Vanisia

Creed's Vanisia opens with an odd sinus clearing hit of bergamot & strong vanilla, the effect of which somehow reminds me for a split second of bug spray. Moments later, the components mellow, & become recognizable to me, almost seeming minty. From this moment on it progresses rather quickly! Amber, more vanilla, -and this is not the ethereal & lightly crushed pods of Sublime Vanille, but an aged, rich, deep & oily vanilla enhanced by ambergris. With a very fine quality jasmine together they create a warm & welcoming fragrance, with a temperance & color which in my mind reminds me of sparkly Baltic amber that's been polished. I get almost a light baked apple scent for a moment I think a trick of the jasmine & maybe citrus plus the sweets. Its quite interesting, to sniff the evolution of a seemingly simple scent, but it evolves into so many possibilities, I can see how it could be a huge hit or miss based on chemistry. So, I've had bug spray, mint, apple, jasmine, amber, ambergris, rich vanilla, some kind of phantom spice, and a sandalwood base, which always seems to be a hit on me as long as its quality. Very interesting. I was a bit bored with the sniff I got from the vial, but this is an entirely different scent when worn. I wouldn't suggest a blind buy, the ambergris could throw it for some people. Fantastic for fall, I'm really craving a big bottle that I could have a big 5-6 sprays of! However.. My sample will have to do for now, and we shall see if its a full bottle sized craving when I run out! Right now it reminds a bit of Sushi Imperiale, a cozy, shape shifter of a perfume that makes me want to sniff myself again & again. We shall see how the husband reacts! I find myself wanting more.. Lovely perfume, listening to fall cicadas its absolutely perfect. Really craving a FB of this! Update, I pulled the trigger and bought a huge bottle of the Mellisime edition, and it really has secured a spot among my favorites! A classic beauty that will never go out of style!

When I first sampled this on a card at the Creed counter, I was immediately turned off. It smelled WAY too strong for me. However, I decided to give it another go with a sample vial. I put it on my skin and at first I still had the same negative reaction. It started off with a bang, just like Jasmin Imperatrice Eugenie (one of my favorites), but the "bang" lasted a lot longer. Whereas JIE dries down in 15-20 min on me, Vanisia took 30-45 min. And during that time, I could smell the bergamot, rose, and jasmine, but they were overwhelmed by the sea-saltiness of the ambergris. (I like ambergris in a perfume for its fixative properties, but I don't like it as a strong fragrance note). Even worse, I could not smell any vanilla at all. I was all set to conclude that it was a too-strong version of JIE that had too much ambergris in it, but then the magic happened. It began drying down and out came the amber, the sandalwood, and finally the vanilla! Now it is a warm and lovely combination of those three notes. I am glad I gave this one time to fully develop on my skin before casting it aside. Since this is so similar to JIE, I wasn't sure if it would be worth having both. But after that beautiful drydown, which is crisper and stronger than JIE, I have now added this to my "want" list. One other thing worth noting is that the sillage has remained in the heavy to moderate category for over four hours now and shows no signs of letting up. Also I will add that to my nose, this is sweeter than Samsara.

I agree with the very first review on this page, this IS luxury at it's finest. Vanisia is an amber centered fragrance rather than vanilla. I initially tested this because I thought it was a vanilla scent, but I was blown away by the scent. The only thing that prevented me from snatching it up right away was the $240 price tag. I lucked out and was able to have a small decanter filled free with purchase of another perfume at nordstrom. Total score as I heard that this perfume is going back into the vault. I don't pick up the bergamot top note, but there is something bright that jumps out at you right away. This only lingers to enhance the richness of the sandalwood and amber coupling. Rose is subtle in the background giving this a richness and depth (I am not a rose fan, so please know this is NOT a rose perfume). The vanilla and floral notes represent the base and offer a creamy support. I also note a hint of light musk that adds depth. Here is my recipe for decadence: shower, the exact friction of stars body lotion (creamy with a hint of salt), one drop of vanilla scented oil rubbed with both wrists, dust with a spray of vanisia. Absolutely divine! Of course it is also amazing on it's own.

Something has happened to me. In the past week; I have fallen madly in love with Vanisia. I have read that there are discontinued Creeds such as this one that are not watery and are full of body and character, so I decided to try Vanisia . Now it is in my top 5 out of a LOT of fragrances and I cannot stop wearing it. It’s an addiction. It opens so much like somewhere between Shalimar and Samsara, but smoother than both- like a beautiful vintage. I feel that a dark vanilla is at play throughout the life of the fragrance, in a totally stunning, bourbon based way. After the first 30 minutes, it really gets exciting, when it starts revealing the jasmine and the rose. The Amber and sandalwood base last for so long and are of such quality... it’s hard to want to use any other fragrance again... for me it is a 10/10 and I can’t believe how inexpensive the bottle was for a Creed. I just purchased a bottle of Vanisia from the 80s and I can’t wait to test it! Onto try Royal Delight and Irisia next....

I got a couple carded samples. It is great. Smells like vintage Shalimar, a bit more citrus on top. One friend who knows Creed and loves vintage frags in general said this is his #1 Creed, and he knows most of them... I wore my vintage Shalimar the other day. So the quality and longevity are better with Vanisia. Shalimar has more vanilla in the dry down. Vanisia is more floral and feminine. This smells like a chypre. I seem to pickup a bit of oakmoss and cinnamon. It reminds me of a classic men's chypre Balenciaga Pour Homme, although more feminine. I like jasmine more than rose in general. I first thought I was getting more Jasmine than rose... Then I notice a definite rose as well. So a high quality jasmine and rose accord, 50/50. Update: I did purchase a 30 ml Creed Vanisia. It is like a vintage Guerlain with super quality notes. Maybe quality of notes is better than Guerlain. It only slightly leans feminine. Rating: 9/10 God bless. John 3:16