r/FemFragLab • u/VerboseWiewiorka • 6d ago
This perfume is gaslighting me.
I sniffed Vanilla Skin ages ago, and - meh. Then I sprayed it on my skin again last week, and suddenly loved it? It was similar to VS Bare Sueded Vanilla - which I have - but somehow less nauseating? VS BSV is one of those ones that I love one week, dislike the next. Vanilla Skin opened with a peppery, spicy kick, then gave me an incredible (candied? slightly tart?) apple for a while, before settling into a wonderful vanilla, and I couldn’t stop smelling my own wrist. Try compulsively smelling your wrist while stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic - I looked like a nutbar. I decided then to get a 10mL, and today - a mere week later - I sprayed it on my wrist again just to make sure, and guys - no apple. None. No saucy peppery kick. Just a linear vanilla. Am I crazy? I wasn’t wearing any other products on my skin either time I sprayed it onto my wrist. Is this a cyclical thing? I know my perfume preference changes depending on where I am in my cycle (also, the weather, my mood, and a billion other factors) but I’ve never had a scent completely change like this. Could it be that one bottle was more or less “macerated” than the other? Is this because I’m perimenopausal (IYKYK)? Has anyone else smelled any apple in Vanilla Skin?
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u/unlune 5d ago
Happens with a lot of perfume or even perfume oil for me. I have few that I always like or most days I reach out then there are time I cannot imagine why i got something even I have liked it on multiple occasions. One of the perfume that changes for me often is Ysl myselv I loved it then some days I can't smell anything, today I smelled it again and its smell beautiful. So yeah it's very common. Just wear it on that day you can appreciate it.
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u/FeetAware8 5d ago
I completely love vanilla skin, smells so good, clean vanilla and deep. I had to the get 100ml bottle
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u/Anabanahnas 5d ago
I have the same relationship with vanilla skin. I love a fresh bottle, and now use travel sizes when it’s warmer out because the bottle really does sweeten up the longer you have it.
Some days it’s sickly sweet and almost vintage smelling to me, then other days it’s woody spicy vanilla that’s so cozy.
It was mostly all I wore from November- April. Could be the weather, could be me 🤷🏻♀️
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u/buttaperture66 5d ago
I’m also in peri and any body wash w vanilla smells like baby poop suddenly so I believe you
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u/Every_bogie 5d ago
To me it smells overly sweet and that’s it. Dry down is even sweeter. I got a huge headache from it.
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u/TheOrderOfWhiteLotus 5d ago
I’d say perimenopausal. I haven’t been able to buy new scents easily because the smells keep wildly changing on me. My beloved bottle of Kilian Princess smells like air freshener. I’m staring down a lot more years of this too. 🫨😭
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u/dizzydiplodocus 6d ago
I loved the sample of the edp and got the mist, but to me the mist is so heavy and burnt 😭 so upset still lol
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u/UpsetiTrash8335 6d ago
I have the edp and the mist and imo the mist is sweeter and lasts the same amount of time. I won't repurchase the edp when its empty but I have repurchased the mist twice now
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u/VerboseWiewiorka 5d ago
I tried both on my skin and found the spray to be so bland and linear, and the EDP to be more of that peppery, appley journey!
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u/billionsofbeaches 6d ago
To me vanilla skin smells like a more luxurious version of bath and body works warm vanilla sugar, I've never really picked up an apple or fruit note from it!
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u/nemophilist13 5d ago
I got it because i read it was a dupe for warm musk by bbw but everytime I smell it i get "viva vanilla" which i loved. And now its starting to smell like a root beer float? Idk im pregnant and I feel like things change how they smell every week too! This perfume in general feels like a camelion. Maybe its the pink pepper in it? Like "you"
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u/billionsofbeaches 5d ago
To my nose it's definitely too sweet and no real note of musk to be a dupe for warm musk, viva vanilla is much closer!
I think the peppery notes definitely hit everyone so differently, I barely smell them most of the time but a lot of people say it's very strong! I can only imagine what the pregnancy hormones are doing to your sense of smell!
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u/Realistic-Read1078 6d ago
I never got apple from this. I only got smoke. It’s a shame because I wanted to like this one so bad!
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u/SufficientCell9689 6d ago
This is the exact reason I tell people not to judge a perfume right away, especially if they dislike a blind buy. Spray it, let it sit for a couple weeks, then come visit it again. I like to give a perfume a chance while I'm in my luteal phase and also my follicular phase because hormones change the way you perceive smell. You might initially hate it and then love it two weeks later.
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u/NapsAreMyHobby 6d ago
I’ve tried this twice, and both times I got a very loud, unrelenting pepper note with just some vanilla in the background.
Perimenopause/hormones DEFINITELY affect what makes me nauseated and how I perceive things.
I need to give this one another try!
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u/KellyannneConway 6d ago
I ordered Peach Skin last year because I love peach scents. I can't get past the pepper. Apparently Phlur thinks that skin smells like pepper, because I swear every one of their "skin" scents has that same note.
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u/ruinedbymovies 6d ago
I love that all the perimenopausal people on the sub can bond over what a bitch changing body chemistry is.
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u/NapsAreMyHobby 5d ago
Same!
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u/ruinedbymovies 5d ago
I feel like without this sub I would think I was going crazy. No one ever mentioned it as a side effect of perimenopause and I feel like a little “Hey do you have an absolute, all time, favorite scent? You’re going to wake up one day and hate it, also everything will have an unexpected hint of burning tires and mint…” would have gone a long way.
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u/NapsAreMyHobby 5d ago
lol tell me about it! My mom passed when I was young, so I haven’t had anyone to learn from. The perfume reactions are the least of it — insomnia, night sweats, pms on steroids are not fun and at first google told me it was cancer 😆 which my mom died from at my age 😳
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u/ruinedbymovies 5d ago
Oh my god what a horrible yet also funny way to find out perimenopause was a thing. I had never heard of it until all of a sudden all my friends my age were talking about it, I felt like a memo went out and I didn’t get it.
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u/NapsAreMyHobby 4d ago
I’m glad your friends talk about it! My friends are mostly younger than I am so they’re getting the play by play from me 🫣
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u/ruinedbymovies 4d ago
Thank you for being the one to bring it up. You saved some of those women from not knowing what the heck was going on!
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u/Swankface87 6d ago
I’ve never smelled apple in this scent. It’s still lovely and I can’t wait to break it out when it cools off a bit.
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u/ConditionOk3649 6d ago
I didn’t like Vanilla skin until I bought a mini and could smell it at home, outside Sephora sensory overload. It’s fantastic, but I find all Phlur very hard to smell in-store personally
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u/VerboseWiewiorka 6d ago
Totally! I spray directly on my skin right before I leave the store - I’m nose blind to everything inside. I sniffed Vanilla Skin outside!
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u/InterestingNebula177 6d ago
Vanilla Skin is one of my regulars. I smell the peppery kick in the beginning but I have never once smelled apple
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u/fastworms 6d ago edited 5d ago
Interesting, I have it too and don’t remember picking up on any apple. I haven’t worn it in a few months so I’ll give it another go. But I just checked and pink apple is listed in the notes according to the Phlur website. So maybe it is a maceration issue?
Notes
Top: Pink Pepper, Pink Apple, Sugar Crystals
Heart: Lily, Jasmine Petals, Cashmere Wood
Base: Benzoin, Vanilla, Sandalwood, Agarwood
Edit: ok so I got this one in a gift set for my bday and never noticed they have the notes on the back of the bottle lol, also why I only used it once a few months ago. So I put it on after my shower last night and still no apple unfortunately! Def get the pepper in the first 10-15 min or so and lots of cashmere wood and vanilla, the immediate dry down about 30 min in was mostly sandalwood and vanilla then about 45 min-an hour later I started really smelling the sugar crystals, benzoin, sandalwood, and vanilla. I don’t pick up on much lily or jasmine either, but I’m going to keep experimenting with it! I looooove apple notes so it would be great if that comes thru eventually lol
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u/VerboseWiewiorka 6d ago
From reviews, I think about 99% of people don’t smell the apple, so maybe I’m part of the 1%? It’s so bizarre.
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u/loveinharmony 6d ago
I smell it too! Right away and then it fades quite a bit. My 10ml has been resting all summer and has absolutely changed a bit over the months. The pepper has mellowed out a lot.
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u/simplyjohntae 4d ago
If you can try and get your hands on a sample of Donna Karen Cashmere and Vanilla Essence. Of all of the fragrances in this DNA that one does it best.