Bana Banana

I've had a 10 ml travel size of this for quite some time and for some reason I never wore it often, thinking I wouldn't care much for it. How wrong I was!! The past few times I've worn this I've been repeatedly impressed by its longevity and how beautifully if wafts around me with this delicate, powdery warmth, due to the violet note. I used to be quite 'powder-averse' in my younger years, thinking these types of perfumes smelled too mature, but I now associate scents with a powdery element with comfort and find the scents that lean this way to be some of my most treasured fragrances. Bana Banana is not a superficial, candy-sweet, laffy-taffy banana poolside candy carnival, but rather a contemplative, beautifully constructed homage to the tropical banana plant wrapped in a warm, powdery gauze. I'm gonna need the full bottle and pray they don't discontinue this one! Beautiful work by Celine Ellena! Update: Of course it’s been discontinued. Waaa waaa 😒🙄😭

I got to sample this thanks to the generosity of a wonderful fragrantican. Thank you, Antonia! Bana Banana can be considered a banana only in the very few moments starting from application, when it opens, indeed, as a semi-ripe, realistic banana (peel), with little sweetness but a lot of "pulpiness", if that makes sense. As time goes by, though, the banana subsides and my nose gets none of that banana candy - jelly - popsicle vibe that some have mentioned. Instead, it goes to a duskier - dustier territory, it gets heavier, more rounded and it reminds me of a Zoologist creation. This could belong to the same family as Macaque, Elephant or Panda. All in all, I find it to be a very interesting creation, an artistic one and also quite challenging. Judging by the name, I was expecting a cheekier, in your face kind of playful banana, but you can expect something more substantial instead.

I wasn’t expecting to love this as much as I do. The opening immediately made me smile - it’s playful, unusual and unlike anything else in my collection. The banana doesn’t smell artificial or like banana sweets. Instead, it blends beautifully with the powdery iris and soft musks, creating something comforting, elegant and surprisingly addictive. As it dries down, it becomes creamier and more sophisticated while still keeping that unique character. Every time I wear it, I find myself smelling my wrist because there’s something so intriguing about it. It’s one of those fragrances that makes you wonder, “What am I actually smelling?” in the best possible way. Distinctive without trying too hard. I only wish L’Artisan Parfumeur hadn’t discontinued it. I’m so glad I managed to track down a genuine bottle because this has easily become one of my favourite fragrances.

I am shocked. Gobsmacked. Flabbergasted. I thought this would be a novelty, throw in your suitcase before some tropical vacation, frivolity. Why do I love this so much and why does it work so well for colder weather? First of all, it doesn’t smell like the banana, vanilla ice cream, vodka smoothie that I thought it would. It has more substance, more depth, more richness. The banana element is light, really the leaf, not the fruit. And then, there is the warmth of tonka bean, amber, and nutmeg, giving it a deeply sensuous, snuggly, cocooning, yumminess. It’s really very autumnal. The floral notes: jasmine, iris, violet make it very fresh, breezy, sweet, and the musk and pepper add a little kick. It is so intriguing and unique and surprising and original. I could see crunching through leaves on a sunny Indian summer day with this fragrance and my chunky knits.

I got this when it first came out, sprayed it once and didn’t get past the opening. Recently I came across it again for a very low price and re-purchased. Having become more familiar with l’Artisan fragrances, I have much more understanding and appreciation for it now. (L’Artisans need time to develop on the skin, as well as time to develop in the bottle). The banana bread blast at the beginning, which initially turned me off, I now see as a short-lasting and cheeky attention grab, priming the palate and synapses for the rest of the process to unfold. The creamy green florals and grounding spices create so much warmth and interest. It is truly a comfort to wear. Drydown reminds me of Safran Troublant and poivre piquant- sweet and starchy. I like this one now and am glad I gave it another try.

Love it. Lot's of people griping on here about performance. You must be anosmic, I can smell this hours later. The banana blast does subside, and violet comes forward, but then around two hours in it rebalances and I get the banana in a delicate, creamy haze. Any more banana would ruin it for me. It's true genius to be able to create a photorealistic fruit scent with an accord, and it goes to show that with Celine Ellena, the apple hasn't fallen far from the tree. Update - longevity is eternal on my skin, incredible! Update - AP store on Rue St Honoré tell me this is discontinued, they're just selling off the last stock.

To me, this opens with a green banana—a raw, bitter fruit on the cusp of ripening. Fresh and stark at first, the scent deepens into honey-and-pepper notes, growing sweeter and richer as time passes. The effect is that of a banana ripening before your eyes. Another half hour, and a creamy iris emerges, with a hint of musk threaded throughout. These last notes pull the scent darker, adding a touch of mystery and sexiness to the entire composition. To me, this is not an overtly gourmand fragrance, but deliciously intoxicating one nonetheless.

One of the most fun perfumes in my collection and easily a favourite that I never get tired of. I love everything about this, from the name to the bottle and the perfume itself. I have reviewed it before, but felt the need to come back with raving feedback because it is such a pleasure to wear it and always puts a smile on my face. It is starchy, violety, green banana that is delicious without being gourmand. The base reminds me of Cacao porcelana from Atelier Materi, as in you can feel the texture of a creamy plant pod in a jungle.

I really love this one. The way I found out about it is I visited a friend who collects perfume and asked her to show me her weird ones, and Bana Banana was among the ones she chose as "weird". I love anything banana. The opening is unmistakably banana, and even though it gets a bit too powdery/soapy in the drydown, I still think this is a beautiful, high quality composition. The Iris and jasmine give it depth and clarity. I have a very special memory connected to this scent and it will always be one of my favourites.

I really love this fragrance and finally bought a bottle, 2 years after first discovering it. It is one of the most special perfumes I encountered, a very unique blend of banana and violet in perfumery, surprisingly tropical but easy to wear in any setting. I do not own or know Amaranthine from Penhaligon’s, but I hunted it for the concept, until I realised that Bana Banana is everything I wanted Amaranthine to be, luscious green, tropical, wet, natural, facetted, a little powdery.

This is truly so mouthwatering delicious I want to smell it every day! Sweet delicious bananas with a sultry ambery musk base. The violet leaf does peek through giving it some greenness. Longevity is in fact strong for me but mind you I like to drown in this scent and so it often lingers around on my clothes or in my hair for a while. I even like layering this with 2 of my Demeters - Crème Anglaise or Crème Brulee. I smell like a treat!

This is a "dam I love that smell" type fragrance. The Iris-Violet Combo & Banana are the main components to my nose. The last couple of compliments said I smell clean -- what is that? do I usually smell dirty? I don't get the clean aspect but I do get a fantastic banana body powder almost creamy and I love to smell my clean self when I have it on! This banana fragrance is very a-peel-ing. :)

Do not expect the smell of actual banana fruit, the banana note here is sweet and more like banana candy. It's pleasant but just not what I expected. I think it is unisex, and a bit discreet. Like other reviewers had said, this perfume is very powdery, quite long lasting with moderate silage. Nice smelling, quite rare, but not really groundbreaking or making any statement.

This opens with a bold ripe banana fruit, a little powdery, in a starchy kind of way, suggesting the peel of the banana as well. Once the perfume settles, it becomes a sweet starchy, powdery skin covering a cream of bananas and violets, absolutely delicious and playful. I personally love it, the only complaint is the performance.

This is fantastic. Opening is bright, fruity and clearly lean banana that smells exactly like Italian syrup flavoring of the fruit. A warm, musky amber with floral and soft nilla nuances comprises most of the scent profile. Very happy and playful perfume.

The banana note in this smells just like sweet banana flavored candy. No subtle banana flower, really in your face. But amber, jasmine and spicy notes keep it from being a novelty fruit fragrance. Bana Banana combines the foam banana with a huge dollop of balsamic warmth and very classic floral notes to a completely unique scent. Unfortunately there is one thing I dislike about it, and that's the violet leaf. It comes off very sharp on my skin and reminds me of some strong macho colognes in the vein of Fahrenheit. Not the whole fragrance mind you, just the violet leaf. I get that they wanted something to break through all the warm and dense notes, but for my personal taste and skin chemistry something like a zesty citrus would have done the job better. I find it a little disharmonious the way it it. So, not for me. I still appreciate this fragrance very much, Banana is such a cool note that isn't used too often and on top of that it's blended in a new and interesting way here. More literal than Patou's Sira des Indes, but with more dimensions than say CSP Vanille Banane or any old banana body product.

I'm a big old fan of L'artisan Parfumeur - have tried and owned quite a few of their scents and was always impressed how the notes that can be owerpowering in other perfumes smell clean and delicate. This is why I decided to tried Bana Banana - rich ambery banana wouldn't be something that I'd normally go for, but it's fun to try new things. Im not gonna add much new - it smells like banana in the opening and quickly morphs into a mix of sweet and powdery violet and iris. It reminds me of Bois d'Iris by Van Cleef & Arpels, an old-school feminine scent, but I really enjoy the fact there's a banana aftertaste when you smell it from some distance. It gets greener and smokier in the dry down and generally keeps up the tradition of implementing distinct and could-be-heavy notes in an easy and wearable way

This wears two different ways for me, but both with the same performance, which is 3-5 hours of a light 2-4 feet of projection. When I spray this on freshly cleaned skin, the violet leaf and banana flower are at the forefront and I get this powdery green banana which is not how I remembered smelling it in-store. It wears differently after a full day of work or activity, because for me that's when I really get the amber that I remember liking so much. Will update after experimenting a little more. Update: The difference between green/powdery 'nanners and amber/banana candy seems to be body heat. The green side being when my skin is cold, and the amber when I've heated up a bit. Everything else is still the same. I don't think it's for me.

The concept of a banana fragrance was so intriguing I just had to try Bana Banana! I get an immediate waft of sweet banana lolly which is quickly met with a soft violet musk and a mild red spice note that brings it into wearable fragrance territory. The dry down introduces amber and vanilla as a base. Unfortunately by this point the banana note has almost completely faded and it's more of a soft violet-musk-amber fragrance. I've heard this fragrance projects best on warm skin, so I will need to give it another try on a hot day. Bana Banana is an unusually wearable scent. It would suit casual lunches and day outings. Personally I wish the banana note lasted longer, but the opening in itself is worth a test.

Pure fun, breezy enchantment and elemental pleasure. It's banana! It starts out with a burst of fresh banana that smells very realistic, very true to the fruit... not candylike. Just like the slices on your breakfast cereal. Brilliant aldehydes give it an airy, sky-ey outdoorsy quality. I wish I were as crazy about the base it dries down to: a neutral, unisex, slightly spiced amber/musk, in which the banana is mostly gone, but lingers as the tiniest hint. The drydown curiously reminds me of... Dana AMBUSH, of all things! Like all the L'Artisans, BANA BANANA is very evanescent, transparent, with not much staying power at all.