Vanilla & Anise

I absolutely adore vanilla & anise. I am quite a bit English, and when I wear this I feel more so. It's gorgeous, smooth, and dry. A semi-sweet vanilla with the anise that has a light, spicy, warm feel to it. I think there is something about the scent that smells like it has a hint of freshly grated ginger in it. I'm in love with the dash of cloves in here reminding me of my favorite hot drinks. There is a hint of a creamy white tuberose in here. I'm not a big tuberose person but it compliments the dry spicyness of the rest of the fragrance so well. If this scent were a day it would be Sunday. Relaxing but a little dressy. The kind of scent I imagined wearing while my mom carved a roasted chicken while my grandparents were over for our monthly Sunday dinner. If it were a time it would be two o'clock in the afternoon. Just when your eyes are getting a bit heavy, and all your hear is the clock ticking in the corner and the birds chirping faintly outside. When the afghan in the corner of the room starts to look inviting and you settle down with a cup of tea and a book.

I love the fennel opening of this scent, it gives the fragrance a lovely crisp herbaceous feel. The fennel opening gradually gives way to the vanilla mixed with spice. This is not a typical heavily gourmand vanilla, but a more cool and refined vanilla paired with spices. I find it interesting that the description here on Fragrantica mentions it is supposed to be a summer scent. I like wearing it year round as it seems to change on me depending on the weather. In the summer it is never too cloying or strong like some vanilla scents can be. And in the winter, it seems to get warmer and more spicy, perfect for cooler temperatures. A perfume worthy of a sniff and a place on my shelf because it is well executed and a different take on vanilla. It also plays well with others and layers beautifully. The longevity is excellent, at least 6-8 hours and it is a skin-scent, but still noticeable. It isn't a sillage monster, but for me, that is just fine.

Looks like I’m in the minority once again as I love a scent that people are beating into submission in the reviews lol. If you’re looking for a gourmand or rich boozy vanilla you will not find it here. This scent opens quite vegetal, the fennel and Anise are fully dominating the opening, making the first 10 mins rather gross tbh BUT hang in there mi gente because what unfolds is a fairly unique vanilla. The vanilla is not heavy or dense, nor is it edible or sweet in any way, it has the tiniest sprinkle of clove running underneath and some delicate powdery sweetened florals that are in perfect balance with the vanilla. I find it sensual, seductive but sophisticated. There’s also this underlying clean vibe, making it feel quite classy. I really like it and just purchased a full size bottle!

A delicate and refined vanilla that isn't sweet. Not sweet enough for me, but I admit my nose is altered from wearing only sweet vanilla perfumes. I purchased this the other day, and despite a few initial reservations, I'm glad I did. Despite the lack of vanilla absolute, the other major notes, like anise and fennel, scream european bakery, keeping it in the foody category. I got Hypnotic Poison the same day, and they're like the lady and the tramp. It depends on what image you want to project that day. If you like your vanilla foody and sweet, you may be disappointed, but if you want to dial it back a notch and a try a quieter scent that's still in the warm spicy vanilla category, this is a good choice. A refined and ladylike vanilla that doesn't scream, it purrs.

I have a TON of Jo Malone and this one is at the top of my favorites list. It’s very anise and not a sweet or cloying vanilla at all, which is part of the reason I like it so much. I can’t believe a vanilla could smell ‘fresh’ but the dominant anise makes it so. To me this is truly a unisex scent, totally genderless and because of a lack of advertising free of preconceptions. Discontinued, it’s come back at JM boutiques and Bloomingdales for limited runs. JM is big on ‘fragrance combining’ and this one has mixed well with any of the others I’ve worn it with (Nutmeg & Ginger or Redcurrant & Cream particularly). It’s also the JM scent I get the most compliments on. Sillage isn’t huge but those close can smell it and it does last a good 5-6 hours easily.

I like the star anise and fennel that I detect in the first 15 minutes or so, but when the perfume dries down, it's a really nice vanilla. I smell mostly vanilla and orchid, much like a very soft and subdued love child of Dior Addict and Gaultier Classique. I perceive a subtle powderiness that is really soft and comforting. If I was not pregnant and in need of soft fragrances with little sillage, I probably would not have bought this. I personally prefer big sillage, like Addict. ------------- Edit 9/16/2015: Since I had my baby, my chemistry and sense of scent has changed a bit. I now find the drydown to be strong enough for me as I actually have veered away from sillage monsters. This has polite sillage. I really adore the softly spiced vanilla!

I have been looking for a new summer scent that is derived from higher quality ingredients & doesn't smell of synthetics. Luckily, I stumbled onto Jo Malone's Vanilla & Anise! This is such a beautiful, light, & unique scent on me. Upon first spritz I am immediately delighted with a fresh, airy floral, with a brisk rush of Anise. I would say this scent wears fairly linear on me, which I am happy with, because the top notes are what I adore about it, the soft vanilla does chime in with in 15-20 minutes and mingles beautifully with all of the notes... Vanilla & Anise is a lovely summer fragrance that wafts on the air for hours, it's not overly sweet or cloying, just fresh beautiful & feminine, and my husband loves it on me!

I love this fragrance! It used to be my signature scent for many years until it got discontinued. I went on a hunt then and bought the last 3 bottles I could find in my city. I’m currently 3/4-way thru my 2nd to last bottle and was savoring it while i searched for a new signature. I know a lot of people don’t like this cologne but on me it was soft, warm and enveloping. I got a lot of compliments from both men and women; people would say I smell fresh, clean, sweet or best of all, like a clean baby LOL! I wish I could find the original formulation again. I know this has been brought back but to me, the one exclusively from Jo Malone’s website smells a little different. Not the same fragrance I have.

got a sample of this and decided to order a full bottle. I love this. It is simple, basic, and linear, yet it was love at first sniff. Vanilla & anise & a little clove..yep, that's it. I dont get any of the other notes. But what I get is enough to make me really love this scent. Unfortunately, it's gone after an hour and half...but so what..I'll just spray more. This is a nice vanilla, not strong, not cloying, not the oriental type. This perfume is warm, sorta sweet, and different (to me, at least). yummy vanilla, licorice-y and medicinal clove. never would've thought I'd like something with vanilla in it, but there ya go. I should be getting my full bottle in the mail tomorrow.

This is one of my very favorites. Warm, cuddly vanilla tamed by anise. The combo is different and wonderful. I find so many vanilla fragrances to be cloying, and it is difficult for me to find ones that work well with my skin. The anise in this makes it very wearable to me. The floral notes in the heart are to die for. Oh how I wish they lasted longer! Increasing the longevity of those heart notes would make this one perfection, but it's darn good as is. The drydown is in the name, and those notes do stick around, so really, the short-lived mid-notes are just a nice surprise, I suppose.

I was so intrigued by this unique vanilla that I purchased it from sampling once at the Jo Malone counter. Yet when I brought it home, I found the fennel in it a little offputting and too strong in the drydown. It made the vanilla seem stale. So I took someone's suggestion here from Fragrantica and layered it with some Jo Malone Grapefruit that I'd had for some time, and the two are definitely meant to layer together! It adds a freshness to the anise and fennel that brightens it. You could wear this combo very easily in summer and early fall, even spring. Very unisex and crisp.

SO far all other scents pale by comparison. I so much believe that a woman should and must find a SIGNATURE SCENT. THAT IS sooo difficult to find. I LOVE ANY FRAGRANCE THAT BEGINS WITH THE LETTER "P". but JO MALONE VANILLA & ANISE SMELLS SIMILAR TO a blue fragrance. it is my chosen signature because it is sophisticated modern, showing maturity without feeling aged and old. It clearly says "Hey I made you Look" people will look - saying "what is that" wow you are different I like that about you.

Like all Jo Malone, this was refreshingly different from the cloying mainstream alternatives. On me it is very spicy, the top notes dominate and never quite seem to fade and the tuberose is distinct. The vanilla is barely there until it begins to wear down and I actually layer this over vanilla body butter, as it softens the edge of the spices. Jo Malone does list this a a Spicy scent, and with how it smells and the notes I have no idea how this is classified as Floral Fruity Gourmand.

Love, love, love this scent. I will never tire of it. Mmmmmmmmm.....Jo Malone, I grok you. (Google "grok" if you need to. Heinlein.) I have other perfumes, and I wear them. But this one, I wear when I need to feel hugged and loved. I'm a very intuitive person (I've taken the Myers-Briggs personality test, and I skew far over on the intuitive side). I'm just intuitively in tune with this scent. It gives me what I need. I keep a sample-size spray in my bag. MMmmmmmm.... so good!!!

I love this. It is a clean scent. Like straight out of the shower and the soap scent is still lingering on your skin. It reminds me of a more wearable version of Replica Bubble Bath. To my nose RBB has a sharp and dominant floral note where this doesn't have that sharpness. It is a skin scent and even with 6 sprays I only get about 4 hours but it's going to be a great evening and bedtime scent for me.

I love this combined fragrance especially when my wife wears it. I find it irresistible and inviting. To me this is a distinctively feminine fragrance with a creamy sensuality, initially cool at first blush but quickly building to an inviting snuggly warmth that draws me close. Lightly enveloping but not clingy, and yet powerfully inviting. Way to go Celine!

I've had this perfume for a while and have loved it. I keep my bottles for a long time so maybe it's developed this with age or I've just noticed it more after wearing it long term, but I feel like a smell a hint of almost root beer! I love this scent and is set apart than other vanilla fragrances

A culinary combination of anise and clove with a pinch of ripe citrus hiding in the wings; but not stirring in a pot, instead something silky on the skin. Within 15 minutes, the gourmet vanilla joins the party with an amber finish for a very gourmand finale. Warm or cool weather, it works!

On my second bottle of Vanilla and Anise. I absolutely love the enveloping waft of fennel / anise and the vanilla gives it a comforting edge. One of my favourites from Jo Malone and it's great for combining, most lately been enjoying this worn together with Wood Sage and Sea Salt.

I love this fragrance. I've been looking for something similar to my Neal and Wolf shampoo and conditioner that has a lovely incense fragrance, and I think this is the nearest to it yet... though still searching for the perfect match.