Vaan

These NOT Perfumes have an interesting concept and exploitation of a 'loophole' (as Joanna Venables calls it) is what drew me in really. The whole Nordic/pagan/celtic style appeals to me, they are almost a bit black metal or something? (NOT that I'm a fan of that) Right down to the constant double negatives and the Borat inflected marketing statements which I found as tedious as the fragrances...Nahhhht!!! (tee hee) Vaan is a murky, dirty vanilla fragrance which doesn't seem for a second like it's a NOT a deliberate stylistic choice, but perhaps I've giving too much credit? This is actually quite, animal quite intimate but chaotic...if it was a colour it would be dark brorange a deep shade of yurquoise. Vaan has the feeling of something that has been left to ferment or hung to age like some artisan meat or cheese? Or more aptly Oud or Ambergris. In fact I wouldn't be surprised if Ambergris featured in here, it does have animal facets and that grounded feeling you get from perfume anchored with treasured whale vomit/turd. So the opening is actually quite resinous, darker resins I'd say myrrh, labdanum, opoponax, tolu etc... but it's never all about those, the most prominent and growing note is one of cocao. This merges into the general warm naturalist feel of the purfume, and smells maybe a touch like patchouli but still warmly, vanillic, kinda furry but never over sweet. The drydown strips back the chocolate and becomes that little bit more resinous again. This was a nice experience, I don't if having prior knowledge of the origins of the brand gives this impression but something about Vaan is incredibly Scandinavian, almost viking like and this fragrance is a big pussycat really. It has spooky forest vibes all over it though. Now I'm not sure but there seems to be a large constituent of naturals in these, you can just tell. The statement about the NOT being perfume because they clearly aren't complying with any guidelines is slightly lost on me and I think it's because I just associate banned stuff oakmoss (wrongly coz there's loads of restricted materials) but because there's not even one that has super predominant oakmoss or animal notes I just feel a bit disappointed. That's with the line in general...Vaan is one of my favourites but they are all worth sniffing out. The initial strength and potency does die back very quickly but the drydowns are often long, evolutionary affairs. NOT has my vote.

Vanilla - how I adore it in perfumery!! Some of my absolute favourite fragrances have it playing a major role; in some even being the leading note - Spiritueuse Double Vanille, vintage Shalimar and L'Heure Bleue.... I thought that no house could match up to Guerlain when it came to perfectly executing vanilla.... And then I smelled VAAN!! VAAN opens on my skin with a bright burst of bergamot and pink pepper; joined by sweet dustings of cinnamon and cloves. Entwined around them are ruby red, rich, syrupy, almost caramel speckled roses laced with heapings of delectably boozy benzoin; weaving up slowly to merge with the most sensual spiced smoky base. The lush, heady vanilla; the animalic, carnal, seductive civet and castoreum envelops the wearer in a velvety plush, fuzzy blanket that is both comforting and alluring. Sweet, balsamic opoponax and ambered, resinous, golden hued labdanum with its caramelised tonalities perfectly ties everything together; creating an incredibly sexy, dark and voluptuous composition. VAAN has exceptional performance even on my scent-thirsty skin being one of the longest lasting fragrances I have tried; and is undoubtedly a favourite from the line alongside my newly found love, Ashka!

This is a Mothergodess of a fume. An rough unpolished ancient venus. Hands of devotion has carved it out from a rock it's an protector, a magic talisman to be kept close by the heart, animalic furs covering and protecting shielding it secret powers as we hunt and collect. We crave the comfort of slightly burnt vanilla to give us peace and calm, we pray for fertility and opulence and the rich spicies run in an endless syrupy stream from all the most desired places a loving goddess has. We trust her to stand up for us in fury if need that be. I know Johanna doesent believe in gendered perfumes. But this is a celebration in the feminine energy, an energy that truly deserves to be celebrated by men in this time and age a potion to create a more even natural harmonious balance. Vaan is a rich oriental. It's Cleopatra demanding her cookies.Spicy and opulent as Opium and Cinnabar in the seventies. Sexy as an wild powerful dangerous ancestoral grandmother of Shalimar! A Shali without any dainty bounderies! Vaan is a bewitching brew a love potion for connection-to the past, the present and also connection as in seduction.

Animalistic and sweet, but less spicy than Svaha or Nadir, even though cloves are very much dominating on my skin. Can't feel any flowers in it, which is fine by me. Edit: to get the bergamot and flowers out you really need it in a pendant and not on skin, less direct body heat makes Vaan less sweet and less animalistic, with more neroli and labdanum in the mix. I have spent quite some time trying to wear NOTs in different ways, and i think Vaan and Ashka are the best, i have a pretty hard time choosing which one is bottle-worthy first. Promised myself to buy both eventually.

Vanilla in an entirely different persona: whole-grain, handmade, organic and wilfully weird. While still the closest to normal that NOT scents ever get - it's a recognisable vanilla-based spicy amber, not a whole new genre of its own like berserker stable mates Ashka or Svaha - it floats well away from the rest of this field. NOT's defiantly retro, eerie-artisan-potion artwork and prose tell you what it's all about: a very defined, particular, witchy-weirdy-pagan-lady aesthetic, and while this is not my subculture, it's an interesting experiment with a really enjoyable outcome. Turns out, when you get one of the oddest houses in the business tilting at one of the most overused, even hackneyed, notes imaginable - innovation is still possible. Yes, Martha, even vanilla CAN STILL BE INTERESTING! So yes: it's vanilla-centric, but this is one wild specimen. Dark, woody, deeply spicy, so smooth and rounded, but also zingy at first (a citrus tickle makes the slightly bumpy open a little smoother; there's a raw, kind of unfinished feel to it for a short while). Like the smell of a real dried seed-pod, but without the slightly acid/solvent-y edge that even the truest botanical vanilla can present; the surface texture might be a little scratchy but the overall curves are still pretty damn comfortable. Then once you (and it) warm up together, things really get humming and shedloads of almost florally, fragrant cinnamon show up - it's sweetness and light everywhere. Definite whiffs of dark caramel and baked goods as coriander, pepper, clove and benzoin together summon up hints of past greats (Mitzah, Ambre Loup, Tango - Vaan is very valiant indeed in challenging these divas!). No matter what it might sound like, though, this is NOT a gourmand - apart from the jungly, tropical, undergrowthy feel to the plant life, there's yet another earthier, more growly layer beneath: those animalics, all gentle and furry, although they're quite dark and untamed; not at all sweaty or musky or urinous, just fluffy and welcoming and alive all the way. I purr. The cute-as-a-button mini folded info sheet which comes with the (frustrating) teeny tester vials says solemnly that a big part of NOT's approach is "the naturals experienced in their raw - or even living - state" - and yes, that's IT - that sums it up best. Vaan is a living creature - it's got a throbbing heart, carnal instincts, seems like the personal body scent of some other species much nicer than humans. Kind of feral and quirky but still really mellow all at once. Hugely seductive, vividly spicy, never cloying or sickly. I boycott gourmet-cake-custard-style vanilla scents, bristle at grand-lady designer vanilla and just sigh with boredom over 'standard generic vanilla femme chassis' of so many scents - but I can still see the genuine value and vivid new colours in Vaan. Like the other NOTs: does work when used on skin (even though they warn you not to do that) but actually shines brighter, longer and more beautifully on fabric. If you don't have a vanilla-magnifying hide like I do, its effect on the human body might seem a bit discreet (though it could hang on for say 6-12 h, which is ... not nothing!). It'll hang about for days on end if applied on natural fibres. (Vaan is a lurid orange liquid with a thick sticky texture so you'd have to pick your cloth... maybe a strategic linen handkerchief? or your favourite, most comforting sweater for added value for money?) Given its homespun, handwoven, almost wholefood strategy, natural textiles seem like the best place for it anyway. So like all the NOTs: goes its own way. Full of character, nuance, even freakiness. Utterly unconventional (how un-vanilla is that?!?!?) and yet deeply deeply comforting. Reminds me of a slew of cinnamon-scented favourites (Ambre Narguile, even Hendley's sainted Bourbon EDC) but with added bite and wit. Yes. Vanilla CAN still be interesting. Very much so.