Lalique Le Parfum
Lalique (2005)

Lalique Le Parfum by Lalique (2005) is a masterclass on how to make vanilla friendly and more serious in a fragrance simultaneously, to take it out of the gourmand or powdery make-up territory for people who associate the note with sticky-sweet icing or baked goods, and might go reeling with the way vanilla normally turns up in powdery or dusty fragrances focusing on it from decades past. Dominique Ropion may get hamstrung on a lot of blah designers these days, or get get top-billing on some overpriced luxury juice that smells comparable to something bought at Macy's twenty years earlier; but he is quite the master blender of materials, and it is very much on display here, so pay attention to this one.

The secret to this vanilla's success is the West-Indian bay leaf opening, and by that I mean the bay leaf used to scent bay rums and not the bay laurel we sometimes stick in our pots of beef stew. The bay perfectly contrasts the vanilla with its brown-green hues, sans the usual cinnamon and clove that tends to come along for the ride with bay rums. Instead, we feel some toasty-nutty tonka, a bit of pink pepper to add dry pop in place of the omitted culinary spices, and a soft floral heart with jasmine and heliotrope that avoids feeling powdery. The bay and tonka pull this towards unisex in my mind, despite the marketing of the scent, although your mileage may vary. Patchouli and woody nuances do the remainder of the talking.

Performance is tenacious, and this will bloom on skin for hours. A gorgeous, nutty, aromatic, vanilla fragrance, the real treat of Lalique Le Parfum is the fact that vanilla is the star floral of the show, meaning this is about vanilla flower coupled with aromatics and woods first and foremost, and not an edible vanilla extract or vanilla bean sort of deal as expected 99% of the time. For people who hate the cloying aspects of typical vanilla presentation, but love the smell of vanilla on its own, this is a literal godsend, being just the kind of thing to kick the doors open on a subject many people are close-minded about, including myself. I can't stress enough that while a lot of you could be running around spending a ton more money on rare niche or luxury takes of the material, the best unorthodox representation of vanilla I've seen is right here, and accessible to all. Thumbs up

Le Parfum is the ultimate vanilla-forward fragrance for me in that it incorporates Dominique Ropion's ingenious move of using West-Indian bay leaf (Pimenta racemosa) to aromatize the vanilla. Yes, this is the same bay used in the classic Bay Rum colognes, rather than the Laurus nobilis we use to flavor soups, sauces and seafood (though that could create interest in fragrance as well). Pimenta racemosa has facets of clove, cinnamon, and its own ineffable aromatic greenish "bay rum" quality that sets it apart. This creates a contrast with the vanilla and a fizzy-fluffy-powdery heliotrope, giving it an androgynous quality: it can easily question perceptions of gender in fragrance: Le Parfum is unisex with a capital U.

Its sillage may give suggestions on fresh tobacco to the nose due to tonka, but the almond floral nutty vanilla pushes it in a more tender, supple direction. Feeling autumnal and cozy, it warms the late October chill, and never veers into gourmand territory: there's no caramel, praline, no heavy maltol, just ever so slightly grounded with patchouli in the base. Might I add, this is one that makes me want to hug others like a Care Bear— look at that, here's an image of vanilla beans on my tummy. It turns out that Le Parfum opened the door for better appreciating vanilla in fragrance all around; I've learned that I can more than handle it as the centerpiece rather than a supporting note in ambers and tobacco. I've warmed up to vanilla as it has warmed me up.

Now who is the beautiful, rich, cozy and boozy-aromatic vanilla to inhale and get drunk on its richness? Yes, dear Lalique Le Parfum, you are!

Lalique Le Parfum is a rich, boozy, deep, not-too-sweet vanilla scent with a smallest hint of patchouli in the drydown to darken it a bit and a beautiful and very aromatic bay leaf in the top notes. The bay leaf adds some quirkiness and character to this otherwise very smooth scent. I think I get a little bit of black pepper too, but maybe it's just bay leaf's bitter-savoury aroma that's helping me imagine it. I love this scent and I am amazed every time I wear it. It might not be everyone's vanilla as that bay leaf might be as difficult for some as it is fascinating to me, but it's a good one.

The bottle is made of a heavy glass and looks fantastic. The scent lasts half a day on me and makes me half crazy during that time as I just can't stop sniffing my inner elbows, thus making me get cold as I must sit without a sweater to be able to consistently do that. Enough of this praise - thumbs up.

Dominique Ropion's talent for blending is greatly in effect here. This is a boozy Shalimar descendant that leaves the smoky leather and old-school musk behind, and carrying forward that powdery, sparkling, non-edible vanilla. Bay leaf, heliotrope, jasmine, and a hint of patchouli layer in nuance and support.

That bay leaf, which is quite prominent to start, along with the boozy tones, pushes this over towards unisex territory (anyone who would wear Tom Ford Noir EDP could easily wear this; in fact, this would make a nice "daytime" companion to the decidedly more evening-friendly Noir EDP).

Beautiful, sweet, plastic-y top. Hard, to describe. Almond-y, old marzipan smell. Cookies?! I think of dainty, faery wings colored in pink and lavender. The flowers, just rock! Bergamot seems sweet and juicy here. I don't have great luck or admiration for Lalique perfumes -- I love this one! It's a powdery, almost honeyed thing, with ultra-femme flowers. It has a marvelous base with its notes all melded together in even more femininity.

Let's just state that this, is a greatly combined note concoction. Not quite run-of-the-mill -- not overdone, in its genre, of mainstream or designer. Very nice, indeed!

Oh my, I didn't know I like that medicinal Indian bay that much! It was the delight like finding something forgotten deep in the drawer. During the opening, bergamot is also easy to be detected.

Then I smell a whiff of vanilla and tonka beans, then another whiff of aromatic spices, then another whiff of vanilla again, like they're battling. This stage makes me confusing.

However after 1 hour, it calms down. I can easily smell powdery jasmin and helitrope. The patchouli is also there, but very subtle. The sandalwood becomes prominent after 5 hours but in the end it mellows into a vanilla base.

The sillage is moderate and the longevity is at least 10 hours on me.

Originally written in 2013