Les Orientaux: Vanille Patchouli

I fell in love with Molinard Vanille, which I blind bought on ebay over the summer. Luckily I was given Vanille Patchouli for Christmas. Oddly enough, when sniffed from the bottle it smelled rather like thick, Greek yogurt. Not necessarily a bad smell, though unexpected. But upon being sprayed onto my skin it's powdery, clean patchouli leaves dipped into a fresh batch of lusciously creamy, old fashioned caramel spiced with the barest hint of warm, spicy cloves. The clove note fades in seconds leaving the caramel dipped patchouli that lasts forever. I detect no orange or pepper at all, but I'm not disappointed. Though generally linear the caramel and patch do eventually dry down to creamy vanilla. This has become another favorite winter fragrance. I sense a longstanding relationship with many more Molinard fragrances in my future!

I really like this scent, I love patchouli and there is enough present in this fragrance to make it enjoyable. I have yet to be disappointed in anything from this house. For the price, it is worth checking out. I feel it would be great with layering it with a lighter scent just to give it a twist. Edit 10/13/13- I loved this scent and I decided to wear it today since it is becoming a little cooler here. The longevity is absolutely amazing. I applied it generously around 2 pm and it is now a little after 10 pm and it is still very noticeable. That's pretty impressive! I also paired it with Alkemia's vanilla and patchouli perfume oil and the two blended very well together.

I agree with TillyWave. It is not horrible maybe a little cloying so a light touch is necessary. There is not a lot of COLD COLD weather in Texas but I am going to wait until the cooler weather to wear it. A nice heavy sweater and a fire in the fire place maybe Vanille Patchouli's best friend. It is a no go in warmer weather. Anyway, I am not here to boss you around. Just my opinion. :) Happy Perfuming! ♥

I have an EDT version of this in new packaging. The bottle is the same shape as those in Molinard's "Les Fleurs" series and has a light brown label. The notes listed here for the EDP are identical to the notes listed for Molinard's Vanille Patchouli in Les Elements collection. I know I have the EDT, but I would have wagered a reasonable sum that there are more notes than those listed here. Beaute Test (a French retailer) lists the following for the EDT: Top: orange neroli, caramel accord, bourbon vanilla Middle: chilli, patchouli, clove Base: musk, sandalwood, vanilla I think this is pretty accurate as - on initial spraying - one of the notes which is standing out for me is... caramel. There is a definite but gentle spicy feel to the perfume as well, although vanilla is the strongest of the notes. If you are not a patchouli lover (unlike me) you don't need to be afraid that this will overwhelm you. It's extremely subtle - in fact, I would have preferred a heftier dose of patchouli to give the whole perfume more weight. On my skin, the sillage and longevity just creep into the moderate range, but this is probably because it's EDT strength. I'd say this is a safe blind buy, if you like sweet vanilla perfumes - it's very pretty.

I totally agree with Sherapop; this is not a sum of both Molinards Patchouli & Molinards Vanille. I find this fragrance pleasant smelling enough, but mostly just detect the "Vanille" part of it; where's the "Patchouli"???? I'm a serious Patch-Head, so I've searched out All 3 Molinards Patchouli dominated fragrances, and out of the 3 the only one I find somewhat rememberable is the Intense version. The oringal is a basic vintage Homme Patch, and this one (Vanille) is basically just a vintage Vanilla fragrance. Basically, I don't detect much Patchouli in this. It's mainly just a Vanilla & Caramel dominated scent with a smooth Sandalwood drydown. I can just barely detect Patchouli which is unfortunate. I still like this fragrance because vanilla is one of my favorite notes, but if you're a fellow patch-head, and looking for a real patchouli frag from Molinard then I would recommend Molinard's Patchouli Intense. This "Vanille" is a slightly airy, non-artificial, transparent type of vanilla scent. Pleasing enough. Someone else mentioned layering with this frag, and I think that would be a good idea with this one.

Let me start out by saying that I'm a huge fan of vanilla in fragrances and it's the dominant ingredient here. Vanilla, vanilla, vanilla and a hint of caramel. There's no doubt that it's a lot like a candle but that's not necessarily a bad thing. I got this in a blind swap and was a bit worried that it may be a bit too feminine but that's subjective, based on body chemistry. A*Men and Rochas Man are vanilla cappuccinos, Guerlain L' Instant and the Eau Extreme are chocolate spicy. I guess what I'm trying to say is that this is no more gourmand that any of those would be. I haven't worn it out yet and I'm interested in what kind of reaction I'll get from the ladies.

The scent is lovely, not overpowering, caramel just a hint, like an eclair, the ones you chew and has a hit of squishy chocolate in the centre. On a man this would be inviting indeed, as does not choke you up. The only downside is that it fades too quickly and you have to respray, but overall if you like your soft orientals this could up your alley. Is a very reasonable price, as most molinards fumes are...x

I get edible vanilla with pleasant patchouli, bit of sandalwood joins in the drydown. Very nice, would be good for layering. It is quite sweet but can imagine it unisex. Personally will not wear. Long lasting and moderate sillage.

Perhaps you've been wondering: Is Molinard Vanille Patchouli a 1:1 mixture of Molinard Vanille and Molinard Patchouli? Having somehow "ended up" with bottles of all three, I decided to conduct an empirical trial. I found that the answer to the question is "No." The opening of this fragrance, Vanille Patchouli, is rather off-putting, and I worried, as I sometimes do upon initially applying a Molinard fragrance, whether it had turned. As usual, the composition improved dramatically over time, and by the drydown, it was rather pleasant. I find, however, that Molinard Vanille layered on top of Molinard Patchouli actually smells a lot better. My intention in acquiring the two separate note perfumes was to be able to mix them to my own desired proportions. Later, however, I ended up acquiring a bottle of the Vanille Patchouli as well, probably because it was a tester at a very low price, and I figured that I could not go wrong. I now recognize that the two single note fragrances are better to own, not only because the proportions can be varied depending upon one's mood, but also because Vanille Patchouli is not quite as good as the sum of its parts! Perhaps that's because Patchouli is the best of the three and smells great layered with anything. I definitely prefer it as a stand-alone scent to either the Vanille or the Vanille Patchouli, which leads me to suspect that the culprit here may be the vanilla used. Anyway, these are the decent quality which I've come to expect from Molinard, and the price at discounters is somewhat difficult to believe. Vanille Patchouli is a pretty simple scent, at least compared to something like Thierry Mugler Angel, the creation often said to have spawned imitators in every single sweet patchouli perfume in existence. Since I never fell for Angel, and in fact find the eau de parfum fairly unwearable, a simpler combination of notes such as is offered in Vanille Patchouli is quite tolerable and even nice to wear now and then. It's true that there's a limit to the appeal of sweet patchouli perfumes, but within this genre, the Molinard are pretty good--definitely above average.

Molinard is a house that has always mystified me, especially in regards to having so many beautiful, yet hidden fragrances. Vanille Patchouli, as part of their Oriental range, deserves to be found. Vanille Patchouli is sensual, unique and rich. A sales assistant suggested this fragrance to me a week ago, based upon my love for anything oriental in nature, with earthy or sweet notes combined. This fragrance fits the bill perfectly. If you're a big hater of patchouli, you may be able to tolerate it in Vanille Patchouli. I find the sugary vanilla accord rather dominant on the skin, causing the patchouli to be less earthy and more subtle. While not overly sweet, this fragrance does have an element of sugary sweetness that you'll either love or detest. Other than vanilla, there's a strong caramel accord throughout, which I personally find quite addictive and alluring, but I know some have an issue with this caramel blend. I would recommend Vanille Patchouli for those that crave a sweet oriental on the verge of a gourmand. Although difficult to describe, the sweet and foody aspects are certainly evident in this composition. Vanille Patchouli is a unisex fragrance from beginning to end. As a woman, I really enjoy wearing it, but I know that I'd find it equally as pleasing on a man's skin too. Some men are shy when it comes to wearing vanilla scents, so I think this fragrance would be a great excuse to start wearing them, or at least to ease yourself into other unisex vanillas. On a cold Winter's night, Vanille Patchouli provides that warmth that I crave. With such an inexpensive price tag, this rarity should be snapped up while it's still hot. I adore this one, and suggest the entire Molinard range if you want quality with a unique twist.

This is a very lovely scent, surprisingly so. I have tried many niche vanillas with similar ingredients and this is much better and for a much better price. In general, I find Molinard fragrances to be high quality and well balanced and blended. The patchouli in this scent is lovely and green and keeps the scent from being too sweet. it mixes with the musk to add a bit of darkness to Vanille Patchouli and to balance the sweetness of the caramel and vanilla. The spices are beautiful, with nice clove and pepper coming through for me and just a bit of orange which also balances the sweetness and the green woodiness. Again, this is well blended and balanced so that no one note stands out and overtakes the composition. All work together into a seamles whole, drying down to a lovely soft musky spicy vanilla that stays close to the skin and could be worn for daytime and night. There is not a lot of sillage with this one but it is longlasting on my skin for a few hours. I am thrilled to find such a lovely scent that will not cost me an arm and a leg. Kudos to Molinard! This is Habanita's sweet, soft little sister and I am so happy to meet her.

I love Molinard fragrances and am a total Habanita follower but had not actually smelt this one, so I bought this based purely on the reviews here. What an ethereal and totally mysterious, classy, sweet toffee perfume with a distinctive musky almost incense-like smell...it lingers for hours even though an EDT and wearing this makes me feel, well, just special!!!! Like all Molinard fragrances it has a classic old school oomph to it and if you like Habanita but would like to try something slightly sweeter but no less dramatic, this is the one to try. Thanks so much for the great reviews here - they have not been wrong yet after quite a few buys based purely on user perceptions...THANKS!

The first time I tried it, I was immediately transported back to my grandfather's barber shop. How ancient I thought. It smelled like old gentlemen's cologne. But as it often happens, after a while I gave it another try, and now I'm sort of addicted to it. I'm not crazy about the Neroli note it has (I'm not a Neroli fan), but the vanilla softens the whole thing, and the patchouli makes it feel warm and cozy and ancient (love ancient stuff). It lasts long enough without being overpowering.

I have this in the square purple bottle & the clear bottle kind of brown label, tall curved top of bottle. I have never seen this bottle. I saw a review below saying they have this in the EDT version, but mine are EDPs. So, clearly there's a lot going on here. It does not state here that this is EDT or EDP. Can someone clarify? Anyway, the bottles I have are both a very nice Vanilla/Patchouli scent. I also have Vanille & will sometimes mix them.

This is super delectable and easy for me to wear. I immediately reminded of molinard vanille marine. The vanilla/caramel in here smells exactly the same, and it is forefront in this fragrance as others have noted. The patchouli is noticeable but it is no match against the gourmand notes. There is an orange clove coziness that makes a nice backdrop. Nothing earth shattering but a lovely, comfortable, vanilla perfume.

Compré esta fragancia guiado por las críticas y por su bajo precio, al principio me resultó chocante muy sintética pero luego de un rato en que las notas de salida se tranquilizan uno comienza a disfrutar el verdadero encanto de esta fragancia, suave con algo de flores silvestres calida dulce sin abrumar y una longevidad aceptable para un eau de toilette.

Blind buy. I hate vanilla and patchouli. I like this. It's not dirty hippie. It's not syrupy sweet. It is a dry vanilla balanced by the earthy patch. I would say it is more vanilla. I get the patch when I stick my nose in my arm. This almost reminds me of an unsweetened, decaffeinated, let potent, more genteel and sophisticated Mugler A*men.

Unfortunately this fragrance would make a better scented candle than perfume. It smells good, it just doesn't do much, and you really don't want to be stuck with it on your person for the duration.

At first I thought the vanilla was a bit too strong but it only was strong for a short while and now it is a soft fragrance which I just love

Imho, this scent swings more towards the feminine side. Indeed soft, mysterious and a bit musky.