Inspired by the scent of budding spring in the meadows of the Appalachian mountains, Mountain Vanilla is a coumarin-heavy scent with vanilla and light green elements. The spring air smells strongly of coumarin, specifically the scent of wild sweet clover, along with a cool morning dew and light green notes. It also carries a scent reminiscent of carrot flowers. Mountain Vanilla focuses heavily on coumarin rich notes such as sweet clover absolute, deerstongue and Bulgarian Lavender absolute (used lightly; this is not a lavender perfume) paired with vanillic Chinese Silk vine, vanilla, vanilla musk, poplar bud absolute, tonka and elderflower.
Top notes include a green accord of shiso leaf, fern, green clover and bluegrass along with a trace of cool morning dew clinging to the green shoots. The dry down features primarily vanilla and coumarin. It's a very sweet, creamy perfume with subtle green nuances. It features notes of sweet clover, coumarin, vanilla musk, fresh green accord, poplar buds and morning dew. Mountain Vanilla is an eau de parfum, edp.
Created by Angela St. John as part of a collection of fragrances based on the fictional town of Foxcroft, Maine.
SOLSTICE SCENTS MOUNTAIN VANILLA REVIEWS
Fragrantica: This is such a cozy, airy, sunny, green take on vanilla. This smells like lying on a checkerboard blanket, having a picnic on a warm sunny day in a field of clover.
Fragrantica: Mountain Vanilla is…not the vanilla that I thought it was going to be! I guess that’s what I get for not reading the full description until just now. Coumarin, if you are wondering, is described as smelling of new-mown hay–and there is definitely a warm, sweetly herbaceous aspect to this fragrance. Don’t be put off by the opening notes, which smelled aggressively chemical to my nose for a few moments; it’s a stinging tang that burns off quickly before those grassy vanilla notes and subtle green nuances materialize. I don’t think I’ve ever smelled anything quite like it; it really does evoke imagery of an Appalachian meadow brimming with sweet clover and dew-dappled ferns and the soft musk of a Bambi or two.
Fragrantica: Such an odd scent ....and I like it. Mountain Vanilla has a mentholated green grass quality combined with meadow flowers, and underneath all that is vanilla. So many unusual notes in this blend, and at the same time it’s very natural wearing. I really appreciate that I’ve never smelled anything like it. I’m on the “top of a mountain in the Alps” feeling. A well executed, fun perfume with good performance.
Fragrantica: Silk vine looms large in Mountain Vanilla, possibly larger than the vanilla. I recognized this fragrance right away as a primarily woody scent with a prominent and very specific green milky note. I identified this silk vine note in Providence Perfume's sandalwood focused and 100% natural Vientiane. Since these two fragrances are not exactly dupes but maybe close siblings, I'm led to believe that Solstice uses high percentages of naturals as well. Mountain Vanilla is not what I would reach for if I was looking for a vanilla (natural or otherwise) but I do very much enjoy it for a unique approach to exploring wood's many sensual facets, and also as a more affordable alternative to Vientiane. Green, silky and sensual like sandalwood and rice steam, creamy in a unique savory aromatic way, this one is worth a sniff.
Fragrantica: This is to the woods what Sea of Gray is to the ocean. It captures the mood of early spring freshness and dew, but adds a layer of soft, ethereal vanilla. Not very woody though.
