Eye of a hurricane, listen to yourself churn...

On moving, the Aurora, Colorado shooting, and DSH Perfumes Vanille Botanique

Dear reader:

This is a three-part post. It is long. (What can I say? I missed you!)  Feel free to skip ahead to the perfume if you want. Everyone else, hang on, and remember: keep your arms and legs inside the car at all time. <g>

Part One: On Moving.

That's great! It starts with an earth quake, birds and snakes and airplanes. Lenny Bruce is not afraid.
~ "It's The End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine)," R.E.M.

My old original LC mail box!
Goodbye forever!

Rejoice and glad tidings, for I have a place to live! For those of you who know nothing about the Portland real estate market, let me tell you a harrowing tale of a town where young people come to retire, no one wants to buy, and the rental market is a brutal, awful place. Luckily, David and I found a lovely house with a week to spare. We have to be off campus on August 1, so we are in the midst of a massive move. Like everything else in the new economy, we found the house through friends, and we are living with friends because (1) he's starting school so we could use the rental discount, and (2) after being in a fishbowl, we would probably die if suddenly we were locked in a room with just each other day in, day out after a decade of constant visits from friends. We need some transition time.

We are moving into a lovely one and a half story. We have a deck. We have fruit trees (green apple, plum). We have a fireplace, dishwasher, and a clothes washer/dryer of our own. There are flowerbeds for me to plant and walls for me to decorate and at the holidays, I can actually put up decorations people can see. I will finally be able to get a welcome mat.

Moving is tiring...

Group house or not, I feel awfully grown-up all the sudden. FN1. It's not quite how I imagined my life as a kid. I mean, I remember my parents when they were my age, and I am still a lot less 'grown-up' than they were at the time. But I'm a lot happier and my life is full of good friends and laughter and love, so as far as I'm concerned, I ended up in a much better place than the place I thought I wanted to be.

Hmmmm. I believe there's an Amanda Palmer song in there somewhere. FN2. That's appropriate, since I saw her last weekend. It was a small venue show to raise money Literacy Bridge, an organization that provides a "talking book" to help spread educational programming in Africa (best practices for pre/post-natal care, subsistence farming, etc.). The whole thing was terrific, especially the cause involved. The tickets were a belated birthday present from El Hubs, and it was a great night/gift and our local friends, The Doubleclicks, were the opener.

Part Two: On The Aurora, Colorado shooting.

"Sometimes I feel like I can't even sing. I'm very scared for this world."
~ "You are Everything," R.E.M.

Before I get to the perfume in this post (and yes, I'll eventually get there), I wanted to say a few words about the Aurora, Colorado shootings. I bring this up in part because Amanda talked about it a lot at the show, and also because I'd be thinking about it regardless.

Depending on how you count, this is the fifth, sixth, or hundred and twelfth mass shooting since Columbine. FN3. FN4. I know we spend a lot of time on the "why?," but if we are trying to figure out what makes someone crazy and destructive, while that question is worth exploring, it is probably besides the point. There have always been and will always be crazy people, destructive people, people who are not satisfied with killing themselves and want to take others with them. Why would they hurt others and/or hurt themselves? There are socio-cultural debates about the state of mental health care, hopelessness and disconnection in the digital millennium, and the fetishization of violence that we could talk about for hours. Me? I just keep hearing, "I Don't Like Mondays" in my head. Stupid, but true.

Ukuleles save lives!

We keep asking these questions because we all want answers. We want a solution, something that makes us feel safer and helps the world make a little more sense. We want to feel like there is something we can do, actively do, that gives us back our power over the insanity of the world. I get that, too. I feel it as much as the next person.

The question is: what concrete thing can you and I do to make a difference?

When you sit and ask yourself, "Why is this happening so much now? Why is the impact so much larger now than when people went crazy in the past?", I think we all have to own the fact that the proliferation of guns, specifically automatic and semi-automatic guns, is 80% of the answer. I'm not saying someone can't do a lot of damage without one six round revolver, but if you want to know why the number of injured and dead keeps going up and up, I think we all see this is a huge part of the problem.

Now, I am not anti-gun. Yes, you read that right. Not against personal gun ownership. Given my general leftie swerve, this probably surprises many of you. Part of it is my upbringing, as I was raised in a world where every man I knew was a cop, or in the military or a sport hunter or a combination thereof. In my mind, it felt like gun ownership was something that came with adulthood, like getting a driver's license or drinking alcohol. Grown-ups had guns. All of them. FN5. My house came replete with a plethora of guns, including an AR-15, one other guns we know was used in Aurora.

This assault rifle, which had *no business* in my suburban home for a lot of reasons, was used throughout most of my life to prop up a fan next to my parents bed so the fan blew directly on my father while he slept. "Be careful getting out of bed on that side," they'd tell John and I, "there's a gun over there." John and I were raised with what I believe was a healthy if somewhat non-specific fear of guns, taught to think of them with the same kind of fear one treats a poisonous snake; it lives over there, stay away and don't even come close to it, it could kill you if you touch it.

The result of this upbringing is: I know how to shoot a gun. I do not own or carry one, but if I felt compelled to, I'd be fine with it. David doesn't have a gun, but it would not have been a barrier to our relationship if he had. Having a gun in a home doesn't scare me or worry me; I just don't really see the reason to have one. I don't need it for work, like most of the people I grew up with, and I'm not interested in sport hunting, like the rest of the people I grew up with, because I have other hobbies. In my mind, a gun is a tool for a specific purpose, and since my life does not contain such a purpose, it doesn't contain a gun. If that were to change, I'd be fine with it.

So when I tell you that the solution is the complete ban on the sale of some weapons to the general population, I need you to understand that it has nothing to do with me hating guns or wanting to take your guns. When I tell you that background checks and gun control laws and waiting periods are the key to a better world, it is not because I am some knee-jerk reactionary hater when it comes to guns. I just generally believe that it should not be easier for me to go buy a gun than it is to buy Sudafed. I believe those who have a documentable propensity toward violence or mental instability do not need 24/7 immediate access to fast-firing, high volume weaponry.

This doesn't seem like a political issue to me. It seems like common sense. It has become a political issue because gun manufacturers have a lot of money and they know how and where to spend it. We have ways to fight them, though. It's our vote. Politicians don't like being laid off any more than the next person. If you believe in gun control, tell you elected representatives that this issue matters to you and will be an issue you follow when it comes to their donations and voting record. You can find out who your reps are here (Fed and State), and check their voting records on any issue here (Fed) and get their record as it relates to gun control (and any other issue) through their organization report cards here. Your voice does matter, and let's face it: all the money in the world can't save a politician we choose not to vote for.

Though I don't think Jim Morrison meant it quite this way, I am reminded in this moment: "They've got the guns but we've got the numbers." Or, to put it another way, "I believe in peace, bitch." Thanks, Tori Amos. You always know how to say what I'm feeling with a twisted flair.

We need more gun control. More guns will not result in less violence. And for anyone who thinks armed civilians in the theatre could have stopped this incident, I will only note the following: 1. the theater had a sign up telling gun owners to leave their weapons in their cars, so any law abiding citizen would have been unarmed anyway; (2) two members of the military were shot and killed in the incident. All the training in the world, including how to avoid live fire, isn't going to save you in a crowded, smokey stampede; (3) even the best trained people will struggle with a surprise attack requiring a response that includes accurate shooting in a moving crowd in a smoke filled room. More guns would have meant more people shot. Again, we're not talking about rocket science. This isn't a movie; it's real life. Common sense says more shooters, no matter how well trained, experienced, and/or armed they were, would have meant more wounded, more dead.

The answer isn't more guns. It's fewer guns.

Well, that was decidedly non-perfumey, wasn't it? So let's talk about what I'm wearing right now.

Part Three: A Review of DSH Perfumes Vanille Botanique, aka "Dear gods in the ether, where have you been all my life?"

The world is collapsing around our ears. I turned up the radio but I can't hear it..."
~ "Radio Song," R.E.M.

As we make our move today, I am currently sporting Dawn Spencer Hurwitz's Vanille Botanique, a 100% botanical designed for Indiescents. DSH Perfumes describes it as:

Vanille Botanique is a luscious, balsamic vanilla in the classical style. A soft jasmine heart and bergamot top note balance and round out the bouquet. Such deliciousness! 

Top notes: Bergamot, Lemon, Rosewood (bois de rose)
Middle notes: Bulgarian Rose Absolute, French Beeswax, Grandiflorum Jasmine
Base notes: Australian Sandalwood, Buddahwood, Civet, Labdanum, Peru Balsam, Siam Benzoin, Tahitian Vanilla, Tolu Balsam, Vanilla Absolute

Indiescents' description adds the following: "Rich, decadent vintage style vanilla perfume; all botanical. Subtle citrus in the top, warm, sensuous florals mixed with rich gourmand notes in the heart and luxurious base of balsams, resins and of course vanilla."

So now we have the perfumer's description, some notes, and some ad copy, let's talk vanilla perfume for a second, shall we? Lots of houses make vanilla perfume. It's, ummmmm, how do I say this....abundant almost to the point of being unwieldy. People love the way baked goods and old books and sweet cocktails smell, and every tom, dick, and bath and body place in the mall will tell you that this or that vanilla is a well-paced selling standard for them. I think most fragrance and flavor companies would bear me out when I tell you that vanilla/vanillin, real or synthetic, is a primary note available in abundance.

Because of that, it's a crowded field out there -- good, bad, and ugly. So I'll tell you right now that are already a number of good vanillas to be had. My personal favs are, in no particular order: Annick Goutal Vanille Exquise, Atelier Cologne Vanille Incenseé, Guerlain Spiritueuse Double Vanille, L'Artisan Vanilia. I am happy to report Dawn Spencer Hurwitz has once again found a way to seperate me from my hard earned dough with Vanille Botanique, which will round out my All-Time, Top Five Des(se)rt Island vanilla scents. Releasing at Number Five, with a bullet.

Why am I so quick to proclaims its supremacy? In keeping with the theme, here are my top five reasons.

1. Vanille Botanique is so warm! Vanille Botanique is almost a hot scent on my skin. It works the way I'd expect a hot pepper taste to translate into perfume. It rises in smexy wafts from my arm in a way that is decidedly unfoodie. I bet it's the civet in the base that's making me feel all ha-cha-cha about it, but about a half hour in -- wow, do I want to have sex wearing this perfume. (There, I said it). It smells the way I'd write a scene with people licking vanilla frosting off each other. I know, I know. You're taken aback by my frank dirtiness, but there it is. What can I say? I learned it by reading you, Chandler Burr.

Spray sample from Indiescents.
GET ONE TODAY!

2. Vanille Botanique is strong. I mean this in a good way. Not like, "Hi, I'm here to knock you down with my perfume," but more, "Who was that masked woman leaving a terrific scent wake behind her!?!" When it comes to Vanille Botanique, a little dab (or spray) will do you; the scent keeps blooming. Vanille Botanique is a scent that will love you for a long time (seriously, why am I being so dirty!?!), and for me that makes the price point totally worth it. I'll buy a bottle and it will last me forever. FN6.

3. In no way does Vanille Botanique smell fake. There are so many vanillas out there that smell like cleaner, or bathroom spray, or cheap candle, or floor wax. This is definitively not one of them. It smells beautifully natural, and if you were trying to sell me on the differences/purposes/superiority of pure botanicals, this would be a good scent to point to.

4. Vanille  Botanique is vanilla, yes, but so much more. It's not foodie. I can't believe it is so strongly vanilla and I do not get food at all. No candy, no cocktail, no baked goods. It's -- dare I say it? -- floral, but without being very green, like L'Artisan Vanilia is. The opening is lemons and roses and vanilla bean pod skins, not something to put into food and drink. It is more something I'd expect to get from a beautiful floral centerpiece. The middle is dry and light, without being angular and open like Vanille Incenseé. Some aspects as almost...I don't want to say soapy because it has potentially negative connotations, but yes, soapy. This is not the vanilla of your local bakery or your mom's kitchen, and even if you think it is, I challenge you to smell deeper, because there is simply something more about Vanille Botanique.

5. Vanille Botanique is the vanilla you've been searching for. If you're one of those people who always tries a vanilla, especially ones that get continually high praise, and think, "This is close to what I want, but not exactly what I was looking for," I bet this is your huckleberry. It is just so damned beautiful that I keep thinking, "How did I not know I wanted this?" But that's the truth. As someone who loves vanillas and tries them at all price points and in lots of forms, I didn't even know vanilla could smell like this -- dirty and hot and sexy, of earth and sweat and skin and very much alive. Perfume is amazing that way, isn't it?  You think you know what there is to know about a thing and then, bam! A whole new world opens up.

Bottom line? Get some DSH Perfumes Vanille Botanique. It's terrific.

Five Nods. No question.

Vanille Botanique sells from Indiescents at 30ml for $130.00. You can also get samples there. You can also go straight to DSH Perfumes, where the scent is available as a body wash, shea butter body cream, body lotion, massage oil, a water-based spray concentrate, and in a couple of EdP sizes.

Want more? Try....
~ a review from Perfume Pharmer
~ a review from *jen at This Blog Really Stinks!
~ a review from CaFleureBon
~ a review from Victoria at EauMG
~ a review from Trish Vawter in The Perfume Magazine

______________________
F1. Also all our roommates are 26 or older, so this isn't your typical college-aged group house.

FN2. Video of said song...





FN3. I seriously do not understand how people can remember Columbine, Virgina Tech, Congresswoman Giffords, and Batman, but somehow forget that time a woman-hating lunatic used three guns to shoot up an LA Fitness in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. I think it is because only three people died and nine were wounded, because otherwise it was an equally terrifying attack on a benign public location where people generally do not expect to be attacked and believe they are safe. Also, the shooter killed himself, so there was no meal of a trial for the 24-hour news cycle to feed on. But seriously? Dude killed several women and would have killed several more because 1. he was crazy, and 2. he couldn't get laid. (No, really. That's the reason. He said so in videos and letters.) In my mind, this is also a huge tragedy.

FN4. The cynical feminist in me requires I also tell you that part of me believes the reason no one cares about this shooting was because it was a clear example of misogyny, and no one in America cares about that, because our society is perfectly fine with hatred and violence against women, even when it costs women their lives. She needs to say that, just for the record.

FN5. Don't ask me how it escaped my attention that few women I knew had guns. They all knew how to shoot them and had access to them in their homes, so I guess I always felt like they 'had guns' in the same way that two people sharing a car both 'have a car.'

FN6. Incidentally, I will say that I find this almost universally true with my DSH perfumes. They have great longevity and good sillage and I have never regretted a single purchase, which is impressive since I went nuts during the site redesign sale and now have about 12 different scents in roller form.

All photos were taken by me. The video belongs to Amanda Palmer.

Haul out the holly; put up the tree before my spirit falls again!

Scent Spotlight:  aroma M Geisha Amber Rouge

Tonight "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" was on television, but I didn't watch it. I didn't put my Christmas tree up this weekend like I normally do, I didn't go to the Christmas Tree lighting downtown, and I haven't even driven over to see the red reindeer nose on the new Made in Oregon sign. I didn't even put batteries in the twinkle lights on my wreath yet.

Quite frankly, I am feeling positively Grinchy.

And that's too bad, because thanks to Marie McElroy, I have a new scent to add to my winter holiday favorites. About two weeks ago, I received a delightful surprise in the mail - aroma M Geisha Amber Rouge. And despite my other wise sour puss, I had to tell you about it because it's too good not to share.

According to the aroma M website:

Following in the tradition of the grand perfume house of Guerlain with Shalimar Initial and Chanel with Chanel No. 5 Eau Permiere, we have taken our cult favorite, Geisha Rouge, and given it a new interpretation - Geisha Amber Rouge. This is a beautiful feminine fragrance composed of seductive sensual spices and woods. It is mellow yet racy, smoky and appealing. It is a gentle, irresistible red flame conveying the meaning of vivacious sensuality held in check but just barely.

Geisha Amber Rouge gives a nod to Oriental perfumery in its use of rare vintage ingredients from the desert. Moroccan amber joins forces with deep wood resins, cinnamon, clove and hints of star anis. Characteristically spicy notes of the original Geisha Rouge blend with that of Japanese incense. Inspired by exotic travels to Morocco and Istanbul, Geisha Amber Rouge is a perfume poem, an ode to the Byzantine. Drawing on the treasured oils from the silk road, Geisha Amber Rouge is representative of aroma Ms cross-cultural fluency in creating perfumes, creating an olfactory journey between east and west.

Notes: Tonka bean, tobacco, vanilla, sandalwood, cinnamon, star of anise, clove

What a lovely scent! I've worn it several times since it arrived, and depending on the day, different notes take prominence, but all of them seem entirely fa-la-la-fantastic. Tonight the opening is heavy on the clove, the middle a strong blend of tobacco and tonka bean, and the finish a wallop of sandalwood. When I wore it a couple of days ago, I would have sworn it was all cinnamon and anise and vanilla! No matter what blend I get, they're all warm, sweet, and terrific.

I've seen a lot of reviews that describe the scent as throwing-sparks-sexy, and I'll agree that I get a bit of sparkage, but mine if more of the snuggle together by the fire under a blanket for...discretion. I think it's sexy, but I don't find it quite as viscerally va-va-voom as other reviewers. Instead, I find it sweet and romantic. Moreover, it's so...Christmas-y! It reminds me of sipping holiday cider through a straw, playing in the snow, kissing beneath mistletoe, and lying in bed together with only the lights from the tree twinkling in the room.

They say there's no place like home for the holidays. I say, nothing beats love at the holidays. And this scent says that to me, in spades.

Available direct from the perfumer or from LuckyScent.

Want more? Try...
~ a review from Eyeliner on a Cat
~ a review from Eiderdown Press
~ a review from Pretty in Dayton
~ a review from Perfume Pharmer
~ a review from Perfume Diary

Perfume generously provided for review by the perfumer.

That's how the light gets in: review and drawing!

Scent Spotlight: Atelier Cologne Vanilla Incenseé

Dear reader, let's try a thought experiment. Close your eyes and concentrate on the hottest day you can remember experiencing last year. Think of the way the sum baked the skin, the vinyl seats of the car stuck to the backs of your legs, how the wind was stagnant and the air heavy with heat to the point that the whole world -- animal, vegetable, and mineral -- seemed to bow under the burden of it.

Now try to imagine a vanilla scent that would work under those conditions.

I will straight up tell you that until today I would said I'd never found one. Maybe, maybe, my beloved and now woefully defunct L'Artisan Vanilia might have been able to tackle the task.FN1 But, and I say this is a woman who rarely meets a vanilla I find mediocre, much less unlikeable, that's hot weather is not typically the vanilla arena. The rich sugary deliciousness I imagine is a cozy smell, a warm smell meant to hold back the cold. It is a kitchen filled with baking love or a snuggle in a blanket. It is not meant to feel light, cool, and refreshing in withering heat. For that, even Vanilia probably would have been just a touch too much on the assertive side.

But thanks to Atelier Cologne Vanille Incenseé, I now have a vanilla for the hot days of summer! 
Atelier Cologne introduces Vanille Incenseé with the following romantic lead in:

“He wove through the crowd when suddenly his heart quickened. That scent. It was hers. He had worn it first until she stole it for herself. Now, there she was before him and the magic of years past came flooding back in a moment.”

Vanille Insensée, an electrical current runs through the subtle sweetness of vanilla, jasmine and fresh lime to bond with rich oak moss, woods and spicy 

Top notes: lime, cedrat. coriander
Heart notes: jasmine, vetiver and oak moss
Base notes: vanilla from Madagascar, oak wood and amber

I am so in love with this scent!  What is most surprising to me is how fresh and unique it feels. Light, clean, present without being smothering, it seems like the perfect antedote to the malaise that hits mid-summer when you tire of smelling like green tea and beach florals. FN2. FN3.  And while the sillage in moderate, the staying powder is terrific.  I sprayed maybe 3 sprays on this morning before 8am and it's fourteen hours later and I'm still getting light hits of it.  Normally anything that lasts this long packs such a wallop, scent-wise, but this is light.  

And when I say light, I don't mean wispy like a cloud or thin like fine lace or soft as angel's wings.  I mean light the way glass and space can open up a building, allowing movement and air and vitality to stream in. Light in the way that your spirit can be light.  And yet, the scent is still powerful and strong.  Because it isn't overly foodie or cozy but brings a light freshness to the scene, it is the rare vanilla I think would work beautifully on a man.

There are areas within the realm of scent that are a crowded field. When it comes to these themes (vanilla is one; rose is another), it can be difficult to create something that catches a sniffa's nose, head turning to follow. Though no one means to, it can be hard not to get a little jaded, in a "been there, sniffed that" kind of way.  I applaud Atelier for doing such an interesting interpretation on vanilla. 

You can purchase 30ml for $60 or 200ml for $170 of Vanille Incenseé  from Bergdorf Goodman, Neiman Marcus, LuckyScent, or direct from the perfumer.  While I highly recommend you do, I'd also like to add that, thanks to the generosity of the perfumer, I'm giving a 5ml decant to one of you lucky readers! FN4.  

Post by 11:50 PM PST March 8 if you want to enter, and tell me your favorite vanilla.

"Every heart, every heart
to love will come
but like a refugee.
Ring the bells that still can ring
Forget your perfect offering
There is a crack, a crack in everything
That's how the light gets in."
~ "Anthem," Leonard Cohen

Want more?  Try...
~ a review from Kevin at Now Smell This!
~ a review from Perfume Shrine
____________
FN1 Which I would *still* straight roll a body to get a bottle of.
FN2 I like smothering vanillas, so I don't mean that as a bad thing.
FN3 Again, no disrespect. I've got at least three bottles of different "perfect for the beach in summer" scents. Love'em all.
FN4 Scent provided to Feminine Things by Atelier Cologne for review.

I'll give you an inkling. Nothing more.

La Maison Vanille Vanahe

It's funny how, when you start something, sometimes you get more than you expected out of it. You start a project, you meet someone for coffee, you pick up a new hobby, and not only do you get what you thought you would, you get more: new professional connections, unexpected new skills, great new friends. In a world where expectations go unmet or at least disappointed with alarming frequency, it's nice when you get more than you anticipated.

According to Maison de la Vanille,

Vanahe has all the scents of the Pacific Ocean. Vanahe, the woman Eau de parfum, by La Maison de la Vanille, combines white flowers, tangy citrus fruits, a hint of marine freshness with the warmth and sensuous vanilla. This harmonious and surprising fragrance will seduce lovers of faraway climes with its colourful scents of exoticism.

Vanahe is exactly what it purports to be. It's strongly toward the candyfloss end of the vanilla spectrum, and I definitely get a hint of citrus and and marine, which in combination reminds me of those old fashioned orange candies meant to look like the slices from a mandarin orange. I don't doubt that some noses are going to get the dreaded "play doh" note on this one. It's a passable fragrance, but not one I'd choose over the other lovely vanillas out there to be had. When it comes to my candyfloss class of vanillas, I take a "Go big or go home" approach. If you're gonna go there -- GO THERE. Buy Comptoir Sud Pacifique Vanille Abricot or, better still, Montale Vanille Absolu. La Maison Vanille Vanahe tries to get there, but it's like putting an after-market kit on a Toyota and calling it a sports car; you're better off just saving your money until you can get a real one.

It's funny, when I was googling around for reviews, as is my habit, I ran across a comment of my own on Perfume Posse. It was right when I started as a sniffa, and I listed Vanahe in the top 20 scents I'd sniffed. That was exactly two years and eight days ago, and Vanahe wouldn't even make my "if I had a million dollars" scent shopping list. I'm amazed, all the time, at how much better my nose has gotten. Even my sense of taste has improved, which, in turn, has made me a better cook. When I started all this, I just wanted to smell good. But being into perfume has introduced me to fabulous new people, great writing, improved one of my basic senses, enhanced another, and given me a surprising hobby that -- to my unanticipated delight -- lots of people I meet seem to find intriguing, or at least, worth chatting me up about. It's nice. Strange, but nice. And certainly another reason that I am never getting off this particular merry-go-round.

"Do I have to tell you everything I think?
Open book, broken wing.
Do I have to show you what I really want?
Wounded dog, hounded heart.
I’ll give you an inkling,
spare you a notion.
Nothing more.

You get what you pay for."
"Notion," Barbara Kessler

Champagne bubbled up through the nick of the bottle & sweet silence came out through the radio.

Susanne Lang Vanilla Champagne

That's right friends, back to vanillas today. Sometimes I think I should have named this blog something to do with vanilla, since it feels, even to me, like 15-20% of my posts are about vanilla scents.

According to Luckyscent, Vanilla Champagne is a

celebrate with chocolate, roses, champagne and the sweet smell of love... bottled! Vanilla Champagne captures the scent of all things romantic: A 30ml Spray combines the delicious scent of sparkling champagne with the essence of dark chocolate and sweet vanilla bean, two scents long considered aphrodisiacs.

Notes: Sparkling champagne, vanilla bean, dark chocolate, essence of rose petals and sandalwood

Vanilla Champagne is a a nice mix of candyfloss vanilla and a peachy liquer. On immediate application, it reminds me a lot of mixing vanilla vodka and peach schnapps, actually, so it's about as girly a shot of liqour as you can imagine. I mean that in a good way, though. Both halves are well-balanced throughout, and over two hours neither half take over completely. I don't get the chocolate much, but I do get the rose and sandalwood very lightly as the scent develops. I think Vanilla Champagne would make a great summer scent and is very feminine; though I rarely say this, I think it would be hard to sell this one as masculine, though I know at least one salsa dancing Latino man who could pull it off. Vanilla Champagne is a nice light scent that I think would appeal to short swishy skirts, big hoop earrings, bright colored tank tops, and strappy, peep-toe platforms. It's a fun scent, and yes, it feels a bit youthful in its innocence, but I also think that for a hot night out on the town, it would make a really nice choice.

You can buy Vanilla Champagne in a 30ml bottle for $50 from LuckyScent. You can also get 4ml of Vanilla Champagne and eight other vanillas in a lovely package for $95 direct from the perfumer. The Scented Salamander recommends both Vanilla Champagne and the box set for the holidays, and I concur.

"You danced across the living room floor,
and you kissed me once and then you kissed me some more.
You had your arms wrapped around my neck and it felt real fine,
and then your ankle knocked up against mine.
And resonating in my bones
was the precise crisp drumming of Mr. Elvin Jones.
God damn it, I love John Coltrane!"
- "My Favorite Things," The Mountain Goats

I could not find any reviews of Vanilla Champagne other than the user reviews over at Luckyscent.

I Want Candy!

It has come to my attention that I have been remiss in posting about my thoughts on scents for a lovely Fall day. It seems I’m perpetually behind on these things, but in this case I have a pretty good defense. It’s hard to think of fabulous fall scents when you are stuck in a place where Fall never comes. The leaves don’t turn. The temperature is in the mid-90s. Everyone is still wearing shorts. Witherist thou Fall scent post?, you ask. Whitherist my Fall weather?, I reply.

Don’t worry. In approximately five days I will be back in my beloved Pacific Northwest where the cold winds blow, the rain is ever present, and the leaves definitely undergo a fall time transformation. I’m sure the cool weather will inspire me. Until then, you’ll have to wait out my time in the endless summer purgatory with me.

Les Nereides Douceur de Vanille

I love vanillas, bit vanillas have a risk, at times, of having an initial scent that hits your nose with an all too familiar note. You lean in looking for heaven and come back up with a nose full of Play-doh. In my mind this play-doh is always that neon red-orange color I associate with fallout shelter warnings, but hey, chose your own color to suit. While reviews on Luckyscent warned of a “baby powder” possibility, which I can see a little off, I definitely got play-doh instead.

With Les Nereides Douceur de Vanille, it’s the play-doh note on application. According to LuckyScent, Douceur de Vanille’s notes are “bourbon vanilla, almond, cocoa, white rose, star aniseed” and it is described as

The softest, milkiest vanilla we've ever found. This evokes the pure, delicate sweetness of the icy crystals on top of homemade ice cream. Incomparable bourbon vanilla is caressed with almond and cocoa and freshened with white rose. Opening with a burst of innocence and powder, Douceur de Vanille mellows into a gentle, creamy skin scent that seems more like a delectable aura than a perfume – as if you just happen to have naturally delicious skin. The perfect warm weather vanilla. Heavenly.

I don’t know where the “softest and sweetest” is coming from on this one. It’s so play-doh-y on me that, even fifteen minutes in, it feels like it will melt my eyes. It is so cloying. A lot of the Luckyscent reviews also mentioned this being a “light” scent. I took two swipes out of a 1ml wand sample and OHHOLYMARYMOTHEROFGOD, light was NOT a word I’d associate here.

This is a borderline scrubber for me, something that I say very rarely. An hour in and I still feel it rising off skin like some ghost of vanilla past come back to life to haunt me for all those times I said that I couldn’t get enough vanilla. I think it’s the aniseed and rose coming through super strong so that it’s equal parts those two and vanilla, and it just one hot salty sugary mess. I love vanillas. Hell, I love big vanillas, cheap vanillas, one note vanillas, all kinds of vanillas. But this one is just way too much vanilla for me. And that, my friends, is saying something. It you’re looking for your vanilla and salt, stingy scent, trust me when I saw that going with Annick Goutal Vanille is probably a better bet.

Montale Vanille Absolu

On the other hand, literally, we have Montale Vanille Absolu. Luckyscent describes Vanille Absolu as

Smooth and sweet, silky and enveloping, Vanille Absolu is everything you could ever desire in an upscale vanilla: swirly folds of boozy vanilla are set off and enhanced by soft woods and a touch of cinnamon and clove. It’s more like the pure distilled essence of a true vanilla bean pod than the wafer cookie vanillas that have flooded the market in the last few years, but make no mistake: this beauty flaunts its sweet depths with wild abandon and really doesn’t care who’s looking. A refined vanilla without being snooty, we can think of several perfumes that trumpet “vanilla” in their name then try to bury the note under a pile of florals or other notes in an effort to be “classy.” Montale got it right – there’s a reason so many of us love the smell of vanilla, and Vanille Absolu is it. It’s one of the best pure, elegant vanillas on the market. Period.

The notes: vanilla, cinnamon, clove, woods.

There is nothing play-doh-y about this one. Instead it comes on hot and heavy and cotton candy heaven. If you like candyfloss scents, this is going to rock your socks. The clove comes through initially in a weird musky almost fake way, but after about an hour the whole mixture clams down into a really lovely candied vanilla and spice mix. It’s like smearing yourself in coating made of melted caramels, condensed sweetened milk, cinnamon and cloves. Of if someone who smoked lovely clove ciagarettes and wore really strongly vanilla flavored lip gloss gave you a kiss deep enough to knock you on your ass. Either way, a lovely experience, but a little goes a long way. Personally the longer I had it on the more I loved it, but don’t say you haven’t been warned!

Definitely not for the foodie/candy floss faint of heart, but if you are already into these scents, you might like this. It’s more candy than some of the other foodie vanillas I love, like Memoire Liquide Creme de Vanille #204 or Il Profumo Vanille Bourbon, but more complex and interesting than Comptoir Sud Pacifique Vanille Abricot, another candy floss that I love. Where as Comptoir Sud Pacifique Vanille Abricot is a sweet fruity youthful nights on the boardwalk kind of scent, Montale Vanille Absolu is like an adult cotton candy...perhaps one that goes with waking up in the sand, under the boardwalk the morning after.

Also, can I just take a moment to lament the packaging on both of these? Those angels on the label of the Les Nereides label make me feel vomitous. Was Les Nereides intending to market for six year old girls? And Montale -- why take all that lovely scent and put it into something that looks like an aluminun water bottle bike fanatics use? What's wrong with a nice clean looking glass bottle? Oh happy medium, where have you gone...

Les Nereides Douceur de Vanille, clearly loved by others far more than me, is currently on backorder at Luckyscent, is available in 100ml for $65. Montale Vanille Absolu is available in 50ml for $95 and 100ml for $135. The 100ml of Vanille Absolu is on backorder until November, though, so it might be worth looking around if you want to buy either sooner.

"Candy on the beach, there's nothing better!
But I like candy when it's wrapped in a sweater.
Some day soon I'll make you mine,
Then I'll have candy all the time..."
- "I Want Candy," Bow Wow Wow

I couldn’t find any reviews of Les Nereides Douceur de Vanille, though I feel the user reviews on Luckyscent cover a lot of ground. For reviews of Montale Vanille Absolu, try….
~ A review from Robin at Now Smell This!
~ A review from 1000 Scents.

Images from Luckyscent, TravelMuse, and EmmaGem.

A Week of Vanillas: Guerlain Spiritueuse Double Vanille

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

Guerlain Spiritueuse Double Vanille
Guerlain describes Spiritueuse Double Vanille, a 2007 creation, thusly

If a colour or fragrance were to be associated with each day, like the planets were in ancient times, sandalwood would be the Sun, saffron would be Jupiter, and without doubt vanilla would be Venus.
Notes: vanilla, benzoin, frankincense, spices, cedar, pink pepper, bergamot, Bulgarian rose and ylang-ylang.

Wow. This is an incredible fragrance! On application, Spiritueuse Double Vanille was strong and held close to the skin, as if one ground vanilla tobacco down, soaked it in oil, and then oiled my skin with it. Like doing shots of vanilla extract infused vodka, the way the smell lingers in your mouth and nose long after the shot has already burned its fiery path to your belly.

In the midsection, Spiritueuse Double Vanille becomes less sweet, and more of a gorgeous tobacco-y smoke, a little powdery or ashy akin to a cloud of vanilla smoke. After about an hour, the liquor note remains strongly on me, and all but the barest hint of the smoke drops out, leaving a strongly vanilla extract smell. Not sweet like baked vanilla, but again strong and distilled, like making some sort of crazy bootleg vanilla hooch in an old tub out back. Also, on me, it lasted for hours! So beautiful. 
The way it hangs around you, being sweet and intoxicating, is a little like the kind of feeling intoxication you feel after you make out with someone for the first time. Then you stumbled out of your car up to the door and giggle as you wave to the driver. And you hum and you sing and you feel giddy. And the world seems sweet, sweeter than it did before. The worm will turn, of course, as it inevitably does. But in the moment, in that dizzying cloud of sweet smokey love, you just feel overwhelmingly happy and grateful, so grateful, to have the moment in the first place.
The sadness here, of course, is that Spiritueuse Double Vanille was a limited edition and, with the exception of buying decants from The Perfume Court, I can’t find a place to buy it anywhere. I have no doubt I will be spending a ridiculous sum on as much Spiritueuse Double Vanille as I can get my hands on as soon as it is fiscally possible. It is the Iris Pallida of vanillas for me, so of course it also has to be LE!

Here's an evening dark with shame.
Throw it on the fire.
Here's the time I took the blame.
Throw it on the fire.
Here's the time we didn't speak it seemed for years and years,
and here's a secret no one will ever know,
the reasons for the tears.
They are smoke.
- Ben Folds Five, "Smoke"

Want more reviews?
~ Scented Salamander review here.
~ I Smell Therefore I Am here
~ Perfume-Smellin’ Things review here.
~ Legerdenez has a review here.
~ And if my five reviews weren't enough, Robin over at Now Smell This! reviews Spiritueuse Double Vanille and a few more vanillas here.

A Week of Vanillas: Annick Goutal Vanille Exquise

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

Annick Goutal Vanille Exquise

Here’s a brief blurb on Vanille Exquise:

Vanille Exquise was introduced in 2004. Developed by perfumer Isabelle Doyen, this scent is a “vanilla that is evocative of temptation nestling between the fantasy of far-flung islands and the memory of Cleopatra's vanilla almond milk baths.”

Notes: vanilla, angelica, almond, benzoin, gaiac wood and white musk.

This is a strange tangy kind of vanilla. It has the sweetness of vanilla, but it is mixed with a saltiness, like vanilla mixed with salt water and crushed sea shells. It feels very "vanilla meets the sea" to me. Or maybe vanilla flavored salt water taffy, if such a thing exists? That sharp tang is probably the angelica, which is really biting on me. It sweetens up a little on me over the dry down, but that sharp salty tang never goes away. It's got good staying power, lasting five to eight hours strongly on me, and then more faintly for another three hours or so. It’s lovely and complicated, and if you are looking for a less foody vanilla, this might be a good choice for you.

Vanille Exquise is available a whole host of places, including Saks Fifth Avenue and Beauty Encounter.

Want more reviews?
~ For a review from Legerdenez check here.
~ Jenny over at Perfume Making has her review here.
~ Robin at Now Smell This! reviewed Vanille Exquise here.

A Week of Vanillas: Memoire Liquide Creme de Vanille #204

This is the third review in a five-part series looking at several different lovely vanilla options available to perfumistas. 
Memoire Liquide Creme de Vanille #204

Creme de Vanille isn’t intended by the Bespoke line to be more than a single note ingredient in the Memoire Liquide repertoire you can use to design your own bespoke fragrance if you’ve got access to one of their two modern-day apothecary locations (NYC or LA) and, of course, the cash. If you’re interested in such perfumery magicks, you should check out Jessica’s piece on her experience. I ended up getting a sample of it solo from The Perfumed Court and have worn it as such, so I decided to review it as a stand alone fragrance regardless. 
Initially this is a coconut kind of vanilla, less foody than Vanille Bourbon, but still more food-y than Vanille Exquise. After the immediate initial handful of sniffs the coconut is replaced by a sort of woody vanilla, with a sweet cherry undertone. It conjures in my mind a vanilla vodka martini with two cherries and a sprig of vanilla flowers on a woody stalk as garnish. The sweetness is like the sweetness of honey, not sugary like that of a vanilla cake. It has good staying power without being a big scent or a heavy scent like Vanille Bourbon. Creme de Vanille provides an interesting, lighter option for someone who wants a gourmand that is less sweet than Vanille Bourbon.

Want more reviews?
~ The only brief mention I could find of Vanille Crème was here on Now Smell This!

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.

A Week of Vanillas: L'Artisan Vanilia

I meant to post this early this morning but the internet was out in my house and the day got away from me. The first of five reviews in anticipation of my being gone all of next week.
This week I will be reviewing five fine vanilla scents. As I previously mentioned, I wore vanilla for years. A cheap vanilla but in my opinion entirely lovely vanilla, The Body Shop's Vanilla Spice.
L’Artisan Vanilia

First up, L’Artisan Vanilia, described as follows:

A magnificent vanilla. This L’Artisan classic blends the vanilla flower with the more familiar bean and adds a hint of amber to create a gloriously rich fragrance with warmth and depth. Sophisticated, slightly spicy, and not at all sugary. Very different from any other vanilla scent we have ever encountered. Gorgeous and complex.
Notes: vanilla flower, vanilla bean, amber

Complex is right! My first thought on application was “Is this even vanilla!?!” Vanilla, in my head, is a sweet, foody, baking smell. So the first time I sniffed this along with several other, more foody vanillas in an effort to better discern the differences, my initial reaction was to be very displeased. I actually thought it might have gone bad. (I'd bought a decant.) But on second sniff, after reading the descriptions and sniffing it entirely on its own, I liked it a bit better. Then I gave it a couple of full sprays and wore it for the day; that's when I grew to love it.
Vanilia is not foody to me at all. This is a vanilla made of the greenness in the world, of earthy stalks and shoots. While a sweetness peeks through well into the middle, it is a close, clean kind of sweetness, like the slightly sweet smell of wet white cotton sheets drying in the sun on a clothesline. The sweet reminds of very faintly of an orchid, but not in an overly flowery way. It remains so strangely natural smelling. On dry down, throughout the day, occasionally a bit of sweetness would waft up at me, but mostly all I could think when I smelled it was the chorus of that Mountain Goats song, "pale green things."
Now I really enjoy it because I accept it for what it is, not what I expect it to be. L’Artisan Vanilia is definitely the weirdest of all the vanillas I’ve ever smelled but I mean that entirely in a good way. If you think you hate vanilla, this is worth a try. L’Artisan Vanilia is available all over the place: Beautyhabit, Luckyscent, etc.
Casting your gaze way out to no man's land.
Sometimes I'll meet you out there,
lonely and frightened,
flicking my tongue out at the wet leaves.
Pale green things.
Pale green things.
~The Mountain Goats, "Pale Green Things"

Want more reviews?
~ Review by Robin from Now Smell This! here
~ Review from One Thousand Scents here.

My milkshake brings all the boys to the yard....

In my 400-level minor capstone, my Feminist Theory prof had us all submit pro-feminist/pro-womynist songs to make a class compilation CD. I will never forget that one of her selections for the CD was Kelis's "Milkshake."

Every time I think of milkshakes, my default flavor is vanilla. I don't know why. I don't tend to favor vanilla as a flavor of milkshake or anything else really. I usually go for the mocha perk or the mint chocolate chip or something else vaguely chocolate related. Vanilla is typically thought of as a "boring" flavor. As Paris says to Rory in "Luke Can See Her Face" (episode in Gilmore Girls: Season 4) about her elderly paramour:

Paris: He orders old gelato.
Rory: Old gelato?
Paris: Vanilla. It's a very old flavour.
But I think vanilla gets a bad rap, particularly as a scent. So this week, I'm giving you five full days of vanilla reviews. All vanilla, all the time. Perhaps we can all take this as an opportunity to rethink this oft maligned flavor.
My milkshake brings all the boys to the yard,
and they're like,
"It's better than yours."
Damn, right it's better than yours!
I can teach you,
but I have to charge.
Kelis, "Milkshake"