Aqua Allegoria Forte Bosca Vanilla

I grew up on the California coast and this just smells like home to me. The eucalyptus, the solar and ozonic notes, the driftwood and musk grounding it. Smells like the sun warming your skin on a late August or September day in Pacific Grove. Even the immortelle, which isn't native to the region, can pass for the same green-sweet-spicy melange of chapparal plants you do encounter on a walk through the scrubland down to the beach. Many perfumes have been modeled on this particular ecosystem and environment but I've never smelled one that took me there so vividly as this. If it had just a touch of live oak or sage on the edges I'd call it the perfect fragrance for any displaced central coast folks, but as it is, it's still pretty damn close. This was also one of the two scents that made me realize I love immortelle, with Etat Libre d'Orange Like This (a blind buy I picked up because it was designed by my beloved Tilda Swinton) being the other - but while Like This conjures up sensory images of a stone house and garden kept by a cozy kitchen witch welcoming you inside on a chilly autumn day, Bosca Vanilla wants to stay out in the sun a while longer. Still, they wear as surprisingly similar scents on me, with Like This just pulling a tad more spicy and vegetal. Huge fan of both.

Bosca Vanilla by Guerlain is an amazing sweet, natural smelling, light, airy, ethereal almost, vanilla scent. The woody base of the scent gives Bosca Vanilla Forte substance to be a long lasting perfume while the aromatics, citruses and the solar notes make it perfectly suited for summertime wear. Has a bright, crisp opening from the combination of vanilla with bergamot, a slight aromatic nuance from the eucalyptus note and a creamy, doughy feel coming from the immortelle flower. Such a phenomenal mix of more unusual accords to blend with vanilla that create an exquisite, elegant and elevated smell. I own lots of vanilla centred perfumes, some heavier for colder weather, others lighter for hot weather but I honestly feel like Bosca Vanilla Forte really stands out from the rest! So happy to get a big bottle right on time for summer season. Longevity is good, it’s true to the Forte name, lasts around 7 hours but has a very soft projection. Compliment getter also.. Sampling this and seeing how gorgeous it is, it really makes me wonder how exceptional the expensive range of vanillas, from the L’Art & La Matiere line must be... Hope one day I get the chance to test both Angelique Noire and Spiritueuse Double Vanille! I bet it will be a feast for my nose...

I have DUA's impression of this called Sun-Kissed Vanilla and Driftwood. This is my review for the DUA impression. It is similar to Burberry Brit EDP - not the sharper EDT - but Sun-Kissed Vanilla Driftwood is fresher less spicy and more vanilla-infused, and minus the almond, but the rich vanilla adds enough depth to compensate for it. It reminds me of Brit due to its green and sour/sharp herbal notes - bergamot, eucalyptus, corresponding to the sharp and sour green lime-pear-peony of Brit. Its solar-warm salty woody aspect from the driftwood and immortelle is similar to the warm sugared solar salty pear and the mahogany of Brit. It is smoother than Brit, not as sharp since the pear-lime-sugar of that one can be too much and cause me nausea - unripe pear tends to be green, solar, salty, sour in perfumes. In the same league and more similar to Sun-Kissed Vanilla and Driftwood is Bombshell Paris which is also similar to Burberry Brit EDP, but again it is smoother than Brit and fresher, greener more aromatic from the cypress and oakmoss notes. Sun-kissed Vanilla and Driftwood is the one that has the most vanilla out of the three. DUA's lasting power is comparable to Brit EDP, so very good.

Bosca Vanilla Forte was my first Guerlain purchase and I knew I had to grab a bottle upon first sniff. I was in search of a non-gourmand vanilla fragrance and this one blew me away. It’s unique enough that you won’t smell too similar to anyone else (although I do find it shares a vibe with Gucci Gorgeous Orchid when the ozonic dry down kicks in), yet it’s elevated and refined. I wear this fragrance when I want to leave a positive and unforgettable impression. Very office/boss lady appropriate. One of my Guerlain Aqua Allegoria favs. For reference, I also own: Neroli Vetiver, Mandarine Basilic, Oud Yuzu, Florabloom, Rosa Rossa, Rosa Palissandro, Rosa Verde, Epices Exquises, a sample of Cuir Intense (will probably grab a full bottle), Santal Royale, and Samsara. All EDPs/Forte (aside from Rosa Verde) because I want longevity. For me, Guerlain has proved to be a solid house for what I’m looking for, but don’t get me wrong, I do own other houses, they just tend to be less easy grabs for the office. Fragrance is my aroma therapy and I adjust to my daily vibe, like my outfits. Chef’s kiss, Guerlain! 😘

Yessssss gurlain!!!! Thank you for creating this and i hope they dont discontinue this fragrance. Im laughing at all the egg notes. I get why they are saying it cause they are expecting a syropy vanilla. If you go to the supermarket and smell a vanilla stick you will see it doesnt smell sweet. It actually has a bitter quality to it and only when you pull it away from your nose can you hint that slightly sweet vanilla scent. Its not sickly sweetly but ever so slight sweet its more woody and bitter and this scent has this quality. Thank goodness for this scent cause we have thousands of sweet syropy vanilla scents and 1000s of smokey vanilla scents. The creator has g9ne as far as adding bergamot to intensify this bitterness making it a fresh vanilla scent. I absolutely adore it cause its so different from the masses of vanilla scents and only a house like gurlain could create something with so much quality and elegance. Once again this isnt a scent that shouts out here I am its a skin scent. I dare to wear it even if people confuse eggs with vanilla 😆😆😆