Bois 1920 La Vaniglia : Review

bergamot, mandarin, mint, pepper, ginger, frankincense, patchouli and vanilla.

Every so often there comes a fragrance unlike any you've experienced. When I was searching for a new vanilla fragrance, I came across this one and couldn't find many reviews on it. The notes sounded intriguing and a little bit confusing. I ended up buying a bottle unsniffed.

I wore it for the first time a few days ago. The initial blast was one of heat and a lovely, creamy (read: creamy, not bakery) vanilla. Almost like someone had made a weird condensed milk sorbet with a hot ginger, mint and fruit. In a few minutes the ginger, citrus, pepper and frankincense combines to create a delicious, sweet yet hot melange of yumminess. You can sense the heat through the fragrance, which is so interesting, as I find that spicy usually doesn't really translate into anything but nutmeg or cinnamon, but in this fragrance the heat is almost tangible and I am reminded of incense and Christmas at church. The vanilla becomes more like extract lingering on the edges of the dancing spices and fruit, but it's definitely still there. This phase lasts about an hour and I love every minute of it. Finally, a spiced scent that I can wrap my head (or nose) around.

When the scent finally settles, a lovely, sweet, vaguely creamy vanilla is lingering, with the vaguest touch of patchouli. The frankincense is still there leaving a vaguely incense-like trace.

This is a truly beautiful fragrance, and I feel that as more people try it it's going to be very popular. I'm surprised that I haven't seen it mentioned more but it's definitely worth a try, and in my case I am thrilled to own a full size bottle. Gorgeous!!!!!!

L'Eau des Hesperides by Diptyque : Review

I go through spates where I try to find the perfect 'x' fragrance. Most recently it was a search for my perfect vanilla, but just prior I was looking for my perfect citrus which resulted in a frenzy of citrus decant purchases. L'Eau Des Hesperides by Diptyque was one of these decant purchases. Bitter orange and lemon, thyme, rosemary, peppermint, immortelle, musk and wood. Far be it from me to be seasonal....I decided to spray it on this morning, as the post-holiday season is upon me and all I'm feeling is lethargic, so a peppy, zingy fragrance is on the menu.

L'Eau Des Hesperides opens on a bright, true citrus blast with almost a peppery green-ness, which quickly mellows to a....dare I say it?........lemon Razzles gum scent. Luckily, this nostalgic trip to 4th grade fades quickly as well. It doesn't disappear completely but it quickly tempered by the herbs which gives the scent a vague aura of very expensive soap. I love the thyme as it adds a 'dryness' to the scent and keeps it from becoming too run-of-the-mill.

A half hour later all obvious sweetness has dissipated and I'm left with the faintest whisper of floral underneath tame, dry wood and still, thankfully, citrus.

This is a lovely scent. I love L'eau de Tarocco, and it's obvious that these two scents share a common lineage, like they started on the same train and then at a common stop they both got off and went to different destinations. Whereas Tarocco is warmer due to the saffron and is scent that I could easily see wearing in cooler weather, Hesperides has a definitive warm-weather vibe to it due to the bitterness that the Mediterranean herbs impart. Definitely unisex, and in my eyes, a bargain.