Vanilla Husk, Nutmeg, & Hay Absolute

[Riezky]

Another vote for this being quite similar to Antique Lace. This reads a bit more robust than AL for me, warm and sweet vanilla hay. Best of all, this doesn’t have the plastic undertone that AL has on my skin! Lasts all day as well.

[forspecial_plate]

Warm vanilla hay, a little sugary, and a little toasty from the nutmeg I think.  The hay note really elevates this into a chic place.  It really works well on my skin, I'll be on the lookout for hay to show up in other scents.

 

I don't remember if I got any lemon from this when it was newer, but I'm not getting that now.

 

I was opening my bottle and dropped it on a hard floor.  I'm very lucky it didn't break and not much spilled out.  I didn't want to waste it so I rubbed it all over my arms, lol.  It's not too strong, though, even with way more than I usually would put on. 

[Tamarinda]

In the bottle: A bit of cologney hay, a bit of vanilla.

 

Wet: Hay and a dry vanilla.

 

Dry: More of that dry vanilla supported by hay. No nutmeg to speak of.

 

This took a lot of aging before it actually smelled like anything on me. It's very nice now, it has a medium throw and lasts at least six hours. But the lack of nutmeg is super disappointing. I was really hoping time would bring it out.

[Biocarbons]

Wow, the nutmeg and the hay combined into lemon pledge.

 

There's some vanilla in the background, and it's supposed to be a good vanilla note that people rave about but the pledge smell is uncanny and dominating.

 

1.5 hours later this is a soft, dry vanilla with a touch of warm, golden hay. This is nice, but about that opener...

 

I've only tried the Antique Lace re-release, but I would say they have a similar dry down.

 

The vanilla in Antique Lace was very much like bottled vanilla extract with a powdery dry down to my nose.

 

This is soft and shy, dry and smooth.

[Estamets]

This is French Vanilla by Dana (1994), the first perfume that made me feel like myself, and very grown up (at 13...🙄). 
 

Out of BPAL loyalty I want to say “the good version of…” but it’s not. It’s an exact dupe on my skin. 
 

I am simultaneously in love and repelled. 

 

ETA: On a more generous application, a hint of lemon-esque brightness comes through in the drying stage, then disappears in the drydown. This scent stays skin-close on me, even after a very generous slather. The throw is a very light, dry vanilla. 

 

While my mileage with the current version isn't worth a bottle, I'm tempted to snag a bottle and hide it inside a sock in my drawer to rediscover in ten years, just to see what the vanilla becomes...

Edited July 15, 2023 by Estamets