I feel like I’ve spent most of the month of March recovering from the flu. I’m just now wanting to smell things again. Natural fragrances like these from Phoenix Botanicals are great for “reintroducing” fragrance into my life.
Triple Vanilla
Notes listed include Mexican vanilla beans. Launched 2013. PERFUMER – Irina Adam
Triple Vanilla smells exactly like vanilla extract. That may sound simple, but it isn’t. Vanilla is naturally complex. This one smells sweet yet balsamic. It reminds me of vanilla pipe tobacco. It’s warm and cozy and the brand recommends it for layering. It eventually becomes this “pure” vanilla. And I do imagine it’s great for layering. I also think the oil base would help traditional alcohol based perfumes “stick” to the skin.
I haven’t tried this, but reading the ingredients, I bet this would smell amazing in the hair. Plus, it would help with frizz and dryness.
It comes in a few sizes with the 1/2 oz bottle retailing for $55.
Victoria’s Final EauPINION – Vanilla extract. I’d recommend it to anyone that wants a high-quality vanilla that wears closely to the skin.
Cocao Noir
Notes listed include citrus blossoms, neroli, cocoa, tuberose, rose, vanilla, tonka, vetiver, myrrh, smoke and oud. PERFUMER – Irina Adam
This limited edition fragrance was initially commissioned for Madre Chocolate, a chocolatier in Hawaii. Cocao Noir opens like orange chocolate. Honestly, I expected this fragrance to be a straight-forward chocolate scent. It’s not. The heart is an earthy cocoa with a cool, mineral-like tuberose. It dries down to a sweet tonka bean with a hint of smoke. Like Triple Vanilla, it reminds me of vanilla pipe tobacco, except in this composition, it’s being smoked.
It comes in a few sizes with the 1/2 oz retailing for $110. Samples are also available for purchase at Phoenix Botanicals.
Victoria’s Final EauPINION – Smoky chocolate floral. It’s still sweet but it’s balanced. It’s like chocolate lava.
Being that both of these are botanical perfumes in an oil base, I find longevity and projection to be below average. They wear closely to the skin and last about 1-3 hours. SUBTLE, this is the word you need to know if you’re sampling these.
Want more reviews? Try…
Beauty Huile – Review of Triple Vanilla
Fragrantica – Member reviews
I really need to get more samples from this house. (Why, oh why is my perfume budget not infinite?) I bought Night Bloom on your recommendation, and loved it. It lasts a good four hours on me, too. Also, for those of us with, let’s say, idiosyncratic noses, I’ve found that all the natural perfumes I’ve tried have smelled to me the way they do to everyone else. Not that I’ve liked all of them, but none have smelled like chemical soup, or had a rubbing alcohol note that erased the rest of the perfume.
Yeah, where’s our unlimited perfume budget? 😉
That’s a good point. I do find that people sort of pick up on the same things with naturals (vs the synth/mixed-media stuff). The only real differences occur if a bottle ages. And it’s been my experience that most of the naturals that I’ve purchased actually smell much better with age.
Getting better from this flu, I’ve been craving natural perfumes. They’re about all I can stomach. I like that they wear closer and aren’t aggressive.
[…] – reviews two naturally delicious gourmand botanical perfumes by indie brand, Phoenix Botanicals. […]
[…] – reviews two naturally delicious gourmand botanical perfumes by indie brand, Phoenix Botanicals. […]
The reviews are quiet fascinating. It makes me feel like trying one of those. Would definitely try to lay my hand on this one. Being a perfume lover, I am enthusiastic in trying new perfumes and cant wait till i chance upon a vial or free sample. Don’t get me wrong here as i sound like the greedy vulture for a free sample but it helps in smart decision. As much as it’s tempting, after sniffing the top note to buy the bottle off the shelf immediately, it pains me knowing that the dry down would be different and i’d be trapped with a expensive fragrance that’s not worth it’s retail value. Recently have been using London based brand Yardley’s perfumes and i will admit it is worth eveny penny. Of’course i know it’s not the same feeling it offers, like these beautiful gourmand fragrances.