Van Py Rhum

When Van Py Rhum first touches your skin, it feels as though you’ve stepped into a weathered tavern on a far shore. Fading lamps cast dim light, and the air is thick with the aroma of caramelized brown sugar rising above a flickering flame. In the glass, dark rum shimmers like molten amber. It emits a dense warmth that coils with spice and smoke, offering a covert invitation to an endless journey. The fragrance opens with a wave of sweetness. But it is not an innocent sweetness; it is mature, steeped in rum, weighty as an ancient poem meant for midnight. From the heart of this intoxication rises vanilla. She appears not as a gentle girl, but as a powerful woman adorned with the dust of spices. She brushes your skin, at times with severity, at times with overflowing tenderness, wrapping you in a veil of mystery. The base unveils another scene: the smoke of burnt birchwood and dark resins. It is like the ash of a sailor’s forgotten cigarette upon a wooden table. This scent remains unwavering, closing the night with a profound note that refuses to be overlooked, an eternal flame that will not be extinguished. The longevity of Van Py Rhum is extraordinary. It easily surpasses ten hours, as if the fragrance has decided to dwell on your skin rather than merely visit. Its projection bursts forth with strength in the beginning. Over time, it settles into an intimate aura close to the body. Its sillage is poised—a presence that commands attention without ever shouting. This is a fragrance created for those who know the meaning of being different; for men and women who see perfume as a reflection of their free spirit, never just an accessory. This fragrance is ideal for chilly evenings and intimate gatherings. Try it during the autumn and winter seasons, when its warmth finds harmony with the chill of the air. Ahmed Hadi - Baghdad - IRAQ

Landed on this by chance during my search for a vaguely "goth inspired" fragrance that isn't floral or headache inducing (like Replica Whispers in the Library). Florals, certain musks and woody notes give me bad headaches and florals are always added to everything for whatever reason. To my review... Holy fuck where has Van Py Rhum been my whole life?? My expectations were low. I freaking love vanilla (sorry if that's controversial to say out loud, Jessica) and vanilla fragrances often disappoints me. I hate overly sweet floral vanilla, thankfully this is neither too sweet nor floral. To me this smells like if Vanilla Bean and Fireside from Woodwick Candles had a baby, both whom are my all time favorite scented candles. If you love vanilla as much as I do I think this is a very good buy. It is unisex. My bf also really liked Van Py Rhum so we've been sharing bottle lol. He's not big on florals or heavy musks either. I am not sensing any "drunk pirate ship & spiced rum", but I'm far from seasoned with scents. My descriptions are more literal in the sense of "this is the closest other thing I know of that smells very similar". It smells like creamy vanilla bean, softly of soybean wax and a slight reach for what I can only describe as sweet spice or incense(?) although it's more like a whisper of spice. It's very vanilla caramel forward, not like Sol De Janeiro 71 but more like the scented Woodwick candles I mentioned previously if they were a sprayable liquid. Majority of vanilla fragrances usually miss the mark for me, but not this one. My criteria for a good vanilla is it MUST smell like a creamy luxe vanilla bean. In baking, vanilla isn't a substitute for sugar and I think the same goes for fragrance generally.

Van Py Rhum is a perfect dark, gothic, vanilla fragrance. It is warm, rich, earthy, boozy, resinous, and slightly sharp around the edges, and very wearable. It does not smell like a basic sweet vanilla to me. It has depth, texture, and a darker base that gives it complexity. The opening gives me a strong vanilla impression right away, it feels dense, almost like vanilla pods steeped in rum. There is a caramelly rum quality running through it that gives the fragrance a warm, syrupy richness. The rum feels smooth and ambered, like a dark liquor soaked into vanilla and caramel than a straight alcohol note. As it develops, the patchouli becomes more noticeable and adds this damp earthy, slightly sharp backbone. It gives the scent a grounded quality and keeps the sweetness from becoming too soft. There is also a dark oud note in the base that gives it weight and shadow. The oud does not smell harsh to me. It reads more as a dark woody depth, adding a slightly smoky, resinous, almost blackened edge underneath the vanilla and rum. The vanilla itself feels layered and full-bodied. It has a balsamic warmth, a creamy sweetness, and a slightly woody dryness that makes it feel more mature than a typical gourmand vanilla. The caramel facet blends beautifully with the rum and tonka-like warmth, giving it this dark vanilla liqueur feeling. There is a faint white floral softness somewhere in the composition, but it does not smell floral-forward to my nose at all. It mostly adds body and smoothness behind the vanilla. The main focus stays on the vanilla, rum, patchouli, caramel, and oud.

My third review on Fragrantica is coming with a fragrance I would never have the chance to smell so bought the Pick 'n' Mix from Edulge to test this out. I actually picked 4 fragrances out of 6 and was struggling to find another 2, so went on Tiktok and thought this looked interesting so added it in. As I thought, it is in fact interesting. It opens with this massive punch of rum which I wasn't a fan of at all. But since my drive to work it has gone and I'm getting this medicinal vanilla but kind of in the right way. I can't seem to feel the fragrance projecting, however, within 5 minutes someone came into my office and said they could smell a lovely vanilla. A few hours later, and another compliment later, the medicinal note seems to have gone and can confirm this is sitting at a lovely vanilla. Not sweet, not dark, but in this middle ground with the rum sitting nicely in the background. It almost seems like the medical note I was getting was simply the rum making it's way to the base to let the vanilla pass, or that's how it seems. The caramel seems to be late to the party on this one, amount 3-4 hours in for me, but the best characters never get to the party early, and this is clearly evident here. The blend is incredible. I can only describe this as a dark Werther's Original at this stage, if you know then you know... 8 hours later I'm still getting whiffs off 1 spray from a sample bottle this morning. This fragrance is serious. It will be very hard to resist dropping £135 on this in the very near future. I hope this helps.

This is for me THE VANILLA by Lorenzo Pazzaglia. Of those that I have been able to try, it is undoubtedly the one that I liked the most and, furthermore, the one that has given me the best performance. At the start and during the first minutes what stands out the most on my skin is the rum, a dark and very alcoholic rum, almost as if I had poured a bottle of rum over myself. At that moment I thought... Powerful, interesting... But it's not something I would wear on a regular basis. However I left my house, some time passed and when I realized I was enveloped in a wonderful vanilla cloud. A dark vanilla with a hint of alcohol and much more powerful than its sister Van Extasys. In reality, the perfume does not offer much more so I question whether, having other vanillas in my collection, it is worth spending what a bottle costs to buy this perfume, but I have to say that I liked it, and I liked it a lot. It is true that, like almost all of this brand's perfumes, it has a synthetic touch, but it is also true that I have realized that vanilla perfumes that only use natural vanilla extracts do not work on me and do not last even a breath. . Van py rhum has lasted well for 8-9 hours and with adequate projection (although like almost all the ones I have tried from the brand without being a beast at any time). If you are looking for a caramelized and dark but versatile and very pleasant vanilla, this could be a very suitable option...