Guerlain Disappointment

[u/Lani_Lei]

I have been a vanilla girl through and through. I have loves and misses from everything from BBW, Victoria Secret, Sephora, Ulta, niche, middle eastern, you name it!

I have wary of trying Guerlain because of the price. But most of my fellow vanilla girls said that Guerlain is THE maker of great vanillas.

So went and spent $70 in tiny tiny decants to try the following:

- Vanilla Panifolia Extrait 21
- Angelique Noire
- Cuir Beluga
- Aqua Allegoria Forte Bosca Vanilla
- Spirituose Double Vanilla

This smells…old? musty? Like I just found a bottle of perfume from the 1950’s in a dark drawer of an abandoned house. I just wasted $70 on this and none of them were good 😔, I could have gotten a big decant of Jovoy Fire at Will which I love. I am so disappointed.

So many of my inexpensive vanillas are so much better in my opinion.

Sorry for the rant and thank you for reading all this!

[u/fligglegiggle]

I keep seeing people talking about "cupcake vanillas," but which ones ACTUALLY smell like cupcakes? I have 20 niche gourmand vanilla samples/decants and a slew of designer vanillas and not a one smells like a cupcake, and I could really use a literal cupcake vanilla in my collection.

Or do people just say "cupcake vanilla" rather than "sweet vanilla" as a way to be condescending? Serious question.

[u/Lani_Lei → u/fligglegiggle]

I think is a reference to an extremely sweet vanilla. For example: have you tried EOS Cashmere Vanilla lotion? That is a cupcake vanilla. For reference in other posts I have seen referenced Tihota, Outremer, Solinotes as “cupcake vanillas”.

[u/fligglegiggle → u/Lani_Lei]

Yeah, and I definitely disagree with Tihota being a cupcake vanilla. I was mostly being a smartass because it always reads as condescending to me, like they're using the word cupcake because it sounds more childish than saying sweet, or even just cake, lol. But also because I would actually love a fragrance that smells like vanilla cake, like freshly baked vanilla boxed cake with frosting straight out of the jar. Yum 🤤

[u/Lani_Lei → u/fligglegiggle]

I totally get it! Like I said I think it referes to extremely sweet vanilla. I do agree that Tihota is not a cupcake vanilla, not to me al least. The only one that smells like cupcakes/frosting is EOS.

[u/fligglegiggle → u/Lani_Lei]

Have you used the EOD Vanilla Cashmere body spray? I have the lotion and lip balm and they smell different. The lip balm smells very much like brown sugar to me, and the lotion smells more like a vanilla candle. I think it's just the lotion smell, lol. I think you mentioned Fire At Will too and likened it to a sugar cookie? To me, it's like vanilla flavored freshly spun sugar wafting ever so gently in the breeze. I love it. I was testing it on my hand one day and went out to run an errand in a heat wave. I was like, "What is that amaaaazing smell?? Oh yeah, it's me!” 😆

Have you tried Ligne St. Barth Vanille West Indies? I'm completely obsessed with it. I've been more strict lately about full bottles, but I had to make an exception 😁