Serge Lutens Un Bois Vanille is a smoky oriental vanilla-inspired scent. It is simply one of the best vanilla fragrances that exist. Not so over the top with vanilla sweetness as some, tempered with woods, made interesting with some of the other notes, and just creamy smooth and elegant.
from scentsurreal - "Being a self-confessed gourmand lover, vanilla is one of my favorite fragrance notes. Un Bois Vanille from the House of Serge Lutens is one of my most adored vanilla fragrances. Released in 2003 and created by the master Christopher Sheldrake, Un bois Vanille is not your regular teenybopper syrupy sweet vanilla. This deviates from the norm of most vanillas, which tend to smell more like cake, cookies or boozy vanilla extract. Rather, this is a sophisticated vanilla which incorporates wax, wood and licorice notes to make this a very special scent indeed."
from perfumeposse - "My gateway vanilla. Up until this, my experience with vanilla was those really heavy ones everyone loved in the late ’90s and early 2000s. Wretched, overpowering things. Not this, this is vanilla, but softer, it lets you relax into it instead of smothering you with a vanilla pillow. I still love it."
| Perfume Name |
Serge Lutens Un Bois Vanille |
| Year Introduced | 2008 |
| Perfumer | Christopher Sheldrake |
| Gender | Unisex |
| Collection | Collection Noire - Gourmands |
| Notes | Black vanilla absolute, licorice, bitter almond paste, caramelized benzoin, beeswax, coconut milk, tonka bean and sandalwood |
| Country of Origin | France |
This is a beautiful vanilla Perfume, but is on the sweet smelling side. The scent is strong at first, but does fade rather quickly for my liking. I like to layer this scent for a little extra vanilla notes to some of my other favorite scents.
A very soft, sweet, and creamy vanilla with a resinous, waxy quality that makes you wish you could sink your teeth into it. Though it's unique and I haven't smelled anything quite like it.. it doesn't particularly call out to me, or coerce me into buying a bottle. Gourmand lovers would probably feel differently, however.
This is a beautiful vanilla Perfume, but is on the sweet smelling side. The scent is strong at first, but does fade rather quickly for my liking. I like to layer this scent for a little extra vanilla notes to some of my other favorite scents.
A very soft, sweet, and creamy vanilla with a resinous, waxy quality that makes you wish you could sink your teeth into it. Though it's unique and I haven't smelled anything quite like it.. it doesn't particularly call out to me, or coerce me into buying a bottle. Gourmand lovers would probably feel differently, however.
As the name says, this is a woody, dry vanilla. It blends the best qualities of oriental and gourmand scents. It's not too sweet, but also much less heavy and intrusive than many oriental scents. I've had a full bottle, and found it a subtle, lovely scent for daily wear.
In the vial Un Bois Vanille smells like a coconut cream pie complete with a shortbread crust, vanilla whipped cream on top, and toasted coconut flakes. On my skin it opens with a little curry spiced sandalwood before settling into a sweet, transparent vanilla with a fresh, woody base. Lovely!
If there is synthetic vanilla in here I certainly don't smell it, smells like quality ingredients to me. All the notes that build this fragrance are palpable at first (coconut, licorice, almond, woods, musk), but after a couple of hours marinading on the skin they all blend in unison to create a gorgeous & comforting vanilla soliflore.
This is the achingly sweet smell of dulce de leche, candy corn, raspberries, vanilla, and coconut.
