The American Society of Perfumers announced their Perfumers Choice Awards on November 9. Among the winners: Giorgio Beverly Hills (Women’s Classic), Davidoff Cool Water (Men’s Classic), Bvlgari Omnia (Women’s Contemporary), and Burberry Brit (Men’s Contemporary). Chanel no. 5 joined the ASP Hall of Fame…
Perfume of the day: L’Artisan Vanilia
September was just beautiful in my neck of the woods, with one crisp, cool, sunny day after another. October has been, frankly, miserable. It has been grey, rainy and cold for the last week: just cold enough to require long sleeves and flannel sheets, but not quite cold enough to actually turn on the heat. I am not normally a huge fan of vanilla fragrances, but it is the sort of weather that calls for a cozy-comfort sort of scent, and vanilla fits the bill as well as anything.
L’Artisan Vanilia was released in 1978, and the notes are ylang ylang, vanilla bean, amber and sandalwood. It starts off smoky, and the smokiness intensifies over the next 20 minutes before fading into a lightly resinous floral-vanilla blend…
Vanille Eau Noire du Mexique by La Maison de la Vanille
Vanilles du Monde is a set of five vanilla-based Eaux de Toilette from La Maison de la Vanille. Each of the fragrances focuses on vanilla from a specific country, and each is given a theme; Eau Noire du Mexique is called “the powdery accent” and has notes of bergamot, rose, jasmine, vanilla, iris, opoponax, tonka bean, and patchouli.
Eau Noire du Mexique starts with subtle spice notes and lots of bergamot…
Vaniglia del Madagascar and Zenzero by i Profumi di Firenze
Zenzero is the latest fragrance release from the Italian apothecary line i Profumi di Firenze. It is based on their Vaniglia del Madagascar perfume, which features vanilla orchid and vanilla bean; Zenzero adds white ginger.
Vaniglia del Madagascar is an uncomplicated vanilla perfume with a subtle floral note. It starts out smelling like pure vanilla extract, and dries down to something more like vanilla cake…
Perfume Review: Lily Prune Sublime Vanilla
Lily Prune is a low cost line produced by Paris-based perfume house Ulric de Varens and marketed towards the below-20 set (as you might have guessed from the packaging). Lily Prune Sublime Vanilla was created by nose Jean Claude Ellena, and released in 2001; the notes are orange, cherry, plum, vanilla, amber, and sandalwood.
Sublime Vanilla starts out sweet, fruity and perfume-y…