Drowning in Vanilla

This is a Nishane Ani dupe with a cheaper pricetag and stronger performance, and by all accounts it's pretty accurate. Dua's fragrance clones are a little weird in that they need to sit on the shelf for a month and mature a bit before they really "pop". For me this one was a cardamom bomb for a while, I let it sit for a few weeks after a few test sprays and now it's finally more vanilla-centric. One of my favorite vanillas in my collection. A gourmand-esque creamy vanilla paired with ginger, citrus and some spicy notes. Makes me think of a citrus creamsicle, except for classy adults. Perfectly unisex, maybe slightly female leaning since the sweet creamy vanilla is the centerpiece of this fragrance. Honestly could work well year round i think, even in summer. Dua knocked this one out of the park. Easily blind buy worthy, if you can stomach the embarassment of having a dupe instead of the OG. I know my wallet is happy with my choice.

One of my favorites from Dua. It’s a fantastic and sexy fragrance with very good performance, this fragrance last forever on skin and clothes.

It's nice. Definitely unisex. I mostly get juniper at the top which eases into a whipped vanilla frosting. Nishane calls this blue ginger but I don't have any experience with this note so my interpretation is juniper. This is a great performer. The projection is arms length for 4-6 hours on me and very sweet. It's quite an intense gourmand in that way which normally doesn't intimidate me but I haven't really come to terms with it. People rave about it though and other reviewers have said it is 95% similar to the original with a few opening discrepancies (which I cannot confirm since I don't like it enough to pursue). The cold opening makes me think to wear it in cold weather only and it does well in brisk temperatures. I'm not inclined to reach for it in warm weather but maybe I'm just being narrow-minded about that. All in all, nice to have but I wouldn't miss it if it went missing.

I’m usually pretty open to unisex scents and I’m also a big lover of spices but this pulls really masculine on me :/ I’m wondering if it’ll get sweeter over time or if I already know it isn’t for me. Hm. And so many mixed reviews on whether its actually a good dupe or not, I guess I’ll have to try another dupe (bc I can’t test Ani anywhere near where I live.) Edit 5/14: Today on my wrists atop a very faded lemon grass body oil it’s reminiscent of Grand Soir, one of my faves. Can’t stop sniffing, the benzoin is doing alot of heavy lifting. Last time I wore it on my inner elbow creases and I reeked of ambergris, so salty and radiant. Thats the note my partner loved, I think its intriguing if you don’t have much experience with it. Probably the smell of the decade. It’ll be something that smells vintage to us one day.

I ordered this one along with ottoman drowned in vanilla and aphrodisiac drowned in vanilla, and to be honest this one was just not for me it was my least favorite out of the three. Now I'm not saying this is a horrible fragrance, it's just not for me. On me the ginger, spicy, and herbal notes are just too strong and it's all that I can smell, even when it dries down. The aphrodisiac and ottoman versions at least eventually got sweeter or got some nice woody notes to them.

Extremely disappointed by this first (and last) purchase from Dua. This dupe of Ani arrived and exhibited nonexistent sillage and abysmal longevity. I was so disappointed because it was, by necessity, a blind buy (it's an online company). I reached out to the company and stated that this fragrance was weak and unimpressive and nothing like the original. They replied that because they "stand behind their brand," there are no refunds or returns! In reality, that's the opposite of standing behind their products. I have the sense that many of the reviews on their website are written by the company. Terrible company, terrible customer relations. Caveat emptor

I just want to reiterate what arrowrydr said in his review below. I have had the same issue with Dua Brand. "Nonexistent sillage and abysmal longevity" pretty much sums up my experience with Dua. Mostly skin scents with little longevity. I also noticed that they haven't posted any of my negative reviews, only the more positive ones, which potentially could be in violation of the Consumer Review Fairness Act as these were respectful, honest reviews of their products.

This brand is a joke. I've ordered 9 different fragrances. Some are mediocre but most are not good. This one is not good. Overpriced. Every review I've written on the Dua website has been either taken down or not even posted in the first place. Plus it took 2 weeks to arrive.

If you want a good dupe of Ani with CRAZY performance, try Alexandria Fragrances H'ani- I've had it for a year now, omg. Stronger every day. Stronger than original. Compared to this, well Drowning in Vanilla is a laughable alternative.

I am pretty open minded when it comes to trying fragrances and it's not based on cost. I was excited to try this and I ordered several gourmand dupes. This one and the other three travel size are by far the worst fragrances that I've ever tried. They all smell very synthetic and at least two have a very odd pungent smell. This one arrived leaking nearly a third of the juice in the box and when I contacted customer service they were very nonchalant. For $19.95 per travel size, I will never waste my money buying from this company.

My honest opinion about Dua is it can be hit or miss, but they need time to macerate. As far as Drowning in Vanilla goes when I first got it I didn’t like it much. I thought it was a bit harsh. So I packed it up put it with my other fragrances and really forgot I had it for about a year. When I tried it again it was much nicer and smoother than I remember. It’s not Ani, but the DNA is similar, and honestly it’s a really nice fragrance especially on the dry down to a nice creamy vanilla. The opening ginger bergamot notes are not a quality as Ani and that’s the biggest difference I noticed. I’ll give this more wear as the temps get cooler.

One thing about this company that I wish they would tell people before they buy is that you have to let your perfumes mature on the shelf for a month before wearing them. It just is what it is. They need time to mature. They are not designer perfumes that have been sitting on a shelf macerating for months and years. So when you purchase remember that.

Oh I don't mind this one so much to me personally it reminds me of a AURA by Mugler.. It's to me in my opinion a very herbal vanilla it's not a warm gore monde that you're going to think of when you normally smell of vanilla perfume like I said it's slightly medicinal and herbal if that makes sense slightly green and reminds me of AURA

it really does smell like ani but it's overly harsh for those with asthma. gives you a feel of cheap chemicals somewhat where I don't have that issue with ani. However, if you're after an affordable dupe this is well worth your time. Sadly for me it makes my throat dry (and that's when spraying 1 tiny spritz on my wrist). Enjoy!

The owner only allows positive reviews on his site, he deletes anything negative. So every one of his fragrances has 4-5 stars. This is another synthetic mess that supposedly gets better with age but in fact will smell just as bad 2 days or 2 months from now. They will sell because he is a great salesman

I’ve never smelled the original but this is mind blowing , I kid you not. Just put your nose deep in to the skin where you sprayed it and just wallah it’s gonna smelling fantastic