Hot Vanilla by Plaisance

It reminds me a bit of the smell of white chocolate substitute, the ones they sold 10 for 100 pesos…

Hot Vanilla has an opening loaded with not-quite-ripe, sour strawberry, accompanied by a good dose of dessert-style vanilla milk cream. It doesn’t have much evolution; rather, the strawberry intensity decreases from the opening, although it never completely disappears. Compared to other perfumes in the Yum Boujee Marshmallow style, I can’t say how similar it is to Kayali’s because I haven’t tried it. However, I have tried some dupes like Marshmallow Blush, where the strawberry is mainly in the opening and then gives way to a more intense vanilla, like Bianco Latte; and Yara Elixir, which follows a similar line, but with a base inherited from the traditional Yara, white flowers, and a touch of musk in the background. It’s not my favourite style of perfume. These very vanilla-heavy and sweet scents aren’t usually the ones I enjoy the most. I really like vanilla when it brings warmth and sweetness accompanying other notes, but not when it becomes the absolute protagonist. That said, it’s a matter of personal taste. I can’t say it’s an ugly or bad perfume. On the contrary, it’s very pleasant for cold days, when you appreciate those scents that seem to wrap you up, creamy, comforting, and very feminine. It can be worn by a little girl, because it has a tender, sweet scent that often draws attention, to teenagers, young people, and adults. It has something flirty, but also very sweet and innocent. Even if I smelled it on a little old lady, it would probably make me feel very tender and want to hug her. I find it somewhat similar to Lush’s Let The Good Times Roll, although with an extra dose of strawberry. For the same reason, it also reminds me of Frutillita by Avon. I like to layer it with the Frutilla y Vainilla Dorada body splash by Natura, because it balances the simple sweetness of the perfume very well. The splash also has a sour strawberry note, slightly tangy, almost as if it had a touch of ginger, accompanied by white flowers and a more moderate sweetness, not at all caramel-like. Another option is to enhance the red fruits with Khadlaj’s Malika Red perfume oil, which brings a more serious and intense character thanks to its woody notes and a slightly mossy and earthy background. And for those who enjoy more gourmand experiences, it also goes very well combined with Super Milk or Let The Good Times Roll. The downside is that, being another dupe of an extremely popular trend, it doesn’t offer a particularly different or identifiable scent. It resembles many other perfumes currently circulating. Is there anything wrong with that? Not really. It’s just that I end up getting bored finding the same aromatic profile everywhere. It happens to me with Baccarat Rouge 540, La Vie Est Belle, Good Girl, and most of their inspirations or clones. That’s why I tend to enjoy these types of perfumes more when I layer them with other products. The good thing is that it has a very remarkable longevity on my skin, and even better if I spray it on my clothes; I can smell it on the garments for several days. I constantly get small whiffs of the scent throughout the day, and it feels really nice. Another strong point is the price: it costs around 15 dollars and offers quality and longevity that far exceed what one might expect for that value. The Chilean brand Plaisance has been releasing very interesting perfumes for a while, with a quality that closely resembles designer perfumery. Many of them are inspirations or dupes, but they are very well executed and at truly affordable prices.