Noir Tropical

This is one of my favorite vanilla fragrances! Dry, warm, cakey vanilla straddling the line between woody and gourmand. Feels cozy, inviting, and very natural. Has depth and presence, but isn't too strong or overbearing. Nothing really "tropical" about it (since that sounds more fruity and coconutty to my ears) but "noir" could fit since this is relatively dark for a vanilla scent. I believe that this has ethyl vanillin in it because the vanilla in this is slightly reminiscent of vanilla ice cream. The initial opening is very boozy and quite sweet, but after the alcohol evaporates I'm not really getting much of the rum in this fragrance. The sweetness also calms down considerably after the opening and only remains as a softly powdery-sweet background to the vanilla. I'm honestly not really getting any noticeable almond or bergamot either. BTW the official site also lists Heliotrope and Bourbon among the notes... And I'm not really getting much of those either. Possibly a touch of the Heliotrope peeking out from behind the vanilla. I am however getting some sort of a dry woody vibe, almost papery... But most of all, this is very much a vanilla-focused fragrance. The only other fragrance I can think of that is kinda similar to Noir Tropical is the drydown of Profumum Roma's Dulcis in Fundo, after its citrus notes die down. They both share this warm, dry, cakey gourmand vanilla quality. I could see how someone would think it leans feminine, but I think it's perfectly unisex.

Oh wow. This is GORGEOUS!!! But...it's so light wearing. Like, so light to the point where I can't smell it at all after 5 mins on skin and on clothes, only for about an hour and what I CAN smell is just a very light wisp of vanilla. This reminds me very much of My Perfume Select Vanilla Noire which also wears lightly but that one has way better performance than this one does. Not dupes, Noir Tropical originated years prior to VN. I hate when this happens...during the hour I CAN smell this, I get pure straight up vanilla extract with no almond or bergamot. Rum, maybe but only in the sense of the blast of the carrier alcohol base of this perfume. This won't be a full bottle but I'm at glad I finally got to try it as it's been on my list for such a long time now. I'll happily use up the 10 ML I have. I could also be anosmic to this, so take this review with a grain of salt. I truly believe that people who consistently wear beast mode frags only (hi! 🙋 I'm one of them Lol), that we may possibly go noseblind to anything that isn't a perfume on steroids because we've basically unintentionally trained our noses to only pick up on monster scents. Someone else who wears more moderately performing and/or skin scent type frags might have a completely different experience than I'm having with this one. So as always, YMMV 😁

Honestly, I'm baffled by some of the reviews, particularly the comparison to SDV. To me, this smells nothing like SDV - that scent is an antique, dusty and dry vanilla, which is beautiful in its own right. Noir Tropical smells quite raw, like a scraped vanilla pod with smoked almond meal. To me, Noir Tropical has a boozy quality without outright smelling like rum - it has some aroma reminiscent of of amber liquor but doesn't smell like you've been day drinking, which I really adore. There's also this chocolate quality, but it's more like a smooth dark chocolate Lindt ball, not what you'd find in the likes of Gallagher's Wicked Good. A little sweet, very comforting, easy to wear and never cloying. At first I wasn't a fan but Noir Tropical has climbed my vanilla favourites list very quickly because it's so unique yet not so challenging that I'm adverse to wearing it. I love the laid back, standoffish yet rich and classy feeling this scent evokes. It's not an extremely powerful blend, either, but lasts a long time with moderate sillage (which is perfect as I love changing my scent from day to night and I dislike "beast mode" fragrances). An absolute must for a breezy autumn day, though I don't think it's rich or sweet enough to stand up in the winter.

This is incredible. There's definitely more in here than the ingredients listed, but it's a good start, and primarily vanilla. It makes a great choice for people like me who love dark vanillas, but aren't crazy about the blast of tobacco (I'm a former smoker with no desire to "wake up" that desire again) that seems to accompany so many of them, such as the Guerlain and eau de Couvent. There's perhaps the slightest waft of it in here, but it's primarily a vanilla that turns non-edible fast with the addition of booze and what smells like balsam or vetiver (maybe it's the bergamot). Not overly spicy, not cold and chalky, or drenched in amber, patchouli, almond, or play doh, just dark, resinous vanilla. Definitely a female scent, but just masculine enough to smell expensive. Can't stop smelling my wrist. Update: Got my bottle today, yay, delicious. Wanted to add, don't let the name confuse you. It's misnamed. When I think of a tropical fragrance, I think of a fruity floral, packed with plumeria and pineapple. No fruit or flowers have come anywhere near this stuff. But it's pure dark boozy vanilla.

One of my top cozy fragrances of all time. I’m stepping into a spring of gentle, cozy gourmands and this gem is perfect for a drizzly April afternoon. The almond here is dry, lightly toasted, and finely ground; adding a beautiful fluffy warmth. I wore this to work and the coworker sitting behind me practically swooned and said “You smell like hot chocolate!”. I think that’s the warm, powdery almond almost acting as cocoa powder (other sites say there’s heliotrope as well but if so it must be more almondy than floral). The vanilla is sweet and airy. I don’t really feel much bergamot except maybe it adds a greenness to the opening of the fragrance, but that drops off quickly. Noir Tropical seems to warm on the skin with time becoming deeper and almost honeyed- but never syrupy or thick. The aura of this fragrance is a soft golden glow, the promise of a sun break wrapped around a memory of dozing in a patch of sunlight. Petite Gateau’s sophisticated older sister. 🌦️🧁🌱🐇🕶️☕️🍞