Sweet Vanilla

Vanille Abricot was my signature scent for a few years. After all the rave reviews for Montale’s Sweet Vanilla on Luckyscent, and reading that it had a resemblance to Vanille Abricot, I ordered a sample. My brain lit up like a neon sign when I first smelled Sweet Vanilla. It happens only once every few years that I am moved to immediately order a full bottle of a fragrance after sampling it. Sweet Vanilla had me scrambling to place an order right away. The apricot note is subtle, lightly candied, and adds succulence. Though a nice presence, it stands modestly out of the spotlight of the true star here: vanilla. I have owned many vanilla fragrances over the years- dozens, probably. Some were inexpensive; some so pricey I could only afford samples. Sweet Vanilla does indeed resemble Vanille Abricot, but in the fashion an estate diamond and platinum ring from Van Cleef and Arpels resembles a sparkly zirconia ring you bought for fun at Woolworth’s. Sweet Vanilla is certainly not inexpensive. But it was so glorious, I HAD to have it. After experiencing Sweet Vanilla, it makes total sense why long, dangerous sea voyages were endured to secure this precious substance- this magical orchid's fruit, from deep within the steaming jungle. There are no discordant dark notes in Sweet Vanilla- no smoke, no whiffs of wood, no lurking musk to distract. Vanilla has been elevated by some divine force to its highest form. Is it sweet? Yes, it is. Is it delicious, and long-lasting? Yes, and yes. This vanilla tames beasts. It banishes gloom. The wings of Pegasus waft Sweet Vanilla. Willy Wonka’s factory had a secret room that could only attempt a vanilla this profound. This is also, hands down, the most enduring fragrance I have ever tried. When my sample arrived, I applied a dab about the size of a pea to my left arm in the early afternoon. The next morning, it was easily detectable. Late that evening of the second day, a true echo of Sweet Vanilla still lingered. The fact that you need to only apply a tiny, tiny bit of this fragrance to me more than justifies its price point. Sweet Vanilla will also uplift and enrich fragrances layered over it, and extends their wear time. If you like vanilla, do try a sample. If you love vanilla-- you need this fragrance in your life.

I had to get over my deep discomfort for the terrible packaging that Montale delivers, just to be able to own a full bottle of this delicious, mouthwatering apricot tart. Sweet Vanille is a full blast jam made of perfectly ripen apricots, on a soft buttery base of vanilla, not even a sour note, just one hyperglycemic guilty, sweet fruity pleasure for the nose. It's a playful fragrance, I mostly wear it when I can have some free time with my SO, since he loves this scent to the point of randomingly coming super close to sniff it. You can bet that this fragrance makes a lot of people go mouthwatering, since it basically screams "eat me". In whatever way you're comfortable reading that. Sweet vanille is not a workplace appropriate scent, and I don't feel professional one bit while wearing it. It's a comforter, an intimate, albeit a bit loud, cuddling pleasure. The longevity is absolutely great and worth the price. You won't leave a big trail behind but whoever comes close enough to talk with you will definitely smell this and casually find themselves craving for the nearest bakery. Comparing this to Vanille Absolu, that one is a much simpler vanilla note, perfect for layering, a bit mute and deeper, really simple to wear. Sweet Vanille has a bigger personality on his own, even if it doesn't really develop as time goes by. The only dowside is that Montale keeps doing this thin tin packaging without any cap to protect the nozzle from dust deposits, just a stopper with a charm that will eventually get lost if you're messy enough. The bottle would be perfectly safe on an open shelf, since it's opaque and dark, but no, you're obligated to keep it in a cupboard because the oily nozzle is unprotected from dust and whatever bacteria you might spread around while cleaning the house. You might want to decant any Montale. This goes even for the miniatures bottles, that you're supposed to carry around during the day, staining everything with the oily juice AND getting the nozzle dirty from rolling around in a pochette.

A fragrant friend of mine sent me a sample of this perfume along with Maison Mataha Escapade Gourmande and Andromeda's Moon Tihota. I sprayed each on different parts of my arm and smelled one at a time. I was immediately drawn to Escapade Gourmande (I now own a full size bottle and am obsessed with it!) and put the other two away because they didn't really do anything to catch my attention much. A couple of weeks later I was messing with samples in my closet and decided to give Montale Sweet Vanilla another go. I sprayed a little on a paper strip and inhaled. And oh my goodness, it was GOOD! I could smell something that was almost lemony at first (looked at the notes and it was apricot..not sure how that read as lemon-like to my nose but it did) mixed with a beautiful vanilla. And then the dry down of that beautiful, sweet vanilla came through and I decided that I had to have it. I ordered a bottle and while I was waiting for that to come, I wore the sample and realized that, although I loved the smell of Sweet Vanilla, that glorious opening fades after a few minutes and then I am left with that lovely, but hard to detect, sweet vanilla scent. I have to put my nose right to where I sprayed the fragrance to actually smell it, and really try to smell it, which is a bummer. I have read and heard so much about this fragrance being a projector and I didn't even get a scent bubble from it, which would have been ideal. I will still use Sweet Vanilla because it's such a lovely scent, but I will be layering it with some of my other vanillas so I am not left with the sense that I am not even wearing perfume. Edit (1/6/23): I decided to spray Sweet Vanilla on after over a month and now I can smell it much better!! Wow, it lasts way longer now!! I love it!!

I had to update my review after wearing this for a week. SV is an apricot orangey creamsicle vanilla. When The Mr. was questioned, after MUCH contemplation, he diagnosed “vanilla... [10 mins later] ...cookie... [20 mins later] ...dough?” For him, that’s freaking poetry. An hour or two later, the dry down is 100% = to Vanilla Absolu (Montale’s other most popular vanilla). Wonderful!! I tested them side by side on wrists, and wore Arabians Tonka on my arm, just to gauge performance of all 3. That’s when things took a turn. Be the end of the day, AT was still a cotton candy cashmere cloud, sweet but very clean (thanks, saffron!), like an after shower fresh musk cuddle scent (but still projecting). Although I hadn’t noticed any spiciness all day, both SV and VA faded to the exact same clove scent by nighttime. The dry down hadn’t bothered me at all in the days before - but now I had AT’s sugary vanillic tonka bean still lingering to compare. SV and VA didn’t feel warm and cozy, or even slightly vanillic at this last stage, they felt stale - like a linty clove cigarette you don’t remember smoking, but found under an old couch cushion. To be fair, SV and VA were skin scents at this point, so I really had to dig my nose in there, but what I smelled was way more acrid than I anticipated. Or appreciated. That said, the first several hours, SV and VA were exactly what I wanted them to be with superb performance, so no shade! The initial apricot in SV does kind of give chewable vitamin if you look for it, but it’s still lovely. Going forward, I’ll just rinse or respray before things take a turn at the end. 9/10

This perfume smells exactly how I wanted it to smell. When you spray it, it smells like a vanilla fruity scented candle, it has that Montale synthetic smell which I personally like and when it dries down it smells like a freshly opened bag of gummie bears, as somebody already mentioned in the comments. It’s a very simple perfume, it’s sweet and vanilla with a touch of fruitiness from the apricot. I am OBSESSED with vanilla so I adore fragrances that have strong vanilla notes in them and this is an absolute dream for all vanilla lovers. I’d wear this fragrance in any season but It also looks like a perfect fragrance to wear in the winter, especially the holidays as it’s so cozy and sweet, kinda festive to be honest. Reminds me of all the sweets I would get for the holidays in december as a kid. Over all, Sweet Vanilla by Montale is a very sweet and cozy vanilla gourmand and i love it. Edit: I went out recently and wore this perfume and I kept getting whiffs of fanta or carbonated sugary drinks even though there were none in sight. I soon realised it’s just this perfume. Lol