva Marine by Bvlgari and wanted another alternative, but nothing could be further from the truth. For me, it’s the typical ‘sport’ fragrance with an aftershave scent; I don’t perceive any bergamot at all. I love all the listed notes, but on my skin the combination didn’t work: when applied, it smells like a generic sport fragrance for after the gym. I don’t know if it was a bad batch, but a tremendous disappointment.

Good fragrance. Longevity between 8 and 10 hours. Projection: the first 4 hours at more than a metre, then (more than 12 hours after 3 showers) it still smells like a strong perfume. But… if you don’t like algal notes like Acqua di Sale, don’t try it because it will feel heavy to you. As a good Mancera fragrance, with 2 or 3 sprays you’re more than covered. I feel it’s not very versatile, only for summer on days of intense heat. I haven’t used it at night. I also don’t see it as feminine, with that algal punch I don’t know if it can please any woman. I must also say that I like it much more than Cedrat Boise, which I do perceive as more feminine. Cheers.

Wave Musk is that perfume that accompanies you in silence, like incredibly comfortable underwear that leaves you feeling naked, light, and free. It’s clean air around you; it hardly seems like a fragrance but rather your own natural scent. Perhaps no one notices, but that doesn’t matter; it allows you to command attention. It’s the constant caress that comforts and gives hope, the peace of knowing it will arrive even if it seems far away. Fresh, clean, seductive, and cheerful, it’s the friendly push that helps you soar. The magic of that perfect place where everything goes right. Like a child with wise advice: don’t be fooled by its slimness, for it will embrace you strongly and carry you to where you deserve to be.

We find in Wave Musk by Mancera a citrus, aquatic fragrance with interesting musk tints (those who can distinguish and isolate this note will know of its seduction). I see it as very summery for going to the beach, in fact, it’s quite salty. That said, despite not achieving such a high balance or quality as VIW by Creed, this has a brutal performance compared to the average of summer perfumes. Pleasant, but not to buy. Interesting, but a bit unbalanced.