Today I am trying the signature scent of the French dance club Le VIP Room. The fragrance was created by nose Benoist Lapouza under the direction of Rami Mekdachi, and features notes of tiare flower, bergamot, tangerine, pineapple, sandalwood, vetiver, birch, iris root, leather, styrax, amber, vanilla, and musk.
VIP Room starts off sweet and tropical, with tiare and pineapple. There is also a slight hint of something like scorched rubber, but it is short lived; the rubber is gone, along with the tropical notes, inside of 20 minutes.
The dry down is smooth and soft, with pale woods and velvety iris. The amber and vanilla lend some warmth, but it is not a sweet fragrance by any means. The leather itself is restrained: this is not the inside of an expensive leather wallet that is Chanel Cuir de Russie, nor the aggressive leather jacket that is Piguet Bandit, but rather, a pair of suede boots smelled from 20 paces. It manages to smell like leather without smelling particularly animalic.
It is nicely done, and very wearable. I like it, but I have tried it 3 times now and so far I don't feel compelled to buy it. I will set my sample aside and give it another go later in the fall.
A 100 ml bottle of Eau de Toilette is $120, and it is available at aedes, first-in-fragrance, luckyscent, senteursdailleurs, or directly from VIP Room.
I keep planning to sample this fragrance, but something always gets in the way. Your beautiful review piqued my interest, and I shall try it next.
Tried my sample and thought it smelled quite similar to a combo of CSP's Rizieres in the topnotes and Bulgari Black in the basenotes. Not a must-have for me…
R, I´ve a sample of VIP Room & I think I tested it about 2 or 3 times without really knowing what to think about it. On my skin it gets a bit sharp, unfortunately I can´t detect any softness at all. Though I love leather scents I cannot love this one, but will give it another try in the future – sometimes impressions can change & perhaps I´ll like it better – who knows!
Wonder what you will think of it V. It is a nice scent but I am not at all captivated.
M, I got the Bvlgari Black in the topnotes (burning rubber!) but haven't tried that CSP. Not a must-have for me either, at least so far. I've been known to change my mind about something that initially left me cold.
S, The top notes are maybe a bit sharp on me, but after that, I find it all soft & smooth. I don't love or hate leather really, and maybe that is why I don't have any strong feelings about VIP room?
R, Perhaps it just isn´t enough leather for me ;D Well, we can´t love every scent that we sample – & that isn´t a bad thing! Wht do you think about Daim Blond? It´s also leather, but a sweeter one & in my opinion it´s much better composed than VIP Room.
It is a very good thing for our wallets!
Daim Blond is a lovely scent, but too fruity and sweet for me personally — although again, that is based on only a few tries. I will probably revisit DB again some time as well. Would agree that it is better composed than VIP Room, but given my brief tries of both, I would be more likely to wear the latter.
I just happen to be wearing this one today. I don't get any of the fruity top notes, it starts out straight incensy soft leather on me. It stays smooth and soft with the amber coming through in the drydown. The amber is the bast part I think, but that too is fleeting. You need the big bottle with this one, just for the touch ups!
Like you, I have have tried this several times now and I still don't feel compelled to buy a bottle.
Victoria O
R, I just dabbed a bit Daim Blond on my chest & yes, you´re right, it is pretty sweet. I´m testing it from time to time for about the last 6 (!) months & can´t decide whether I need a full bottle or not. The drydown starts now & the sweetness fates a bit, it´s becoming softer & warmer. It´s really intriguing, but to wear it you have to be in a certain mood, I can´t imaging it being an every day scent. One thing I know for sure : It isn´t love at first sight 😉 –
Hi V, was expecting you to chime in yesterday and scold me for not loving Escada!
I am finding it long lasting, but still agree that you need to touch it up…the far dry down is very soft & close to the skin and not as interesting.
S, It was not love at first sight for me either, but so many of my favorites grew on me slowly that I never give up unless I just detest something completely!
R, me too 🙂 Fragrances that grow slowly are often better than fragrances you find nice when testing them for the first time: often I get bored by them quickly. Of course, there are always exceptions!
I've been anxiously awaiting your VIP Room review, R! On me this is a dead-ringer for Bvlgari Black, from beginning to end. I'm disappointed I didn't get any of the yummy tropical top notes that you got with it. Ah well.
Hi Badger! The yummy tropical notes are not long lived at all, but you are not the first person who has said they didn't ever smell them. They are perhaps more masked by the burning rubber than I thought?
I didn't get Black after the top notes faded, but maybe my memory is just bad. Will have to rummage around and see if I still have a sample to compare the two. Isn't Black way more assertive? My testing notes say noticeable tea, tobacco & leather, and “not for the faint of heart”, LOL!
I loved the sample vial of this I got from Luckyscent and bought a whole bottle. Unfortunately after wearing it with full-body spritzes from the bottle, I don't really love it any more. I get a lot of tea, tobacco and a tiny amount of leather, but it is so weak you have to spritz a lot, and after you've spritzed it enough to smell it, it goes sharp from over-application. If I had it to do over I wouldn't have bought it.
T, you get tea & tobacco from VIP room? That explains why everyone thinks it smells just like Black! I am really going to have to try them both together.
Sorry you regret your bottle…that is the worst. I think I have made so many mistakes that I am very slow to buy now.
Great review! I've been meaning to sample this but most leather fragances don't work on me. However there are exceptions in Chergui and Cumming.
S, it is softer than many, but all the same it is mostly leather to my nose. And I need to try Chergui again myself…didn't care for it the first time, but that was quite a while ago.
I don't think this smells like Black. To me Black smells like burning tires and incense. This is much more of a tea/tobacco scent without that plastic/burning rubber note.
Funny — because I do get the burning rubber, at least briefly, but don't get tea or tobacco. We have different noses, or different chemistry!