JD Vanille Farfelue

@LoungeHound has it totally right! Sexy, Seductive yet soothing and still stimulating at the same time. I was going to blind buy this but the comparisons to #5 scared me so I ordered a sample along w/ a sample of their Rugier de Gardenia (not available yet in a full-size bottle only samples) I am one of those #5 haters, sorry Chanel fans but I can't stand the stuff. Vanille Farfelue is pillow soft aldehydes on a soft feathered bed of vanilla and yellow floral and violet/rose powder. Vanille Farfelue dances on your skin and leaves a velvety delicious trail throughout the room. 1000 times better than TF Metallic (that is banana/vanilla custard gourmand) while nice isn't very sophisticated. Vanille Farfelue pays homage to vintage greats from the past while being very wearable for the 21st century. If you lament the fact that new releases from major designer houses are dull. If you lament that while many niche houses have nice, vintage style perfumes but they are out of your price range give JD Jeffery Dame's Woman and Femme lines a try. I have been majorly impressed w/ the quality, value for money, and vintage style of these beautiful perfumes. Sampling the new Rugir de gardenia right now. They only have samples available right now. Rugir de Gardenia is a very lactonic and milky gardenia tickled by strawberries. Slightly green as well. The strawberry comes in and out almost in a playful way. The coconut here is not overdone but this is a summery tropical gardenia. Ylang is coming through in the heart adding a slight banana custard cream but not in a gourmand way. Tolu balsam is giving a slight balsamic quality and woody sweetness. This is a delicious tropical gardenia but not in a sunscreen way at all. Nothing sunscreen here. Just delicious, tropical florals and fruits in the air on a summer resort vacation. I need full bottles of both of these. Damn, this house is so good!

Oh, my. What a beautiful surprise! I agree with the reviewer below that this is a mature fragrance, likely to disappoint those looking for a modern vanilla. It is NOT that - in fact, the vanilla is incredibly faint on my skin. What DO I smell? The opening is a perfect, timeless aldehydic fragrance. Womanly, warm, mature, sparkling, elegant. It smells vaguely of old- fashioned bubble bath (complete with All the Bubbles!), triple milled soap, Chanel no 5, L'aimant, and every other aldehydic fragrance I've ever had. It smells boudoir, powdery, vintage. Yes, aldehydes are responsible for the similarities, but I also thought that IRIS was here as well. Not so, if we go by these notes alone. Violet is here instead, and what a lovely violet she is! Powder arises in spades after the first half hour, and with it a nostalgia for those who love powdery, boudoir fragrances. Dry down is softer and cozy. Here I am somewhat reminded of Ciel, that best-budget scent for powder lovers, smelling anything but cheap. The talcum note is lovely and classic, redolent of many a drugstore classic or legendary, discontinued Patou. In fact, the aroma chemical 'coumarin' seems responsible for both that Patou flair and also the longevity here. Beware if you hate aldehydes and powder. Beware also if you find them addictive..... ;) Repeat: What a vintage style treat! <3

This reminds me of a more modern version of vintage Chanel No 22 EDT (they have 6 notes in common). That is what I immediately thought of when I first tested Vanille Farfelue on my skin. Doing a side-by-side comparison, my vintage 22 EDT is a spicier, "dirtier" and deeper, while Vanille Farfelue is breezy, summery if you will. Violet and lily of the valley whisper in the background and the aldehydes and vanilla gently sing the melody together. Good job, JD! I like it. By the way, I think you will have to really enjoy aldehydes to appreciate this one. I love my Chanel No 22 EDT, and White Diamonds (my signature, so I am biased!). I have sampled Chanel N°5 Eau Premiere several times and Vanilla Farfelue and Chanel N°5 Eau Premiere could be cousins. I also appreciate Chanel No 5 and White Linen although I do not have them in my collection currently, but I have enjoyed wearing them in the past. That being said, if you really like the perfumes I have mentioned, you should enjoy Vanille Farfelue. I also noticed that when I put it on my skin, it seemed to have a high concentration of oils and almost feels like a light body oil upon application (which I like).

An incredible blend of aldlehydes and vanilla. I'm not normally much of a fan of aldehydes but as soon as I tried this, I loved it. While I usually try fragrances several times before fully making up my mind, this was love at first sniff. If you are wanting or expecting a more traditional bakery-type sweet vanilla (don't get me wrong - I love those kinds of vanillas), you won't find it here. However, if you are looking for something different, an interesting juxtaposition, you will find it here. I find the scent fairly linear (the scent doesn't change much over time), but I'm happy about that because then I get to keep smelling a luxuriously bubbly, elegant scent for hours. This smells much more expensive than it is. It smells rich - not in a heavy or thick way, but in the sense that it brings to mind someone who has great taste and appreciates quality. I'm truly delighted with Vanille Farfelue. Also, I agree with a lot of reviewers below - I tried my hardest to love #5 but just never managed it. However, I would say that this is what I wanted #5 to be.

ALDEHYDES (yes, caps on purpose), vanilla, and rose. The aldehydes really hang in there, and since I love aldehydes, I love this about it. Feels vintage and American, like something from Estée Lauder’s 80s perfumes done modern, and I mean that as a compliment. Love Chanel’s use of aldehydes, too, but EL could really rock them back in the day. I’ve found that my body temp is often a hair too low to allow Hugh Spencer’s creations to bloom (in conjunction with living where I do, in the northeast), and that they fall a bit flat on me unless I wear them for a workout, near a fireplace, during a hot flash (lol) and so on, but this doesn’t suffer that fate. I also feel like aldehyde-lovers could easily own this, C 22, White Linen, and Metallique without it being overkill (for perfume maximalists, at least). I have the first three and will likely grab Metallique at some point. I don’t find them redundant, but then, I have an obsession with aldehydes and an over-sensitive nose.

An airy, non-sweet, grown-up vanilla wonderfully blended with lovely florals. The ylang and aldehydes might bring to mind No. 5 for some, but this creation deserves recognition for being a great fragrance in its own right. I've had this fragrance for several years now and love wearing it in fall and winter, but it really can be worn all year as it is not heavy thanks to the aldehydes which keeps this scent airy and light. Up to the time I had received this, I had sworn off most vanilla scents as I found too many of them oppressively heavy and sweet, but I am so glad I took the chance on this. Thanks to perfumer Hugh Spencer, he showed that there is more than one way to use vanilla beyond the sweet tooth variety. I'm happy to see that other perfumers have since followed suit. If you want a different spin on a vanilla scent, that's versatile and wears beautifully too, it's hard to do better than this. I highly recommend.

Vanille Farfelue isn't No. 5 at all, and I do adore No. 5. This is totally its own thing! I just love it. Thumbs up to the last several reviews - they've said it all. Reminds me of the scent of a baby doll - not baby POWDER, but the kind of spicy / sweet / soothing scent from a 70's or 80's baby doll. I hope some of you know what I mean? 😋 Anywho, I don't really like vanilla scents, and this isn't something I would have purchased based solely on the name / notes. I would've thought it would be super sweet and sticky smelling. I received it as a freebie in a trade, and immediately fell in love with this fragrance. My favorite time to wear it is fresh out of the shower in the evening before cozying up. Perfect for chilly nights, and I've been complimented in the day time at the office more than once. And, that price point is awesome for such great quality! Will definitely purchase more when I run out. Thank you JD! 💙

This scent is a beautiful classic aldehydic floral, even though it is a newer release. You would think it was created in the 1950's, not in 2019. Even though the vanilla is prominent, this is not a vanilla perfume. The ylang ylang is the most prominent note upon first spray, very much like the ylang in the Cosmair version of Arpege. It dried down on my skin very much like a cross between Coty L'aimant and Arpege, with more powdery violet notes and a bit of dryness, probably coming from the vetiver. I reviewed this a few years ago from a sample I received, and it wore more like Chanel No 22 EDP on me then. I have a full bottle that is a few years old now, so perhaps it wears differently on me now since all of the notes have macerated a bit. It is lovely!

I was too quick to review this earlier this month after just one day of testing... again. Although I still do not care for the aldehyde bomb opening, this perfume has captured my senses, and it quickly became a must have for me. I recently ordered my full-bottle. I am living proof, that if you absolutely detest this note, you can still fall madly in love with this gem. The opening does not last long and, and the most exquisite blend of florals, sandalwood, and vanilla quickly follows, and keeps me in olfactory cloud 9 for the rest of the day. Yes, it lasts, and lasts, and lasts. All day and into the next. The price is extremely affordable for such exquisite creation. Exquisite, quality perfume at a great price. Well done.

This is a great aldehydic floral. I think those who already love aldehydes a la Chanel no 5, Guerlain's Liu, Arpege, and their ilk will find this is a lovely ode to that genre of scent. That said, after the initial aldehyde fireworks here, it lands on a bed of soft and cuddly vanilla. It's not listed in the notes, but the combination of rose, ylang, and eugenol gives a carnation vibe as well. In that way, it reminds me of Guerlain's Metalys/Metallica, the ultimate aldehydic vanilla/carnation. I think those for whom the sharp, angular no 5 doesn't work might be well-served by trying Vanille Farfelue!

This is definitely NOT Chanel No 5. Which I like, but don't own because I just wouldn't wear it. This lacks the sharpness of that venerable fragrance. It is bright, light, and fizzy from those aldehydes but it is also creamy, warm, and softly floral. There are no sharp edges, no hard lines. I find this lovely and easy to wear. Like all of this line there is complexity here I don't find with most modern fragrances but blended so expertly that I'd be hard pressed to pick out individual notes. Instead there is just a symphony playing together, a lovely experience to enjoy.

How lovely! Jeffrey sent me a sample bottle (oil based) out of the blue, for free. Dabbed it on and I can indeed see the nod to No 5. Definitely vanilla, I get a load of powder (but oddly I don't hate that). It is cozy, a little grown up, not foody at all. Will update after more wear but I quite like it so far.

I am loving this. It opens like AA Ylang-Vanille with the ylang-ylang blasting. It felt very modern, niche, sophisticated, but as it dries it does begin to resemble the mystery of L'Heure Bleue, with the powdery scents coming to the forefront. A delightful changeling.

I'd love another bottle of this if anyone would like to trade! 😊

Because I respect JD so much, and adore Duality, I purchased this blindly do to a lack of vanilla based scents in my collection. This is so different than what I expected, but I love it nonetheless. It gets a bit redundant reading over and over how a perfume smells like Chanel No. 5, though I completely understand why people will have different experiences. But this one is MY Chanel No. 5 comparison, the older EDT version, and of course, different enough in it's own right. I expected a more potent vanilla, but this is a vanilla aerated by aldehydes and filtered through pretty florals. I've become a big fan of Mr. Dame who seems to an ace at helping to create niche perfumes for a fraction of the price one would normally spend. Above average longevity with very decent sillage. While I will wear this over the next few weeks of cooling spring weather, I feel certain it will shine best in the autumn, perhaps winter. EDIT 10/27/22 - now that I've had this for a while, I'm not sure why this reminded me of #5. They no longer smell similar at all to me!!

This reminded me of multiple scents rolled into one I got original dolce pour femme (red cap) with a little eternity, Organza, and a bit of No. 5 I say if you like any of those classic scents you’d probably like this, Jeffreys creations like I said before have a vintage yet moderness quality to them. This isn’t super vanilla-y but it’s there more so in the dry down. I passed my sample onto my boss who likes “old lady” smells being a lover of DG pour femme she took a quick liking to it.

Oh you quirky thing.... Ive tried this twice and you do get a blast of aldehydes. So if you hate aldehydes...you dont have any business on this page. Lily of the vally and ylang peek thru subtly thru the aldehyde take off into the stratosphere. A unique spicy vanillic tone takes over which is truly lovely. Sandalwood and vetiver add texture. It put a smile on my face. A fun ride. Longevity and sillage about average in my wearing. Layers well with Duality from the line

I got a sample via Beth here on Fragrantica. Isn't she amazing? 🙂 I got immediate association to No. 5 too. Aldehydes are quite something here. Vanilla is beautiful and combined with ylang it creates lovely, creamy touch. I love to put a bit on my wrist before sleep, it's very soothing and luxurious feeling at the same time. 7/10

JD came out before Metallique. JD is more fresh, floral and charming than Metallique. The idea went 2 separate ways. Metallique reads as a skin like vanilla musk that stays fairly linear. VF has more life, brightness, and evolution. I like them both but VF is more dynamic than the sleek metallique.

A bouquet of balloons of aldehydes anchored down by a soft vanilla. On me this reads very clean. I'm sampling today in 95 degree heat and the aldehydes are like tiny explosions dancing and popping off my skin to reveal the vanillic base between pops. I think I need a full bottle.