Divine Vanille by Essential Parfums

To my nose, it smells of tobacco with a green touch, soft spices adding warmth, and vanilla with tonka bean that sweetens without being cloying. The differences with Herod are minimal: here the tobacco is greener and fresher, whereas in Herod it is creamier and honeyed due to the osmanthus, which persists throughout. Performance is similar to current Herod batches: 1-2 hours of average projection followed by a personal bubble. In the cold, it shrinks significantly, but indoors it shines.

Powerful opening, slightly spicy and ambered, quickly fading to a personal bubble becoming warm and cosy. The vanilla feels natural and not cloying. Duration and projection are moderate, but with bursts that accompany me for the first 4 hours before settling to skin scent. If you are looking for beast mode, this house is not it; these are fragrances for everyday life that make you feel good.

Divine vanilla! Soft, spiced with cinnamon and slightly fresh, very pleasant and recommended even if, like me, vanillas give you nausea. This vanilla is light, nothing overwhelming. I liked it very much. The only downside is the short duration, around 2 to 3 hours.

Intense vanilla opening with spices, not very pleasant for me; but in the dry down it improves immensely by giving way to woody and cinnamon aromas. Very good duration and projection. Testing the Herod by Perfums de Marly, the similarity is extreme, except this one lacks a tobacco note, but in the dry down they are almost identical.

Aroma of vanilla, tobacco and cinnamon over an exquisite woody base. It compares a lot with Herod by PDM, a perfume I own and adore. At first they seem different, but in the dry down they are more than 90% similar. On my skin, Divine Vanille has the vanilla more in the foreground, whereas in Herod the tobacco and cinnamon stand out. This composition is softer and more balanced, perhaps because it is less sweet and has a more subtle smoky part. Herod is more powerful and projects more for the first 3-4 hours, but Divine Vanille wins in duration (>10h). It is an excellent option and unisex, ideal for autumn-winter, almost nocturnal. I love it on my partner and I think women wear it well too. I like both almost equally, but due to the price difference, when I finish Herod, I will go for this headfirst. Quality-price ratio: 10.

If you think it smells of divine vanilla, you are mistaken. It has a horrible opening and does not change much afterwards. I do not smell the vanilla anywhere.

Recently we have seen the rise of Essential Parfums, to the point of doubting those who opine on their perfumes due to the nepotism that prevails. That is why I write this review on Divine Vanille. It is a strange and chaotic perfume, with a slightly spicy and resinous opening that I do not quite like, but in minutes it gains creaminess: the pepper disappears and the resinous becomes balsamic. It is difficult to categorise; it is a vanilla with so many nuances I could not describe them, it reminds me of Herod and the dry down of Ambre Tabac. It is a vanilla that is not plasticky but I think it seems dirty and not as natural as they say. I do not doubt the quality of the ingredients, but aromatically it does not convince me and I think there are other better niche vanillas. The performance is moderate: on skin it does not last a night of 7 hours and the projection is meagre, almost to skin level from the start. I know for a fact the house reformulated and increased the alcohol, which may affect, but I also have Bois Imperial which is not a bomb and has more alcohol. Its moderate performance gives it climatic versatility, but it is eminently for winter/autumn due to being dense avainillated aromas. Regarding uses, let everyone use it as they wish, but I see it more casual than formal. In conclusion, I was disappointed by the performance and the aroma, especially by a chaotic opening that barely projects and a measured duration. Its price is competitive, but it offers mid-range designer performance with an aroma that did not surprise me. I would recommend trying before buying; in my case, I will not get the full size.

Divine Vanille is a pleasant vanilla with amber, yet not sweet; it’s spiced, aromatic, smoky and woody. It opens strong with cinnamon and pepper, evolving into something floral/fruity due to the osmanthus and a leather note. In dry down, woods, resins and musk add nuances to the vanilla. On my skin it sits very smoky, like blond tobacco (which it doesn’t contain), likely from the blend of incense, cinnamon and tonka. It doesn’t resemble Spiritueuse Double Vanille (SDV), which on me is more vanilla-forward, without cinnamon and more boozy. Nor is it Herod, which is more masculine, with more tobacco but also more complex, creamy and sweet. It reminded me of Angel’s Share due to the cinnamon and woody base, but this one leans more gourmand and boozy. It’s pleasant, elegant, soft, warm and sensual, totally unisex. Ideal for autumn but versatile. Trail is medium-soft with moderate longevity. I finished the sample; I liked it but won’t buy. Still, I’d love to try more from Essential Parfums; the quality/price ratio is good.

Over the last few weeks, I’ve tried the entire line from this house. Conclusion: an honest proposal, simple compositions but very beautiful. I like the concept and the quality of the ingredients is evident. Divine Vanille is a soft, fresh, light, and elegant vanilla, nothing like a pastry. It comes across slightly powdery, a bit aniseed, with a woody base. It reminds me of other vanillas that break the sugary stereotype, such as Zara’s Vanilla French Elegance. However, Divine Vanille feels much finer and more balanced. The resemblance to Herod by Parfums de Marly is evident in the dry-down. But Herod is sweeter and shows the sweet herbal aspect of tobacco very clearly, especially at the start. Divine Vanille is elegant and subtle, very pleasant and versatile, provided we’re looking for something with a soft trail. Longevity on my skin is around 8-9 hours. Despite loving it and being happy to wear it if I received it as a gift, it wasn’t my choice from the discovery set to add to my collection, as another perfume stole my heart blatantly and seemed much more original. Scent 7.5/10, Longevity 8.5/10, Trail 5.5/10, Quality/Price 6.5/10, Versatility 8/10, Packaging 7/10. Would I buy again? No, I didn’t buy it.

I dare to say that Divine Vanille is an absolutely captivating fragrance and very well crafted. In line with the various creations from the brand I’ve tried, regardless of the perfumers’ styles, they share a unique and identifiable thread, with a precise balance between natural and synthetic essences that distinguishes them. As a result, in this vanilla interpretation we find uncommon nuances, yet predictable when reading the notes. Another particularity of this house is that their perfumes are always very sincere. A dry, dark vanilla, nothing gourmand, spicy but identifiable. Wrapped in the phases of the scent: opening with spicy tones of cinnamon and a very realistic black pepper that attacks the nose, resulting in an addictive, dark combination of a vanilla so dry it seems to turn to powder. It evolves within the first hour with floral and fruity tones of osmanthus and that magical molecule known as Pomarose, which here is identified as a gum of rose petals and apricots. Thus, the perfume passes through a more attractive, sensual, tasty period that invites closeness. The dry-down appears early, too early, a vanilla with balsamic and almost boozy tones that the musk is able to keep perceiving clean and sensual with a woody base. This is undoubtedly the phase that lasts the longest. It could be deceiving, as it doesn’t seem intense. But I assure you that others can smell it without problem after 5 hours of application, leaving a trail with movement. In my case, it produces a slight anosmia or saturation, so I advise measuring the sprays, with 5 being a good number. It suits fresh seasons or light heat, being a versatile and very unisex perfume. From semiformal to formal, I invite you to enjoy it if you have the opportunity. Excellent quality/price ratio. Edit: I share the idea of the resemblance to Herod, without that sweet tobacco, but their paths follow similar lines.

This perfume conquered me at first sniff. It’s a very different vanilla from the conventional kind and I’d say it’s very sensual; slightly smoky due to the incense, also spiced by the rich cinnamon it carries, balsamic, sweet without exaggeration. Woody in just the right measure. The woody touch blends perfectly with patchouli, tonka bean, and vanilla, each ingredient in its place. Incredible aromatic fusion. Its trail is very suitable for daily wear, at any time, without scandal and without cloying. Appreciable, yes. It’s not too soft. Longevity is impressive, hours and hours it remains appreciable and on clothes it lasts much longer, until its imminent wash. I bought a 10 ml sample on their official website and fell in love with it to such an extent that I want it in 100 ml format, that is, its maximum content. Its price is a bargain for the quality and composition it offers. Totally in love with this divine vanilla, worthy of its name.