Vanille Insensée

Why is this beauty called "Insensee"? It is one of the most well thought, mature and woody vanilla I have ever tried! The lime in this is zesty and at the same time mellow, the citron too, nothing too citrusy or scratchy, probably because it is blended so well with the vanilla and the woods, and what I mistaken for olibanum (but no). The only scent until now that for me managed to create this lovely effect with the lime was Lush Zesty (or Calacas, as it was called). There is a light spiciness, and maybe some smokiness? Not sure...but what really matters here is the woody and earthy dimension. No medicinal or grassy notes, just beautiful oak moss and dry smoked vetiver dancing around warm and oily vanilla. Such a grown up kind of vanilla...so far away from gourmand or culinary ones. I imagine a true gypsy woman having this scent on her satin and lurex trimmed shawls; the earthiness given by the vetiver, the moss and the oak makes me think of all the "potions" and roots she may have in her secret trailer where she reads tarot and where she practice elemental magic! An arid oak forest full of withered herbs and musk carpets just behind this special shimmering place...in the electric air you can smell something smoky, some fresh spiciness and the aroma of velvety vanilla coming from there...even the dry woodyness of the old trunks full of gems and old jewlery. As you can see, I loved this! Performance was good too since it projected moderately and lasted for a surprising amount of time, 8 hours on me for sure. Consistency was almost oily but I had my bottle from years ago, it had enough time to concentrate itself. I have a funny anecdote about this scent: insects love this one!!!! Be carefull! I was away for three days of summer with a "friend", a bad hasty decision. We went to a very lost and forgotten sea location in the deep of Calabria, Italy, and everything that could have gone wrong did infact go wrong. The car broke, everything was closed, no uber no taxi, and many others serious disadventure that it is best to keep for myself...well, I was alone, in a place near to the beach but with lots of trees and some feeble illumination and a storm of huge big brown flying insects started to surround me, they did go directly for my neck and for my knees, where I had sprayed so much Vanilla Insensee! I don't even know how I escaped...I had to undress myself and cover those body parts with my clothes, running and screaming...my feet already bloodied from some previous incident. I shall never forget. They were those massive poisonous bugs, that made so much noise, a tragedy for someone like me that has a phobia for insects. Edit: please do not come for me about that bit of gypsy imagery, I have gypsy ancestry from my mother side, (all matrilineal by the way) and so many photos and memory about that part of that culture... I swear I do not want to stereoptype anyone.

I’m writing having revisited this scent and buying YET ANOTHER BOTTLE. I’m writing because of @SDJoans review below. I can only think she has a fake scent. This is the vanilla the works for me and men. This is a slightly dark vanilla bean icecream with a slight incense vibe. So, contradicting the review already. It’s in the name after all. It sweet but not cloying, it is original in that is simple and gender neutral without a complimentary note bias that steals the vibe. There is actually a ‘bandage’ feel to it but when you pull it apart you can account for it as the earthliness in the oakmoss and touch of coriander. The alcoholic opening is the ethos of the brand - again in the name - being a cologne (in scent design not strength) it is like all Atelier Cologne designed to have a sharp citrus opening. Another huge benefit - in contradiction - is the performance is way above average and as such in my opinion extremely good value for money. Sorry, but either someone has an incorrectly wired nose or is visiting from an alternate universe. Anyway, years ago I was on a Scandinavian flight and I could clearly smell someone wearing this - it’s so distinct and I yelled out is someone wearing strong Vanilla perfume before I sat down and a huge burly bearded Scandinavian got up with a leather satchel and looked like he was going to make an issue and I said - is it Vanille Incensee and he stopped and nodded - I gave him the thumbs up and everyone smiled - I said I was wearing it too! I got a thumbs up back, so there you go... there’s a fan club...

This is one that evolves through time as it warms up on your skin. The opening is sharp and bitter, like slicing into a juicy lime and having its juice squirt out at your face (sorry for that vivid, sexually suggestive description haha). Later on, the lime note calms down, and mellows into a soft citrus. The Oakmoss lends a slightly wet, green earthiness to this composition. But my favourite part is the dry down. Imagine a barrel of oak, made to store some sort of whiskey. Instead, this barrel stored Vanilla. Not just any vanilla, really good quality, hand picked, artisanal vanilla. And the vanilla drenched oakwood ages over time in a dark cellar, which makes sure that it is preserved the best it can be. There is no boozyness to this vanilla-oak combo, but there is an undeniable earthy balmy sweetness. The green feeling of the limey-oakmoss doesn't entirely fade away, but it becomes less and less noticeable with the passage of time. Contrary to the reviews below, this clung to my skin for hours and I was truly shocked at the performance. It does not project, but remains as a skin scent for very many hours. And I dont mind that. This is the kind of scent that is meant to be worn for your pleasure or for that special someone with the privilege of hugging you and being close to you. What an absolute marvel this is! Take your time with this, I promise you, you will come to love it !

If you're looking for a vanilla but gourmands make you gag, this is one to try. For reference, I've sampled other non-gourmand vanillas like Eau Duelle, Ani, Silky Woods, and the Sylvaine Delacourte vanillas, and did not care for any of them. But somehow this one managed to worm its way into my vanilla-hating heart. It's very dry, subtly sweet, and woody throughout. There's a bit of citrus in the opening, but it doesn't stick around. It dries down to a pleasant, non-bakery vanilla supported by oak and a little vetiver - I don't get much jasmine or coriander (caveat: I'm not certain what oakmoss smells like, so it could be there too). There's a slight powderiness/dustiness in the drydown, but it's minimal, thankfully - I don't like powdery scents either. The reviewer below suggests that it has a smoky element, but I can't detect anything of the sort. Aged-smelling, maybe? Like an old kitchen cabinet, perhaps. The performance is pretty good for my tastes. It stays solidly on my skin 5+ hours and doesn't project bigly. I got it for fall/winter, but it's unsweet enough to wear in late summer. It leans just femme of unisex. Atelier Cologne's prices are a bit high imo, but they're popular/widespread enough that you can find them on places like ebay or mercari for nearly half the cost.

so boring it nearly brought me to tears. i understand the appeal of vanillas that aren't dense or syrupy, so they can be worn outside of colder seasons. however the citrus addition to this threw me for a loop bc i can't place when i'd comfortably wear this and have faith that it would add anything to my overall presence. can't imagine any situation in which i'd wear the 10ml that i own-- outside of testing it for the 4th time to see if maybe just maybe i changed my perception on how boring this is. will keep this in my purse, during early fall, for the days i'm rushing and inevitably leave the house w/ zero fragrance on bc it's forgettable enough to throw on and go abt my day. i can't even bring myself to care abt longevity or silage tbh i'm still stuck on the fact that, for an atelier product, this has absolutely nothing going for it, for me. it's actually less than 'okay' and there are too many other more interesting vanillas on the market for me to spend anymore time on mediocrity. ETA: cosmically evil that after 2 years of being neutral on this scent, the appreciation-switch flipped in my head and in searching for a bottle to purchase i've realised Atelier pulled the plug on sales of its entire fragrance line. is this punishment for my hubris?