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Its name says all you need to know
I love vanilla as much (maybe more) than the next person, but this is a very uninteresting perfume. I would be ashamed to put my name on this...unless, of course, the goal was to simply make more money than merely off cloth handbags and accessories. I would have loftier goals, should I ever be able to develop my own perfume: namely, quality and complexity, for starters.
Vanilla Sea Salt smells exactly as the name implies: vanilla with a sprinkling of sea salt. No more, no less. It is very linear; no changing notes here. It doesn't have the boozy rum-vanilla of Chopard Casmir or the salty vanilla with woods and jasmine that define Olympea. It's just...blah. I imagine there are people out there who love this, so I will try not to judge too harshly! :)
I'm a believer in finding something good in everything, so I *will* compliment this perfume for two things:
1. It has monstrous sillage! I sprayed a tiny squirt on my hand and could smell it wafting around my face as I walked! (I cannot speak to its longevity, however, because I had to wash it off; it was making me a bit nauseous.)
2. The bottle is quite attractive and pleasing to the eye. Its quilted pattern fits in very well with the image of the brand.
Vanilla Sea Salt smells exactly as the name implies: vanilla with a sprinkling of sea salt. No more, no less. It is very linear; no changing notes here. It doesn't have the boozy rum-vanilla of Chopard Casmir or the salty vanilla with woods and jasmine that define Olympea. It's just...blah. I imagine there are people out there who love this, so I will try not to judge too harshly! :)
I'm a believer in finding something good in everything, so I *will* compliment this perfume for two things:
1. It has monstrous sillage! I sprayed a tiny squirt on my hand and could smell it wafting around my face as I walked! (I cannot speak to its longevity, however, because I had to wash it off; it was making me a bit nauseous.)
2. The bottle is quite attractive and pleasing to the eye. Its quilted pattern fits in very well with the image of the brand.
Things that make you go "Hm"
This is one of the strangest perfumes I've ever encountered. I was very concerned when I first sprayed it! It was a spicy, woodsy, ultra dark chocolate. Parfumo says it's "fruity-sweet;" that is not my impression at all. It takes HOURS for any sort of fruit or sweetness to come out, and even then it is very restrained. The spices, woods, and musk definitely push the fruity sweetness to the background.
Sillage is fairly strong for the first couple of hours. The bottle is really pretty, but the cap looks cheap and plastic in comparison, and it's an odd urine-yellow color that clashes with the color of the liquid.
Overall, I'm not sure how to rate this. I need to wear it a few more times. But I will say that this is unlike any other typical celebrity offering on the market. And I got it for a song! It's a very good quality for the price I paid, but time will tell how much I wear it. It's not the perfume I typically go for, but I can see myself wearing this more often in fall and winter. It might grow on me yet.
Sillage is fairly strong for the first couple of hours. The bottle is really pretty, but the cap looks cheap and plastic in comparison, and it's an odd urine-yellow color that clashes with the color of the liquid.
Overall, I'm not sure how to rate this. I need to wear it a few more times. But I will say that this is unlike any other typical celebrity offering on the market. And I got it for a song! It's a very good quality for the price I paid, but time will tell how much I wear it. It's not the perfume I typically go for, but I can see myself wearing this more often in fall and winter. It might grow on me yet.
Chalky, powdery, and suede
When a friend gifted this half-full bottle to me, I was intrigued to give it a go. It is, however, unfortunate about the inclusion of the suede note because I loathe suede and leathery smelling perfumes; they almost make me gag. I think the suede note is giving it almost an earthy feel, combined with the cedar. There is definitely vanilla in here. It’s very powdery and cozy. I get a strong tonka bean smell in the drydown, but that is not listed in the notes. The drydown is also very chalky to my nose. As other reviewers have noted, it is also quite synthetic.
This perfume actually reminds me strongly of Ellen Tracy Bronze…My curiosity is getting the better of me…
Okay, so had to test the Bronze with the Cashmere Mist; I have two sprays of Bronze on my right arm, and two sprays of Cashmere Mist on my left. They are nearly identical, except NOW I can smell the strong suede note in the Cashmere! It is almost oily smelling; I don’t like it at all. I prefer the Bronze because it is fresher and lighter. Both perfumes have the same profile: powdery, sweet, and cozy. Bronze is found in every Marshall’s and TJMaxx in America for less than ten dollars, to boot.
The sillage of Cashmere Mist is average, I’d say, and the longevity seems to be about 6-7 hours. It is stronger and lasts longer than Bronze, but again, I prefer the Bronze because it lacks that oily suede note.
Overall, I rate Cashmere Mist as a 4.5/10. If it didn’t have the suede note, I still wouldn’t need it because I already own its doppelganger in Bronze! Thankfully, I received it free from a friend.
This perfume actually reminds me strongly of Ellen Tracy Bronze…My curiosity is getting the better of me…
Okay, so had to test the Bronze with the Cashmere Mist; I have two sprays of Bronze on my right arm, and two sprays of Cashmere Mist on my left. They are nearly identical, except NOW I can smell the strong suede note in the Cashmere! It is almost oily smelling; I don’t like it at all. I prefer the Bronze because it is fresher and lighter. Both perfumes have the same profile: powdery, sweet, and cozy. Bronze is found in every Marshall’s and TJMaxx in America for less than ten dollars, to boot.
The sillage of Cashmere Mist is average, I’d say, and the longevity seems to be about 6-7 hours. It is stronger and lasts longer than Bronze, but again, I prefer the Bronze because it lacks that oily suede note.
Overall, I rate Cashmere Mist as a 4.5/10. If it didn’t have the suede note, I still wouldn’t need it because I already own its doppelganger in Bronze! Thankfully, I received it free from a friend.
Bergamot Lychee Lotion
I'm not sure what to think of this one. The marketing adverts seem to be geared toward younger women, but that is not the vibe I am getting from this perfume. It was released in 2016, but my batch code says it was produced in July of 2015.
The sprayer on the bottle smells of the lychee; it is quite sweet and fruity. The initial spray isn't as sweet as just sniffing the bottle because the bergamot is very present and bergamot is not a sweet-smelling citrus to me. I have no idea what "white rose absolute" smells like, but there is a subtle rose scent to this perfume during the first hour or so. The heart notes are blended very well and create a light, flowery accord after the fruits die down. Peach does not perform well on me, but this one is okay; there is not much peach here, thankfully.
Eventually, the base notes move to the front, and this is where this perfume loses me. I've smelled vanilla-musk-sandalwood before in a thousand perfumes; these are very standard base notes. We all know them! Here, they devolve into a creamy, "lotion-y" smell. That is not bad, in and of itself, but this has some strange slightly nutty tone that throws me off. I hate to say this y'all, but it smells like an old-fashioned cream that a grandmother would wear. A very fashionable grandmother, who loves her cosmetics and lotions and perfumes, but a grandmother nonetheless. I don't hate it, but it's also not what I want to smell like. This sensation is only present in the base notes, but unfortunately, the base notes stick around for a long time--hours, in fact. I did not scrub this off, but I am at a loss to how these three very common base notes could do this?! Perhaps it's the freesia? Or the cedarwood? I have no idea, but this is not a love, and I will probably seldom pick it to wear. Maybe I'll put it in storage for 20 years until I'm "of the age."
The sillage is strong for the first hour or two, and then it tones down. Longevity is about 4 hours. The bottle is attractive with its shape and rose-gold accents. It's Lalique, and they do their bottles extremely well. It is clearly marketed to young women, and the top notes will reinforce that, but I do not think most young women will enjoy the drydown. The sprayer is more a targeted, short blast than the diffuse mist from the Satine bottle (which I love).
I received this perfume free from a friend. She is an assistant to an elderly lady who is currently in transition to a nursing home and is unable to take all of her perfumes with her. That saddens me for her, but I am grateful for the chance to have unknown-to-me gems fall into my lap. It is every perfumista's dream! Thank you, friend. You know who you are.
The sprayer on the bottle smells of the lychee; it is quite sweet and fruity. The initial spray isn't as sweet as just sniffing the bottle because the bergamot is very present and bergamot is not a sweet-smelling citrus to me. I have no idea what "white rose absolute" smells like, but there is a subtle rose scent to this perfume during the first hour or so. The heart notes are blended very well and create a light, flowery accord after the fruits die down. Peach does not perform well on me, but this one is okay; there is not much peach here, thankfully.
Eventually, the base notes move to the front, and this is where this perfume loses me. I've smelled vanilla-musk-sandalwood before in a thousand perfumes; these are very standard base notes. We all know them! Here, they devolve into a creamy, "lotion-y" smell. That is not bad, in and of itself, but this has some strange slightly nutty tone that throws me off. I hate to say this y'all, but it smells like an old-fashioned cream that a grandmother would wear. A very fashionable grandmother, who loves her cosmetics and lotions and perfumes, but a grandmother nonetheless. I don't hate it, but it's also not what I want to smell like. This sensation is only present in the base notes, but unfortunately, the base notes stick around for a long time--hours, in fact. I did not scrub this off, but I am at a loss to how these three very common base notes could do this?! Perhaps it's the freesia? Or the cedarwood? I have no idea, but this is not a love, and I will probably seldom pick it to wear. Maybe I'll put it in storage for 20 years until I'm "of the age."
The sillage is strong for the first hour or two, and then it tones down. Longevity is about 4 hours. The bottle is attractive with its shape and rose-gold accents. It's Lalique, and they do their bottles extremely well. It is clearly marketed to young women, and the top notes will reinforce that, but I do not think most young women will enjoy the drydown. The sprayer is more a targeted, short blast than the diffuse mist from the Satine bottle (which I love).
I received this perfume free from a friend. She is an assistant to an elderly lady who is currently in transition to a nursing home and is unable to take all of her perfumes with her. That saddens me for her, but I am grateful for the chance to have unknown-to-me gems fall into my lap. It is every perfumista's dream! Thank you, friend. You know who you are.
Not my thing; not for me
I had high hopes for this one, it being a coconut scent, which I love. Sadly, it didn't work out between us. Initially, it is coconut, albeit a green coconut. It is very GREEN at the top, and I do not like green! Then it dries down into honey. It literally smelled like I smeared my skin with honey. I do not like honey either, neither in my mouth on on my body. The relationship ended with a good soap scrub, but I can still smell remnants lingering, similar to other bad relationships I've suffered from in the past. Luckily, I think I may know someone who will like this scent, so I will be passing it along to her!
