Tihota

As a vanilla addict on the hunt for the "holy grail of vanillas", this is it. If you are reading this: You have found her! This might seem silly but even after having owned and smelled almost all of the most critically acclaimed vanilla fragrances (Vanilla 28, Gentle Fluidity Gold, Orchidee Vanille, Sucre Noir, Vaniglia, Dama Bianca, Lune Feline, Absolute Aphrodisiac, Sultan, Naxos, A Whiff of Wafflecone, Herod, Roses Vanille, Dark Vanilla, Royal Vanilla, Arabians Tonka, Ani, Nuit Et Confidences, Eau Duelle EDP & EDT, Mon Guerlain, Noir Exquis, Shalimar Souffle de Parfum, Fresh Cream Warm Cashmere, By the Fireplace, Whispers in the Library, Shalimar Cologne, Tobacco Vanille, etc etc) when I smelled EOS Vanilla Cashmere shea butter lotion I was like THIS IS THE BEST VANILLA I MUST HAVE THIS IN A PERFUME. Lol. None of the perfumes I've listed scratched that vanilla itch for me (although Kayali Vanilla 28 came the closest) but that dang EOS Vanilla Cashmere lotion did. So I set out on a mission to find an EDP that smells exactly like that lotion. My first discovery was that Bath and Body Works Vanilla Bean Noel smells identical to the EOS Vanilla Cashmere shea butter lotion. I was thrilled! The only problem was that upon the initial spray it had a mixture of super strong alcohol smells and a weird kind of spoiled milk smell (I got an older bottle off of ebay) but as soon as it settled it was perfect! My perfect vanilla! EOS Vanilla Cashmere in a bottle! Then, reality hit. 10 minutes after spraying Vanilla Bean Noel it was almost completely gone. It didn't even have a dry down! 20 minutes after the initial spray it completely disappeared. Womp womp. So I set out to find a parfum that smells identical but stronger with longevity. I had been eyeballing Tihota for like a year but after seeing reviews here say that it smelled like Vanilla Bean Noel I was like SCORE so as soon as Luckyscent restocked I sold three of my fragrances to get this one lol. Let me tell ya'll. It does not disappoint. It is like a super high quality perfect version of the smell I've been searching for! It's everything I've ever wanted in a perfume!! I can finally smell like a walking, talking human vanilla cake. I'm in heaven. Now I can literally bathe in this smell because I have the Vanilla Bean Noel body wash, the EOS Vanilla Cashmere lotion, and the VBN body spray for my clothes (it actually lasts days on clothing!). I feel like I've hit a crescendo in my fragrance fandom journey. 🥲 What do I even do now? At least I'll smell amazing in my "existscentual" crisis. Edit: This just keeps getting better. Wow. On a side note I've been able to also sample both Mazzolari Vaniglia and Arte Profumi Sucre Noir and they are nothing like Tihota. Don't believe the people saying they're similar; they're not. They don't hold a candle to the Queen. Much lighter, much different - not pure vanilla like Tihota. The Mazzolari Vaniglia smells almost identical to Van Cleef & Arpels Orchidee Vanille upon first spritz, and as it settles it smells of a sweet vanilla-flavored cotton candy. If you can imagine Orchidee Vanille without the chocolate note, with a spun sugar note instead? That's Mazzolari Vaniglia in a nutshell. It's very pleasant but nowhere near Tihota-level. The opening of Arte Profumi Sucre Noir initially smells almost identical to Kayali Vanilla 28 to my nose. The only difference I can detect is that it has less depth. If Vanilla 28 is Coca-Cola, then Sucre Noir is Diet Coke. That's not an insult, I prefer Diet Coke, lol. I actually like that Sucre Noir has such a similar vanilla orchid at it's base without the complexity of the Kayali. It's simple and sweet; it doesn't try to be more than a simple vanilla. In the dry downs Vaniglia and Sucre Noir start to smell very similar to one another. Their openings are very different but in their dry downs they become twin sisters with only minor discernible differences. As comparable as they are to each other, they are not at all similar to Tihota. So make sure you sample first and don't buy them assuming they're similar enough to scratch that vanilla holy grail itch while also saving you money. Vanilla Bean Noel is infinitely closer to Tihota, ironically; and you can snag it for about $15 on ebay. Edit #2: I just had the pleasure of sampling Jovoy's Fire At Will and OH. OH my HEART. It's almost a perfect clone of Tihota! Another reviewer put it best by saying that if Tihota smells like a vanilla made with white sugar, then Fire At Will smells like the same vanilla made with brown sugar instead! The mimosa adds a hint of honeyed floral to it which is subtle but gorgeous. This is the closest fragrance I've found to being able to compete with Tihota, and I'd say she's a really close runner-up (although upon further use I have to say that Tihota has better longevity). They're *super similar* but ever-so-slightly different enough that sadly I am also now completely obsessed with buying a full bottle of Fire At Will 🥲 Rest in pieces, my poor bank account. Yet another edit: You guys, Nemat's Vanilla Musk fragrance oil smells identical to Tihota. Probably even closer than Vanilla Bean Noel. If VBN is 99.5% similar to Tihota then Vanilla Musk is 99.9% similar! The only problem is the Nemat lacks sillage and potency. If barely projects past arm's length. You will still love the little scent cloud it envelopes you within, though! I also found something marvelous: when you use the Vanilla Musk oil first and then layer the Tihota over it, the oil extends the longevity of the Tihota by at least two hours! For me the oil only lasts 2-3 hours by itself and Tihota lasts a moderate 3-4, but when I layer them by applying the oil first and then spraying Tihota over it, I get a good 6 hours with slightly better projection than Tihota has by itself! I've been addicted to the combination! Anyhoo. I ordered Cocoapink's Tihota dupe so I will be reporting back to ya'll on that shortly. I would BATHE in Tihota if I could but it's sooo hecking expensive that I'm scouring ye olde interwebs for something that smells identical and forces everyone to smell me across the room. 👀 Final edit (I promise lol) on 01/01/2023: Cocoapink's "smell me across the room"-strength Tihota dupe is the best Tihota dupe on the market. 99.9% similiar in smell. I revisited Nemat Vanilla Musk after about a year and it no longer smells 99.9% similar to me, more like 95% similar now - I think my nose changed because now it smells kind of cheap. 😬 But Cocoapink's Tihota is by far the closest thing to identical to my nose; both last spring when I initially got it and again now after all this time has passed. The problem: the ingredients don't agree with my skin. I literally got chemical BURNS on my skin from only using it a few times. So now it's my "Tihota" fabric spray and the Queen remains the only one that gets to make contact with my skin. I have since "graduated" from being into gourmands and completely vanilla-obsessed to being all about the clean white musks and ambroxan bombs, so coming back to this review I can objectively still say my search for the Holy Grail of Vanilla Fragrances concluded with Tihota. She is Queen, period. I'm wearing her today for the first time in almost a year and enjoying every second. If you love vanilla, save up and start scouring the fb fragcomm groups to find someone who's selling a bottle. She's worth it.

To me Tihota represesents the equivalent in the vanilla family to a fresh (not indolic or more mysterious) Jasmin soliflower perfume. It is a sweet vanilla scent for the vanilla connaisseur who wants all the different forms of vanilla scents in their collection. Or who are searching for the purest form of sweet and refined vanilla. Because that is what Tihota is. A warm, almost butter-caramelised sweet vanilla belonging in the kitchen of an exclusive boulangerie. It is soft and refined and creamy. And not to sweet, and not too little sweet either, but “Lagom”, as in just the right amount of sweetness. To bring out the gourmand aspect of the vanilla pod. But without going into an area of synthetic vanilla extract or ambery undertones. To creat that is hard. I mean we all have a relationship to vanilla scents coming from the kitchen. And most vanilla extracts are quite sharp and unpleasent to stick your nose into. Or too sweet like vanilla sugar. But we all love the scent of vanilla from a pastry or a cake just coming out of the oven. That is the feel that Tihota awakens. It is therefore perhaps not the most exiting or mysterious vanilla perfume. Just as a sweet fresh dewy jasmin fragrance doesn’t remind much of its indolic and sexy night time full on carnal jasmine perfume sister. But as far as capturing the true most naturalistic refined vanilla - then this is about as good as it gets. If you however are looking for the whole herbal, earthy, vanilla pod experience - then this is not it. But if you are looking for something less synthetic or less in your face sweet or are tired of vanilla paired with burnt sugary amber accords. Then this is a gem. Especially since it also manages to balance on the right side of butteriness that often can be part of the experience. This is also void of any woody or ambery aspects whatsoever. And the musk is just warm and there to make the composition more smooth. Compared to other now popular vanilla scents this is somewhat similar to Fire at will from Jovoy. But Tihota is more refined, and less buttery. It is also much less buttery sugary than Bianco Latte (Giardini di Toscana). Comparing it to Jeroboams Insulo which is a much more ambery, burns sugar and darker vanilla scent the contrasts are sharp. The smoothness of Tihota almost makes Insulo seem harsh and synthetic leaning. Even though it is not. For people who are looking more for a sweet super gourmand vanilla, belonging in the ice cream parlour or the candy store. Or if you are looking for strong projecting vanilla scents. Then this will probably feel underwhelming. Instead this is for the vanilla connaisseur. The one looking for sweet vanilla done just right and where smoothness and warmth are what you look for. It is not a super projecting fragrance. It is a delicious skin scent for the people you want to draw close to you. Or the perfect mixing medium when you want to add some vanilla to another fragrance. It is totally unisex. Having said that there are more masculine leaning vanilla fragrances out there. (Insulo is a good example of another unisex vanilla scent leaning more masculine. And if you look at it from a femininity perspective you probably can’t get much closer than Tihota on a fictitious scale.

This is my final answer. This is all I needed. If I were to choose one perfume to use for the rest of my life, this is THE ONE. I don't even know where to begin... The note itself is quite simple, like some of the other comments mentioned, BUT the quality of the vanilla and the experience of how smooth and delightful it feels to my nose...is what I couldn't find in other perfumes. This simplicity, paired with such high quality, this luxurious yet cozy experience, makes me want to wear it even during summer. When I’m tired, I spray this. When I want to feel relaxed before bed, spray. When I need motivation, my hands automatically reach for it. Even though this is a vanilla scent, my nose never gets tired of it. There’s nothing that "ichs" or overwhelms your senses. It melts into my skin so naturally and just feels incredibly smooth. It feels very “me.” The vanilla smells rich, dark, and deep, like opening a bottle of real vanilla extract while baking in the kitchen (no sharpness). But there’s also this airy, light quality to it that makes the whole scent feel almost transparent. It is not the watery or marine kind of transparency, but more like a softness that makes you want to breathe it in deeply. It lifts the richness and makes it feel fluffy and elegant. When I wear this, it feels like I’m wrapped in my favorite cozy blanket, while the scent of vanilla from the kitchen fills the air. I also love layering it with other perfumes (I recently tried with Vietnamese Coffee from d’Annam!) to make the scent creamier or add just a touch of extra sweetness without making it cloying or interfering with other perfumes. This is my go-to. We are committed. I am basically married to this perfume!!

I sampled this and immediately knew I had to add it to my collection! It was the most delicious, realistic, straightforward vanilla fragrance I've smelled to date. It starts off smelling like the highest quality vanilla extract you can find, but gets more creamy, fluffy, and airy as it settles (almost marshmallowy imo). It's sweet but not toothachingly so, which I think is due to the musk. While it's not the most unique fragrance, it's my fave in terms of scent and quality of the scents I find it somewhat similar to (which are Nemat Vanilla Musk (less sweet and more musky), Delizia di Marshmallow (a bit synthetic and more "toasted"), Outremer Vanilla (more sugary and synthetic), and Solinotes Vanille (more sugary in a burnt sugar kinda way and synthetic)). My sample had amazing performance in terms of both projection and longevity (4 sprays and I could smell it wafting around me for hoursss). However, I did end up purchasing a full sized bottle and the scent isn't the rich, deep, delicious vanilla I got from the sample. I get about 4 hours of longevity, and projection is more close to skin, and this is with heavily overspraying. I did notice that the juice isn't as dark as the juice was in my sample, which leads me to believe that it needs some time to mature so I am going to allow it to sit and do just that for a bit in hopes of it becoming the deliciously amazing scent I experienced with my sample.

Mmmm, this one is POSITIVELY DELICIOUS! Fit for any vanilla fanatic. It's simple, but done well! There are two notes listed, vanilla & musk - and that's what you get: A rather musky vanilla (bean). The vanilla is less sweet, and more on the deep side - rich and gorgeous, leaning almost towards a caramel feel. It has a dry, chewy texture to it, so there is no toothache encounter here! Sometimes I feel like there's almost a slight nuttiness to this scent. Important note here on the projection & longevity of this scent - PHENOMENAL / NUCLEAR. This is one of those scents where people will smell you when you enter the room - In a good way. It turns your life into a cheesy musical, but instead of people popping out of sewer drains and corner stores to sing dorky lyrics with you, they're sniffing the air and wondering what smells like cookies. For 12+ hours. Is this worth 200 bucks for a 50ml bottle? Yes. If you've got the money, you won't be disappointed as a solid go-to, cozy fragrance. I was not surprised that Francis Kurkdjian was the nose behind this one - it's his signature of simple, outstanding luxury. I made the FB investment, and I haven't looked back since! No regrets to be had; I could sing the praises for this scent until the end of time! Next to my signature, it is easily my favorite fragrance. The amount of compliments you will draw wearing this... is astonishing.