Vanille Noire du Mexique

ETA: My hormones really change the way this scent smells! Near my time of the month, I get way more oppoponax and patchouli, it smells a bit deeper without as much vanilla, and is softer. Aside from that time, it's a very delicious vanilla (so I guess my hormones are changing the way vanilla is presented in this scent). On first spray, I was a bit disappointed because this scent smelled like Vanilla Bean Noel mixed with a hint of Lord of Misrule patchouli. I was waiting for the opoponax to show up but it never did, though I do smell something faintly milky (you'd have to hunt for it, though). Wearing it over time, the scent is quite comforting and it grew on me. Although I love dark and complex scents, not everything has to be challenging or intricate all the time. Overall, not bad - a slightly lighter alternative for when you want to wear LoM or other vanilla/Christmassy scents but it's too warm outside, though you could definitely wear this scent in the winter as well. I think this scent would also layer well with lactonic scents (e.g., Chabaud Lait Concentre, I'm already drooling thinking about it) or other gourmands! I don't smell much chocolate in here, though I guess many people perceive the patchouli to smell like chocolate in here. "Vanille Noire du Mexique" refers to Mexican vanilla, which is allegedly a richer vanilla compared to that of Madagascar. Maybe "hot chocolate powder" would be a more apt description. I am a patchouli lover and have a strong tolerance for it. If you want something patchouli-chocolatey, try Chanel's Coromandel, Serge Lutens Borneo 1842, Jovoy Psychedelique, Francesca Bianchi Sticky Fingers, or Oriza L. Legrand Horizon. P.S. There is no detectable citrus in here and this scent smells absolutely nothing like Shalimar or its flankers. I would know because I own them. This scent is closer to plain and pure vanilla than Shalimar, Lira, etc.

Vanille Noire du Mexique opens with a fresh, almost spicy, bergamot. This top note is very fizzy and almost like those dissoluble cold medicine tablets that I used to have when I was little. After a few minutes this settles into a powdery and velvety iris with a touch of patchouli. I find the patchouli, which some sites don’t list but is definitely there, more prominent and sweeter in warmer weather than colder. I, thankfully, don’t get any jasmine but I do get the faintest whiff of a dry and dusty rose. It’s rather earthy and I’m happy when the tonka-bean and vanilla finally appear in the base. It’s not too sweet and certainly not gourmand. This is possibly the darkest scent of the set – hence the noire. It has a slight soapy aspect which parallels with it’s slightly spicy aspect. It’s exotic and powerful but also contained. It can be alluring and dangerous. Something a warrior ninja would wear. The kind of person I imagine this on wears a ribbon in their hair, has a sad darkness to them, wears black clothing and has a femininity to them. I imagine someone like Blake Belladona from RWBY wearing this. It’s also slightly gothic ivy, stone and velvet aspect. It has medium sillage with about 4 hours of longevity similar to the rest of the collection.

It's funny when you revisit your first niche fragrance many many years later after putting aside and assuming you were done with it. This scent is so much history in it: my first boyfriend and the fall into the epic never ending quest to find the perfect vanilla. But let's begin that it is only years later that I can fully appreciate only because certain expectations have been put aside. First of all this does not smell like true Mexican vanilla (oh how I would love for someone to do a true Mexican vanilla perfume), but it is quite a lovely wonder on its own. What this fragrance is: this starts off with that delicious candied bergamot that is so iconic in Shalimar, but unlike Shalimar it is not accentuated by civet (thankfully), instead the support is musky rose and vanilla. The scent eventually evolves into caramelized iris opoponax vanilla with light support of patchouli with bergamot still accenting. It is quite a lovely little vanilla that is grownup but easy.

Mexique is a fantastic addition to this collection, it's a really nice and earthy sort of vanilla. On me the opoponax and patchouli are very present and i think in the first 2 minutes of wearing it almost smelt very similar to A*Men by Thierry Mugler but then it started to come into it's own and it's just really well done. The vanilla is sweet but earthy and the opening with the Bergamot is both inviting and very refreshing but what I really love is the beautiful iris note which adds a sense of powderiness to this scent. It almost makes it sophisticated in a way. I don't detect to many of the floral notes- perhaps some of the Jasmine but it's not very present which doesn't really bother me because I think the fragrance is perfect the way it is. It's so well blended and all the notes on my skin work very well together. I think this could easily be worn by both men and women- It's gorgeous!

Vanille Noire du Mexique might very well be my favorite of the La Maison de la Vanille sample set quintet (I still need to try one more). It's a dark, almost resinous vanilla that, while certainly overall vanilla-dominant, involves subtle influences of rose, jasmine, and patchouli. It almost comes off slightly boozy (in the direction of Perry Ellis Black Vanilla Absolute) but with more floral and spicy influences--again, subtly--in the mix. I don't explicitly get anything sharp like iris, either. The fragrance is unusually smooth (smoother than Vanille Givree de Antilles, even) without the big floral brightness of Vanille Divine des Tropiques. Solid performance like the others, definitely above average for an EDT. Again, the pricing on the whole line seems pretty reasonably priced, at $60 for 100ml on Luckyscent, so this might need to be one that I nab. 8 out of 10

Sultry, alluring...reminds me of Mexican Hot Cocoa laced with Kahlua on a warm, summer evening. The vanilla notes are nearly identical to Lavanila Vanilla on me, but Lavanila Vanilla gets overly sweet and headachey, and somehow gets stronger throughout wear. Mexique stays balanced and enticing with its cinnamon, rose, and tonka base. I found this at a boutique in the Montage, Laguna Beach, in 2003, and I've replenished my bottles ever since. I especially love to wear this as night, to inspire the sweetest, calmest dreams. It's a special scent for me, and I do enjoy smelling every bit as tempting as creme brulee.

I used to wear this ALL the time and then ran out. Years later I just received a bottle today after buying it online. I still love it. Once you first spray it on I can notice the patchouli more than I recall, but it is not prominent at all. It is NOT overly sweet. I have some that smell like food or candy or pure sugar and this is not like that. My friend said it smelled unisex (but she likes pure florals). I still adore it. Warm, spicy, slightly sweet smokiness that is my favorite vanilla of all time. So happy to have it again!

This is the darkest vanilla of the series, luscious and warm and intoxicating. While the others I tried could be worn every time of the year, I would suggest this one for the cooler season. It's more foody and also IMO, more long lasting than the rest. In fact, I put it on yesterday evening and could still smell it when I woke up. Being a fan of louder scents, this and Vanille Tonka from Parfums de Nikolai, are my favorite vanilla scents. I love the darkness hinted underneath the innocent vanilla.

Mmmm I think this has sated my Un Bois Vanille yearning. A fresh vanilla but not a sickening one, it's the real thing, not cheap ice-cream. The 'comfort' space is now filled in my wardrobe. Thank you to swapper DawnySparkle for this lovely surprise gift! Longevity: Tenacious! Update: Hmm, All the above is still true but I've started to go off this a bit because I'm not keen on the 'unwashed' quality at the end of the drydown. If you're into 'skank' etc. in your frags, give this one a try!

Enormously citrusy and earthy vanilla. I enjoy this - it is a sweet vanilla but not sugary or overly foodie at all to me. It has a bit of a tropical feel. The prominent notes on my skin are the bergamot, vanilla, iris and opoponax. The patchouli is there but it's not in your face. This lasts really well on me! I don't wear it all the time but when I do I enjoy it!

This one is a masterpiece: even if there is no chocolate in the pyramid... to me it smells exactly like Easter chocolate eggs from an Italian pastry shop! So good! Lasts hours!

This is so good! A yummy, sweet vanilla with chocolatey patchouli touches running through it. Lasts fairly long too. Great hidden gem in my opinion.

A nice vanilla in the bottle and for about 15 min on the skin...and then *poof! Gone. I can't find a hint of it on my skin an hour later. Boo.

vaniglia bourbon scurissima e vellutata, leggermente affumicata. c'è bisogno di dolcezza gotica.

This is one of the best vanillas I have ever smelled! The guys at work loved it.

This doesn’t strike me as a “noire” scent at all, but I do like it for what it is - a sweet, citrusy vanilla fragrance. Besides the vanilla, the bergamot is the strongest thing going here...especially as the fragrance opens, it gives the vanilla an oily, sweet, sharp bite. As it warms, it becomes very creamy and smooth. The patchouli is there in the background, adding a slightly green, medicinal scent...but overall it has quite a mellow vibe. Although I like it a lot, I can’t help feeling like it's very familiar. The fragrances from this house remind me a lot of the Lavanila line; they both make simple, natural-smelling vanilla scents. For me Vanille Noire du Mexique is along the lines of Lavanila Vanilla Grapefruit, but I prefer the latter. All in all this is a likeable and satisfying scent, I just wouldn't say it's something particularly different from what I've smelled already.

My first thought when trying this was that it reminds me of Shalimar Ode a la Vanille Mexique, but with much stronger vanilla and much weaker...everything else, and no incense. Well what do you know, besides vanilla, this quite a few of the notes here are major players in Shalimar-oppoponax, bergamot, iris... I don't think this smells anything like Lavanila, which is candy sweet. This is sweet but more in the sense that vanilla extract is sweet, it's not sugary, it's just very, very vanillic. Vanilla lovers have to try this, if you're looking for a very vanilla centric perfume, this one is great. No coconut, no almond, no strong florals, no sandalwood, none of what usually is found in vanilla perfumes that ruins the pureness of it. The other notes here add to the vanilla, rather than fight for the spotlight.

I am surprised how much i liked this one. Got it from a lovely swap and was thinking to use as a comfort scent for colder days at home or after shower, but I seem to be comfortable wearing it more often than that. I am not really into vanilla or sweet scents and usually try to avoid it because it often smells like food. But I like to have some vanilla scents for colder seasons, autumn and winter, they seem to give me comfort and help to feel secure. i find this one very wearable. It is sweet but simple vanilla scent. The opening is a bit sweet for my taste (and because I am not used to scents like this) but it dries down to dry slightly powdery vanilla. It is not very dark as the name may imply, but is lovely anyway.

Wow. This is an interesting Vanilla! The notes are vanilla, rose, jasmine, iris, tonka bean and bergamot. But I can't really smell the flowers, I smell food! Well, Mexique is supposed to be the most edible of the scents and to me it's slightly spicy and slightly soapy on the drydown. Actually, it reminds me of a delicious Mexican Cheesecake I've had which is tortillas layered with cream cheese, nutmeg and cinnamon. I also smell semi-sweet chocolate too, but it's not sugary sweet at all. Yum!

This perfume was a gift i received recently and i'm really glad for it as i love vanilla. At the beggining i smell something intense-i think it's the opoponax.A little of jasmin and bergamot then. And finally,it remains a very natural scent of absolute vanilla. On my skin ther is nothing patchouli,rose or iris detectable.It's not foody or sweet,the vanilla is natural and remains a lot of hours on the skin.Very good choice for the lovers of vanilla!just give it a try!Also the bottle is 100 ml

I like it at first application. Fresh sweet vanilla. Unfortunately after 5 minutes, it was rotting fruit sweet. That didn't last luckily and I was left with a pleasant, soft sweet vanilla with just a tinge of tonka in the drydown. I never found the florals real apparent. I don't find much about this fragrance that's marketly better than other vanilla fragrances.

this opens with vanilla, iris and bergamot. the vanilla is sweet and the iris is sheer which adds a balance to the sweetness. the scent deepens very slightly later on, i guess this is oppoponax? i get no rose, jasmine or patchouli whatsoever. another solid like from this house, and one of the few that seems to work really well in cold weather.

Years ago I sampled this and thought I liked it well. I sampled again recently and it's not for me. I don't feel the notes go together very well. I wouldn't discourage trying it but don't think of it as a vanilla forward fragrance; it's not. On my skin it's more about the florals and that's not my preference.

This is kind of a "gothic" vanilla. It's almost like a normal vanilla perfume had a run-in with a bottle of Poison and came away relatively unscathed, but changed nonetheless. If that makes sense.

this one is very nice. dirty dark vanilla, strong Patcholi. to me its very much like La vanillas Pure vanilla. rich , strong dark and sexy almost spicy . like it

Indeed not very dark, the bergamot adds a sparkly, effervescent character to it. Somewhat sweet, but not cloying. A vanilla for people that don't like vanilla.

I enjoy this scent. Very soft nice blend. Too faint to buy a bottle but I'll sample once in a while.

As an all things vanilla lover, I was curious by the positive reviews for Vanille Noire du Mexique and decided to buy a 30ml bottle blind. Unfortunately this is a rare dislike from me. My chemistry must be to blame as my nose is pulling the synthetic ingredients out in the worse way. All I smell is sweet patchouli and an artificial vanilla smell. For lack of a better word, repugnant. Wearing Vanille Noire du Mexique is a hideous experience. I’m not getting anything close to what other reviewers report—and my 30ml blind buy goes to the top of the list as one of my biggest blind buy regrets. Now my bottle goes immediately into the trading/selling bin. Pros: Lasting Power Relatively Inexpensive Dry down is smoother Cons: Lasting Power Synthetic / Artificial Vanilla Takes four hours to get to the dry down

The bergamot really stands out in this one. It's really not a bad scent, but to me it smells like greasy hair products that we as African Americans put in our hair. I really don't want to smell like hair grease, even if it is a nice smelling hair grease. This correlation gives it an artificial smell to me. That's the only reason I put dislike on this. It has a subtle tropical feeling and is soft and demure, which is why I believe it has poor longevity. Sillage moderate, longevity poor.

This is the literal scent of dipping your entire head into a jar of dry Nesquick mix and inhaling. Synthetic and massively cloying. I ordered this based on the reviews and unfortunately I can't get past the artificial sweetness to enjoy any subsequent notes. I can appreciate a gourmand but this is just diabetes in a bottle. What a waste of a name because Mexican chocolate has a lot of spice to it and would have made for a beautiful fragrance.

I bought mine through a seller on Amazon it looks right. I find it much sweeter than I expected from the reviews. Burnt caramel to start and more of a cookie smell later. I do like it and the whiffs of scent that come along are delightful but not a complicated or "real" vanilla to me.

Quite disappointing. I had a far better memory of it, like a pure vanilla pod with a sugary hint. Basically,it opens with bergamot and floral notes of rose and jasmine then very quickly come the patchouli and the opoponax. A bit later appears a tamed down iris. And in the very far base notes, some kind of really subdued vanilla note not even resembling vanilla pod. If you are searching for a true vanilla, go on your way. Funny fact : I asked my mother, who hates vanilla, to smell my wrist to see her reaction. She had no repulsion reaction therefore I asked her if she could smell vanilla : she answered she couldn't and calling that perfume "Vanilla" is a fake news. Longevity is less than average : I poured half vial (unfortunately no sprayer vial) on my wrist around 10 AM today and I can't almost smell it anymore by now, around 8PM. Sillage id also less than average : I could smell it if I pur my wrist closer to my nose. In a few words, not worth it. Wanting to conclude on a positive note, I thank the La Maison de la Vanille customer clients for their kindness : they accpeted to send me the three samples I asked for, from France to Belgium.

When I was in my 20s I loved straight sweet vanilla scents, specially if they were foody; however, I didn't wear fragrances much so I didn't realize my boyfriend didn't like many perfumes, specially vanilla ones. Well now in my 30s I don't love sweet-foody vanilla scents, I do enjoy perfumes with vanilla notes and grown up vanilla perfume like this one. . I find this a dark vanilla and not foody at all. It is not sickening sweet and I like that as I do not like sweet perfumes. This is for cool days and it can be worn at night. I find this suitable for casual settings. I think of this as a comfort perfume; I have to be in the mood for this and I crave this once in a while. I wear this mostly when I'm at home when I feel cold and down and it lifts my mood. This is a perfume to use when you just want to smell nice. It is a grown up vanilla!!!Moreover, my boyfriend does not seem to mind this scent!! What I love about this is that I find it smokey!!!!! Mmmmmm This is one of my must haves as I have not found a better grown up vanilla scents that my boyfriend does not mind.

Despite the fact that both this fragrance and Vanille Givree des Antilles, by the same house smell very similar, this is another vanilla scent well done. Vanille Noire du Mexique is a very rich and concentrated vanilla. The vanilla is complimented by a delicious, chocolatey rose, which reminds me slightly of a more tamed version of Angel Rose from the Garden of Stars collection by Thierry Mugler. This fragrance has an interesting mix of both sweet notes and spices. The patchouli, opoponax and bergamot are important in the way they keep this fragrance from becoming too sweet or too generic. For some reason, Vanille Noire du Mexique makes me think of Winter and mugs of white hot chocolate, my new favourite beverage. The way in which this fragrance sits on the skin is both velvety and luscious. I'd sum up this fragrance as being a rich vanilla with a touch of mystery. The sillage is strong with this one, so I'd spray lightly. This fragrance is yet another thumbs up for La Maison de la Vanille.

Can any one tell me what a grown up perfume is.does it start with a baby not liking perfume and then someone in there early twenties discovering there not a baby with baby taists anymore.cant wrap my head around this saying.what is a grown up perfume.im 68 and have never found a grown up perfume even when i was14 and got thrown out if class for overspraying some horrible concoction called Manhattan.this was in england.is there a perfume tbat will make me feel grown down.this one will please my love of vanilla which is supposed to resemble breast milk.happy hunting for grown up perfumes.i suppose their the 50 years younger than old lady perfumes whatever they are.i have my eye on the vintage of Mexique .i wonder if it differs from what is produced today.

I've fallen in love with skanky delicious Vanille Sauvage so this was the next on my list from the house. Unfortunately I'm getting lots of excessively sweet vanilla, just enough pachouli to make me believe it's in there and an overall soapiness that's loud and rather unpleasant. If I didn't know what I was wearing I'd guess this was Coty Vanilla Fields that had turned. The "noire" member of this family would be the Sauvage de Madegascar; the only thing noire about this one is the print on the box. Pink Sugar is a much cheaper better version of this. Onward and upward. Longevity: unknown, scrubbed after 4 hours Sillage: 2-3 feet Fabulosity: prebagged cotton candy Value to price ratio: bad 2/10

This is a really intriguing scent for me. I love the La Maison de la Vanille line of perfumes, because almost every one I've tried is unique---while this perfume house's creamy, rich, familiar vanilla note is still at the center of each perfume. Vanille Noire du Mexique wasn't what I expected, but I really am enjoying this one!! I guess with its name I was expecting something like Jeffrey Dame's Black Flower Mexican Vanilla, or Laurence Dumont's Vanille Noire for a Mexican Vanilla vibe (mostly vanilla + cinnamon and other spices). This one is different--I think it's the citrus note more than anything, making a completely unique scent to other Mexican vanillas.

Vanille Noire du Mexique is vanilla of dark, moody florals and balsamic resins that that for a few seconds smells like the platonic ideal of a hot chocolate served in your favorite childhood mug, but there's something a bit off-kilter about it, too. You're enjoying your steaming portion of nostalgia in a claustrophobic room with creeping yellow wallpaper, with a friend who has a mysterious green ribbon tied around her throat. She evades your questions about her enigmatic neckwear and asks how are you enjoying your bouquet; you glance down and your hot cocoa is pale orchid, an Aeranthes grandalena, its blossoms exuding notes of Jasmine, caramel, butterscotch.

When I first tried Vanille Noire du Mexique, it immediately reminded me of Angel by Thierry Muegler because of the rich, chocolate, vanilla scents mixed with patchouli. Unfortunately, patchouli and I rarely get along. I hoped this scent would transform into something better on my skin as it dried down, but it remained tainted with an acrid bitterness. That single note ruins it for me, but it may provide a balance to the sweetness on others.

I thought because of the notes I would love this one the most, but I don't. It's really nice, though! At first it smells like vanilla and orange dish-washing soap. The bergamot note wasn't a very attractive bergamot, but it does mellow down into a soft citrus with a tiny bit of jasmine and some patchouli in the dry down. It's also perfect for hot days when the sun is shining bright. Sweet and fun, exotic and full of happiness.

Bergamot/citrus opening. The vanilla swirls in with a balsamic quality added....rose/iris vibe...powdery type sweetness...In the "vibe" of the Dame Mexican Flower one. Also..some "tartness"/"smokey" for some reason.The patchouli is very secondary IMO. Again, IMO, this does not smell like TM Angel ..men's or women's version.But..the "vibe" of them is there..but waaaaaaaaaay less.....I like this one too.

My first niche fragrance I purchased as a blind buy when I was probably 12 and asked my mom if I could PLEASE order from Sephora since it was on a close out sale. This was way too mature for me at the time but I still wore it. Ugh I just pulled it back out and it brings back so many memories. Such an authentic fresh clean vanilla.

A vanilla so thick and rich your brain will think it's chocolate. This blows a lot of other vanillas straight out of the water. I think it must be a combo of the patchouli and opoponax that give this a chocolate-esque angle. This is something yummy for the winter season that will make you want to lick your own arm.

Right out of the bottle this smells almost like glue? But dried down it's a bit more soapy and much more complex. Of the 15ml sampler set, this is definitely the most unique and brightest vanilla. It's summery and bright, I can wear this on its own and still feel like I smell interesting!

Not bad, but not very strong. It definitely seems like more of a spring and summer scent which is unfortunate for me since I am looking for a fall/winter perfume.

Smells like shalimar minus ALOT of citrus and civet and skanky notes with the vanill turned allllll the way up. It’s spicy and deep and nice

I forgot to mentioned that my skin chemistry sucks so I have to spray this in my clothes to be noticed and it lasts all day

This is a sweeter version of Yves Rocher's Organic Vanilla. I noticed that this is less smoky and not too woody.

I get a dark, velvety vanilla with a touch of smoke. I love this one and it's workable for any season.