Felanilla 21

At first I could immediately smell the same hay note that is found in PG's Bois Blonde, a perfume I own and love. It's almost like a wilted lettuce/rotten vegetable scent, but I happen to like it. The scent was also quite powdery. I wondered what gave me the impression this would smell like vanilla, it was so far from vanilla. Yet within several minutes I began to pick up a light vanilla caramel. Quite gourmand for something that didn't start out gourmand at all. The notes I thought I smelled were vanilla, caramel, iris, amber, and orange. While there is no orange listed in the notes, it's hard for me to believe there is no citrus in this perfume. I also felt like I'd smelled something like this before and became a bit nostalgic for whatever that scent might have been.... I glanced at some of the reviews below and saw Shalimar Initial mentioned a couple times, and it made sense why this perfume seemed so familiar. I used to own Shalimar Initial, but I found it too weak for my taste. I also didn't love the "Guerlainaide" that some people talk about, which tends to give Guerlains an old-fashioned smell that doesn't suit me. I'm sure I'm not alone in that regard. So I have to agree--this is Shalimar Initial (improved). Felanilla is more interesting with the green hay note floating around. Sillage and longevity are both very good. My shirt smelled amazing the next day, with strong traces of the perfume still lingering. I wasn't tired of Shalimar Initial, it was just the sillage that annoyed me...so I would consider Felanilla as a worthy replacement.

This reminds me a lot of Shalimar Parfum Initial! More than of regular Shalimar, it has a cosmetic vibe like Parfum Initial does. Especially in the opening. Later in the drydown, this is more spicy and resinous, and less fluffy-pink than sweet than PI. Felanilla is a warm, resinous vanilla and amber scent with a heavy dose of waxy, powdery iris. I definitely get some citrus here, even though it's not listed, but not the bergamot from Shalimar, to me it smells like a tiny spritz of mandarin orange is in there. The banana wood addition is really interesting and cool. I would never have guessed it and to be honest, I'm not sure how banana wood smells in real life (who does?), but after reading the notes list, I can pick up an understated fruity-woody, slightly banana-ish note in this and I love it. I don't get the hay note at all, I get the hay in Lutens' Chergui for example, but I can't smell it here. Overall a lovely perfume. I don't need it at the moment, but I might get a bottle if I ever empty my Shalimar Initial. I feel like PG is an underrated house, they have some real gems but aren't talked about much. Maybe it's the boring bottles and the sheer size of their collection. Anyways, I'd recommend anyone who likes the Shalimar lineup and especially Parfum Initial to try Felanilla.

I love Felanilla. Someone below described this as Shalimar on Xanax and I completely agree. If you took Shalimar and stripped some of the growling, animalic leather out and amped up the iris note you'd get Felanilla. For those of you who don't have Shalimar as a handy reference, here's what Felanilla smells like: a dry vanilla mixed with a cool toned, chalky and papery iris note, a bit of opoponax (smells like Carmex lip balm) which is not listed in Felanilla but is certainly present, combined with a note of softly indistinct amber, polished woods and a spicey saffron. Certainly unisex, I could see men who love Dior Homme Intense kicking it up a notch and making this their signature just as easily as I could see uber-femme women wearing this with red lipstick. Superb! ETA: I've worn through two whole sample vials of this now. I've got to say that this really, really smells like a spicier, smoother Carmex lip balm scent.Very medicinal smelling but I love it. Update 7/26/15: I finally gave in and bought myself I bottle of this beauty. I have to say I'm surprised with people's references to the cosmetic iris note. To me it is very distinctly a spicy vanilla perfume with cool iris hints and has nothing to do with makeup.

Finally a PG I like! To me this is mostly a "cosmetic" (you know the one) iris paired with an inedible vanilla/musk combination but there are subtleties that make it pretty unique! The Carmex comparison is definitely accurate . It has this strange depth to it that I've come to recognize as the scent of petroleum jelly or vaseline. The saffron is also subtly detectable and it adds a much needed spicy tinge that keeps this from smelling like a vanilla-mint flavored urinal cake. To me the most interesting aspect of Felanilla is the opening's contrast between the cold, almost mentholated Iris and the fuzzy, warm musky vanilla. It quite literally smells cold on top and warm on bottom. It's like hugging someone in the fall. Your body feels the warmth coming off the other person but your face is cold from a breeze flowing over your coat. Eventually the warm notes beat out the iris and it enters a pleasant vanillic amber drydown. I LOVE the opening to this, and I appreciate the drydown but it does make me miss the action in the beginning. In a way its a bit top heavy, so I can't justify a full bottle but It is ideal for a decant! It has great longevity and about average sillage on me. 8/10

Gorgeous. Starts with a silvery and stark Iris that feels very futuristic and cold. This only lasts a few moments though before a plume of ambery vanilla that is in no way sweet or gourmand envelops the Iris in a sensual bear hug. There’s something a bit animalic in the background but it’s almost completely restrained, there’s just the barest edge of it. After a bit violets and hay become more prominent, adding some lighter notes that mainly serve to reinforce the feeling of deep smooth sensuality of the rest of the composition. The dry down is the same but add more powder. In my opinion, this is one sexy creature. It’s unisex. It’s for fall and winter and cooler spring nights. Definitely a date night perfume or something to be enjoyed by yourself. I think this telegraphs a message of extreme sensuality, it’s one of the sexiest perfumes I’ve smelled. It’s the polar opposite of some of the sweet and sugary vanillas that are out there now. If they are a white fluffy long haired kitten in a pink boudoir this is a muscular and sleek leopard stalking the Savannah.