20 Bourbon Brûlée

I have been following Stephanie for many years and I totally trust her opinions when it comes to beauty. I’ve purchased Orris, Vanilla Nera (love both) and now Bourbon Brûlée. For Bourbon Brûlée, this was not a love at first sniff. It felt a bit different from what I was expecting. The opening has a burst of freshness from what I’m assuming is the bergamot. Then as it dries down, it gets progressively warmer and sweeter. After a couple days of testing, it immediately turned into a love! This is a very classy and elegant take on a sweet fragrance. It’s woody and smoky without being overly so. It’s sweet but not too sweet. If you are looking for an edible gourmand like Escapade Gourmande, this is not that. This is elevated. Way better and more interesting than By the Fireplace/Jazz Club. It feels totally modern. It’s really a perfect fall and winter fragrance. I don’t have anything like this in my collection and I’ve been reaching for it ever since it arrived!

This scent is absolutely beautiful! Its incredibly sensual and intoxicating. Upon first smell I became very emotional as it elicited pure comfort and nostalgia. I envision a warm dimlit cabin in the mountains with a fireplace burning outside, sipping drinks with loved ones under warm blankets. I will say it is a bit one dimensional. Unlike other scents where you can really detect each specific note, this is kind of an amalgamation, but a beautiful and enveloping one. Its sweet, warm, boozy, elegant, and a little powdery. I mainly get the coconut milk, vanilla, plum, tonka, and whiskey. The longevity is INSANE! literally can still smell it on skin after 24 hours. At least 5 hours of enveloping projection. Also pretty reasonably priced.

One thing I have learnt about myself recently is that I absolutely love a good boozy note in a fragrance. I am not a whisky fan generally (I actually hate the taste of it) but it smells incredible here and is perfectly blended with the caramel and vanilla, which are the notes I pick out the most. And that vanilla drydown! It creates the most delicious, mouth-watering scent bubble. I can't believe this isn't more talked about. Not that I am complaining though - I will be gatekeeping this bad boy.

Sweet but not cloying. Well blended. Reminds me of Vanilla 28 but replace patchouli with whiskey. The whiskey is subtle and provides depth. It also has an addicting freshly baked bread-like note to my nose which I love! I don’t get any noticeable plum or woody notes.

This was a successful blind buy that I got myself for Christmas. It very quickly became one of my faves. It reminds me of Kayali Vanilla 28 and nishane ani mixed together. Sweet and slightly boozy with a lot of depth. Lasts all day on skin and clothes.