Île Bourbon

This fragrance is BEYOND wonderful and has instantly shot up to my pantheon of favourites of all time. It's warm, chocolatey, vanillic, deep, resinous and has all the elements I adore in a perfume. I can't get enough! I was so excited to receive my bottle mid-February - when this was a Xmas present and took FOREVER to arrive! The only thing with this fragrance is that it's quite hard to find and sells out quickly - not surprisingly. Even though few know about it and no one seems to be raving about it on YouTube. I really shouldn't be writing this review as I'm just setting up competition for my back up bottle. 🤣

Rich, thick, addictive chocolate vanilla combination. Quite close to althair (same parfumeur) although this one is a bit thicker and more chocolaty/incensy! Very long lasting and strong projection! If you like gourmands and are not afraid to make a statement, this might be just for you! Most definitely a parfume you should try on skin, that’s where the magic happens.

Delicious! A chocolatey version of Althaïr as they are made by same perfumer. They are noot similar but in same family. Love it. Spicy, dark chocolate scent. It's so sophisticated, advanced. Moderate longevity, projects around 3 hours than sits close to skin for few more hours. Most chocolate scents are not great in performance, so this one is acceptable.

It's sweet gourmand style but unique. The warm spicy nature is alluring, it's blended really well. To my trained nose, I detected cloves with cardamom instead of cinnamon+cardamom idk why. It's performance is excellent, on a cold day I could get a whiff of it even after 7hr, I sprayed 4 times. But I wouldn't buy a whole 100ml bottle. Overall 7.5/10

Love it. Similar to by the fire place, but I like Ile Bourbon better. It has more vanilla, cardamon and is more interesting overall. Soft and unisex. Great find for winter evenings. Longevity and projection could be better.

To me this is just a deeper and more praline like Althair, without the almost "curry rice" dry down the original DNA has. (which is surprising considering this also lists cardamom and doesn't list praline unlike the OG)

I don’t really feel the smokiness coming from this scent, it is straight up chocolate all the way through, which is not cloying neither too sweet, very enjoyable with moderate projection

Insanely addictive. This is one of my top 3 fragrances. Can't recommend enough (if you can get your hands on some, that is).

This is very addictive, warm and spicy perfume, perfect for evenings or colder weather. Feels elegant, smooth and rich.

This one reminds me of Vanille Supermassive Les EAUX Primordiales in the drydown.

I bought it from the Turkish distributor Uzay Exclusif. At the opening, there’s a short burst of intense bitter chocolate, spices, and alcohol. The chocolate is not photorealistic, so adjust your expectations accordingly. Especially in the opening, you can clearly feel the DNA of Althair. However, this one has a darker and warm blend. After a while, it gradually transitions into a more caramelized and creamy profile, accompanied by a slightly burnt and mystical incense rising from underneath. After about an hour, the caramel / burnt sugar note becomes dominant and takes control of the scent. The chocolate note almost completely fades into the background. In Turkey, we have a famous sweet snack called “pişmaniye” (similar to cotton candy), and at times the fragrance gives off a pişmaniye-like nuance. Warm spices such as clove and cinnamon are clearly noticeable. A burnt vanilin sits in the foreground, while cleaner notes subtly linger in the background, along with a very slight dirtiness — a faint, nose-tingling roughness. Yes, it feels more luxurious than Althair, but for male use, Althair is still clearly one step ahead in terms of mass appeal, and it’s much easier to wear. I liked it, but I wouldn’t recommend it as a blind buy, and I don’t find it suitable for daily wear. Also, for example, if you’re sensitive to sweet fragrances, someone who doesn’t enjoy scents like Black Phantom, Angels share, may not like this one either.(Actually, it’s not even a proper comparison — the sweetness level of Black Phantom is quite reasonable, whereas Île Bourbon is truly a sugar bomb) The projection is ehhh, moderate; in fact, after just about 2 hours, it stays close to the skin and doesn’t project much. As for longevity, on my skin it lasts around 8–10 hours. This fragrance needs cold weather; in fact, I might be exaggerating, but in temperatures above 20°C it can become quite overwhelming. 10/8

I'm going to try to make this short and effective. I am currently writing this in the evening. It is July and it has been averaging 105° in California this year. At least in the northern California Valley. For some reason, I have been craving a very particular vanilla. I've tried ILE BOURBON only once before. Around January. Surprisingly, I have the same reaction this evening as I did in the middle of winter. I like his fragrance, but I don't love it. This fragrance can sit right next to Cocoa KIMYA, which I actually prefer over this one. They are very similar. I just wore roasted vanilla from LOEWE in which I also preferred over this. I will say this is significantly better than a lot of vanilla and chocolate fragrances out here, my personal issue is that I have all of them. This is beautiful for someone trying to curate a collection. I highly recommend this. Yes there are fragrances out there that are slightly better. But this fragrance in particular is not bad by any means, and if you don't have something like this in your collection, I highly recommend you get it. I just personally think there are others that slightly edge this one out. But again, especially for the holidays, ILE BOURBON is a wonderful relief in a world of trash. A very good find.

This fragrance felt suffocating to me... I didn’t know where to escape. It opens with burnt sugar, followed by a citrusy brightness, only for the caramel density to keep building. It’s heavily spiced, with a sweet base that leans far more toward tonka than vanilla. Extremely dense and loud. Toward the drydown, I simply couldn’t take it anymore; it turned into a scrubber. Tag(s): loud, sugar bomb, burnt

heavily salted caramel vibes. it’s really bad

This is what the Cocoa Puffs mascot would wear if he had a Barney Stinson-esque, suit wearing glow up; or if he was a 1960's ad man competing with Sterling Cooper Draper Price for the Hershey's account. Pair this with a dark suit in winter, hit the Midtown or Lower Manhattan speakeasies for some late night brooding over a nice cocktail, and catch the coquettish, enthralled gazes from the female patrons as they grab a nearby bar seat and start speculating about what fragrance you're wearing. Verdict: 8.8/10

I sprayed this and immediately thought of Cocoa Pebbles, then read that someone below mentioned Cocoa Puffs, so I know now that I’m not crazy. This is a Cocoa Pebbles/Puffs version of By The Fireplace. which I love). Gosh this is addictive and potent. Don’t let the Cocoa Puff vibes sway you, this is sophisticated, like a coco musk that’s slightly spicy and amazing. It’s also very long lasting!

Everything everyone below me said is true. Rich, smooth, creamy, incense-ish, cozy, sexy, warm. Total hidden gem, I've never heard of this brand personally but this release has been really impressive and frankly gatekept. Can't wait to give it a spin in the colder weather. Edit: My new fragrance conspiracy theory is that Liquid Brun cloned this all along, and not althair.

This is a gem. Discovered it in Liberty London and had no idea it would be so good. Chocolatey, boozy, so addictive - sexy and cosy at the same time. Beautiful stuff, just got a full bottle to be a part of my small collection, cannot wait to start wearing it come autumn and winter.

Beautiful caramel and incense opening. The vanilla and cardamom are intense in the middle of the development and stay strong for a good time. The drydown is a little annoying. It becomes soapy and slightly cloying. Sample it first.