Spicy Vanilla

One can easily be off this brand but they are niche quality, the same category of nishane, amouge, name it yourself, this is top shelf in their own merit, aside brands, what you get cant be compared to the arab dupes, or other cheapies, these are good and with an open mind, can be great scentwise and cost related. Amazing spicy vainilla, what I love is how the name suits the scent.

I have hung on to a version of this perfume from before Dossier changed their font, one with the old, skinny typeface from 2019 when they were still kind of new, before they got better atomizers. Perhaps the formula has changed since then, but I doubt it's changed by much. That bottle has had quite some time to macerate, especially since I stored it in my bathroom for a time before I knew better. When I got it, it was the daffodil yellow color shown in the promotional shots. Since then it has turned to a rich, deep gold, almost orange, and is *much* stronger. I think this is for the better. I have never smelled or had an interest is Tom Ford's Noir, which it is supposedly based on, and bought the bottle because I wanted a reasonably priced wintry-vanilla fragrance. It is being evaluated on its own merits. This is strong stuff. The opening blasts you in the face with lemongrass and black pepper. I remember when it was new the nutmeg was more present, but thanks to my youthful abuse it is no longer. That fades after about an hour or two, and the rose and orris become more noticeable and intimate as the vanilla begins to take over. Once you've been wearing it for about 4 hours, it reduces itself mostly to vanilla and ambery smells. Some of the rose still lingers, but only faintly. For the next 5-6 hours, it smells like an intimately masculine vanilla; you do not need to be hugging someone for them to smell it, but they would have to be closer than arm's length. This scent is among the few in my collection that have gotten compliments from strangers when they've seen me within the first few hours of wearing it, and my fiance loves it on me. The atomizer on my bottle is pretty shoddy. Doesn't spray very well, and in fact the seal keeping it on the bottle began leaking soon after I got it, which means I can't travel with it without my entire luggage smelling like the stuff. This is a problem that Dossier has since fixed, though, so this is not a strike against it anymore.

True to its name, this fragrance starts off strong with lemongrass and black pepper notes, before drying down to a more ambery, slightly floral, vanilla scent. This is a nice scent on its own, but it's definitely not a 1-for-1 dupe of Tom Ford's Noir (which it's supposedly based on). TF's Noir is much more powdery and musky, and tends to last longer, while this is like Noir's more lemongrass-y counterpart. While I personally still prefer TF's Noir because of its full-bodied and sensual qualities, Spicy Vanilla is more versatile for both daily casual and business settings.

Does it smell good? Yes. I've smelt the original at this point and it does not compare well. It's like 80% there but the performance is where this lacks. Yes it last ~12 hours on skin but the top notes disappear practically instantly and the middle notes aren't really there. But for about 12 hours you have a fine vanilla skin scent.

Lemongrass opening is off-putting. Nothing like TF Noir. I like the strong black pepper, though.