Vanille de Tahiti by Perris Monte Carlo

I wore 'Vanille de Tahiti' by Perris Monte Carlo every day for a week as my only fragrance, and here are my thoughts about it...

The Results in short

Source: 10ml Nose Club Atomiser from Bloom

• How much I like it: 9

• Composition rating: 8.5

• Lasting power: 9

• Did my view change as the week went on? - Yes, this one is a grower, becoming addictive after the second or third day of wearing it

• Did I get bored of it? No

• Any Compliments? Yes - 1

• In three words: Indolent pure vanilla

• Cost and value for money: On the slightly cheaper side for a niche fragrance and crammed full of top quality ingredients so absolutely worth the cost

• Will I buy it? Yes I certainly will!

• Husband's notes: "It's a nice perfume - professional..." Me: "You think it smells professional?" Husband: "I thought you'd want me to use an adjective and that was the first one I thought of." (Hopefully he'll get better at this.)

Notes from Perris Monte Carlo:

Top: Absolute of Ylang Ylang, Absolute of Champaca.

Heart: Vanilla of Tahiti CO2

Base: Amber, Sandalwood, Musk

The Week's Review

Let me start by saying that I have been on a bit of a ylang ylang kick lately, after hearing DS & Durga's David Moltz speaking in a podcast interview about how soothing it is, and how he gets his children to smell the note when they need calming. I loved that notion. I've always liked the vanilla-banana aspect of ylang ylang but lately that has turned to 'love'. I think it smells especially good, along with tuberose, sprayed on hair, mixing narcotically with your natural hair oils.

Whilst this isn't a review about a ylang ylang or tuberose fragrance (especially not the latter), it does have a tropical floral undertone that brings it from the kitchen to the beach. Not since the transparent fruitiness of the much-missed vintage L'Occitane Vanille (1999), so bygone it isn't even listed on Fragrantica (and maybe somewhat enhanced by my rose-tinted memories of it) have I smelled a vanilla so perfect for year-round wear. Perris Monte Carlo's Vanille de Tahiti could very well be worn 7 days a week, 52 weeks of the year.

Which in some ways makes it an unfortunate first 'Scent a week' choice: I just don't want to stop wearing this! I want to order a full bottle right now and go on to wear it for the rest of the year. Never mind the blog! Never mind my armoury of full bottles! Never mind all the samples and atomisers I've lined up to explore!

First thoughts first

This wasn't a love at first sniff situation for Vanille de Tahiti and I. The words 'fecal' or 'indolic' may as well have been invented to describe its opening. It has a good serving of that pungent aroma that often lingers around baby changing bins and which most people will also recognise from the top notes of pure jasmine oil. The opening is hard work even for someone who likes perfumes to be hard work and whether you enjoy it may well depend on your capacity to embrace a little funk. The best review I have read on this fragrance is by The Sniff who explains this opening wonderfully.

It might not sound likely, but this nappy-accord actually becomes moreish, and as the week went on I found myself craving the opening blast, leading to much re-spraying and the total draining of my 10ml decant, indicating that if I did own a bottle, I'd whizz through it. That's a satisfying thought since it takes years for me to finish most bottles of perfume.

7 Day Test

Looking at my collection, I see I don't have many vanilla fragrances, though I am a gourmand lover. On reflection, I think this is because I've encountered so many that have a plasticky smell on dry-down. Well, Vanille de Tahiti has none of that. Once it has settled, it becomes creamy, lightly spicy and warm, with just a trace of sugar crystals. Because its longevity is extraordinary, though it wears close to the skin, this phase can be enjoyed all day, and I found myself even towards the end of the week wanting to take big inhales of my arms.

Possibly leaning feminine, I do think this would smell lovely on a gent too. With no proof of this, I can imagine male skin bringing out the spicy and clean facets, which now I have the idea in mind makes the fragrance seem rather sexy.

Actually, it is a sexy scent. The richness of the vanilla, the way it heats up to radiate in the summer sun but would also keep you warm and snuggly in the winter is so appealing. Nothing like your teenage cupcake vanillas, neither is this one of those dry, aloof vanillas like Goutal's Vanille Exquise or Atelier Cologne's Vanille Insensee.

It's not syrupy, or powdery or smoky either. It's just right, with a gentle hum of ylang ylang lightly lifting the tone.

Rain or shine, naked or wrapped up, this is a vanilla that is perfect wherever and whoever you are.

Vanille de Tahiti is available direct from Perris Monte Carlo (€98/€150), or from Bloom, £85/ £130 for 50ml/100ml