Morn to Dusk

Morn to Dusk initially strikes me as a delicious sugary vanilla. Have you ever eaten a good danish pastry with a very thin layer of icing on it such that the icing crunches when you sink your teeth into it? Morn to Dusk smells like that kind of icing infused with vanilla beans. I can't get enough of it! The scent is sweet, but it is not thick, creamy, nor cloying as vanilla can be. I am tempted to call it sheer. The perfume contains a distinct, bright, juicy note of bergamot and just a trace of an elusive and delicate floral that is so faint as to be nearly imperceptible, but it gives the fragrance a certain elegance that elevates it from pastry to perfume. The house advertises Morn to Dusk as "the Italian way to do vanilla", and I totally agree. I keep imagining this perfume on a handsome Italian man wearing a linen suit, walking along a Positano beach at sunset while licking his gelato di riso. Hmmm...the more I think about it, the more I realize that I didn't just make this up this scene by myself. I have seen it before in the form of Raoul Bova in Under the Tuscan Sun. Dawn to Dusk is a vanilla perfume that works well all year long. It is not cloying, so it should work well in the warmer months, and it is also an easy choice in cooler months when the air is still a little crisp and the flowers are in bloom. Dawn to Dusk is linear on my skin. I never lose the strong note of bergamot (the perfume lasts about 5 hours before I feel the urge to touch up). While it is rare that I enjoy a perfume in which the citric top notes never dissipate, I actually love it here. It is perfectly juicy without causing the perfume to smell sour. I have been bored with vanilla perfumes for some time now, but I have been craving this perfume daily since I first smelled it. Sillage begins fairly strong, and it becomes a skin scent after 30 minutes or so. Years ago, I used to love monstrous sillage. These days, not so much. I don't want my perfumes to announce my presence in a room, but I do enjoy it when I reach for something, or I move suddenly, and I catch the scent radiating from my pulse points. That is what I get with Dawn to Dusk. At the end of the day, I think this is a very pleasing and uncommon take on vanilla. Love it! ------------------------------------------------ Update: It's been months since I wrote this, and I just found out that the creators of this perfume house are based in Positano. I am amazed that I thought of a Positano beach when smelling this perfume!

I never thought of myself as a sweet or gourmand or vanilla person, but it turns out I am a vanilla fanatic, but very picky. Morn to Dusk is what I reach for most during the day. It's a comforting scent that on me and to my nose smells exactly like the freshly made waffle cones at the ice cream shop down the street. But not cheap or too sweet. It smells expensive and rich and classy. And on me it's linear. Starts out just as it ends and I can smell it for hours. I know so many people who are sensitive or allergic so I don't look for sillage or projection in a daily driver. I wear Morn to Dusk during the day, especially if I could use a mood boost, Tihota for when I want to have something a little darker, more evening. And I go to one of the Guerlain vanillas if I want something sexy that lasts forever. I have other non-vanilla fragrances that are also part of the rotation, but if I only had those three vanillas, I'd be happy.

I didn't realize how much I loved vanilla-dominant perfumes until I got my hands on a sample of this beauty. It's a gourmand vanilla that is just so comforting. I love spraying this on before bedtime. It instantly lifts my mood. It does wear light and only lasts a few hours though. This is the vanilla fragrance that started my search for my holy-grail vanilla perfume. I would like a bit more juice and longevity out of this premium price point though. I've ordered close to 10 samples of vanilla dominant perfumes and will see after trying all of them which will be my next vanilla but Morn to Dusk has set a high standard.

I wanna smell like... My shoulders have been kissed by powdered sugar lips. The zing of rind-scented fingertips after gobbling the last citrus slice. A whisper of white flowers you caught downwind on this hazy mid-afternoon picnic. UPDATE: I'm firmly in the camp of not every fragrance needs to be eternal. Let alone a complex symphony of notes. Morn to Dusk is a total sleeper hit and has quickly inched into a daily driver for me. It's effortless, inviting, bright, uplifting, and an experience that is more for me than anyone else. It's care-fee and utterly joyful. A beautiful Menardo creation in the vein of restraint.

This is a delightful scent, soft and somewhat powdery. Vanilla-forward with the bergamot and lily in the background. Stays close to the skin and lasts on me a little over an hour. Not a powerhouse but still a lovely fragrance. It reminds me very much of Skin & Vanilla Eau Fraiche by Clean, reading the notes of that one there don't seem to be any similarities, but smelling them side by side I think they are pretty close to identical. I will wear the sample of this one down to the very last drop but likely not a full bottle purchase given that I already own the Skin & Vanilla and it's just not different enough.