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Guerlain's Spiritueuse Double Vanille

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First.......allow me thank our resident Perfumista MimiGardenia for the outstanding samples she recently sent my way. Mims....you are generous to a fault and I am thoroughly enjoying testing these wonderful fragrances. You are the bomb!!!!

I have been meaning to sample Double Vanille for quite some time and have never gotten around to it.....that is....until I got a surprise in the mail. As much as I respect the House of Guerlain, I have never been moved enough to purchase.......except for a select few. I have a few of their masculine classics in my drobe and truly enjoy Chanel's Coromandel for its similar smoothness, but there's just something that always holds me back long enough to where I end up buying something more dangerous or edgy. ****( This paragraph has been edited due to temporary stupidity .....and needed fixing......)****

The first thing I noticed about the opening in SDV is that slightly off kilter, borderline urinous aroma very similar to a few other incense dominant scents I like......yet SDV isn't incense heavy. It doesn't last long and like the other incense frags, it quickly morphs into something round and smooth. Quality incense ingredients have a way of doing that to me. I have no idea why, but when I initially smell one and it has that weird transition aroma, it always transforms into a quality accord. Go figure........

Aside from the incense note, the opening affords a fruity-citric duo with incense smack in the middle of it. Within minutes, the volume is perfect and the blending masterful. It becomes smooth and deep smelling with surprising "swirl" attributes. The floral heart is combined with cedar and this accord reigns in the topnotes. There's hints of citrus and incense laden wood with no edginess due to the ylang. Rose and Jasmin are subtle augmentations, but add the necessary dry sweetness this transition needed. The benzoin and vanilla in the base ensure the drydown will be smooth, comfortable and relaxing.

I must say that SDV, through its transitions, is a very well made scent and a truly easy wear. This is one Vanilla dominant fragrance I would consider buying. The woody incense keeps this from tilting too feminine for me and I find I'm continually sniffing this extraordinary brew.

I would wear this in a minute and can imagine SDV being one helluva cool to cold weather fragrance. Kudos to Guerlain for a superb creation that works on either gender.
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Comments

  1. AnonymousAugust 9, 2010 at 10:15 AM

    Lovely review Aromi ! :D You are a sweetie- isn't this one a gorgeous scent ???

    ReplyDelete
  2. ElisaAugust 9, 2010 at 2:00 PM

    I love this one too for its booziness.

    Quick correction: Coromandel is Chanel.

    ReplyDelete
  3. AromiEroticiAugust 9, 2010 at 3:12 PM

    Oh $#!*....lol.....please forgive my blunder Elisa. I had SDV on hand and was resampling Coromandel on the other hand. Both were smooth as silk.....and I must have become fragrance-drunk when I lumped Coromandel in with Guerlain....lol

    I have my moments when I'm truly an idiot.....

    ReplyDelete
  4. ElisaAugust 9, 2010 at 4:19 PM

    No apologies necessary! I was sure Coromandel would be the Chanel I fell in love with, but I think it contains some material I am sensitive too, perhaps a woody amber -- the first half hour was piercing and unpleasant. SDV, on the other hand, I expected to bore me. But I love it, it smells like rum and licorice and tobacco to me, all nice grown-up smells. (Vanilla-centric perfumes often seem teenager-ish to me.)

    ReplyDelete
  5. AromiEroticiAugust 9, 2010 at 4:30 PM

    Understood Elisa. It's amazing how one persons grail fragrance can be lackluster or even unpleasant to another.

    I love the smell of Coromandel, yet I don't own it. I have other, grittier renditions like Mazzolari. Vanilla....on the other hand....is a note I enjoy in tandem with others so as not to dominate a composition, yet SDV is so good that I would buy it. Funny how you and I get different associations from the same fragrance !

    At any rate, I'm glad you enjoy SDV !!! I'll have to re-wear it to see if I can get some booze, anise and tobacco like you !

    ReplyDelete
  6. AnonymousAugust 11, 2010 at 8:54 PM

    Ah, MG is indeed generous with samples! (I have a whole set of MoM samples from MG that I have yet to open, as I'm waiting for a "cooler spell" of weather in which to test the MUSK OVERLOAD). SdV sounds wonderful, though I have often had "trouble" with vanilla'ed scents. Will have to try! (hmm. I say that wayyyy too often!)

    ReplyDelete
  7. ~x~August 12, 2010 at 11:10 AM

    can you add the doodad to this blog so i can twitter or facebook links?

    ReplyDelete

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