La Vaniglia
Bois 1920 (2010)

Bois 1920's La Vaniglia has been favourably compared (on this site, anyway) with some of the edgy greats of its genre, notably the fabulous Mona di Orio's Vanille--a gorgeously strange powdery-smoky amorphous ever-shifting woody/musky rendition--and Bulgari's late and much lamented, legendary Black--a study in intersectionality, with gourmand powdered bakeshop vanilla, the tang of fresh fetish shop rubber, and a smoky-green Lapsong Suchang tea accord--which puts La Vaniglia in excellent company. I have also seen people who love this perfume mention it in discussions of Powerhouse Vanillas, alongside modern classics like Indult's delicious Tihota and Guerlain's boozy/vanilla bean Spiritueuse Double Vanille. If di Orio and Black are on one end of the spectrum--artistic, eccentric, highly original--and the Guerlain and Indult represent the Realist School, La Vaniglia belongs in the middle of the spectrum; it has a wonderful, distinctive personality, but it also satisfies as a rich gourmand experience.

The perfume opens at its most scrumptiously edible, with a flourish that always reminds my late 20th century-developed childhood primal senses of a freshly opened box of cake mix (likely because those manufacturers were not averse to a little scented witchcraft to enhance the experience of using their products)--vanilla, but powdered, almost flowery. A boozy hit of vanilla extract extends the opening, and then a tenor's chorus of classic incense unfolds, with a dark burnt-lemon frankincense in the lead lifted with a psychedelic bit of opoponax and the sensual presence of benzoin. Beautifully balanced patchouli creates a spicy but not distracting base, as it calls no attention to itself, and some subtle hints of red berry fruits appear (I may be smelling phantom redcurrant because I can't not associate the union of Big Vanilla + Big Patchouli with Mugler's Angel; however, I've been wearing this perfume for years now and I truly think it's there, so I should probably add in a second dimension to the linear spectrum I described above and create some kind of Cartesian Vanilla grid--this could be useful, at least to me, since I also think things like Kilian's Love and Imaginary Authors' Memoirs of a Trespasser need to be mentioned any time the subject of Great Vanillas comes up, with Love on the Floral (and oh so meringuey) axis and Memoirs on the Dry Woods . . . if such a thing were to occur, an image will be posted). The drydown introduces a basso profundo note of tonka bean. A paradoxically lactonic, almost creamy, but not overly buttery, texture drifts into the billows of this perfume's powder and smoke, creating a bit of Chanel Coromandel's white chocolate effect. And sometimes I get a boozy dark rose (another possible hallucination; perhaps so many rose/vanillas and rose/patchoulis have passed through my nasal passages that my brain just goes there, or maybe there's rose in that subtle red jammy accord that I find as the incense settles)..

Overall, I find La Vaniglia both intriguing (this despite years of wear--I never fail to find something new in it) and comforting; it is absolutely stuffed with good things, almost everything I love in perfumery, that it is catnip for a palate like mine that is attuned to massive Oriental productions of this type. It is quite extroverted; I do not understand the reviewer who complains of its lack of projection, because I find it fills a room comfortably without screaming for attention--no aldehydic rush or heavy metal woody ambers amplify this perfume, so it feels more like the hum of bass, a frequency that can penetrate the thickest of walls. It produces very dense sillage, so a passerby might only catch your vanilla aura, and will need to come in closer to smell the celestial incense and patchouli. Despite its intensity, I find that it wears reasonably well year-round, although cool autumn and winter evening seem to be its natural habitat--I am writing this eleven days out from Christmas, and it smells exactly right for the season. It lasts for at least a day on skin, and even longer on clothing--when I unpacked my sweaters and scarves for autumn this year, I noticed more than a trace of last year's La Vaniglia.

This perfume is vivid as a Botticelli painting, yet all its distinctive colours seem to sing together. Like many other perfumes from Bois 1920, it is a very up-front, heart-on-its-sleeve creation, with obvious intentions to give pleasure, blended in the enthusiastic style that I find to be characteristic of many Italian perfume houses, and a showcase of excellent ingredients. Its beautiful woodsy components help this perfume engage your head as well as your heart, so while it might start as a venture down a road of edible delight, it brings you to a place of at least optional meditation. I would find this perfume irresistible on anyone, anywhere, and it has turned heads and garnered many unsolicited compliments (as many or more than any other perfume I own). It fantastically underrated, a good thing if you want value, so bottles can be found online for as little as 60 dollars here in the US, if you are willing to look around a bit, much better than the retail asking price of $200 or thereabouts, and that will fetch you 3.3 ounces in a thick, opaque bottle made of heavy glass in a gorgeous box. If you enjoy any of the perfumes I mentioned in this review, I highly recommend La Vaniglia--it is a worthy indulgence, and one of the best of its highly crowded field. Sometimes I even prefer it over my precious Coromandel parfum. It really is that good.

People don't speak about it this way much anymore, but for a time Bvlgari Black was widely regarded as a rather edgy rubber and leather fragrance. I find it fairly tame (albeit beautiful) even in its original form; the rubber is soft and subdued.

In La Vaniglia, you get a true tire-and-vanilla fragrance, laced with animalic flickers. It's a bit like Bvlgari Black on steroids, with a bit of a nod in the direction of Musc Ravageur.

This serves up tire rubber (a bit like tires in the sun), dusty/smoky myrrh, a dry labdanum-dominant amber, cake batter vanilla, dirty patchouli, and some kind of animalic component that doesn't align with anything in the official note pyramid. La Vaniglia dries down to a dry, dusty rubber with a vanilla undercurrent, like a sunbaked tire mingled with a doll's head.

If that sounds odd, well, it is. This certainly can't be accused of pandering to conventional tastes.

Animalic Vanilla-d Honey. Not quite as sophisticated and silky as Mona Di Orio Vanille, however it's Patchouli strip produces a dryer, higher quality Amber 114 and Blue Amber.
Vanilla is treated as a seasoning.
It also relates to Mazzolari Lui.
Beautiful, light touch of Cooling Mint to draw away from cloy.
A really clever blending of the Myrrh.
Finesse.
Recommended.

The vanilla hits you immediately. I only get a hint of pepper of the top notes. Patchouli, ginger, and incense are definitely at play here, too. This is a resinous, woody, spicy vanilla. It softens with time to pure vanilla. Great longevity.

They do rock! Lively opening… aromatic and strangely rich. The listed top notes – citrus, mint, and pepper – don't account for the depth of the opening. It must be that the patchouli and incense from the heart accord are showing up upon spraying, giving the opening a wood / resinous platform for the bergamot and mandarin to do their citrus stuff and the amazingly restricted mint to provide just enough contrast to make this rocking top of the pyramid.

Oddly enough, it's the mint that first backs off of the top accord leaving a citrus, pepper, patchouli and restrained incense to form the dominant accord of La Vaniglia along with a clean vanilla note from the base.

I don't smell much of the pepper of the opening – I never do. I don't smell the heart's listed ginger– I don't miss it. I don't get much incense, but I would swear that there's more than a touch of labdanum or myrrh with amber shadowing the whole fragrance – I haven't decided which, but it is there!

Such a pleasant, satisfying scent this is. My first thought was that an accord this pleasant, light, and clean can't possibly last very long, but its longevity is average – more proof of the myrrh.

top notes rock well done light citrus/vanilla frag. also the incense is detected after an hour or so. stays close to the skin but sillage is decent. this is my first from the house and I am satisfied. every note is detailed except the ginger imo. reminds me of an Mona DI Oro' frag.Pros: great top notesCons: a bit subtle