Vamp à NY

Very vanilla powder/boozy, very earthy mixed with some rock n' roll. Visited the 5th ave Henri Bendel after work today and spritzed my wrist with this one. When I had my friend smell it on my wrist a few hours later she exclaimed "It smells like cherries and vanilla!" and I think she was right. It's got a sweet, candyish scent to it. It immediately took me to St. Marks Place in downtown NYC. It smells exactly like SMP on a hot summer day and all the rock/grunge shops are burning their incense. It also smells EXACTLY like Lush cosmetics Silky Underwear Powder which I love and remember saying to myself years ago that I wished it came in a perfume. Guess I got my wish. Lasting power is insane. Sprayed it almost twenty four hours ago on my wrists and took a shower this morning....I can still smell it faintly when I sniff the wrists. That's pretty impressive but it makes sense as this is made from high concentrated oils/organic naturals and not synthetics which tend to have very short lasting times. Packaging is cute and I get since they're an organic company they made the packaging "green" but honestly....for the price I kind of wish the takeaway coffee cup that the bottle came in was plastic and the customer could reuse it as a to-go coffee cup every morning. THAT would be awesome. It's a chunk of change though - they only make it in one size: 50ml which is 1.7oz and it's $98. I can't imagine running into anyone who wears this as only a couple of retailers sell this and most of those retailers are in Europe. If you live in NYC you can pick it up at Henri Bendel's (not online but in-store) otherwise you might have to resort to the few online dealers that sell it and most of them have upped their price to around $118/bottle. Based on its expensive price tag and inconvenience of finding a way to actually buy it I would not recommend purchasing this on a whim or buying it blind because returning it would be a hassle. IMO this is either a love/hate perfume...it's pretty hard to be "eh" on this one. I'm in the love camp on this one.

My very favorite perfume EVER. Delicious, narcotic, buttery creamy BOOZY tuberose and vanilla. Very dark, vampy. It lives up to my expectation. I think this was built for my skin, because it performs the way others are saying they thought/wish it would perform. I, like others, get a loud, creamy tuberose. But it is blended very well with some very buttery vanilla, a strong and intoxicating rum note, a healthy dose of raw sex, and something that makes me positively woozy. Absolutely delicious. Perfect for anything nighttime, dark, deep red lipstick, sex, sexy. It could turn into a bubblegum note on the wrong skin. My ex thought it smelled like smarties candies...?🙄 My holy grail, forever my signature. I will never not have this, I will repurchase over and over again. Also, this lasts forever on me. I don't care what people are saying about "what a shame..." "natural perfumery..." "No lasting power..." NOT TRUE. This will last for a sweaty night on the town, through dinner and a ballet, and you'll wake up the next morning still smelling it in your hair and on your pillow. Delicious. Keeps its scent through the dry down very well, though it takes some twists and turns it never turns into a generic vanilla powder dry down. There is no downside. This is perfection. 10/10

I've always shied away from tuberose. It's always been 'tu' much for me...'tu' rubbery, 'tu' waxy, 'tu' 80s (the bad kind), 'tu' headache-inducing. But like a naughty, curious cat that keeps dipping its toes in the water, I find myself incredibly drawn-to and intrigued by this big, heavy white flower. I feel like it's my initiation perfume note - the one that I'm kinda scared of, but know I need to experience - if I want to graduate from novice to the next level of perfumista. So, imagine my utter surprise when I spritzed a bit of Vamp on my wrist, and found myself sniffing obsessively. God, I love it!!! Not 'appreciate' or 'respect' or any other pseudonym for 'I-hate-it-but-don't-want-to-come-out-and-say-it'. I really, really love it! It's so lush and succulent and wet. It's very different from Giacobetti's usual transparent creations - this is thick, oily and opulent. Mouth-watering creamy, buttery deliciousness in a bottle. It's gorgeous. Losing my tuberose virginity to this Vamp was not as painful as I feared. Now where are my pesky Fracas and Carnal Flower samples hiding?? I think I'm finally ready for these really big bad boys.

The first blast is divine, creamy/warm/boozy tuberose-vanilla combo goodness soon followed by a mouthwatering rum note. I am a sucker for tuberose in general and I tend to enjoy boozy perfumes, so my sympathies for this perfume were expected. After the first boozy hit I start to get something else - benzoin. It plays around adding a bit sharp edges to this composition, helping this to stay away from getting too sweet, even though I must say - THIS IS VERY SWEET. Benzoin also brings out the greenness in tuberose which is a good thing. After 20 minutes or so when it is even more settled it gets even more interesting for me - I can feel almost bitter note, must be rum settling down. I start to get the "vamp" part of the fragrance as this gets dark and sensual. I do not have any idea where I could wear this, as it is heady and might annoy people around, but this goes on my wishlist with no doubt. Even though this is pricey (+/- 80 EUR for 50ml from the official retailer) it is worth every penny in my opinion, a very unique take on tuberose.

One quirky tuberose suitable for Giacobetti fans and oldfashioned tuberose haters. Three-phase development: 1.boozy2.waxy3.vanillic/balsamic sweet - none of which smells expected or predictable, hence it's very unusual fragrance just as every other Giacobetti creation. 1.Boozy opening is rather surprising and quickly moves to 2.a more interesting, waxy tuberose that instantly reminded me of Maitre Parfumeur et Gantier Tubereuse; vegetal and waxy, thick, dense, feels like biting into a tuberose candle, except it feels really pleasant, creamy and cozy. 3.Last phase is on the gourmand side, not too sweet, but with distinct vanilla and balsamic notes in the background - just as Madonna's Truth or Dare should smell like. Fun and easygoing.