Aqua Allegoria Ylang & Vanille

Very unusual for an Aqua Allegoria, this could be a standalone fragrance. I wish Guerlain made more of the collection like this instead of the endless lineup of light fruity florals and citruses, but I guess those also have their time and place. Ylang & Vanille starts out a little retro from today's point of view, it just smells like a 90s floral, a bit heavier than the typical recent summer scents and with a good dose of naturalistic, slightly indolic jasmin. It really reminds me of flowers in full bloom and their pollen in the air. I like it, but I also like that the fragrance doesn't stay like that forever and takes some turns. Unsurprisingly the eponymous vanilla and ylang ylang become the most dominant notes after a while, so this is a creamy, sweet, tropical scent. But there is also a surprise in the drydown: The carnation. I love, love, love this flower in real life, but in perfumes it's a little difficult. It often has a stuffy, dated vibe, or it just smells spicy like cloves and not very floral at all. But here it's done just right: Powdery, soft and slightly spiced, just like the small pink carnations I like to have on my balcony. Together with the jasmine and ylang ylang it forms a perfectly balanced floral bouquet that feels romantic, but also a little exotic. I think if you like the way carnation is done in L'Artisan Oeillet Sauvage, you might also like this. This is very suitable for summer and especially spring, but it doesn't need heat to unfold. It smells beautiful right now in February, too. Too bad this has gotten so rare. I'm glad I got to try it, but I don't even hope I will ever have a bottle.

When I first started to become preoccupied with perfume, I bought a bottle of ylang ylang essential oil, which I kept around for a few months before throwing in the trash (What was I thinking!?). Okay, what I was thinking was that everyone I lived with was grossed out by the potency of the oil, and if I spilled any, the whole house would stink for hours. Though I was aware that ylang is a very common ingredient in fragrances, I found myself asking how a perfume could feature this flower and still be well-balanced and beautiful. Several years later, the answed has arrived in the form of Ylang & Vanille. Thank you so much, Vie Cafe, for enabling me to sample this rarity. Ylang & Vanille is two tough mother flowers (ylang and carnation) forced to make nice together with vanilla/jasmine acting as the professional moderators. This fragrance is nothing short of a miracle, because of how beautifully all the elements get along. There is the sweet, bold ripeness of ylang, and the green almost peppery sharpness of carnation, wrapped gracefully into one bundle with a smooth, soft and slightly salty vanilla/jasmine (these two notes work as one entity for me here. I am not sure where the jasmine ends and vanilla begins). Longevity and projection are quite good. For me, Ylang & Vanilla is the olfactory equivalent of the Platonic form of YELLOW. The color of insanity, but also of imperial status, and of friendship.

If I had to live with three (lol, I couldn't do just one!) this would be one of them. I adore it. For me, it is exactly each of its notes, mixed to perfection. Ylang is so beautiful when done well. Of course, when it's not, it can be a disaster- too heavy and beyond cloying. It is not the case in Ylang and Vanille. It's heady but rich and interesting enough to make it one of the best blends I know. What makes it ultra special to me is how well it can be worn alone or blended with other scents, namely, other Guerlain AAs. I have two additional AAs that I layer with this: Nerolia Bianca and Lys Soleia. Divine. It's the only word I can use to express how I feel about these gorgeous scents worn together. Togigi, I sent a private message regarding your extra bottle and I'm holding my breath (well, not really, I'm sticking my nose on my wrist where I'm currently wearing Y&V with LS!) until I hear back from you with all my hopes set on you still having that extra bottle! Does anyone have any suggestions for something similar so I can go on living without this discontinued gem? ps, my other two, if I could only have three (I couldn't just leave you hanging, haha!) would be Lolita Lempicka Lolita Lempicka and either Nerolia Bianca or Lys Soleia. I'll decide before I leave my next feedback ;-)

I have a mini bottle of this, part of a set that also included Pamplelune. I just love it. There are quite a few AAs I would love to own - Jasminora and Lys Soleia most of all - and a full bottle of Ylang & Vanille ranks right up there. I can't quite put my finger on why I love this the way I do. The entire line is composed of simple, light EDTs, containing high quality, natural ingredients and I suppose I just enjoy the combination of the Guerlain vanila with such creamy ylang! The fact that they manage to take such heady notes and transform them into something light and sheer is noteworthy in my opinion. So I will continue to hunt this one down at a decent price, perhaps a partially used bottle. Not much of a review I suppose. More of a commentary on a line of fragrances that are often dismissed as inferior in the pantheon of so many great, classic Guerlain fragrances, but sometimes less is more. UPDATE - Just purchased an 85% full bottle for a very decent price. Very happy.

The greatest combo of wild ylang-ylang and clean vanilla. Ylang is really bold, sultry, almost dirty. In contrast, vanilla is very clean, sugarless, smells like wood powder. At first, I thought this is simple fragrance for casual use. But I was wrong. It's more than the simple name! It has depth and elegance in it. Imagine an exotic brunette lady in pearly white satin dress. That's it. I remember when the line of Aqua Allegoria was released, they had bath products. I purchased bath cream of Ylang & Vanille in a plastic bee bottle. It was glorious. By hot steam, the scent was gorgeously stood out. My bathroom became heaven! I miss it for long years. Well, I have gotten Ylang & Vanille in 1999. 18 years ago!? Oh my god...so fast. I have experienced many harsh things in my life, and my world was changed. But this little gem of Jean Paul Guerlain's creations kept its beauty. Amazing.