Vanilla by Tom Ford

It’s called that because ‘vanilla sex’ isn’t about adventures, but rather a pleasant foreplay without savagery or penetration. That’s why it smells soft, skin-like, with a salty hint. I think it captures the concept well, although it didn’t drive me wild; I smelled it in a shop and would never buy it, though I might try a dupe.

It’s one of my favourites. It seems some people have received a counterfeit and not the original. And watch out, I don’t think it’s a particularly feminine scent… The longevity is insane; the longest-lasting one I own. It can last several days on a wool suit jacket, up to five. What a pity it’s so expensive.

At first it smells of bitter almond (isn’t it declared? Even the assistant confirmed it), then it changes to something half-salty and bitter, like tobacco leaves soaked in sea water, with a barely recognisable vanilla base. I expected a spectacularly executed and soft vanilla, but this peculiar scent didn’t suit me much.

At first it smells of bitter almond (the assistant confirmed it’s not listed), then shifts to something salty and bitter, like tobacco leaves soaked in sea water, with a hard-to-pinpoint vanilla base. I was expecting a spectacular, soft vanilla, but this peculiar scent didn’t suit me at all.

A beautiful bottle of bottled urine.

I think it’s highly overrated. Very expensive for what it offers. Based on the name, you expect a powerful, seductive, and delicious vanilla, but it’s the exact opposite: very light, watery, almost like a room diffuser. The notes don’t last long. I ‘like’ it, but there are definitely better perfumes at half the price. I wouldn’t buy it again.

The promise: something languid, fluid, slightly sweet and almost seductive. The reality: a bitter and salty touch with an asexual vanilla. The longevity and sillage… nothing notable, unfortunately.

I had the opportunity to try it yesterday and it was a disappointment. For me, the vanilla is imperceptible because I only smell the sandalwood. What a pity, I didn’t like it at all.

The bitter almond is very prominent and makes the scent feel a bit medicinal. I absolutely love vanilla perfumes, and the truth is this one doesn’t suit me at all, and I think the name is way too high for the smell. Don’t ask me, but it smells very similar to Afternoon Delight by Replica. My husband loved it, especially the dry down. I had to gift it to him; I’m sure he’ll give it more love than I could.

It’s my signature. Absolutely beastly. In my opinion, it’s the most special vanilla I’ve ever smelled. It’s powerful and noticeable from a mile away. I always get compliments. On my skin, it’s truly a bomb.

Tom Ford has attempted to bring vanilla to a more carnal dimension with Vanilla Sex, yet what he has delivered is a composition that, despite its suggestive name, falls into a monotony that challenges even the most ardent gourmand enthusiasts. From the outset, it unfolds as an overwhelming and dense sweetness, a vanilla that, rather than evoking the decadent luxury typical of Tom Ford, recalls the excess of sugar in an industrial dessert, like a custard cream that promises much but leaves you with the sensation of having eaten too much. The opening is, so to speak, a vanilla battering ram, laden with a slight spicy accord that attempts, with little success, to add dimension. It is as if it has got stuck halfway between the seductive and the cloying, failing to define itself. For those familiar with fragrances such as Guerlain’s Spiritueuse Double Vanille or even Ford’s own Vanille Fatale, it will be immediately apparent that something is missing here, that dark and mysterious touch that those other vanillas know how to conjure. What should be a profound evolution into a rich, enveloping vanilla, here remains a game that is far too predictable, devoid of surprises. The amber nuances, which should add that warm and seductive aura hinted at by the name, fail to penetrate the layer of sweetness that covers everything. There is even a hint of musk about, floating timidly, like a supporting actor with barely any lines in the film. Then, there is the issue of performance. For the price of a bottle of Vanilla Sex, one would expect its trail to be as enveloping as its name suggests, but it falls short, very short. It fades quickly and the fragrance loses all its intensity in barely two hours, as if its sole purpose were to seduce on the first encounter and then disappear without a trace. The comparison with other vanilla fragrances on the market does not favour it at all. While perfumes such as Tobacco Vanille or Noir Extreme, also by Ford, play perfectly with that balance between the sweet and the spicy, here it seems that the easy option was chosen, a more ‘commercial’ version of what could have been a masterpiece of sensual gourmandery. For those seeking a rounded, deep, and substantial vanilla, this is not the option. If you want something that touches on carnality and sophistication, better opt for Vanille Fatale or Guerlain’s Spiritueuse Double Vanille. But Vanilla Sex… well, it is more of a sugary frolic that goes nowhere. In short, Vanilla Sex presents itself as an unfulfilled promise, a vanilla caress that attempts to be provocative but which, in its execution, ends up being simply… forgettable. Too simple, predictable, monotonous, boring… as if it were truly a witty reference to the Vanilla Sex from Grey’s Anatomy.

It starts with a rich bitter almond, an explosion of ethereal vanilla, and then… A SQUAD FULL OF COWS and horse dung. A strange smell of a pigsty that anyone who has lived in the countryside alongside livestock will know how to ‘appreciate’. What a horror!!!! I do not know if it carries white pepper, because it smells of white pepper to me. It literally smells like a pigsty. Pure animal. Filthy horses. An indescribable thing. I do not know how to define it, because strangely, I feel like smelling it… it is addictive. I would put my hand on fire to say that the perfumer is David-Lev Jipa-Slivinschi. It seems more like a creation by Toskovat than by Tom Ford. I see it for women and for before going to bed for a wild night. If you like animal scents, this will be your perfume. To each their own.

Another great Tom Ford fragrance. Totally unisex, although I gifted it to my girlfriend who fell completely in love with it on the first try. Longevity and sillage are very potent.

Do I like it? Yes. Is it purposeful? No. It is Hypnotic Poison by Dior + Tahiti Vanilla by Perris Monte Carlo. The bitter almond note in the opening is similar to that of Red Currant and Green Almond by Jo Malone.

Too much money for what it smells like, it is a Lost Cherry with bitter almond and dusty vanilla.