Black currant is one of my favorite notes: I adore the way it shyly peers behind a sheer veil of powder in Guerlain’s Chamade, how its sweetness tempers the sultry boldness of The Different Company’s Jasmin de Nuit and the luxurious pairing it makes with cocoa in Annick Goutal’s Eau de Charlotte. So when a friend mentioned Bath & Body Works’ Black Currant Vanilla scent, a recent addition to the store’s Aromatherapy line, I dropped everything to run to the mall to try it.
The scent is lovely, and far more complex than its title implies — though the fragrance is centered around a mixture of sweet black currant and powdery-sweet vanilla absolute, the two notes are also accompanied and deepened by an incredible blend of lemon, patchouli, pumpkin and rosemary. It’s a strange sounding combination, true, but somehow those ingredients work amazingly well together: the end-result is sweet, but not saccharine, warm, but not overpowering or heavy. Overall, it is a wonderfully rich, comforting and even slightly sexy fragrance.
The warmth and comfort of the fragrance has made the Black Currant Vanilla a winter staple for me, and the currant and lemon give the scent just enough lightness and innocence to make the products transition into Spring as well. The entire line consists of a Hand Cream ($12), Body Lotion ($13), Sugar Scrub ($20), Body Wash & Foaming Bath Gel ($13), Pillow Mist (shown, $10), Massage Oil ($16), and Home Fragrance ($7.50). I highly recommend the scrub in particular, it is one of the most moisturizing scrubs I’ve ever used; so good in fact, that there is no need for lotion after using it in the shower!
However, patchouli-phobes should beware, because while the patch note is fairly light and unobtrusive in the other products, it is incredibly strong in the scrub (which in general has such a potent concentration of scent that it will leave both your skin and your bathroom smelling all day).
Bath & Body Works Aromatherapy Black Currant Vanilla products are available at bathandbodyworks and at Bath & Body Works stores nationwide.
Have you tried Creed's Silver Mountain Water (blackcurrants + green tea + citrus notes) ? The shower gel is quite concentrated and fantastically refreshing and pleasant as well.
You know, I know I've smelt Silver Mountain Water in the perfume form, but it has been so long I've forgotten what I thought about it. I didn't even know Creed had shower gels though! I will have to check this out, thank you
I think this is a very unisex friendly fragrance. It's not sweet enough to wear for me, but I love it as a home frgrance oil. It makes the whole house smell incredible!
I have the large and small body lotion in this scent. I love them too!
At first I thought it was too masculine, but changed my mind. It's very sensual.
Theres tons of currant in Gucci EDP 2…..it smells so good…plz do a review on it!