Starlight Vanilla

A Shapeshifter Like Mr. Ripley A strange oriental fougère, perhaps disturbing but beautiful enough to understand where things are going. Starlight Vanilla is a shapeshifter like the talented Mr. Ripley. A beautiful Arabian scene, but something more sinister lurks. A sea breeze from the Gulf of Oman flowing over fields of gold, lymphatic trees, fastened by weavings of amber. It’s strange but familiar. The main perfumer has completely obscured the division between natural and synthesised. Starlight Vanilla was the second piece of the Chapter N°7 collection that I purchased after Vanilla Vibration. In this case, the smoky bottle has a dark purple liquid colour inside, between Byzantium and English Violet shades. I didn’t go crazy, and know very well that this perfume is not inspired or cloned from Azzaro pour Homme EAU DE TOILETTE; however, the first fougère accords brought it back to my mind, that kind of powerhouse perfume from the 80s, a perfume that I still love today. Here, Starlight Vanille gives off the same vibrations, despite being two totally disparate perfumes. What is Starlight Vanilla all about? It announces its presence with the almond accord, a keynote that here shows itself with bitter and dark edges, with nuances of licorice and anise. The almond note is present both as drupes and as milk, reinforcing the bitter edge with a milky touch. Behind this bitter kernel, you can glimpse a frothy form of vanilla, like a soufflé, vanilla but not greedy. There is a very interesting aspect that tends towards fougère thanks to dry lavender, not very floral, a little medicinal and camphorous with reflections close to straw and dry hay. Very subtle, it adds a little freshness to the blend with accents of anise, camphor, honey and hay, giving the fragrance its aromaticity. On my skin, the lavender at the top is very strong, as if I were in the middle of a field in bloom. This lavender surprises me, with a nuance that I have never smelled before. It’s so dry it almost feels like someone struck a match on a pile of dried lavender, the smell of dry lavender burning. Then, the freshness and smokiness of the lavender become softer, rounder and warmer, allowing the other participants to take part in the game. The heart still emits camphoraceous nuances similar to mothballs. Fortunately, the almond milk and vanilla foam amplifies the creaminess and gives balance to the composition. Vanilla and tonka combine power and sweetness, creating a harmony on the skin that continues throughout use. There’s a sort of resinousness and sappiness of it, which mellows out after the first hour, and is more noticeable when first applied. Don’t worry, it has nothing to do with incense-like things in case you’re not fond of it. It’s more warm and woody, similar to benzoin and myrrh, and slowly gets replaced by a warm balsamic amber. The perfume acquires more and more sensuality. Amber adds that touch of flavour that keeps the sweet and bitter aspects of tonka and almond in balance. The base note is well blended and brings out a smoky and powdery tonka enclosed in rich vanilla. The tonka brings a powdery veil and amplifies the aspects of almond and vanilla, and makes this composition of sensual fragrances unique. It is necessary to wait for drying to fully reveal this mixture. I’ve heard that a lot of people find it synthetic, but I think they stopped at the opening notes without experiencing the full fragrance. A sweet and amber trail with vanilla, not pastry-like, is what remains on the skin quite a few hours after the first application. Starlight Vanilla is ultimately a fairly sweet scent, but not at all cloying. Non-linear, and made primarily from sweet accords, there is no citrus opening, making it a fragrance best suited to the autumn and winter months. Personally, I choose to wear the fragrance in the evening as its strength cuts through the cold. It is a perfect perfume for autumn-winter evenings, think of the fragrance designed for classy black tie and semi-formal events. Its sillage is not disturbing despite being so bold, but it remains present. On my skin, Starlight Vanilla performs better than Vanilla Vibration. I'm formulating my impressions on a bottle I've owned since September 2023.

I’ve never done two reviews on one fragrance, but if it would happen, it would be this one. Starlight Vanilla was my first Zara fragrance, it was a blind buy at a big discount... and it was a love at first sniff for me, and still my favorite Zara scent. My first review was the fragrance on its own, as I had never smelled Myrrh & Tonka yet. But I love this Zara fragrance so much that it really got me curious about Myrrh & Tonka and eventually I just had to get the original. This review is about Starlight Vanilla compared to Myrrh & Tonka. They are very very similar. Especially in the opening, the similarity is undeniable. I found both to be extremely pleasant and soothing. The dry down is softer on the Starlight Vanilla: I could believe that this one doesn’t have myrrh but creates a similar experience with amber. It’s also a little bit brighter. Myrrh & Tonka has a certain kind of smokiness that’s not in the Zara dupe. I could imagine that the ingredients are cheaper in the Zara fragrance. Longevity and projection – sadly considering the price tag – is much better on the Zara fragrance. For the life of me I don’t understand why this one would be discontinued, or why it wasn’t better received. Even on Fragrantica here, the Jo Malone scent is rated much better compared to the Zara fragrance. Especially seeing as Myrrh & Tonka is so often credited as people’s favorite Jo Malone fragrance. So why is it that this one flew under the radar, I wonder? You could say that the Zara audience isn’t the Jo Malone audience, but that’s not true either, seeing as they collaborate with Jo Malone the perfumer, successfully. Zara, if you’re reading this, please bring this one back! Maybe release it in one of those Jo Malone collaboration bottles? It might fare better in that line. Starlight Vanilla is amazing.

Gothic perfume: rotting clean girl (in a good way) I bought it at the end of my shopping route, went home, tried on my arm, had a long, hot shower and i can still smell it. The sillage is not that strong after that, but still can smell it. Vanilla is vanilling, bc it's strong and sweet. At the opening it is enormous, almost overwhelming, but it dries down fast. The amber comes through, but smells synthetic on *my* skin, which is not my favourite thing, but that's fine. Now to my favourite thing: the almond note gives cadaver. It's not overwhelming or disgusting but it is something you can smell. Lavender starts to come alive after like 2 hours, and it is not as strong as the vanilla or the almond/nutty note. It is creamy, soft, warm, for me it's a daytime perfume, but it has a bit of that dark vibe

Ok, so someone who voted for very weak longevity and intimate sillage for sure haven't tried this one - it lasted almost whole day with just on my skin and was very noticable for first 4 hours. I'm getting a lot of Myrrh & Tonka vibes. I can't understand why this one is getting so low ratings here - it is not for everyone but it is for sure not a bad fragrance with a really decent quality (overall not as for Zara's fragrance) and hand in hand it's doesn't smell cheaper than Jo Malone. Probably when someone tried it in store together with others from this line might find it strange as it is very different - it could be placed in men's section as well. It also shouldn't been judged without a full wear as it's best part is a drydown. On parfumo it is much more appreciated.

I bet that if it would not be released by Zara but by some brand with better reputation it would have had better rating. I feel like some people have bad experiences with some Zara fragrances and first what they do is trying to find something to complain about when they test it. I'm just finishing my 3rd Jo Malone's Myrrh & Tonka bottle and after getting a 30ml of Starlight I will get at least two full size bottles ideally on sale. Probably I won't be buying Myrrh & Tonka again and that is one of my fav fragrances.

Wow what a gem! Another great vanilla for those who like vanilla but despise the chokingly sweet and gourmand varieties of vanilla that dominate the market. The stand out note in this elixer is the lavender which gives a clean/astringent edge to this almondy heliotrope variety of vanilla which in turn makes the entire fragrance dry but warm/cozy. Its almost niche and definitely full bottle worthy at this price point..

As others have stated, this is a dupe for Jo Malone's Myrrh & Tonka. Lovely scent but I'll also add that it is just as fleeting! My second favourite in this line. Edit: This has become my favourite in the line! It's just lovely in the winter, a smooth, sweet, clean scent. You do have to overspray to get any projection but at the price point, it's doable.

Sexy and unisex. Beautiful, powdery amber with lavender that leans it towards a masculine vibe. Dries down to a powdery almond. A little Zara triumph. I think I am in the minority when I say all four of these vanilla offerings are winners. No redundancies here — they all stand on their own.

Anise-forward lavender and vanilla cream with powdered almond. Projects intensely, it's been a few hours and my little elbow spray is still quite strong. Best suited for cool/cold weather, so every season except the summertime and overly hot spring days. An excellent Zara offering.

I really enjoy this one. It's a love for me. To me it seems really all around and non-offensive. Definitely unisex. Sadly, it seems to have disappeared from their website. I guess I'm going to have to really cherish my bottle because it's a really comforting scent to me.

This Vanilla fragrance I like as I’m not usually a fan of Vanilla scents. To me this scent can be worn any season, day or night. It’s very pleasing and almost comforting. Quite similar to JM’s Myrrh & Tonka but at such an affordable price.

This smells so rare, not your everyday frag at all. I love it since my Kenzo Power has already discontinued. So it is the best alternative i can get, the powdery effect and myrrh is truly legend. This is of high quality by Zara. Surprise!

Probably one of the best Zara perfume releases ever, shame that it is discontinued. Beautiful and longlasting scent.

More masculine take on Myrrh & Tonka. I'm a man and I'm gonna be wearing this in the cold and/or as a layering base.

My new favourite..I like to mix it with Vanilla Vibration..Heavenly combination..

It smells really elegant and silky, and I'm pleased to have added this to my collection. I've never smelled the Jo Malone so I can't compare the two, but to me this perfume would be ideal for elevating 'normal' situations to something slightly special, if that makes sense? It's not a powerhouse, so I wouldn't expect it to get me through a major business event or important night out, but it could add an uplifting pinch of sophistication to, say, a brunch date or a quick business meeting or a Wednesday evening dinner. Not a lot of vanilla to my nose, but the silk is there! (more as an overall texture than a smell, but I can definitely feel it)

I smelled the whole line in the store this week trying to figure out what they are duping. This one was definitely a dupe for Myrrh and Tonka by Jo Malone. I was actually considering buying the original for the winter so I was very happy with Zara's find and purchased it on that day. When I sprayed it on my hand I could smell it for couple of hours and also the perfume left oily film on my skin. I would say the oil concentration might be actually good. It is quite unisex in my opinion as the lavender is pretty prominent. Anyway if you are looking for Myrrh and Tonka dupe then just try Starlight Vanilla and see if it works for you. 🙂

It’s so interesting reading the reviews for this one, there seems to be a lot of different takes! On me the almond really stood out and developed into a powdery almond. It reminded me of Reminiscence Dragee, but take away a heap of the sugar, add in vanilla, a splash of amber and make it a bit more mature. Something about it reminded me of some more classic vanilla fragrances, but it wasn’t immediately obvious to me, just a hint of that profile. I kind of want it as an accessible dip into that territory. Interesting!

This is an unusual scent that is unisex and not masculine to my nose. The vanilla is not sweet, it's a dense base note that carries the lavender and amber. The amber is strong here, which gives it a coldness I think some associate with masculine scents. In the dry down I pick up on powdery notes. I enjoyed reading the reviews of this because they're very perceptive. Yes, it does smell a bit like flat cola, yes it does smell almond pancake-y. But at the same time, it's really nice. 8/10

Lovely, slightly bitter smelling lavender and almond in the opening. After it dries down I get more of the vanilla and more almond. It’s quite weak to me but that might be because it was the first couple sprays of my bottle. Obviously not the same quality as a higher priced designer or niche fragrance but for the price it’s stunning. Love the scent.