The independent perfume house Aroma M has just released Geisha Vanilla Hinoki, the first addition to its Geisha collection since 2011's Geisha Amber Rouge. (Just for reference, my personal favorites from this line are Geisha Violet, Geisha Marron and Geisha Noire.) Vanilla Hinoki includes notes of vanilla, bergamot, clove, cardamom, nutmeg, cedarleaf, lavender, leather, patchouli, amyris and cedarwood, and it was created to evoke "the cloudy, floating, sybaritic sensation" of resting in a Japanese hot-spring pool.
Aroma M has never offered a gourmand fragrance before, unless you count the cocoa note in Geisha Violet (really more of a "fleurmand"). I was surprised to see that this new Geisha was vanilla-themed, and I have mixed feelings about vanilla perfumes. Although I'm a lifelong Shalimar fan, I don't do well with more dessert-y vanilla perfumes: I was already too old for Pink Sugar when it appeared in the United States, and I bought L de Lolita Lempicka for the bottle and never wore it much.
Fortunately, Geisha Vanilla Hinoki delivers on its promise of a sophisticated vanilla. Its opening is a warm, glowing bergamot note, and the vanilla heart is overlaid with spice notes (clove, cardamom, nutmeg) that balance its sweetness. There's a hint of smokiness, too, but it's very gentle; this isn't a tobacco-y vanilla. In perfume oil form, Vanilla Hinoki smells denser, and its lavender and incense notes seem more evident. As an Eau de Parfum, it has more "lift" and continues to give off bursts of citrus and greenish wood. (I've only encountered a hinoki note once before, in Six Scents Series Three #087 — what ever happened to that brand, anyway?) Both concentrations have excellent staying power, even on my scent-eating skin.
If you like other sophisticated, non-cupcake vanillas like L'Artisan Parfumeur Vanille Absolument or Atelier Cologne Vanille Insensée, you may also like Geisha Vanilla Hinoki, although you really don't have to be a vanilla-lover at all to enjoy it. It leans slightly feminine, although some men could probably wear it as a cozy, cashmere-like layer of scent. Vanilla Hinoki seems very unusual, but in an effortless, non-threatening way. If it were an item of clothing, it would be a soft, lightweight robe that you'd wear just before stepping into one of those Japanese heated spa springs, so beautifully fitted and wrapped that it feels as though it were made for you.
Aroma M Geisha Vanilla Hinoki can be pre-ordered at the Aroma M website and Luckyscent, in 50 ml Eau de Parfum (shown, $90) or in Perfume Oil roll-on ($60).
Note: top image is Shiraike Jigoku of Beppu Jigokumeguri, Beppu, Oita prefecture, Japan [cropped] via Wikimedia Commons.
This sounds like a good autumn scent to me. I have a friend who lived by a lake and she has an outdoor bath, heated by a wood fire which is kind of nice on a starry night. I also liked the Commes de Garcons Hinoki monocle perfumes a lot. It’s unlikely I will able to try this but my northern hemisphere alter ego would definitely test it. Thanks for the review!
Oh, darn — CdG. I knew there was some other hinoki-note fragrance out there! This one is very different, however, as you can tell.
I’ve been wearing it during some unseasonably damp and chilly early-May days, and it’s perfect for this weather!
I’m a recent vanilla convert, and this sounds lovely. I’m glad it doesn’t skew towards the cupcake variety or the men’s club tobacco/booze variety – it could be a Goldilocks vanilla for me!
I love the look of the bottles, too, although I’ve never seen them in person.
Thanks for the review, Jessica.
The Japanese papers around the bottles are really beautiful in person! and I always think the colors suit their scents very well. (I believe Maria is also a visual artist, which makes sense.)
I hope you’ll get the chance to try this one!
This sounds really nice. I really like vanilla, but have found a lot of the newer ones to be more masculine and/or smoky for me. Thanks for the review!
Lillyjo, I’m the same way — even though I can test and appreciate a more masculine fragrance, I really prefer feminine-feeling perfumes for myself! This could end up being one of my favorite vanillas.
I don’t like overly sweet vanilla fragrances either (Guerlain’s SDV was my worst nightmare), but this one sounds both interesting and non demanding. Great review, I’ve already ordered a sample!
Perfumes like Prada Candy make my stomach turn — but this one really is not sickly-sweet like that! I hope you like your sample!
I fell for the bottle (blush) and am waiting for my pre-order. I also have the feeling I’m going to be happy with the bottle’s contents.
Oh no!! Ordering unsniffed! Well, I can not judge.
But I do hope that you’ll really, really enjoy it!
karen, I fell for the bottle, the price and preordered, also!
I love visiting onsens in Japan and I don’t like sweet vanilla. I was hoping it would arrive by Saturday so I could wear for my birthday scent on Monday, but doesn’t looked like it shipped yet???? We shall have to compare when we get!
Pssst…you just got a 50 mL sample; besides, it is Donatella’s birthday week so purchases this week don’t count
Really? Oh my thank you thank you thank you????
No shame in that. I’m waiting for my pre-order, too!
My sample of this arrived and I am testing it right now! I love it. If you like Vanille 44 it is along the same lines: a light non-sweet vanilla mixed with a hint of incense. My sample is edt but I would love to try the oil as well. I hope Indie Scents gets it as I am in Canada.
That’s an interesting East-West concept: Vanilla and hinoki. Seems worth a try, though I have no tolerance for vanilla or other sweet-gourmand notes lately. I like the aesthetics of the Aroma M line, especially the paper wrappings on the bottles. I have a roll-on of Geisha Noire somewhere around here (My husband, who has a master’s degree in Japanese, likes the scent but thinks the name is silly. Oh well).