A Week of Vanillas: Il Profumo Vanille Bourbon

This is the second review in a five-part series looking at several different lovely vanilla options available to perfumistas.

As I mentioned yesterday, I am a huge fan of the foodie vanilla. I love baking, and I even considered going to culinary school rather than law school, so gourmand scents are right in my wheelhouse. So as much as I was not expecting L'Artisan's take on vanilla, I was actively seeking a foodie vanilla. Thanks to Il Profumo's Vanille Bourbon, I got my wish.

Il Profumo Vanille Bourbon, available from Luckyscent, is described as follows:

Vanilla lovers, it’s time to rejoice! Two types of orchid are used to bring to mind an intense, sweet, rich vanilla fragrance, anchored with the delicious scents of heliotrope, exotic tiare and warm amber. This is an instant smile and an easy laugh…it’s soft vanilla joy in a bottle. Easygoing yet totally addictive (we mean it—we crawled over two tables one day to find exactly what gorgeous vanilla was enticing us so!), this is the finest bourbon vanilla we’ve ever laid our noses on. The Absolu version is strong—an amazing plus for any vanilla scent (and wonderful staying power, too!) Did we say addictive? Vanille Bourbon has left us with a loss for words, so we’ll just say, “WOW!”

Notes: cedar flowers, orchids (bourbon and yellow), heliotrope, tiare, rose wood

This is absolutely one of my favorite vanillas. Right from the beginning, this reads as one of the foodiest vanillas I've ever sniffed. Vanille Bourbon is sweet like baking, but with a lovely alcohol note and it is BIG. Frankly, I feel like I took a slightly sweetened vanilla extract and, in between dashes into the cake batter, dabbed it on my neck. While over time it doesn’t really develop beyond that initial sweet slap, that’s okay with me. The scent is consistent throughout on me – top, middle, bottom – hanging around me like a huge delicious cloud. Of all the vanillas I tried, this one garnered the most compliments, too. (My husband never fails to mention how much he likes it.) Clearly this one is not for everyone, but if you like the sweet and the gourmand, then Vanille Bourbon is definitely worth a try.

He likes bread and butter,
He likes toast and jam,
That's what his baby feeds him,
He's her loving man.
The Newbeats, "Bread and Butter"

Want more reviews?
~ Review from For the Love of Perfume here.
~ Also, a couple of brief reviews available from 1000fragrances and Sakecat’s Scent Project.

Cupcake image from Urban Nutritionist.