Tobacco Vanille

"Is it a gift to someone special—?" "Yes, very. It is a gift to myself." She takes a brief moment to smile as I maintain eye contact. "The best kind! would you like me to wrap it for you?" "No. Give it! it is to be enjoyed right away." I said to the amusement of the Sephora-Plage representative of Saint Tropez, all the while sampling this eau de parfum on my wrist, then on my chest, opening the collar of my dress shirt as she was seemingly leaning forward. Tobacco Vanille unexpectedly took me back to a very private place, where laughter was cheap and colours saturated. I used to be on the Right at the time and perhaps a bit emotionally disconnected, and "She" was on the other far-end of the political spectrum. Beautiful, strong, opinionated and witty. Naturally we clashed—Genevieve called me an Imperialist and I called her a child—she stormed out of the debate and I followed ... but before we could understand what had taken hold over us, here we were, lustfully rolling in the grass of our University. She used to perfume herself with nothing but vanilla extract while I reeked of those Davidoff cigarillos I favour to this day... But the real Tobacco Vanille is far more eloquent. Yet it is an idea refined to its simplest and purest form like the most accomplished architectural projects. This eau de parfum is a opulent Niche caprice. It is a manly unsmoked pipe tobacco—It's tin is flavoured with cloves, anise and wood sap that sensually tango with a moist and candid Bourbon vanilla, a creamy tonka bean and what must be Criollo (a very high quality cocoa that represents less than 3% of the world's production) imported straight from madagascar—There is also a very playful note which echoes the smell of a little Grand Marnier spilled on an old leather sofa and expands further the underlying theme of the old Gentleman's Club so cherished by Tom Ford. Tobacco Vanille is a simple way of saying very elaborate things. ...Genevieve and I would soon abandon our ambitions and made plans to elope to the complete dismay of our respective comrades, but tragedy would decide otherwise (To those of you who have known this kind of quiet rage and survived it, I salute you.). "Magnifique!" Back in Saint Tropez, the Sephora representative had just woken me from my memoria loci, studying me with those dark almond shaped eyes and nervously playing with the tip of her tight, tight ponytail (...). To quote Oscar Wilde, "Everything in the world is about sex, except sex. Sex is about power." and Tobacco Vanille certainly adds to mine. Now I must add it's newly released beard oil to my routine.

I've been absolutely dying to get my nose on this scent for basically the last year. Despite its high price tag, something about it has called to me since I started this hobby. Been wanting to get a decant for a while, but it just never worked out that way. Finally pulled the trigger because I found a sealed bottle for about $260 shipped, which is the lowest I've peeped since I started looking. Aaaaand I've smelled it before. And that's putting it lightly. Smelling this was almost like unlocking a core memory that's been hidden away for years. I'm 90% sure that I've smelled this on other people before in the wintertime, but there's also a very distinct possibility that I'm wrong, because this smells like any number of other things too. People have said it of this and other fragrances, but this is straight Christmas in a bottle. First thought that came to my mind when I smelled it was a Christmas tree, even if it doesn't smell like a tree would. I definitely get the tobacco and vanilla, but the dried fruits definitely take precedence over the vanilla for me. And those dried fruits smell kind of like those bunches of cinnamon pine cones that they start putting out around Halloween/Thanksgiving time. But there's also a very sleek tobacco smell, less like a cigar and more like that nice, moist tobacco you get when opening a fresh pack of cigarettes. I don't think there's a boozy note in here, but the notes wrap together in a way that almost makes it smell like a liqueur of dried fruits, cinnamon, and tobacco. Or maybe a compote would be more accurate. This fragrance also ages beautifully. Got batch code A91, which my usual batch checking website says was created nearly 6 years ago. No sign of aging though. In fact, it might have even gotten better with age. No alcoholic harshness on initial spray, just pure opulence. This isn't the tobacco fragrance I was expecting or even hoping for, but it is a masterpiece in every sense of the word. A solid 9.5. I think Tobacolor is my personal favorite tobacco scent, but this is a worthy contender, and a great addition to my collection. I'll be wearing this on every Christmas going forward.

This was my signature scent for almost 10 years (as a woman). To say that I adore it is putting it lightly. It was the first ever bottle of perfume I ever got gifted and the only one I wanted to own for years. I was so strongly associated with this scent in my late teens-early 20s that people said they remembered me when they sniffed this at stores. This is the scent I remember the first time I drank alcohol or when I had my first kiss. For me, it's full of memories and indissociable from them. It's long lasting, but at some point all my clothes and furniture had traces of it seeing as it was the only stuff I wore. For me, it is a classic. I understand how it can be polarizing. It projects a lot at first and I get how the middle tonka and cocoa can feel super heavy for some mixed with the tobacco. I might also love it because I'm a smoker and it blended very well with the cigarette smell but, throughout the years, I was complimented on it tons and told it matched my personality. Perhaps that's why I loved it and felt like it made sense for me - I was also a quite polarizing person. There's something about it that contains very perfectly the final years of the 2000s going into the 2010s and whatever was in the air back then. I don't know how I'd feel about it if I was trying it out now for the first time - who's to say I wouldn't hate it, too. I will always own this bottle and wear it sometimes, despite not having it be my signature anymore. It holds a special place in my heart and likely always will. It combines a loud teenage rebellion with a softness and complacency that I appreciate and identify with. It's not for the faint of heart and it's not a fragrance most people will like on themselves. It's not a blind buy and I'd recommend it for people who enjoy standing out to some extent. It makes a statement that you can love or hate, but it makes it extremely well.

A Sweet Winter Signature A cozy fireplace, an old leather armchair, and the scent of sweet pipe tobacco lingering in the air... Tom Ford's cult classic Tobacco Vanille carries a true "old money" aura, but let me say this upfront: it is definitely not for everyone. Don't let the bold spice and tobacco leaf in the opening mislead you; if you are expecting a dark, smoky, and harsh tobacco, you might be disappointed. Instead, this is a very soft pipe tobacco heavily dipped in the syrupy sweetness of vanilla and cacao. As it dries down, the tonka bean and dried fruits step in, making that famous vanilla highly dominant. On some skin types, the tobacco can disappear entirely, leaving behind nothing but a dense vanilla-spice cake sensation. This gourmand-bordering sweetness is exactly what divides the crowd. For this reason, it is absolutely not safe for a blind buy; you must test it on your skin. As for its performance, it is an absolute beast. Anything more than two sprays in a closed environment can easily become suffocating for both you and those around you. It should be kept far away from warm weather; rather, it is a luxurious savior for freezing winter days and crisp autumn evenings. If that sweet, enveloping warmth aligns with your style, it is highly poised to become an irreplaceable winter signature you won't give up for years. instagram.com/etatelierparfum

Anyone who lives or grew up in the UK will immediately associate how TV smells with all things Christmas. Think mince pies, Christmas cake with brandy, church candles, mulled wine, a smoky fireplace, Christmas crackers, cigarettes after a work Christmas party. Tom Ford describes TV as "reminiscent of the very finest of private clubs" but I think this is a very languid description, mostly because it is not particularly heavy on the tobacco, and instead (at least for me) it's defined by the dried fruits and spices. To stifle any confusion: in the case of TV, that is absolutely a good thing. The T and V are there, but they simply round it out. If you weren't wary already, beware of influencer opinions on this one. TV is often described as "dangerous" or "sexy" or "dark". I do not think any of these adjectives are remotely correct. TV is welcoming, warm, and cosy. This is sexy to a lot of people, so perhaps that one's valid, just not in the way it's made out to be. I'm not really a fan of Tom Ford's private line. Except for this one. TF discontinued so many good perfumes from their private line but luckily held on to this. Go for the 30 or 50ml and try to find it below retail price, and you'll have plenty to come back to winter after winter. Smell: 20/20 Versatility: 6/10 Performance: 10/10 (8-10h) Value: 4/5 Bottle: 4/5 Verdict: 44/50