Aqua Manda, a popular 1970s fragrance made by Goya, is being resurrected this month (the Goya name is no longer part of the picture):
Do you remember flowery fashion, mini-skirts and platform shoes? Twiggy® spider eyelashes and Mary Quant® painted flowers. And that fabulous Vidal Sassoon® wedge bob.
Do you have fond memories of being young and carefree in the 70’s?
Now you can relive your memories with this nostalgic scent from your youth and bring back the good times with Aqua Manda.®
The notes include citrus, mandarin, sweet herbs, coriander, rosemary, parsley flower and jasmine.
Aqua Manda will be available in 25 and 100 ml, at Aqua Manda in the UK.
(quote via aquamandaperfume, additional information via fashionmonitor)
Aren’t Twiggy, Mary Quant and Vidal Sassoon emblems of the 60’s not 70’s????
That’s what I was going to say.
Wasn’t the 70’s mostly about natural makeup and hair?
You can tell the ad copy was written by someone who wasn’t alive at the time. How difficult is it to get this kind of thing right?
Good point. I think Aqua Manda launched right in 1970, so presumably there is some overlap, so to speak.
I wore this when I was at convent school – along with everyone else that I knew! This has been much missed – the ebay prices for this in the uk are extraordinary – even for the empty original bottles which were much nicer than the new ones. Why have they changed them – they are iconic! And we wore a lot of makeup in the 70s, bright blue eyeshadow, very false eyelashes and tons of glitter, but no eyebrows – that was DIsco, baby! Our hair went from poker straight ‘natural’ in the beginning to frizzy perms in the middle and scary New Romantic sculpture in the end. I’ m proud to say I did it all and in a whole spectrum of vividly unnatural colours. I hope to get a huge nostalgia trip out of this frag.
Oh good, so glad to hear from someone who knew the original.
I am seeking it out and will be glad to report how it compares to my memories.
Glitter and no eyebrows! The David Bowie/ Glam Rock look. That brings back memories. I was in the UK to at that time too.
OMG!!!! I remember having some of this when I was a kid!
I never used the perfume, but I used to stock up on talcum powder every time I visited England. I wish they would resurrect Meadowsong too. It smell of new-mown grass. It was so green. Like Vent Vert. Of course, it flopped, b/c the Brits don’t really like dry scents.
I loved Meadowsong, Bela, but had forgotten all about it till I read your post – & I’m a Brit! There was also a compact containing a trio of solid perfumes around then, perhaps by Coty, & all 3 were green in colour – advertising was also along the ‘new mown grass’ theme – I’ll have to do some research into that!
i got distracted with all the Registered trademark symbols! I can understand the one for Aqua Manda but the rest are people’s names, for goodness sake. Maybe I should trademark my name as I share it with someone famous, in certain circles 🙂
That box is freakin’ adorable!
I shall look forward to smelling this as I had a bottle in the early 70s. Being a citrus-lover, though, I preferred AM’s sister fragrance – Aqua Citra, which was really zingy (and I am sure would not be allowed these days because of all those forbidden lemon oils!).
When I realised that everyone else was wearing Aqua Manda, I decided to be different and became obsessed with Coty’s Masumi, which I can’t even begin to describe; it was subtle and exotic at the same time, and came in adorable little yellow bottles with black caps.
At the very end of the 70s or early 80s Aqua Manda brought out a limited edition which I loved to bits. All I remember is it had a darker label – perhaps it was an exotic/tropical version or something – and could be found for peanuts in our local chemist. I’ve never come across it since – even on eBay.
Aqua Manda is one of those perfumes which provoked, and still provokes, a massive emotional response in those who loved it. My late mother was the biggest fan of Aqua Manda, and of other fragrances which had a pronounced citrus/spice/deep herbal note. I cannot remember a time when a sweet fragrance was given house room. I had an opportunity to test this, via the Bring Back Aqua Manda FB group.
Sorry. It’s nothing like Aqua Manda. Not even close. It is weak, powdery, with an almost buttery, creamy, vanilla undertone, which has absolutely no business being there. Something has gone awry here. The citrus is barely there, the herbs contain zero impact. Remember the scent of thyme, rosemary, sage, coriander, sharp lavender, tarragon? The earthiness of oakmoss? The whizzbang opening of Aqua Manda like splitting an orange/mandarin right under your nose and getting a bit of the juice in your eye? The slightly sunkissed moisture tinge of kisser’s coriander? None of that is present. Maybe this should have been marketed “An Impression of Aqua Manda”. To say this is to an original recipe is flirting with disaster. I can see sons and daughters buying this for their mothers, knowing how much they loved it of yesteryear, and mothers worldwide having to smile sweetly and pretend it’s AquaManda. It isn’t. At thirty odd quid a throw, it’s an expensive mistake to make. I am certain, that with a little more application, and quality ingredients, it could have been brought nearer, even with the regulations, as there are other perfumes which are holding those precious notes together despite the regs. Sadly, I feel this version has been produced to capitalize on nostalgia and pressie buying just in time for Christmas. The perfume was created without consulting those who campaigned for it and supported the company who eventually marketed it. Big mistake. If you want to know the time, ask a policeman. If you want to know how to make bread, ask the baker. If you want to know what it felt like to be on the beach on D Day, ask a veteran who was there. If you want to know if your chemists are getting it right while you try to recreate AM – don’t ask a man who never wore it, or one who probably hadn’t actually been born when his mum wore it. Ask the campaigners. Ask those who love it. Ask those who lived through it, sprayed it, soaped it, talcum powdered it and love it enough to make a noise about it. There has been a steady flow of BBAM members who have, shall we say, had their gruntles well and truly dissed by the recreated version of AM.
For my own part, I can tell you, dear perfumista, that Parfum d`Empire Iskander is damn close to AM, and a whoosh of a good sharp Neroli over the top of it brings it even closer to home. Aqua Manda demands Neroli, demands zesty, poke in the eye citrus, coriander, a twist of allspice and meditteranean herbiness.
It’s NOT a bad little fragrance, but not Aqua Manda.
For ladies of a certain age, the search continues.
I MUST agree wholeheartedly. I LOVED Aqua Manda back in the 70s and remember it with affection. I would love to have it back and so got a sample of this new edition but I was bitterly disappointed 🙁 This is nothing like Aqua Manda – it has none of the freshness, none of the fruity, spicy zap of AM – it is a soft, powdery, creamy perfume which is not bad, if it had another name but is ABSOLUTELY NOT Aqua Manda as it was and should be.
In fact, I have to say that this perfume DID smell like a “blast from the past” to me – not of Aqua Manda but of Helena Rubinstein’s Apple Blossom which I had both the dusting powder and the perfume of and a friend of mine who has also smelled it said exactly the same…..HR Apple Blossom!
For those younger folks thinking of buying this for mums for xmas, thinking she’ll be thrilled to have AM again – be warned, she will NOT be transported back to her youth when she opens it…………unless she also liked Apple Blossom…..
As the creator of the new Aqua Manda I can put paid to a few comments here, it seems to be the same 5-6 people cropping up with their comments whenever we have some media, yet we have sold over 500 bottles now in 2 weeks and have not had one complaint.
the fact is this is the original formula and it is approved by Chris Collins the creator of Aqua Manda and the factbis there is a mandarin top note with spicey middle notes and an oriental base, we have had rave reviews from buyers and the genral public, I have already said on a couple of othernsites that it is not right to tell people it isnt the original when it is ! Again if anyone has any questions and want to make up their own mind about the fragrance please email us on our website.