Antique Lace

[melrose]

Nostalgia encapsulated. A soft, wistful blend of dry flowers, aged linens, and the faint breath of long-faded perfumes.

On, wet, and near drydown - intriguing, but something acrid underneath that turns my stomach.

Far drydown - so glad I waited this out. Smoky vanilla yum. Bottle-worthy.

[waternight]

I haven't avoided Antique Lace exactly, I just haven't felt any real need to order it. The description doesn't really make it sound like it's up my alley, and even though it's a forum favorite, I've had not-so-great experiences with other popular blends, so that alone wasn't enough to make me order an imp.

 

But the Lab frimped me Antique Lace with my Pirate Moon order, and I'm SO GLAD that they did.

 

In the imp: Soft and utterly gorgeous! I'm actually getting a note very reminiscent of white musk in here. Very smooth.

Wet: Soft, smooth, creamy vanilla, with some VERY light flowers floating around in the background. There's a bit of a sugary note, but it's not enough to put me off.

Dry: Dry, this is still that yummy, slightly-sugary, vanilla. Only now, there's a slightly (white) musky quality to it. When it's really dry, something about it reminds me of Snow White - not in any note sense, but just the feel of the blend. This is really yummy and beautiful, but just a smidgen too sweet for me to wear on a regular basis. I won't buy a bottle, but I will definitely keep my imp around for those times when I need something sweet and feminine.

[naiade]

I bought a bottle unsniffed. I knew it would work, and it did.

 

Sweet, silky vanilla. It DOES smell 'older' but not 'old', if that makes sense. It's a more refined perfume, something I like to wear to class or meetings or something of that sort. But I still feel very girly wearing it.

 

It smells, obviously, mostly of vanilla, but the linen gives it a clean finish. No clue what kind of flowers are in there.

 

(side note: my boyfriend thinks I smell like cookie dough every time I wear this.)

[Dinerdulcinea]

Hmmmm...this is perplexing...

 

I really expected this one to not work on me. Black Opal didn't, for example, and in my mind, this scent was likely to be in the same category.

 

Actually, it was quite lovely. Soft. The vanilla was not a super creamy vanilla. The other notes are...indistinguishable, really. I couldn't say what they are individually, but together they make this...SOMETHING that I can't identify specifically.

 

It reminds me SLIGHTLY of a perfume called Vanilla Lust by Jill Stuart. It does not smell like an exact copy, mind you...not even close. But I would say they are similar vanilla scents.

 

I think I will keep this one.

[mspixieears]

I get the sweet pea loud and clear from this scent as well as something sugary. I can see why this is so popular! There is something very old-fashioned about it but I don’t mean that in a bad way. It’s very old-world refined and possibly Victorian – or at least induces Victorian imagery – delicate lacing on petticoats and handkerchiefs, scented with this fragrance no doubt.

[Emera]

IN THE IMP: Syrupy, golden vanilla. Hmm. I think I’ve been spoiled by the vanilla in Black Opal, which has a clean muskiness to it that I’m addicted to.

ON SKIN: Wow, this is super slow-drying. This is so pretty, yet not quite my thing. It just smells rather generically pretty, like a lotion you might get from Bath & Bodyworks. All the notes listed are evident – it smells like an old, scented linen closet: warm, clean, and sweet. I really like the floral mix, but with the vanilla, it’s just too sweet. I can’t stop sniffing it, but it’s overwhelming at the same time. If I ever got my own imp of this, I’d be tempted to dab it on stationery or similar, rather than myself. Pretty strong throw, too.

LATER: Artificially sweet in an unremarkable way. Bleh.

[Nia]

This was on my wishlist and it came as a frimp from the lab. Thank you!

 

All I knew was that it smelled like soft vanilla, and I don't detect anything else. It smells like an Yves Rocher or Body Shop vanilla, with a small difference that's hard to pinpoint. A little dusty, a little soft, not as sweet as a commercial "vanilla single note" perfume. There are zero flowers.

 

What I like the most is that it is soft and has a lot of throw at the same time. I dabbed a dime-sized area on the back of my hand about an hour ago, and I can smell it as I type!

[fireflower]

My brother's girlfriend bought a bottle of this (I have effectively enabled somebody, woo!) so I grabbed her bottle to try it, and now I shall review it.

 

From in the bottle to first applied to drydown, it's a very smokey, warm, comforting vanilla. Very reminiscent of Vanilla Lace from Victoria's Secret, but deeper and more sophisticated. Very soft and pretty. I don't know if I would buy a bottle myself, but I do like this one.

[coraa]

Vial: Vanilla. Vanilla sugar, in fact -- very sweet, almost candylike.

 

Wet: Still vanilla vanilla vanilla, and sweet sweet sweet, with a warm note. Almost buttery. Smells like dessert. (Not in a bad way at all.)

 

Drydown: Ooh. There's some almond coming out, and something else -- maybe a faint hint of a floral? And definitely creamy or buttery.

 

Dry: Vanilla-sugar, cream; almonds still there but fading as the faint hint of orchid and lavender and cloth emerges. Despite the florals, though, it still smells a lot like a really exceptional batch of sugar cookies. I want to eat my wrist.

 

I really like this one. It's sweet and mild, but with a crispness that's appealing to me -- it's not too froofy or sticky, and it doesn't overpower.

[sassycheesehead]

This was a frimp in a recent order. I wouldn't have picked it out on my own, but I am sooooo glad they sent it!

 

In the imp, it smells of vanilla and powdery flowers. Upon application, the flowers become a little stronger. The "aged linen" note emerges, too, adding a subtle crispness to the scent. It smells ever so subtly of skin or sweat... not B.O., but of fabric that has been worn enough to carry a little of the owner's personal scent. (Don't let that scare you off! Think of your favorite t-shirt and how, even though you wash it after wearing, it still smells a little like you.) It is very evocative and nostalgic.

 

The drydown is mostly all vanilla... but rather than candy sweet, this is a deep, dark bourbon vanilla. It reminds a lot of Il Profumo's Vanille Bourbon, but a little darker and more complex.

 

There are not enough words to describe the many ways I love Antique Lace. I'm very new to BPAL right now, but it is the first truly crave-worthy scent I have found. Definitely getting a full bottle!

[Honeygirl]

Bottle: Vanilla

 

Wet: Vanilla musk, something clean, warm and sweet like candy all at once.

 

Drydown: Now I get that bit of floral at the end. It's very dainty. It does smell vaguely like mallow, but clean.

3.5 outta 5

[Gwydion]

From the description, I knew this would be unlikely to appeal to me. In the bottle: Very vanilla, with an intense cheap candy scent over linen and some floral, I'm not quite identifying. Wet: Vanilla powder with a faint sweet floral perfume. dry: vanilla powder. Way not my thing, but better than I expected. Mild and inoffensive.

[naeelah]

Add my voice to the chorus of, "This is way different than the lab description makes it sound." I kind of expected it to be a little bit like Rose Moon, but instead, it's all sugary vanilla. I'm not sure how old my imp is, but I know it isn't brand new. I got it as a frimp from the lab a couple of months ago, I think.

 

In the imp, it's a complex blend prominently displaying vanilla and a light musk. On my skin, the musk is fainter. Wet, it's aaalll vanilla, and it's way sweet. It's very nice, a spun sugar sort of vanilla, and not a typical, artificial sort of vanilla.

 

Once dry, the vanilla is tempered by some gentle florals, a dry linen note, and the musk (I guess it's white musk), which is now a little bit stronger. The vanilla remains the dominant note through the entire life of the scent. The other notes provide balance and depth. It's quite nice, if you're looking for a vanilla fragrance, especially if you want one that isn't so gourmand. This has a more traditional perfume quality (and I don't mean that in a negative way).

 

Throw seems quite good, wear life is also good. Try this if you like: Zarita, Hope & Faith, Black Lace, Snake Oil, Dorian, White Rabbit, etc. Don't try this if you can't tolerate vanilla or sweet fragrances.

 

In so many ways, this is the good twin of Black Lace. They're the same, only opposites. Black Lace starts out very dry and turns sweeter. Antique Lace starts out very sweet and turns drier. Black Lace has a much richer, darker, smoky quality, while Antique Lace remains sweet and innocent.

[Ravenclaw79]

Ooh, vanilla? That was actually, literally, my reaction -- "Ooh, vanilla?" Sweet, vanilla-y ... and linen, ooh, I smell the linen!

 

I'm ridiculously excited right now. I almost never seem to get the ideal awesome smell out of anything -- when others smell salt, I smell flowers; when others smell wood, I smell lemons. But this, holy moly, this smells SO AWESOME!

 

I might need a bottle of this. Not want. NEED! It smells like vanilla, and linen, and fabric softener, and win and awesome!

[saosis]

In the bottle: Very sweet vanilla scent. A hint of lemon or something similar, just cutting through the vanilla. Something more floral in there too, which I can't work out.

 

Wet: The vanilla disappears momentarily and floral/lemon scents control.

 

Dry: Vanilla comes back to the foreground and I can't distinguish the other scents clearly anymore. Very sweet smelling.

 

Summary: Didn't go hideous on me, like others have described, but not my kind of scent as it's too sweet. I put a drop on my bed linen though as I thought the vanilla smell was quite comforting; it smells much nicer on there, so I'm thinking of using some in a room spray now.

[fierylioness]

For me, Antique Lace is a near perfect match for a blend a friend of mine makes-- Vanilla Musk. Except, of course, the Lab's is sweet and soft and not cloying, where hers still has a very strident edge.

 

This is a perfect "I'm having a bad day and need snuggles" scent. It makes me fee like I'm wrapped up in a favorite blanket after someone's been playing with vanilla. While I don't pick out the florals in this wet or freshly dry, after a few hours (or a day ), I do pick up a light girly floral that is very hard to pick out.

[LaLoba]

I really love this scent. I'm just kind of so-so about vanilla scents, but this one is nice...soft, inviting, and I can definitely smell clean, fresh linens in the background.

 

A scent I will wear often...

[mom2moms]

I was enabled to this scent w/ a decant order.

 

Imp: Vanilla & maybe a little soft musk

Wet: At first it came out as a strong 'older' style perfumey vanilla

Dry: Oh I LOVE it!!! A very sugary, cakey, slightly powdery vanilla

 

ADDED Jan. 23:

 

As so many others have mentioned, I was surprised to find that this scent was so creamy-sweet! It is very notably vanilla, but the soft floral notes lurk underneath to make this a very sophisticated and pretty scent. I sort of expected this to smell like my grandmother: Sort of dry and aged and musty and floral. But it is very different, and very lovely as a result.

 

Hi Leo!

 

I was afraid of the same thing! At 1st DH said "you smell like an old lady" But about an hr later he said he liked the "new" scent!

[AEris]

A sugary vanilla musk, with the same "cotton" note as Black Lace. This does smell a lot like Victoria's Secret Vanilla Lace to me, but I said the same about Dorian, so who knows with my nose....

 

This certainly is sweet, but it's not cakey or buttery like many vanilla scents can be.

 

I do think it's pretty; however, I like Black Lace a little more and will wear BL when i crave this kind of fragrance. If I had tried AL first, maybe I would have bought a 5mL, but since I have BL I don't feel the need to have a lighter, more innocent version.

 

I see why there are so many fans of Antique Lace, because it is so easily enjoyable, soft, and pleasant. Glad I got to try it!

 

4.2 out of 5

[zankoku_zen]

This is definitely sugary vanilla musk. Perhaps a bit too sugary for me, but still pretty and pleasant. I can definitely see this being the 'base' for Black Lace (which I couldn't wear because of the evil tobacco). And I definitely can see why this has such massive appeal.

 

ETA: It's been a while Antique Lace. It really has been. You smell like deep vanilla, musk, and hints of lace. You're sweet, somewhat whispy and in general just a very wearable vanilla. Without being too foodie.

Edited July 6, 2015 by zankoku_zen

[Leopard403]

As so many others have mentioned, I was surprised to find that this scent was so creamy-sweet! It is very notably vanilla, but the soft floral notes lurk underneath to make this a very sophisticated and pretty scent. I sort of expected this to smell like my grandmother: Sort of dry and aged and musty and floral. But it is very different, and very lovely as a result.

[Elvena]

I don't truly smell the vanilla in this perfume. I am however so in love with it that after wearing the imp for a week I've ordered a bottle.

 

Is there really musk in this scent? No way. Seriously NO WAY. Why? Musk..all musk without a doubt turns into moldy bread on me. I have to avoid musks my body hates it. But you know there must be musk in this. I smell it! Why has it not turned to mold?

 

My mother's signature scent was a perfume called Chantilly Lace and Antique Lace is extremely reminiscent of it, so much so I feel as if I am wrapped in my mother's arms (she's passed now. I miss her). BUT, this scent is deeper, lovelier, more sophisticated and yet less elderly than my mother's (drug store counter) perfume. It's younger and lighter and I love it.

 

There is a beautiful floral undercurrent. Dried flowers? Which I adore. I am one of those people whose body chemistry was made for florals yum yum and maybe its protecting me from moldy musk. So so so much love for this comforting scent.

[willowtreeling]

This smells straight up like Victoria's Secret Vanilla Lace, which is vanilla with a lemon-y tinge. It is nice, but my imp is more than enough. I used to wear that scent a long time ago and am sort of over it by now. Any of you vanilla lovers out there though--snap it up!

[akiko]

This is nice. I'd hesitated to try it because of the flowers part, but it's surprisingly not floral.

 

Imp: perfumey linens and a touch of vanilla

 

Wet: something stingy and acrid, with vanilla in the background

 

Dry: Nice vanilla with a hint of flowers in the background. It reminds me of Dorian a little bit, except without the heavier elements.

[girlygirl]

Very sweet vanilla. Gets sweeter as it dries down.