Searching for the Perfect Vanilla?

[clover]

I never know what you mean when you start talking about marshmallows, josey.

 

My take: the three of them are very, very different. Antique Lace is a light, thin, sweet (to my nose cloying) vanilla and Mouse's Long and Sad tale is a rich, deep, round, golden vanilla. Neither one of them are particularly foody, I don't think. To me Eat Me smells like a box of angel food cake mix. Powdery and tart. It's really good stuff, too.

[mimulus]

Oh man, I have MLST and Eat Me on order.... and now I'm SOOOOOOOO excited to get them! Eeeeeeeeeeeee! Come to meeeeeeeeeeeee!

[Electra]

Eat Me & Mouse's Tale seem to be doing such wildly diverse things on different people, I think the only logical thing to do is to treat yourself to both of them so you can decide for yourself. After all, there are only so many things you can indulge in when you're studying for the bar, but perfume is definitely on the OK list, isn't it?

 

I think I'll probably wind up imping them in my next order, whenever that happens to be . I already want Ochosi and Coyote, so I'm almost up to a full six-pack, then!

 

After all, there are only so many things you can indulge in when you're studying for the bar, but perfume is definitely on the OK list, isn't it?

 

lol....they actually made a point of telling us NOT to wear perfume to the exam! Not that I was going to anyway, but I thought that that was really funny.

[parrot_suspect]

Have you tried Aeval? To my nose, Mouse is like a cross between Antique Lace (fuzzy vanilla musk) and Aeval (soapy, fresh, lightly floral musk). Aeval and Mouse both contain sweetpea as one of the main notes. Mouse is like taking Aeval and adding a dollop of vanilla and a drop of amber. They're all gorgeous scents, and not what I'd consider "foody" by a long shot.

 

Eat Me, as the name would suggest, is a foody vanilla; kind of like a lighter Gluttony. It doesn't smell like Snake Oil or Snake Charmer to me.

[joseybird]

I never know what you mean when you start talking about marshmallows, josey.

 

I find that sticking them up one's nose helps with the understanding bit ^____~

 

*giggles and runs!*

[coulrophobe]

To me, Mouse's Long and Sad Tale is like Antique Lace without the musk. I don't get sweet pea per se - just vanilla and a bit of floral. Very pretty, but I'm such a musk fiend, I can't help liking Antique Lace better.

 

As for Eat Me... I don't smell any resemblance to the other two. Smells like cake. Which isn't a bad thing at all. Foody scents are iffy for me, since I can't wear chocolate or buttery blends, but Eat Me isn't too bad. Like Monsterbait: Closet, but with less currant.

[fictiontragedy]

I found Eat Me too foody for me and I like Foody although I don't remember it being all that vanilla I remember it smelling a bit like frosting and on my chemistry there was something kind of musty underneath not my favorite.

 

But if you don't like foody vanilla's but are looking for a good non-foody vanilla I'd suggest black opal. It's not at all Foody and I think it smells devine. (although strangely the first time I tried it it was overwhelming I think I was having an off day because I've loved it ever since the second time I tried it.)

[gravedigger]

As a random, vanilla-related thought, I just have to say that, on me, Dee is a gorgeous, dusty, bookish vanilla. Vanilla books. I'm in heaven.

[jarvenpa]

I think you could mix vanilla with nearly anything and have me going "oh, lovely".

 

But I went searching to see what Vanilla Lust has (since I don't know this perfume) and came up with: Vanilla, coconut milk, neroli, caramel, tiare flowers, and sandalwood.

 

Now the experienced BPAL forumites will come up with the perfect answer.

 

Right?

[mermaidrage]

Vanilla Lust sounds absolutely TO DIE FOR. There's got to be a BPAL blend that replicates that, right? Please?

[Dinerdulcinea]

I haven't actaully FOUND a place near me that carries Vanilla Lust, so I wanted to know if anyone else had tried it an knew of a BPAL like it. I found out you CAN order a sample from Nordstrom. I will post that info in Retail Therapy if anyone wants the details on how to order samples from Nordstron. It costs $2 and you can get up to 2 samples of whatever.

 

 

Thanks for the research! I am dying to try it or something like it!

 

I didn't know what tiare flowers were so here is what I found...sorry it is a little long...

 

Tiare is a type of gardenia. Read on if inetrested.

 

Botany

Gardenia taitensis Family : Rubiacea

 

The Tiare Tahiti bush is in flower all year round. Its even, snow-white flowers contrast with the dark green of glossy smooth-edged leaves. Their unique strong and sweet perfume is reminiscent of gardenia and tuberose flowers, with some aspects of apple-tree flowers.

 

 

The Tiaré flower road

 

The soul and heart of Tahiti, the emblem of that faraway paradise is the little white star of the Tiaré flower. More precious than a gem, this fragrant ornament embodies the douceur "Sweet Life" in Polynesia.

 

By France Valentini

 

 

 

Tiaré goes by the pretty Latin name of Gardenia Tahitensis and is the treasure of the Society Islands where coralline limestone imbued with trace elements gives it exceptional quality and fragrance. As you stroll along, you will be charmed by the beautiful bushes of six or eight-petal stars that stretch along the roads as far as the eye can see. Their fragrance is so sensuous and so intoxicating. But don't pick them, as they are part of the region's heritage.

 

The tiaré flower is an art of life in Tahiti

 

 

The legend of the Monoï

 

Made into a garland placed around visitors' necks or into crowns during celebrations, the Tiaré flower is a staple of life. "Tanés" (men) and Vahinés (women) wear a Tiaré bud on the right ear to indicate that they are fancy-free, and on the left ear when their heart is taken. For centuries now, Tahitians have produced Monoï oil obtained from the maceration of Tiaré flowers in coconut oil. Monoï holds a very important place in Polynesian pharmacopeia and culture. This beauty oil gives a silky skin and strong and shiny hair to Tahitian women.

 

Produced according to very stringent rules, Monoï has to macerate for at least ten days and must contain ten flowers per liter of refined Coprah oil. It is an important source of income for the entire archipelago. So to ensure that you are buying the authentic product, look for the "Véritable Monoï de Tahiti, appellation d'origine" label.

[GypsyRoseRed]

All three of these are very different. Eat Me is very, very foody. To me, it comes off a little bit like Monster Bait: Underbed without the cassia, and a little heavier overall. It smells like cake to me. The kind of cake you eat and then feel bloated and fat, but it tasted so good!

 

Antique Lace is a refined, lightly musky vanilla, and I tried Mouse's Long and Sad Tale based on the comparisons some people made in reviews..

 

But. I don't find them to be very similar at all. I get very, very little vanilla out of Mouse and it to be more of a light, sweet floral.

 

They're all good scents, but Eat Me is definitely for people who like foody perfumes (although to me it's lighter than most of the other gourmand cake scents), and Mouse's Long and Sad Tale is a very wearable light floral, while Antique Lace is just overall loveliness.

[shivashiva]

I've already done a search on the bpal website for patchouli, vanilla, and both together and I'm not really coming up with anything. I really want something that is not floral, is sweet, and with patchouli as a dominant note.

 

I have this oil by "sun's eye" called sweet patchouli that approximates it. But now that I've tried bpal, i'd love to see beth's rendition of such a scent. If i find one doesn't exist, then i'll put this in the "requests" thread so maybe she'll come up with something.

 

Thanks

[wickedgoddess]

Have you tried Snake Oil?

[shivashiva]

Have you tried Snake Oil?

 

That must be it! The imp is on it's way now. I suspect I will love it. I guess it doesn't say patchouli in the description but that's probably one of the "Exotic spices," huh?

 

Now I'm even more excited to try snake oil.

[filigree_shadow]

Also Voodoo has both vanilla and patchouli in it... although it might not be sweet enough overall for what you're looking for.

[smallvoice]

I know a lot of people like to layer scents, if they find the right notes seperately. But I do think you'll love Snake Oil.

[pink.owl]

Depraved! It doesn't have vanilla, but its very sweet, and very patchouli!

[marzstar]

i second the recommendation for voodoo

a personal fav. i find it rather sweet actually, yet resiny and not foody. unique and great.

and perhaps beth's red patchouli might do you well... i find it sweeter than the black. . .

also read up on::

lust, wanton, vixen, depraved, nemesis, malice, bloodlust, and anne bonny . . . that should get ya started

goodluck!

[zenvodunista]

FWIW: I think the red patchouli is much sweeter than the black, and often has a vanilla like component to it.

 

Snake Oil does have patchouli in it, though it doesn't smell like patchouli, if that makes any sense I LOVE Snake Oil. LOVE.

 

Tezcatlipoca is sweet incense smoke, leather and intensely sweet red patchouli.

Centzon Totochtin is incense, blood, chocolate, and the same patchouli as is in Tezcatlipoca (as far as my nose can tell).

 

I think you'd like both of them. I say this because I have a 10 ml of Tez and a 10 ml of Snake Oil. I used to have Centzon but it and Tez are quite similar and I ended up giving Centzon to a rabbit obsessed friend of mine.

 

 

n.

Edited July 30, 2006 by zenvodunista

[Mystic Moon]

My personal recommendation would be for Anne Bonny - vanilla isn't listed in the notes (A blend of Indonesian red patchouli, red sandalwood, and frankincense), but both in the vial as well as on my skin it is VERY sweet & VERY patchouli without being floral at all. And it doesn't really morph into something else on me. I love it! I haven't tried a lot of the other rec's that some of the gals have tried, but loving sweet patchouli blends I'll have to try some of these myself. Good luck in your search & have fun trying all the yummies!

[ChupaChup]

Have you tried Desire? It's likely dependent on individual skin chemistry but it doesn't go floral on me in the least. There is a little burst of neroli (bitter orange smell) in the beginning, but it dries down to mostly patchouli and vanilla on me with something else that is indescribably wonderful but definitely not floral. At least on me. It's a very complex scent. I also second the recommendations for Voodoo.

[shivashiva]

Thanks for everyone's suggestion. I have been doing a lot of layering and I've really been liking Anne Bonny layered with Antique Lace. I can't layer snake oil with anne bonny because it somehow brings out the fishy smell. But I love snake oil layered with pretty much anything else. Antique lace is my other layering staple, between that and snake oil I can make pretty much anything smell how i want it to. Desire didn't smell like vanilla on me at all. But maybe I should try it again.

 

Right now: Lilith and snake oil on my left arm, anne bonny and antique lace on my right.

[Electra]

Bumping this because I'm trying Eat Me today - it DOES smell like Snake Charmer! Holy cow! It smells like a lighter, gentler Snake Charmer (i.e. Snake Charmer minus patchouli), at least on me.

 

Like Snake Charmer, I really don't smell that much vanilla in Eat Me. Must be my chemistry, I guess. I get mostly smooth spicy fruit. Interesting. I *definitely* do not smell like cake, which given my aversion to foody scents is a good thing!

[whitemyrrh]

I've almost managed an answer for this, here, but not quite, so I'm just going to ask exactly.

 

I'm looking for a vanilla specifically reminiscent of a blown out old-fashioned vanilla candle. By "old fashioned" i mean one that hasn't been super-imbuled with fragrance, just a subtle warmth of fragrance--that real foody-buttery-powerful vanilla feels too modern to me. I want a more.... vintage--mysterious and gently warm vanilla, kind of smoky and retiring.

 

The vanilla in O and Velvet are nice, but a little too strong for what I'm looking for, and Velvet tends to be more about the other notes for me--while O gets a little too sexual for the purposes I seek.

 

Am I looking for Antique Lace?