Vanilla Absolue

Golden hour, bottled. scent breakdown - Opens up with a dry, spicy, and slightly sweet blast of vanilla surrounded by various warm spices, mostly being cardamom, cinnamon, and cloves to my nose, with the edges filled out with some aromatic geranium and non-descript sweet fruitiness. As it begins to dry down, the vanilla begins to take center stage as some seemingly powdery and ethereal Damascus rose swirls in, taking over from the fruits and geranium of the opening. At this point, the spicy, dry, cedar-filled taueraide is in full effect, even more so as cozy, golden resins begin to dance with the vanilla in the rose in the deep dry down. personal thoughts - Unfortunately, I got into this hobby too late to experience any of the Tauerville fragrances, which this one apparently harkens back to. That being said, as someone very familiar with Andy's work, I am very pleased to say he knocked it out of the park AGAIN with this one. A wonderful, dry, rosy, slightly sweet, and woody vanilla that is really gonna please anyone who's already a fan of Andy's work, or just anyone tired of the tooth-rottingly sweet vanillas out on the market. I brought this with me to a wedding I was invited to last year, and for the whole long weekend, people kept asking me what I was wearing, so something works here if that's what you're into. performance - Very good performance of 8-10.5ish hours with good projection for the first 3-4 hours before retreating to within the arms. rating - 9.2/10. when to wear - Wedding parties in Charleston SC; Date night at a dive bar; When you want to be brooding, but still approachable song vibe - Blades by Arlo Parks TLDR - Dry, Semi-Sweet Vanilla + Cacophony of Spices + Powdery, Fruity, and Ethereal Rose + Classic Woody, Resinous Taueraide.

Absolutely delicious! Vanilla expressed as only Andy can! Brilliant how he can make vanilla perfectly unisex. A little spice and amber make this downright addictive. Pro tip from the Golden Nose: Layer it with chocolatey Heraud and make something I call Andy Candy! (This is what I’ve become since I’ve reached my sixties...a big ol’ fluffy marshmallow man...an absolute embarrassment to straight men everywhere).

I was also sad that vanilla flash was discontinued. BUT vanilla absolue takes it to a whole new level of luxury. I just have a sample and am planning on a full bottle. I can pick out the individual notes when I really concentrate. For the most part I just sniff and enjoy it being so well blended. It is a compliment getter for me. I do not think this is a safe blind buy, sample first for sure.

A beautiful rich spicy (not too much) Tauer Vanilla. Went straight to the top as my most favorite vanilla. Perfect just the way it is....it'll likely get richer in a bit of time. Although I have not layered it (yet), it'll be wonderful layered with florals, coffee....and whatever else works well with vanilla. This one's a beauty. 10/10

A brief medicinal start (very brief) followed by a spicy rosy tobacco and a vanilla ambergris dry down. Beautiful and strong. Gives the feel of a combination of Boundless and a more refined Centaurus. I love vanilla in all its forms and this is the spicy dry version, not gourmand at all. Woody spicy ambery and very good. Love.

One of the best vanillas I’ve smelled; unmistakably Andy Tauer, and I’m happy about it as there’s nothing remotely gourmand about this composition—hooray! If you love spices and pretty scents that lean masculine—but work on both sexes—then you might be as delighted as I am.

This starts spicy and slightly camphoric. You can smell the vanilla in the background, but it's not prominent. Then, I start to get the tobacco and resins. I don't really get the rose. It's really an addictive smell. Love it!

Lovely stuff from Tauer. Just sweet enough but never cloying or too thick. Lovely dry vanilla with more than enough interest to stop it from becoming a soliflore.

First impressions: Not Vanilla Flash as I remember it...Vanilla Absolue is all spices, tobacco and resins, powdered and powdery. Ambery vanilla. Dry geranium and rose. I swear, it smells almost exactly like rooibos tea leaves...I'll let it sit with me for a few weeks and make a proper review then. Edit: Okay, so the main difference between Vanilla Flash and Vanilla Absolue is rose. Rose and geranium are much more prominent here, especially in the opening. Not in an obvious way; rose, resins, and an array of indistinct spices are blended in your typical Tauer amber-y fashion, with vanilla playing a stronger role here. When the rose and geranium start to burn off, the vanilla starts to shine, with complex notes of earthy tobacco, labdanum and sweet dried apricots. Strangely, it IS Vanilla Flash on my skin once I get a too hot or start sweating. At the very end of the drydown, it becomes a proper vanilla absolute. Would be a fun wear on a particularly warm night. It is still reminiscent of rooibos tea leaves though. It bears a lot of similarities to Une Rose de Kandahar, though I prefer this one. I'm sorry to say, but it seems Mr. Tauer is running out of ideas. So much so, that I can't really recommend getting more than one fragrance from this house. I even find owning this and L'air du Desert Marocain to be redundant. There's only so many ways to use the same Tauer DNA base.

This predictably hits you right off the rip with the signature Tauer dry/spicy/resinous DNA. You will immediately ponder why it has Vanilla in the title. Patience! Like a creature stumbling ashore from the depths of a murky lagoon, the vanilla emerges to scare off the dry spicy resins. The creature is in your face now and it all makes sense.

This one is really growing on me. The initial spray was sharp, but as it mellows, I'm really catching the tobacco, which is pretty strong. I'm not usually a fan of tobacco or "smoke" type fragrances, but this one is nice. Although the tobacco notes are strong, they're made soft by the vanilla and resinous base notes.

Opening is similar to Kandahar Rose - powdery, floral, spicey - but dries down to something uniquely resinous, balsamic, vanillin.

Super interesting green and non-sweet take on vanilla. Has Tauer’s famous sparkling opening.

A gritty, papery, naturalistic vanilla with a big dose of rose. It leans a bit feminine actually. I was expecting dark and sultry but instead I kind of got “cute.” Just a warning. Not bad though. 7.6/10

This is crap. I'm sorry but it really is, I'm not going to sugar coat this one because I think it's mainly Tauer fans that are seeing any merit in this perfume. If you call something 'Vanilla absolute' the expectation is a vanilla centric perfume, using a good natural vanilla material, (I've no doubt it probably does) and even if it's not that and it's a good perfume, then fine but I don't get this one. The composition is dead, smells sort of ok in the top, definitely vanillic but then more of dry, woody accord with coumarin. Not lovely 'tonka' but a sort of cheap, thin, one dimensional, coumarin bleh! Stays very close to the skin which you'd expect but I for one feel a little cheated out of a composition, no real notes to speak of. Vanilla Absolute is rubbish.

I can absolutely say it is exactly what i imagined Tauers Vanilla Absolue would be. Resinous, dry spicy - seriously, lots and lots of spice! I get cinnamon predominantly, maybe myrrh? maybe some cloves? and a prominent tobacco note. Slightest hint of indistinguishable fruit underneath. Not date like.. dried apricot perhaps, as it is just like the vanilla base in Tauer's Une Rose de Kandahar. In fact it is so similar that I feel it’s a little redundant, but I guess it could be nice to have a similar option for people that don’t enjoy the rose in it as much as me. You could say that it isn't your typical vanilla you'd expect from a fragrance called 'vanilla absolue'. We are so used to the sweetened version of vanilla (vanillin) that most people will expect something a little bit different. However, the first time I smelled a natural vanilla planifolia tincture (firmenich), i was surprised how spicy it initially is. So different to the very sweet vanillin most commonly used in perfumes. So, my assumption is that Tauer created his enhanced version of a vanilla planifolia, being inspired by Guerlains Extraits, perhaps? After all, I don’t regret buying a bottle, even still preferring 'Une Rose de Kandahar', I now have a super gorgeously enhanced raw vanilla that will absolutely suit Une Rose in case I ever feel like I need a little more vanilla for the day! (However, after sampling his Rose Absolue i wish i would have bought a bottle of it instead). 8.5/10

Vanilla Absolue is maybe the gentlest Tauer creation I’ve tried. It opens with a light sparkle of fruity rose and geranium, which slowly gives way to a dry tobacco. I picture endless leaves like those used to roll cigarillos, but of the highest quality. Both dry and fresh at the same time. Decidedly brown. I can almost see the veins on the leaves. It’s the same kind of plush yet dry tobacco in Tauer’s Sundowner, which is maybe my favorite tobacco note. Here it’s adorned with sparkling flecks of vanilla bean. Slowly the composition blooms softly and fades and the vanilla is all the more present. A few hours later it has this play doh quality but in the best possible way. To me it’s almost identical to Vanilla Flash (I have a 10ml roller), but here the rosy notes are more vibrant. All of it is in full color actually. But they’re both very similar. It’s beautiful. Super wearable. I only wish it stuck around more, was less gentle... but a beauty nonetheless, especially if you’re fan of how Tauer treats these notes.

bought a sample from lucky scent bc I was intrigued with absolute, especially vanilla. my initial reaction was a little off putting, guess I was expecting more gourmand ice cream. what I get is a spicy rose resin opening and kinda fougerish imo. I wasn't impressed but I kept sampling bc I wanted to finish the sample... Well hello Mr, Drydown! The Vanilla started to pop up towards the mid and dry down and I was stunned. it really is a beautiful scent but you have to give it some time for the mid and base notes to kick in. def don't blind buy but do sample for sure... 8/10 as its very nice..

Quite fabulous really. Hinting at a vintage Amber than the modern fluffy milky vanillas. Really good vanilla fragrance! Complex, balmy and rounded. Rosey too. I smell quite a bit of tonka, surprised it’s voted as the lowest lol. This almost smells coumarin(tonka) over vanilla to me, but it’s the blend of resins and tobacco that create that vibe I think. An adults vanilla!

This is a beautiful and soft amber perfume which is not really about vanilla at all. It is like a soft version of Grand Soir. I was hoping it really is like Phi un rose because that is my most favourite perfume ever but it isn’t. But if you love amber then you can’t go wrong here.

Excuse me Sir Tauer...Did you forget to add the Vanilla? I can't find it! I get a ton of a very intense ambergris, with a clean patchouli , geranium and some spices, mostly pepper...tons of pepper... Why? I don't understand this...it seems a barbershop scent...

This old-school amber mixed with TF Tobacco Vanille... everything that TV should've been! I have yet to meet a Tauer that's not rich in a perfect way. These just smell EXPENSIVE, so well blended.

It’s a bait, the name is a bait. It’s not a “Vanilla Absolute” It’s a resinous Geranium fragrance that also smells woody. Smells good But it’s not a Vanilla Absolute Scent Sorry to disappoint

Vanilla flash makes a reappearance. I still have an old bottle of vanilla flash and I can’t discern between the two. Beautiful stuff.