Benjoin Vanillee Parfum Extrait

I really love this. I have tons of Kyse samples as I order from them a lot. Tonight I decided to put on Benjoin Vanillee and I’m so glad I did! I’ve sniffed it before but this time I really let it have time to develop on my skin. Decided to look it up in Fragrantica and all of a sudden it hit me... this is a more feminine version of Givenchy Pi! Awesome! I’m so loving the smoky rich resinous vanilla that is enveloping my skin right now. I’d thought about trying to hunt down a vintage bottle of Pi, but with Benjoin Vanillee around why bother? This will be part of my next order for sure

I have had a hard time deciding whether I like Benjoin Vanillee - I've had my decant for about half a year, and depending on my mood or the weather or who knows what other circumstances I've sometimes loved it and sometimes bordered on acutely disliking it. It's definitely a hard scent to pin down, or even to describe: except for benzoin and vanilla, I can't even positively discern any of the listed notes. It's very sweet in a thick, dense, almost sticky way, super rich, which is reminiscent of the texture of liquid honey - but it doesn't exactly smell like honey. And I can't say I smell any plum, but there is a slightly jammy quality to it that I find very nice. And so on: I don't smell tonka or styrax or neroli, exactly, but with this heady concoction of a scent, who can tell! I got a sample of the body cream with last fall's sample order as well, and most of the time I think I'd prefer this one in that form: I loved wrapping myself in this scent after a shower and taking it to bed with me. As a perfume, I can only appreciate it on cold days, mostly in autumn, when I haven't had the chance to get tired of rich semi-gourmands for the season yet. This is a tendency I've been noticing more generally lately: I love (semi)gourmands and rich sweet scents in general, but I find myself wearing them relatively rarely - just a question of shifting preferences, I guess, and probably not that useful to mention in a review. When the mood does strike this can be utter perfection, though.

I acquired my sample of Benjoin Vanillee through a swap with another fragrantica member, and I feel neutral about it. Like all of the Kyse perfumes I have tried, it smells very natural but this one stays close—surprising me since it’s extrait strength and I assumed it would project. Benjoin Vanillee reminds me of a hobby store next to a bakery, and the smell of baked goods is mixing with the crafting supplies. Makes me think of the 1980s.

Something in here turns almost sour on my skin, it's sitting right on top which I think could mean it's the benzion. It really is an odd fragrance like other reviewers mention. There's some delicious vanilla hiding underneath the something earthy/mossy/sour/sharpness. Though it still remains completely smooth and the sharpness/sour smell doesn't offend my nose at all. It's like there's two scents in one vying for the attention to be noticed, benzoin and vanilla. It's not a mess at all, they sort of swirl together nicely. But it's definitely two distinct scents sitting next to each other waving to be smelled first.

The note list of Benjoin Vanillee consists of the eponymous benzoin and vanilla, as well as honey, neroli, plum, tonka, immortelle, and styrax. Fittingly, it’s floral and a bit sharp. On skin, it starts out very sharp, but only for a minute or two, before finding its balance, a sort of semi-animalic honey/benzoin combo with the sweet and floral blend of the immortelle and vanilla being the next noticeable element of it. Certainly not my usual preference of resinous fragrances, but I find it to be an interesting exploration of how benzoin can be combined effectively with particularly floral notes like the immortelle and styrax. It’s sweet and vaguely white floral but still kind of funky, too. Surely more fitting, at least on my skin, for cold weather wearing. While most Kyse creations are EDP strength, Benjoin Vanillee is an extrait/parfum (as is the later release, Bonbons a La Vanille), and the different in density is fairly obvious. It does not project loudly for more than a couple of hours, but that’s certainly sufficient, considering it feels pretty thick on the skin even if it does not boast huge projection, which is often the case with extrait-strength concoctions. I think that fans especially of the slightly animalic-leaning resins will enjoy this, considering that it’s also a little floral and a wee bit sharp, though I wouldn’t call it powdery. Given its higher concentration, it’s priced a bit higher than most of her other creations , at $100 for 50ml or $60 for 30ml, though a 100ml less-glitzy plain glass refill bottle is similarly priced at $120. The pricing and strength of the perfume is reasonable but it's just ever so slightly out of my wheelhouse as far as scent preference, though I could just as easily see someone preferring Benjoin Vanillee to a sweet resinous fragrance that I might prefer. 6 out of 10

I am generally a pushover for vanilla in perfume. However, in this case, there is something in it that hits me as sharp...almost wintergreen-like? Or slightly chemical? I am at a loss to describe what it is that is taking away from my enjoyment of it. Benzoin, maybe? I don't know what styrax smells like, either, so maybe that is it. I wanted very much to love this. Several of Terri's really grab me. The prominent vanilla may be enough to sway the vanilla die-hards toward this one, though. It's not bad at all, it's just not for me. Update: either my bottle has changed or I have, because today this smells quite lovey on me. I like it very much, and now I say that IS for me. It is no longer sharp nor wintergreen-ish on me. I am so glad. I won this lovely bottle in a contest. I think maybe it just needed to mature a bit.

I agree with dsty. First time I tried this I HATED it. Now on second wearing it's kind of nice? It's definitely vanilla and benzoin but there is something there that is bothering me. I can't put my finger on it though. Really odd sort of fragrance.

Sweet ambery tree resins in a herbal/medicinal tincture. Definitely more benzoin than vanilla.