Crème Vanille

If you aren't a lover or familiar with 'Le Monde Gourmand' like myself, then you might be confused by the name. Like a LOT of their perfumes, the name doesn't quite match the scent... It's kinda their MO for some odd reason, LOL. You HAVE to read the notes before buying or else you will either be let down, or surprised :) I haven't met one yet that I haven't liked and I have well over 100 perfumes (most being designer). If they had the proper staying power and silage, I would say they might be one of my fav houses. For this one, I have the former 'vintage' version "Vanilla Mousse" (same perfume #017). It's a sweet, fresh, realistic apricot with a very, very light floral in the background. There is no vanilla so that is why there is confusion on the name. There is brown sugar and amber and I get both on the dry down :) This is lovely!

So 8 months since my first review when I first got this and I rated it pretty low back then. Thought it was pleasant but forgettable, and I won’t take that back. But its the only tester in the set that I emptied and went searching for a better quality of the scent profile, which isn’t to be confused with vanilla, this is an apricot and soft floral scent. I loved it so bad I blind bought a fb of Montale’s Sweet Vanille that has the same listed notes and boy was I disappointed, and then I tried Dua’s Apricot Cupcake and that one’s probably what most people here expected of Le Gourmand. Needless to say neither of them were this and I’m gonna snatch up a fb next time I see it. Weak, boring, forgettable. Sure but I can wear it anywhere, anytime and thats priceless in my collection of 90 fragrances.

I got this as part of a set I found at Marshall’s for like $12, so my expectations were low, but Creme Vanille is delightful! Definitely sweet, but slightly warm too, and not at all cloying. The apricot lifts it up a bit and keeps it from being too photorealistic gourmand, which is good, in my opinion. I don’t really want to smell like I actually wiped buttercream frosting on myself, you know? The sillage and longevity are not great, but this makes a perfect cozy scent to wear while I’m in my pajamas, winding down for an hour or two before bed. I like to layer it with a woodsy scent sometimes too, like Boy Smells Woodphoria.

Got a Le Monde Gourmar tester set from Tj max and sprayed both of my wrists and inner elbows with 4 different scents. After an hour this is the only one that has completely vanished. Wrist to nose, I smell nothing but a hint of sweetness. While it was around it was pleasant but a young, juvenile vanilla. I’d impulsively buy it from a CVS or something if I went in there for something else and stopped to sniff but now that I know it has zero longevity or projection I wouldn’t waste the money. (Miel Bebe is the superstar of the set in terms of projection.)

Literally identical to BBW Warm Vanilla Sugar. Like all Le Monde Gourmand fragrances, this doesn’t last very long. LMG is literally the best perfume if you like dramatically spraying 10 squirts of perfume all over yourself before you leave the house, but don’t want to alert the international space station that you are wearing perfume. You will probably not even smell like perfume once you return from your outing. I still love the variety, I own at least 7 of them now. Get the variety packs, especially the creme de la creme purse spray set.