Vanilla Aura

This is an incredible vanilla perfume! It might actually be my favorite. I’ve never smelled VP— other Guerlain fragrances, yes, but not that one. So how close this is/isn’t to the original doesn’t matter to me. I’m not even going to bother trying to describe the notes, as it’s very easy to describe for me. On my skin, this smells like a half-bitten fire-toasted marshmallow. Imagine you’re at a bonfire, toasting marshmallows, and you make one that’s deliciously crisp, almost burnt, and then bite into it and it’s gooey and half-liquid inside. That’s what Vanilla Aura immediately smells like to me at first spray. Within minutes, it takes on a sweet spiciness. The spices are smooth and the vanilla note gets even sweeter and stronger. This part smells like a root beer float, overloaded with vanilla ice cream that’s began to melt. While it’s spicy and has a bit of that root beer smell, it’s incredibly sweet, vanillic, and never smells dry. The toasted marshmallow scent doesn’t go away either. So for me, vanilla aura smells like eating a toasted marshmallow with a melty root beer float in the other hand. It’s gorgeous, strong, sweet, smoky, fluffy, and airy all at the same time. I heard/read a lot of reviews saying that this was a “mature” vanilla, not a gourmand vanilla. I can see that a bit, because of the spices. However...it’s not that mature. The scent I get is pretty gourmand leaning, without fully committing to being a gourmand. There are about 30 seconds where a floral scent creeps in— and then it’s gone (thankfully). Some people may not like this, but I love it. The projection/longevity/sillage are all on the higher end of moderate to me, and I can smell this on my clothes until I wash them.

I haven’t smell the original, which is probably a great thing atp because I am absolutely obsessed with this profile. I received it a little over a week ago and have worn it every single day since. This hasn’t happened to me since Bianco Latte 4 years ago. And long before that, Princess by Killian. I just cannot afford to spend $700 on the real thing. Not yet at least. I’m in such a lovey-dovey honeymooning with this fragrance that its hard to formulate real thoughts about the scent impressions. Most days I layer it with another fave, Bee by Zoologist, Vanilla 28 by Kayali, a Grand Soir dupe, even Let the Good Times Roll by Lush. It pairs beautifully with all florals, gourmands, and sweet spices. It’d probably pair just as well with herbals, woods, and fougeres too. Its perfectly light and harmonic. The most perfect fragrance I own in my vast collection. In terms of notes its of course a gorgeous vanilla but the beauty here lies in the Lily of the Valley accord and the benzoin. Lily of the Valley makes this vanilla floral and non-edible, while benzoin leans its spicy staying power. Its my favorite note to wear. Lily of the valley is new to me but I really like violets and iris so I’m going to lean more into powdery florals this spring and summer. Sillage for this juice is abysmal. And it only lasts on clothes. Its one of the few fragrances I don’t worry about over-spraying bc its so light and delicate and non-offensive. I can’t imagine this lasting in cold weather in the Northeast at all. But its easily strengthened by similar profiles. I highly recommend layering with Bee by Zoologist. A light pistachio fragrance would probably be delicious too.

Absolutely STUNNING vanilla. If beauty could take shape as scent, it would smell like this. Vanilla Aura isn’t your syrupy, bakery-sweet vanilla — it’s the scent of real vanilla pods slowly unfurling in warm air, their creamy sweetness wrapped in soft spice. There’s even a tiny glimmer of lemon right at the start — not lemon cake, not sugary or citrusy — just that elegant lift that brightens everything, like a touch of light through silk. It gives the vanilla this radiant clarity that’s absolutely divine. It reminds me faintly of Vanille de Tahiti by Perris Monte Carlo, but this feels more comforting, richer, and somehow truer. The chocolate, caramel, and spice notes don’t shout for attention — they just swirl quietly underneath, creating depth without ever becoming cloying. Everything is perfectly balanced, perfectly blended, perfectly beautiful. There’s no harshness, no “needs to macerate for three months” moment — it’s stunning straight out of the bottle. Smooth, creamy, warm, and completely addictive from the very first spray. I honestly can’t imagine this one improving with time... though if it does, I’m in trouble, because this bottle won’t last me that long. I’ve been absolutely dousing myself in it since I opened it. And although it has that golden warmth, this isn’t a summer-only scent — it’s an all-year-round masterpiece. The kind of vanilla that feels just as comforting in winter as it does uplifting in spring. Vanilla Aura is what happens when vanilla stops trying to be dessert and just decides to be divine. If you love vanillas — all kinds of vanillas — this one might ruin you for all the rest.

So I bought this planning to give this away as a gift to one of my lady friends, but this scent is more interesting than I initially thought. In the air, this fragrance smells a bit feminine to my nose. Really no way around that. However, on skin and even the test strip, there's a smokiness that I didn't anticipate from looking at the notes. I agree with others that's said they're picking up cloves. But these cloves aren't just sitting around, they're being burned softly. That nuance is something that could be challenging to women as it was to my friend when she smelled this on skin. The opening gives this feeling like it will be gourmand, but it stops short of that genre. It isn't the safe blind buy I thought it would be for women. This is definitely more unisex with that clove smokiness and absence of a gourmand DNA. Most of the vanilla dominant scents I have don't smell like this vanilla. Almost a tobacco type of energy to this vanilla scent. Still testing the P/L. Will return after a full day wearing and again after it has sat for a few weeks. So far, this isn't a bad fragrance at all. This is now popping up in rack stores and discounters at a good price.

I’ve had my bottle for a week So far it smells like incense If there was such a thing as unsweetened vanilla incense. When i say vanilla, dont think cupcake sweet. It’s hardly sweet at all. It smells, like a stick of incense. I’m really hoping it just needs to sit because right now, I’m upset about the hype. Wtf Update: it’s been another week. So 2 weeks since the first spray. It’s slightly less weak now, i can smell the vanilla now but it’s still primarily an incensy vanilla. The opening has a touch of mild citrus (not super bright or acidic) and the dry down is a bit deeper with a non sweet (maybe a little sweet) Smokey incense style vanilla. I do like this version better than what i got when i first opened the package and sprayed it out. I will continue to let this sit and see what happens I’ve never tried the og of what this is supposedly duping so i cannot compare But this might not be terrible after all. It’s not a favorite, but it’s not awful... i think sitting time will do this one well. We’ll see

There’s so much controversy about this fragrance, it’s wild. I’m new on fragrance tok, but I’ve been through jaclyn lipstickgate, and all the crazy shite on booktok, so I’m not new to drama. If you thought that a $35 fragrance was going to be a 1:1 dupe for a $700 fragrance, someone ought to take your cc away. But also, be thankful. The influencers who said it was did so with their full chest’s, and now we know who not to trust for recommendations. I’ve never smelled the original, but this is a nice herbal vanilla with a dry down that smells like incense, citrus and vanilla. It’s definitely not gourmand. It doesn’t smell like cough medicine. I’m not sorry I bought it. I’m going to continue to wear it. The sillage is decent. I don’t mind reapplying, in fact I’d rather. The packaging is a little tacky, like all the middle eastern fragrances, but the atomizer is great. Bottom line this is a grown up vanilla that’s really versatile for daytime wear. Would be a great office fragrance, or signature scent.

My nose is a little weird right now, but this fragrance smells like the little flowered soaps in the soap dish, that my grandma used to have back in the 80s and early 90s. They were soap, but we weren't allowed to wash our hands with them because they were decoration. I mean, they didn't smell bad. Maybe this needs a little bit more time as I did just spray it out. I wish I didn't waste my money on this. I succumb to the hype. I will come back in a month and update you. 2/25/26 I'm back and this scent is completely changed for me. It went from neutral to love and my bottle is almost gone. I am buying a back up bottle. Also I bought a sample of VP and, I think, after a month of maceration this perfume gets very close to it. This is probably the best vanilla layering perfume I have! And I will never be without a bottle. BTW... I wear a different perfumes to work every day because I have over 400 bottles. The compliments I get on this one is unmatched!

Vanilla Aura has been incredible on my skin — a creamy caramel vanilla with a soft hint of chocolate, warm, smooth, addictive, and very much an elevated grown-woman vanilla. I get no sharp citrus at all. I sprayed it before bed and woke up still smelling the beautiful drydown, and it instantly put me in a good mood. I’ve never gotten anything like “burnt rubber” — it’s honestly one of the best vanillas I own. I already got myself a few back-up bottles. But I do want to say this respectfully: @K Sweetleaf your comment comes across as very aggressive and judgmental. The influencer you’re referencing later clarified that neither Maison Asrar nor Gulf Orchid ever contacted her or asked her to lie — that part got lost in the drama. Fragrance is subjective and skin chemistry plays a huge role. It’s okay if a scent didn’t work for you, but accusing everyone who enjoys it of being paid just spreads unnecessary negativity.

I just received this as a 5ml decant. This is nowhere near my most expensive fragrance, but this one certainly smells like it. It smells like Guerlain for sure; the other scent notes are more forward than the vanilla in the Planifolia but is otherwise is an excellent dupe. It projects slightly more than the Planifolia, which is closer to a skin scent. I would say this is an 85%+ accurate dupe, maybe even 90%+. Absolutely worth the price if you like spiced vanillas and want to smell expensive. Can layer with another vanilla if you want to enhance the vanilla notes a bit more, but it's not necessary. I am pretty hard on ME fragrances because I pick up on synthetics in fragrances very easily and am prone to headaches; this fragrance is giving me no issues. No odd notes and no plastic notes. No burned rubber notes, and I have certainly smelled all of these with ME frags before. Highly recommend if you like this DNA.

People getting upset that this isn’t a 1-1 dupe for Vanilla Planifolia are insane. It’s a £25 fragrance. The fact that it’s 80-90% close is fabulous. You are getting a very similar dupe for less than a fifth of the price of the original fragrance - which let’s be honest most people can’t afford anyway. This smells very close to VP, most notably in the dry down. I would say VP is a touch sweeter and also has a stronger spice note that this lacks. Either way this is a great dupe. My favourite thing is that the performance is great. VP lasts all day and so does this, and projects! Ps. to commenter “Gifty” below who says people are lying that this is a dupe, please calm down. Scent is subjective, if it’s not for you that’s cool - no need to throw a tantrum. There will be many people who to their nose this is an exact dupe, you can not say that is untrue, its an opinion

I didn't know what to expect because I have never actually tested the original, but based on the hype I figured it was going to be a smokey vanilla fragrance. It's weird because there's no tobacco in it but I definitely get like a dark pipe tobacco smell without smelling anything like Tobacco Vanille or Naxos. It's exactly what I was hoping for and I am not disappointed. It smells a little bit like a swisher sweet to me but I don't know why. I love it and I think it would be a tough sell to some people but this is definitely darker and more Gothic without being too risky. I can't really compare it to anything but I do recommend it especially for the price. However to the people who say it doesn't smell anything like vanilla, my guess is they are looking for a vanilla scented candle type fragrance and this is definitely not that.

This juice is so beautiful! I have gone through so many vanillas on my fragrance journey and this is just so pretty! It’s an ethereal vanilla... Yes the vanilla is very much there but so are the spices & florals. I layer this with practically every white floral / gourmand fragrance in my collection and it compliments them beautifully. It’s beautiful on its own but also a great fragrance to layer with. I have tried the OG and while there are some differences this fragrance is beautiful on its own! The sillage and performance for the price is amazing! It was a blind buy with 0 regrets! Didn’t need to macerate although I am positive with time this will only become a richer, more spicy, vanilla! Just get it and thank me later!

I was a little shocked to like this after all of the mixed reviews. When I first got this it came across as very smokey for some reason. However like most ME perfumes it is maturing well and now is really nice ( it will most likely get even better. I’ve only had it for 3 weeks) I still get some smokiness for the first hour or so of wear but then it dries down to a nutmeg vanilla scent reminiscent of eggnog on my skin and it lasts all day with mild to moderate projection. As for controversial comparisons to $700 perfumes, I have no opinion as I have never smelled that particular Guerlain fragrance. For $35 though this is an easy reach for me.

I bought this on a whim as I love vanilla scents and it was cheap. I let it sit for a month and a half after receiving it and just wore it for the first time recently. I absolutely love this one. The citrus sets it apart from other vanillas I already own. This isn't too sweet or gourmand and not cloying. Someone else said woodsy spicy vanilla and i think thats a great description. It really lasts both on skin and clothes. When factoring in the price, this is a must have. I've only worn this a few times and I've gotten multiple compliments. This is going to be heavily used in the colder months.

A lof of people are talking about this on TikTok, so I got curious what it really smells like. I checked it out in one of their shops in Dubai and am really impressed with this latest vanilla fragrance. A fitting follow-up to the Maison Asrar's gourmand lineage such as Faris Al Arab and Vanilla Voyage. I have not smelled the main inspiration of this -- Vanille Planifolia Extrait 21 -- but this Vanilla Aura will captivate you. The bottle design is also very beautiful! If they can improve something on this new fragrance, it has to be its opening notes. Still a must try tho!

11.17.2025: This. Is. Not. A. Replacement for VP Extrait 21. At All. They both have vanilla and they both have great longevity. I'm going to sit it in the corner and hope that by spring it smells like something I can get into. Glad it was under $40 12.29.2025: AFTER A FEW SPRAYS & 30 DAYS: I'm gonna buy a back up bottle!! The OG has less musk than this. On my skin, this is a fine representation (8 out of 10) for closeness to the original. And it lasts forever! There is a difference between the 2 but this is very close if you give it time! 🤷🏾♀️

I tried Vanilla Seduction before and really liked it, so my wife and I decided to test Vanilla Aura as well, and I ended up loving this one even more. The scent is smooth and comforting, not overpowering or trying too hard to get attention. It has this soothing, refined vibe that makes it smell more expensive than what you’d expect. It also lasts surprisingly long on my skin, around 10 hours easily. Considering the quality, the price is honestly great. It’s the kind of fragrance you can wear every day without getting tired of it.

This hands down is one of my favorite gourmand fragrances. I’m a frag-head. I have over 175 fragrances, many of them are gourmands. From Niche to Middle Eastern dupes, Vanilla Aura is a special fragrance. The vanilla and caramel are glorious but it’s the Amber, Sandalwood and the Tonka that makes this perfume so memorable. It’s long lasting and the sillage is great. In fact it has the lasting power and sillage of heavy hitter Bianco Latte. If you want a gourmand with a twist I highly recommend it

Just got this today and its definitely vanilla forward but it does come with a rubbery/leathery note to me, especially on my skin. Its the same rubbery note I get from Rifaqaat (which is also overhyped in tictok etc) but it is nowhere as potent as the Rifaqaat one which I couldn’t stand cant stand - proper grandpa smell. I appreciate it more as it sits (but still smells rubbery on my skin but not so much on clothes) and it brings a pleasant vanilla bubble around me which is growing on me.

on 1st spray, i know this one as to wait to develop. reminding me of an expansive perfume i used to wear during the 90's but can't put my noise on her name and Vanilla Aura would be her modern version, maybe a Guerlain but not VP. i am not sure yet, but i think this is the One, the one vanilla i was hunting for so long, and maybe the One perfum i was hunting, maybe. i think this is the one. i bought 2 "because" of Daniel René, now i regret it, i should have bought 4 😜💜