Vanilla Bean

[shriekingviolet]

This a really nice vanilla note. Sweet and creamy, but rich. A less sugary version of the way homemade vanilla ice cream smells. It has good throw and staying power too (I can still smell it strongly 10 hours later). It may be a bit much to wear on its own, since its a scent that people commonly associate with sweets or candles, but I can't wait to try layering it with other scents. I definitely am going to need a full bottle of this. The possibilities of layering with an added vanilla note are endless. And this is such a fine one. Joy!

[Electra]

This is an interesting oil. At first application I thought "Eh...it's light, nondescript, and plasticky." Then I took a nap, woke up two hours later, and while making lunch thought "What's that lovely smell?" It was the Vanilla Bean. It had intensified, deepened, becoming a rich, non-sugary vanilla scent. Probably my favorite vanilla out of all the vanilla fragrances I've tried (I am *not* a vanilla fan - I tend to find it overly sweet and cloying). Very nice. Would probably be good to layer with scents that need just a touch more sweetness.

[Astarte]

This is one of my holy grail single notes, this is akin to the vanilla/sweetness of Dana O'Shee. This is also the vanilla in Snake Oil without the spiciness. A very pure creamy vanilla, as mentioned by previous reviewers the possibilities of using this note with others are endless.

 

A must have in the sweet lovers world of BPAL.

[xoe]

This is one of my holy grail single notes, this is akin to the vanilla/sweetness of Dana O'Shee.

She's right. It is like the vanilla in Dana O'Shee. I guess that makes sense. To me it's light and deep, dry, sweet and slightly salty.

 

I can't wait to start layering it with others.

 

Yay for single notes!!!

[Ina Garten Davita]

First Impression: Yes, indeed the holy grail of all Vanilla.

 

Second Impression: Thick, rich, sweet and creamy. All of those wonderful qualities but not overly foody or sickly at all.

 

Final Analysis: This alone or layered is a wonderful addition to any BPAL collection.

[Ishtar]

Knowing the level of skill and artistry that Beth puts into her other blends, I suppose I should not be surprised that her single notes are truly fantastic. Still, I cannot help but marvel at how refined and wearable they are.

 

This vanilla is no exception. It is rich and creamy, yet elegant and subtle. I usually find that other parfumeurs' single notes are actually caricatures of the scents they are trying to recreate: they're loud, they try too hard, they become hyperboles rather than evocations. There is none of that here. Just the wonderful scent of a nice plump vanilla pod

 

I am kicking myself for putting off trying the single notes for so long. I actually ordered this imp before the single notes were discontinued, but had I known it would be so good, I would have been stockpiling bottles before it got pulled down from the site. Oh well. At least I was lucky enough to try it.

[luxuria]

This starts out smelling very familiar, but not at all what I usually think of as vanilla. I figured out the familiarity was because it smells VERY similar to Dana O'Shee. I still loved it, though, because I'm a vanilla freak and love pretty much any form of vanilla there is (even candy vanilly and candle vanilla.)

 

However..as this dried, it became a more "traditional" vanilla but 20 times as gorgeous. WOW. It's very rich and creamy but not overly sweet or artificial. This is incredible and I'm kicking myself for not ordering 20 bottles! I'm gutted this is discontinued because I'm going to use this up and then I'll never smell it again

[malanna]

I’m not too sure what I was expecting, but this is just amazing. I’ve only encountered real vanilla beans once, and I don’t know if this is what they smelled like, but this must be the scent of a vanilla bean. I normally associate vanilla scents with food, but this isn’t quite a foody scent. After a few hours, this gets a bit dry and smells like the vanilla component of Snake Oil.

[Gin]

Vanilla Bean

 

This is a very pure, high-quality vanilla. Like the good vanilla ice cream with the little black vanilla flecks in it, not the run-of-the-mill standard yellowy vanilla. It goes on very sweet, smelling almost like angel food cake and dries down into the loveliest single-note vanilla ever.

[Andromedii]

Vanilla Bean

 

This is a very pure, high-quality vanilla.  Like the good vanilla ice cream with the little black vanilla flecks in it, not the run-of-the-mill standard yellowy vanilla.  It goes on very sweet, smelling almost like angel food cake and dries down into the loveliest single-note vanilla ever.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

I have a vanilla single note and I completely agree with Gin's description of it. Quite creamy, smooth, and pure. I should've gotten a bottle.

 

(I discovered while testing my other single notes that if you dab a bit of the vanilla, apricot and lotus single notes together that it's a beautiful, hundred-singer-choir-worthy scent.)

[shelldoo]

i do i do i do love this note, the single note is sooo delicious i would buy a 10ml in a heart beat if i could.

[joseybird]

WOW.

 

Vanilla is by nature a pretty light note, and yet this vanilla...omg...it lasts 10 hours on me! And the THROW! :icon_eek:

 

This is like fresh, sweet cream with a few drops of vanilla whipped in it's creamy and "round" and sweet and incredibly delicious...think of full-fat, high-quality vanilla ice cream

 

I love this to death--it's my favorite BPAL E-V-E-R!

Edited May 1, 2005 by joseybird

[Mayfair]

I'm so glad I ordered a 5ml of this before it went. It's a very creamy and decadent vanilla, without being too sweet of foody. It has an almost powdery touch too it and reminds me of warm, soft skin touched by a creamy vanilla lotion. It is subtle, yet sensual.

[k00kaburra]

In bottle: Very sweet, sugary vanilla. Reminds me almost of amaretto.

 

On me: This becomes creamier, but still very strong distilled vanilla, like the vanilla extract you mix into cake batter. Reminds me a bit of Bath & Body Work's Vanilla Bean Noel, but without the plastic artificial notes that haunt that fragrance.

[Pixie-elf]

On me, this is like the Vanilla from Vanilla Extract. It's really, really good and very pure, is the way I'd describe it...

 

It's so good, and also VERY strong! It's really nice though....

 

The scent I'd reccomend that I think smells the most like this is: Chimera. Since you can't get just the Vanilla single note, you might like it because while it has some other stuff in it, the Vanilla is still VERY strong.

[blackrayne]

Very smooth and rich and creamy, Beth's single note Vanilla Bean is pure decadence in a bottle (or imp , as the case may be ).

 

I love it by itself, and I am sure it would be great layered with some other scents as well.

[yellowrose]

Finding a dark enough vanilla has been a chore. Vanilla Bean is a nice single note vanilla, but decidely not dark. It is sweet and fun. I'm not as enthusiastic as others about it as a single note. Found it's best when layered.

[Aredhel]

Rating (on skin): 3/5

Summarised in a word or two: Plastic!

 

In the imp/bottle: Rich, sweet, silky, real vanilla. There's nothing fake or plastic about this.

 

On skin, wet: Take away the spices/other notes in Snake Oil, and this is what you have. If I didn't need that wrist....

 

On skin, dry: Damnit! This turns into a sick, playdough-esque scent on me! I'm not happy with my skin right now.

 

Conclusion: This started out gloriously (I'm such a vanilla fiend), but my skin turns it into something fake and waxy and unpleasant. Oddly enough, my skin doesn't do this to vanilla in BPAL blends.

Edited December 17, 2005 by Aredhel

[Cagedflame]

Yesterday I was eating some rather good vanilla ice cream and hoping my single note imp would smell as good as the ice cream tastes. Oh my, it's far far better. It's a deeper, "brown" vanilla. And while I love Dana O'Shee, they smell very different to me.

[OriginalWacky]

Bottle (Imp): It really smells like a vanilla bean. I'm not sure what I was expecting, but this is pretty close, I guess.

 

Just On: This is a creamy, smooth vanilla. Not something you can just taste the way it is, but still it does seem like it could be edible.

 

An hour or two later: Still a smooth and creamy vanilla, which is as it should be. It's already starting to fade though.

 

Around 6 hours: It's faded to a very light creamy bit of vanilla bean scent. I can't think of anything to compare this to, it does smell like vanilla bean. I'm glad I got to try this one.

 

12 hours: It faded away to nothing, and I am sad about that.

 

Overall: This is a very nice scent. It's creamy, lush, and soft, but not foody, or cloying.

 

After reading other reviews: Aha, it was that vanilla that I was smelling in Dana O'Shee! No wonder it smelled familiar.

[chopchica]

Not much to say here that hasn't been said before. A creamy vanilla bean scent that I adore, and a fair amount of staying power. Sometimes I feel like smelling like simple, uncomplicated vanilla, and this one hits the spot. Vanilla with just a twist of something darker and more complex. It's wonderful.

[cuervosueno]

I got this in a swap from the wonderful OriginalWacky, and now that I'm passing it on again, figured I'd better review it.

I tried this against DSH burnt sugar vanilla. BPAL on right hand, DSH on the left.

And, um, on my skin, DSH wins.

The BPAL note is nice--light vanilla, silky. But I also was hoping for something darker and richer, and on me this is very light and sweet. It also turns a bit plasticy as others have mentioned.

so I'm glad to have gotten to try it, but don't regret sending it on. I adore BPAL vanilla blends, but apparently I'm not that crazy about the vanilla on its own.

 

(and the DSH scent, btw, is very dark and rich, like creme brulee!)

[quikslvr]

You know the basis of Tombstone, and a lot of what's in Dana O'Shee? This is it. It surprised me, because it's not as warm as I thought. It starts on the over-sweetness of Dana O'Shee, and mellows to the Tombstone tone, which I find more reasonable. I've got an old tarted imp, which turned my skin yellow. But it laaasts. Perfect, perfect, perfect.

[Little Bird]

Something in Snake Oil made me feel rather ill. Vanilla Bean reminds me instantly of Snake Oil, but minus whatever spicy something that was making me sick. It's a very light sweet vanilla scent. But it's so good. Whenever I wear this, I get dizzy from smelling myself.

 

I wish that it had more throw, though it does have considerable staying power. 9 hours later I will catch a whiff of something that smells heavenly and then realize that it is the Vanilla Bean.

[Imbrium]

Like the last poster, I just cannot wear Snake Oil. I'm envious of the multitudes of you that smell dead sexy with it on, because it hates me.

 

However, Vanilla Bean is very reminiscent of Snake Oil, and I can wear it - in small amounts.

 

It's certainly not the sweetest vanilla; though it starts out smelling slightly reminiscent of vanilla cake frosting, it doesn't stay that way. This smells lightly spicy when it dries down, while still sweet, dark, exotic, and somehow creamy at the same time - it's incredible. It is, as others have said, very decadent, and it has a hell of a lot of throw. I quickly learned not to wear more than the teeniest bit at once, because a little goes a very, very long way.