Vanilla Milk

I've had this perfume for over a year so I have gotten to know it very well. This was my first "real" perfume (not a body spray or bath and body works lol) so I didn't know that vanilla fragrances evolve over time, after about a year you may notice that it has become a darker more golden color. apparently, this comes with a deeper, richer vanilla scent as well. I have noticed recently as its winter and I'm wearing it more often again that it does smell veeeery vanilla-y. on first spray it smells like straight up vanilla extract and alcohol so definitely don't judge it on that, give it a minute to dry and you will get the real smell. it gives me very warm and cozy vibes like I'm wrapped up in a blanket made of vanilla frosting, but not sickly sweet. I can see where people are getting the spoiled milk vibe, as it clearly says it is vanilla and milk lol. I agree that its not a safe blind buy, definitely try to get a sample before making a decision on this one. Def a hot or miss scent so it just depends on your skin. some people have skin where lactonics smell spoiled, like I can't wear heavily woody scents because it smells like wet cardboard lmao. Just make sure you try before you buy so you know if you are on of the ~chosen ones~ who can love this lovely scent 💖

I coveted this perfume for a while and ended up snagging one of those Sephora perfume sets that included it about a year ago. I actually loved this perfume from the first spray and it became a bit of an obsession. The opening notes create this creamy, almost custardy vanilla scent that isn't necessarily sweet but smells comforting. Yum! However, I chose 7 Virtues' Vanilla Woods as my travel size pick instead of this because of its dry-down, which is rather smoky and super long-lasting on clothes. I thought I wouldn't want that in the long term. I regret not picking Vanilla Milk now! It smells amazing on my skin! I think Vanilla Woods is something you could get from any less expensive vanilla perfume, while Vanilla Milk is truly unique among easily accessible perfumes. The longevity is great even on skin and I find that three sprays are usually enough to get me through the day. That being said, this is definitely not a safe blind buy. I recommend getting a sample or testing it in-store before committing to a larger purchase. If you happen to be into it then it's such a good vanilla scent. I think I like the fact that it is so polarizing, it shows how personal fragrance can be!

It’s wild to me how poorly this perfume is rated. I’m always searching for the perfect vanilla fragrance. I loveeee the smell/taste of vanilla icing and vanilla ice cream, but I haven’t found any vanilla fragrance that is close to that. Here are all of the vanilla perfumes that I own that I love, but don’t give me that vanilla icing note: nishane ani, xerjoff Naxos, Mancera amore caffe, mancera aoud vanille, amouage boundless, Vertus vanilla Oud, and montale dark vanilla. All of them are gorgeoussss vanillas in their own right, but none of them gave me that deep, ambery vanilla bean icing that Ellis Brooklyn vanilla milk gives me. Vanilla milk lasts 16 hours on my skin, and throughout it I get random whiffs of that deep, milky, vanilla bean. There is a touch of lactonic funk, but I love it. It smells like egg nog, and I LOVE it. ALSO... this is infinitely better than maison Margielas afternoon delight. They are in a similar category, but vanilla milk is wayyyy better

I heard a couple people say it smells like gasoline of propane. I have no idea where or why or how people are getting that from this. I get a mysterious evening type of vanilla, a little smoky, musky, and very creamy. I cant compare this to anything else because it truly is one of a kind but this is right up my alley. The types of vanilla I have been liking particularly in the evening are ones like phlur vanilla skin, vs bare sueded vanilla, la vie elle belle nude, kylie cosmic intense, replica afternoon delight, glossier reve and i mix all of thoae with clean reserve skin or dedcool milk. I actually hope that this one isn't liked so that it can go on discount and I can buy tons of back ups lol. I absolutely love it through and through from first spray to dry down and especially the milky creamy dry down it gives of a sexy mysterious vibe.

As a vanilla/milky girl who owns and loves Tihota and Fire at Will and is no longer looking for basic vanillas, I think this is a vanilla gourmand that sets itself apart. The initial spray on me it smells like vanilla bean ice cream. As it dries down midway, it shifts into a realistic vanilla flavoured almond milk (a little nutty, not the sickly, super medicinal kind). Then finally in the complete dry down, it turns powdery. This scent offers layers and depth. In the end it smells like a bowl of vanilla ice cream with a savoury caramel drizzle (not plasticky!), finished with crushed candied almonds and confectioners sugar on top. It’s not too sweet at all and great as a cool girl gourmand. The sillage is about arms length and it’s long-lasting. I tested some on the back of my hand and I could still smell it after 2-3 hand washes. 9.5/10🥛🍨

The ultimate ‘creamy vanilla’ scent to me. It smells exactly as it is named - like sweet, vanillary milk. The lactonic note is heavy and wears beautifully with my skin chemistry, but I have smelt this on someone else and it smelt almost soured so I would recommend sampling this before purchasing. However if you like milky gourmands, I would say it’s generally blind buy safe. It’s like Maison Margiela Afternoon Delights younger, funner sister. The only downside for me is the projection! It’s definitely a skin scent for me, lasting 1 to 2 hours max, but I am happy to keep on applying throughout the day as I love being in a vanilla milk scent bubble so much.

Vanilla Milk has been my signature scent going on three months now in the office, and it has gotten me many compliments from my clients and coworkers. The most common comparison I get is people telling me I smell like vanilla cake. It leaves the bottle smelling exactly like its name: milk with some vanilla extract mixed into it. As my bottle’s aged, I have noticed an almost campfire-ish smokiness develop in the background. Different people have different skin chemistry and noses, though, so I can understand the negative reviews on this one. People either love or hate lactonic perfume notes.

This one is my favourite from Ellis Brooklyn. Cold type of lactonic vanilla. It's strange as hell yes! Not usual, not generic. Works very good with my skin. The opening is warm and I feel dry lactonic notes and a bit smokiness as well... after it is medium cold lactonic and balsamic vanilla with musk and benzoin which adds warmth to it. I feel some playdoh, which I like here. I love to wear it! It's not a 2*bits* vanilla with milk, you need to understand it.. but if you want a really unique, almost artistic lactonic vanilla fragrance, forget about Bianca Latte and try this one!

I adore this perfume. I love vanilla, but find a lot of powdery sweet vanilla perfumes boring. When I'm searching for vanilla, it's for vanilla extract; creamy, dark, a little bitter. This is such a lovely deep vanilla, very much vanilla bean, with a smoked woody aspect beneath. My friends compliment me every time I wear this. I will say that I'm not sure about the lasting power, but it projects like crazy for the first hour. This is warmed vanilla milk spilled on a leather jacket with a pack of cigarettes in the pocket.

I don't know what everyone else is smelling, but I absolutely love this! I love Ellis Brooklyn and I think this is a perfect addition to their line. To me, this is a really smooth and delicious lactonic vanilla scent with a little smoky, resinous touch. I don't get anything rubbery or burned whatsoever. I really enjoyed wearing this and thought it smelled great all day. The performance is killer too. I want a full size. If you blind bought and hate it, please don't trash it, send it to me! I want to buy a full size!

Wow these reviews...maybe my nose is broken but I really dig this. I just bought the travel size to try it out. I get vanilla milk and the cacao, nothing burnt or sickly. Call me crazy, but I get Gourmand Couquin vibes, as well as A Whiff of Wafflecone, for sure. To me this is just yummy. If you don’t like sweet gourmand scents, you should probably stay away, but otherwise... just know that some people get this one, and some people just don’t. Or, this could actually grow on you. I’m marking it as a love.

On my skin, the result is a rather clean, sweet, and somewhat papery vanilla. I read the reviews before buying the 10ml, so I knew ahead of time that people were complaining about a plasticky/synthetic element - but that element, in a bizarre way, actually made this completely work for me. This perfume smells like a visit to my childhood pediatrician's office with my mom: warm and comforting, with an underlying note that's antiseptic and sterile. I find myself reaching for this perfume when I feel sick.

This plays on me as a half milkshake- half bourbon-vanilla-extract scent, doesn't last forever but doesn't fade as fast as other Ellis scents do on me. It's got a friendly kind of allure. Feels like a perfect one for an end of winter or cool spring day, a casual night out any time. Recommended if you like Philosophy Fresh Cream or the Boardwalk Vanilla Cone soaps from Bath & Body Works (which I think are no longer in production). Won't need this if you have 7 Virtues Vanilla Woods. May want it anyway.

I, like most others, hated this when it first came out. I recently received a sample and tried it out again and I'm not getting anything that I did before. Before this smelled spoiled, now I get fluffy vanilla milk. First spray is a little harsh but it's very cozy when it dries down Afternoon Delight smelled very similar to this to me, but I actually find this more creamy and a bit sweeter Also, Nest Vanilla Bourbon smells like a deeper, fuller, more rounded version of this

I LOVE this perfume, it's one of my all time favorites. I was really surprised and disappointed to see how disliked it is. On my skin it's sweet, warm, and very vanilla. I do not mind the milkiness--I think it smells like ice cream, or vanilla extract in half & half. I do not get baby vomit (??) or any sourness out of the bottle. It takes a minute or two to settle onto my skin but once it does it's heaven, and I've gotten nothing but compliments on it.

I spent too much money on this but i love it anyways. I spray it on my clothes when i want to feel like a mannequin whose plastic is age-degraded. Think the ones with thin eyebrows and too long a neck. Think those 1929 melted shop window mannequins. Think Lester Gaba’s Cynthia, but significantly less poetic. It’s a perfume for weird inexpert drag shows, but I’d like to know what to pair it with to bring it into a filthier and more complex place.

I really like this. It's not quite to the level of intoxicatingly good, such as Black Opium Le Parfum, but this would make a great everyday fragrance. I can pick up on the vanilla bourbon, cacao, milk, and musk, mostly. Musk is not my favorite note and I do have difficulty with it going a bit funky on me. Projection and longevity have been great the two times I've tried it. Overall I am liking this a lot and would give it a 4.5/5.

I love this and how weird it is. I spray the tiniest dab of it somewhere hidden, like the crook of my elbow, whenever I'm wearing something something else vanilla-predominant, then spend my work day secretly huffing it in raptures of joy. I'm yet to be audacious enough to wear it openly in case those surrounding me think I'm concealing a burning plastic baby vomit somewhere on my person. Possibly my most secret guilty pleasure.

To my nose... This smells like a vanilla yogurt dipped pretzel that is slightly burnt(in a good way). Like Rold gold over cooked a batch of their tiny twist pretzels. There was a candle bath and Bodyworks came out with a few years ago that had the same burnt pretzel note that I really enjoyed. It's a strange one. But my nose likes it. In a fragrance collection as large as mine, sometimes it's nice to have a "strange one". Lol.

Wow, its amazing to me how most people dislike this scent. It's a gorgeous, nuanced and woody, playful vanilla. I think the cacao and amyris make it so nice. I have never perceived any sort of sour milk note, just a slight playdoughy sweetness but to me, that is not synthetic its nostalgic. And the other notes make this a scent I honestly love regardless of what others think.

smelled this for the first time in anthropology during a winter trip to boston to visit my best friend. it was so good i called her over immediately and made her smell it, too. luckily i don't get the sour notes that others have mentioned: i smell cold, sweet milk and pure vanilla extract. it's cozy, beautiful. second only to dulce as i tend to prefer subtler fragrances.

I think I like this one. On first spray it's very smoky on my skin, even though there aren't any smoke or incense notes. Then I get the notes of cocao and milk. I think it might be the cacao that's causing the smoky note? I don't hate it but I'm not sure its one I'd wear on a regular basis. I think I'll wear it to bed to help calm down anxiety.

to me, it is what it is--vanilla milk. i like lactonic notes and i adore vanilla. put together it works well for me. it's definitely heavy on the realistic lactonic note, and i can see how that might not always translate onto skin. so it's definitely not blind buy safe. but to me, it's been one of my favorite vanillas.

Echoing some of the recent reviews too, I don’t understand the hate. I wonder if it’s because a lot of people have never smelled truly lactonic scents such as lait concentre, cow, latte freddo, or creama de latte, etc and are caught off guard. Personally think this is very true to its namesake: sweet thick vanilla milk

Oh, wow how I love this perfume... if I had any creative writing skills, I could write poetry over how beautiful it is. This is a creamy, warm sugared milk with honey in it. This smells like the sun hitting you, enveloping you in warmth at just the perfect time at golden hour. When you can appreciate how good life is.

smells like a sweatshirt that u wore to a beach bonfire where u roasted a bunch of marshmallows. delicious. the sandalwood adds such a smoke to the vanilla and the floral notes keep this from being overwhelmingly gourmand to me, the way vanilla sky from skylar is to my nose. might be my go to for the rest of winter

wait stop i need the full size this is like an earthy deep vanilla i don’t have anything like this and i’m so in love, smells like the burning candle on a vanilla birthday cake but with some earthiness from the resinous notes so yummy edit: 8 hours later after applying this morning I still smell it lord I need this

I tried a sample and sprayed it on the little card it on which it comes. A bit of it landed on my hand and I hated it. The initial spray was nasty, but then it turned delicious! This became one of my favorite Ellis Brooklyn fragrances! It's a balsamic vanilla milk. 😋

Smells like yummy sweet vanilla milk with like cinnamon and nutmeg ! It’s creamy and delicious ! I don’t know what everyone else is picking up from this, but I don’t get any baby vomit. Just creamy, comforting sweet milky goodness ! It’s a love

Not a fan of the floral opening, I think frangipani makes it smell a bit plasticky...but I just ADORE the heart and dry down. Smoky vanilla goodness, delicious, understated, sweet. Two thumbs up. I just wish it lasted longer.

Great everyday vanilla! Strong enough that I smell it on myself throughout the day but not obnoxious. Strong sandalwood opening, but gets milkier with drydown and by the end of the day I just smell a simple vanilla.

am i the only one who likes this? it's just comforting, and when i keep catching whiffs of it on myself i think vanilla milkshake, with just a hint of smokiness that keeps it from being juvenile.

This scent is not for everyone, but if you're into really sweet scents and are a vanilla girly like me I think you'll love it! This brand is underrated!!

This is one of my most favourite vanilla fragrances. The vanilla combined with the milk and that smokiness, is absolutely intoxicating to me.

To me this smells like a smoky Vanilla Sex, which I love actually. Very comforting and sexy.

Sweet, lactonic, creamy, vanilla, powdery, woody, warm spicy, amber, balsamic, cacao, musky, feminine, sensual, inviting, cozy, comforting This is a very milky and creamy vanilla milk intertwined with woody base notes like creamy sandalwood and balsamic amyris, as well as some soft musk. I really don’t get any of the floral notes. Vanilla Milk reads like a glass of milk with vanilla extract mixed in. Overall, this is the most lactonic fragrance that I’ve tried so far, and I do own a few of them. I can understand why some people get a “spoiled milk” scent because this is a very milky scent. It comes across as a vanilla and woody milk. I definitely don’t get anything spoiled smelling, but the milk is the prominent scent. I’ve never got anything that comes across as “burnt plastic” either. In comparison to the new Vanilla Salt, I personally enjoy it a lot more. Vanilla Salt isn’t strongly lactonic, but just has an airy whipped cream note, and it’s less woody. It’s also sweeter, much more aquatic/marine, and with a salty twist. As for the “reminds me” section, I do see a lot of similarities to Replica Afternoon Delight, Commodity Milk, and Philosophy Fresh Cream. They’re all very lactonic fragrances I bought a set of mini bottles a couple years ago to try some of the Ellis Brooklyn fragrances. I feel like that’s a great way to try out new fragrances, otherwise I wouldn’t consider this to be a safe blind buy unless you’re hugely into lactonic fragrances. This was one of the ones I got in the set along with Salt, Myth, and Sun Fruit. I wasn’t overly impressed with any of them, and actually disliked Sun Fruit. I also have Bee, and I do like that one, but I think it’s unique, and not something I’d wear regularly. However, I really enjoy the more recent releases like their mists in Marshmallows, Sand, and Vanilla Sin. As for the perfumes, I’m really loving Miami Nectar, Vanilla Salt, and Queen’s Caramel. For reference, some of my favorites include Kayali Yum Boujee Marshmallow, Vanilla 28, The Wedding Silk Santal, Vanilla Candy Rock Sugar, Yum Pistachio Gelato, GdT Celeste, Bianco Latte, Kilian LDBS, Princess, PdM Oriana, Gucci Flora Gorgeous Orchid, Burberry Goddess, The 7 Virtues Vanilla Woods, Selena Gomez Rare, YSL Black Opium Le Parfum, Black Opium Glitter, D&G The One Desire, Phlur Heavy Cream, Cashmere Skin, Vanilla Nectar, SdJ Summer è Amor, 62, 39, VS Vanilla Lace, BBW Beach Nights, Boardwalk Marshmallow Clouds, Whipped Honey & Vanilla, Fireside Flurries, Bonfire Bash

Very odd. On my skin, the scent see-saws between good and weird for a while, before it finally lands on good in the drydown. The scent story is crazy, and the progression feels like we're following vanilla (the protagonist) in its battle against everything else. Vanilla Milk opens up with melted plastic (think melting a cigarette cellophane with a lighter), freshly inked newspaper, vanilla extract, and sandalwood. I normally really like the plastic accord and the saccharine sweetness it gives to a scent. But in this one, the plastic isn't sweet -- It's ozonic and chemical-y. However, it only lasts for about 20 min before it is overrun and taken out by vanilla & sandalwood. Once the battle between plastic/newspaper vs vanilla/sandalwood has finished, we go into the final match, where it's vanilla vs sandalwood... and they end up in a deadlock. In the end, for me, vanilla is the final victor, but it takes like almost a whole day to get there. I actually really like the vanilla in this, but it's hardly ever by itself. And if you are like me and get pickles from sandalwood, I would take caution with this one. The sandalwood here is strong, stays a while, and can be pickley. I believe this is where ppl are getting a sour note from. Performance-wise, this is great. It starts off rather faint, but it really unfolds and intensifies in the following 1-2 hrs (performance of aroma chemicals). Ultimately, it lasts for a whole day on skin and until the wash for clothes. I'd say for 85% of the time, it's really nice.

Interesting fragrance that has a very subtle but unique evolution on my skin. Every time I've tried it, the open starts with beautiful soft lactonic vanilla with hints of cocoa. The first time I tried it, it kept the vanilla throughout, but something kind of synthetic came out which initially made this a "meh". Perhaps the florals? I did have a sample of something else sprayed on the back of my other hand so perhaps the scents were overlapping each other or accentuating aspects. Last night though I put this on before bed, and I think this would make a great bedtime scent. When I woke up this morning it smelled like cereal marshmallows, like waking up to a sweet breakfast pastry/cereal! Since it smelled so good, I gave it another day time try. I'm glad I gave it a second shot! This time I'm getting a sweet creamy toffee like scent, but not at all cloying. The musk gives it a gentle underlying freshness. Someone else likened it to deodorant, and it does remind me of 90s Secret deodorant, but only in intermittent whispers and I liked that scent anyway. Sandalwood can be very hit or miss for me, and thankfully it shows up more as warm & resinous probably due to the benzoin & amyris (though I did have a tiny little whiff of the sharp, dusty & woody aspect peek through occasionally in the first hour). Someone below compared it to MM Afternoon Delight but milkier and I can totally see that, plus it's easier on the sandalwood than Afternoon Delight too which is a win in my book.

A soggy cereal serenade - Vanilla Milk by Ellis Brooklyn - Reviewed 09/14/24 As someone who is always on the hunt for a scent that will make me smell like I've bathed in cream and sugar, I have been privy to experiencing many different scents of perfume with lactonic notes. This perfume took me weeks of testing routinely to figure out if I truly liked it, or if I was sickened by what my senses were experiencing. As the name suggests this is truly milky perfume, its undertones are creamy as desired with that vanilla-bourbon finish, drying sweet but warm as if you'd left a bowl of cereal out overnight on your countertop. Straight from the bottle is when it's in its most pure form, but what I've experienced once it's on my skin is a development that can only be described as body odor that is noticeable to those around me. To test waters, I had many of my friends and family smell this, much to dismay of everyone whom I had asked. Not one person thought this fragrance becoming in any form, with words such as 'rotting milk' and faces that twisted into a grimace when there were no words to mutter. Luckily the scent is quick to fade, and it is not terribly affordable when compared to better options with similar notes, especially from a brand that has different scents to offer. And yet despite it all, I find myself smelling this often. As if addicted to its strange existence.

It's a YES for me! This transformed for me in cooler, spring-like weather. Immediately after spraying, I get milk, something resinous, earthy and sweet, and the vanilla. As the fragrance comes together more, I also get the frangipani and some florals...I can't say which floral I'm getting exactly - but it comes off as rich and sweet. With that, I will add that the juice is still light, but it has presence, and it's not fleeting. Drying down feels the same, the peony becomes lightly recognizable. I definitely get some sort of cocoa but it isn't taking over or weighing things down. It's actually helping the milk note to "stand." As it dries down further, the creamy sandalwood comes out, there is a light muskiness, and the fragrance is solid. It's present, but it's also light at the same time. All said and done, this gives me a sweet and light, vanilla, creamy - lactonic fragrance. Picture a warm cup of milk that you've dunked a few cookies in, and the cookies have left a bit of sweetness to the milk. And as you dunk your cookies, your wrist hits the brim of the cup, and the dried down, floral perfume you're wearing is leaving light traces of itself, on the cup, every time your wrist comes in contact w/ it. You pick up the cup to sip your milk - and bam! The milk, the sweetness, the florals - that's what this gives me in cooler weather.

I don't get why so much hate :D I am into lactonic perfumes and was looking for something smelling like sweet, vanilla milk and found it. It's time to be frank with ourselves and admit that lactonic perfumes can be either very realistic milk (not sweet and somewhat more sour), very synthetic (Plus Plus Feminine by Diesel), smelling like clean genitals or sweet and maybe a bit smokey milk like this one (for me very similar to Molton Brown's Milk Musk but with stronger longevity) - I can get that there is some dirt/disbalance in it. I smelled it upon initial spray but now I do not mind it much. It's more linear but reminds me of a warm milk with hint of vanilla pod (which can actually smell pretty nasty if you put your nose to close to it). Overall, buy smaller version if you love milky sweet scents and play with layering (reminds me a tiny bit of Prada's Infusion de Vanille minus the florals and plus the milk)

I don't know if anyone else has made this comparison yet, but this has similar base notes to Apres from the same house. It's like they took some sort of base they were adding to that perfume and then loaded it with some vanilla notes. I really like this one, and wouldn't mind having a travel spray, though I don't think I need to own the full bottle. It's actually really pretty and not a run of the mill generic vanilla scent. I just noticed that the dislike and hate bars are almost as full as the love and like. I'm honestly stunned by this. I thought it was more unique sure but not polarizing. Apres really doesn't work for my skin yet it gets rave reviews. Maybe there's something to this one that doesn't agree with others but for me it's a creamy woodsy vanilla with a twist from the lactonic notes. As it dries down I begin to get some musk. I'm actually talking myself back into another bottle.

(trial split) I'm afraid this one is a no for me, as it caused a migraine and skin reaction, needing to be washed off after two hours. The fragrance is hauntingly rich. The vanilla, sandalwood, and musk are the strongest, and it is definitely lactonic, but doesn't quite smell like milk to me. I smell the burnt rubber smell mentioned by so many others, but on my skin, the other fragrances are stronger. It's not strictly a masculine fragrance, but IS less feminine than I tend to prefer... perhaps it's a true neutral? It makes me think of bonfires and marshmallows in a remote forest. You can smell the trees, the sweetness, the smoke from the fire, perhaps that odd smell comes from the Jeep parked nearby... if it didn't make me ill, I would consider this one as it's such a unique gourmand!

Bought this as a sample because I was a bit nervous about how strong the lactonic accord would be (I love a vanilla gourmand but heavily lactonic scent like Philosophy's Fresh Cream smells like old room-temperature cereal milk on me.) It smells great! The sweet and creamy notes are balanced well with the woodiness of the cacao and vanilla pods. No stale milk here! It smells like if you were to prepare the ingredients for a delicious vanilla hot cocoa yourself in a mortar and pestle, with just a whiff from some cut peonies in a vase on the counter. If you're not a fan of powdery white florals (I'm usually not!), they disappear pretty quickly and don't stick around for the heart or dry-down.

I'm so surprised by all the people who hate this perfume. I guess I'm not getting all of the nasty notes that other people are getting. On my skin, there is an initial blast of vanilla with something ( I assume the florals) that smells a bit lemony or sour-ish, but that only lasts for about a minute. Then it starts to turn into a pure lactonic vanilla and smells almost identical to Bianco Latte which is a fragrance that people generally love. To me, these are so similar that I wouldn't even need to own both. This one has also lasted several hours on me and I keep getting whiffs of it in the air. I really enjoy this one, if I'm looking for a simple creamy vanilla milkshake type scent.

This is a sweet, lactonic, woody vanilla floral. Opens as a very sweet vanilla custard. Goes a little smokey and woody in the heart for a few mins which is really nice. Dries down into a slightly woody, vanilla custard. It’s like wearing a gentler Vanilla Skin while stirring a pot of vanilla bean custard. It’s a little bit tart or sour when I bring my nose close to my skin, but not at arms distance. The scent bubble is very soothing, comforting and cozy. It’s not a scent profile I would usually wear or reach for, but I’m going to pop the sample over to my newly established bedtime scents tray.

A sweet, creamy, lactonic vanilla that’s slightly powdery, woody, and floral. The closest thing I can compare it to would be either a vanilla milkshake, or a glass of milk with some vanilla extract added. This is the most lactonic fragrance that I own. Some of the others that I own and love include Philosophy Fresh Cream, Philosophy Fresh Cream Warm Cashmere, and VS Tease Creme Cloud. I typically get great longevity with my fragrances, and Vanilla Milk is no exception... it lasts all day on me. It projects nicely too, it radiates out about an arm’s length from me.

Smells exactly like vanilla extract. By itself it can be cloying even in cold weather but it is perfect for layering. It gives whatever you layer it with this extra rich vanilla smell that lasts all day. I also love to use it on fresh laundry, the vanilla extract smell lasts a couple days then it diffuses into a nice vanilla clean linen scent. This scent is perfect if your skin projects musk heavily, it’s sweet enough that it doesn’t turn to straight musk on my skin.

This evokes a scent memory that I couldn’t place - in fact it has been driving me mad trying to figure out where I’ve smelled this before. In the 80s, there were these little lip balms in a tin called Lip Lickers - this perfume smells just like the vanilla Lip Licker! Sort of a vanilla and burnt sugar, slightly woody fragrance. Our version of “Sephora Kids” back then was collecting all of these little lip balms.

I think I like it,...? It’s interesting. I know this doesn’t exactly align with the notes, but I’m getting a warm floral honeyed milk with a light dusting of a warm spice/very lightly sweet Smokey element, and a balmy, beeswaxy feel - not a dupe, but for some reason I’m getting a similar vibe to a lira or empire victor if you’re familiar, but add a touch of a honeyed/waxy feel.