Orchidée Vanille
Van Cleef & Arpels (2009)

Long-overdue sampling of the 2009 release from the Collection Extraordinaire from Van Cleef & Arpels, Orchidee Vanille, a floral vanilla fragrance that I smelled in stores a number of times before finally purchasing a decant in recent months. It's a vanilla-dominant fragrance that is robust and interesting while not being too heavy, cake-like, or more generally dessert-like, even. The mix features floral notes (rose, violet), tonka, white musk, and small hints of citruses and almond. It's sweet but not saccharine, floral and musky with not being overtly feminine, and seemingly balanced while still being focused on the vanilla.

What makes this fragrance great, rather than just good, is that it does not feel too heavy but still feels significant, elegant, well-crafted, just a notch below my two favorite Guerlain vanillas (Spiritueuse Double Vanille, Cuir Beluga), and it performs very well.

Its retail pricing is $212 for 75ml (Luckyscent) but it's avaiible for only $81 on FragranceNet, a very reasonable price for its quality.

8 out of 10

One of the better vanillas I've tried. Doesn't come off as a candle or air freshener scent. I also appreciate that it's completely unisex due to its very pleasant nature. It's just something that smells good no matter who wears it.

Airy, powdery chocolate and vanilla scent, like chocolate baking powder. The vanilla is still there throughout but the sensation of smelling the chocolate powder is pretty close to the same experience.

Projection is good but not overly loud. I get excellent longevity as I can still smell it in skin the following day.

A brief burst of citrus, the balance of bitter almond and sweet lychee, then we enter gourmand territory - the genre practically created by Mugler's Angel.

The florals (rose, violet) are quite light, as is the scent itself. The vanilla is understated and supported by a lightly woody cedar note. The chocolate, tonka and musk are almost undetectable to my nose, which is all to the better, as I am not a fan of gourmand scents. I enjoy smelling them, but I do not enjoy wearing them. The exception of course is the classic Guerlain L'Heure Bleue.

All in all a pleasant and understated vanilla, not bad at all, but not particularly noteworthy.

It's a good but average vanilla. The opening is a bit powdery then it goes caramel all the way. Very linear. Too soft in projection. Too simple. But good.

Wonderful stuff...

Well, this is a pleasant one. I love any good vanilla perfume, and this is one of the better ones. It is such a deep, borderline boozy smell. It is vanilla and orchid and chocolate. At times I get both praline chocolate and truffle, with a hint of caramel in places. I would describe it as linear, but it's certainly interesting. It also reminds me of the same Cologne of the Missions or Spiriteuse Double Vanille vibe, although this is almost in gourmand-like territory.

I can't recommend this fragrance enough. I really like this smell, I think it's extraordinary. I would say that it depends if you have the money for this and other high-end vanilla fragrances. It is certainly a well-made, very well crafted perfume. You get your money's worth here. I can say that I wish it projected a little more, but I'm satisfied with it. Definitely one to try if you are a hardcore vanilla fan.

At the opening I got a bit of mandarin orange which gave it a bright opening. Soon after the floral notes from the vanilla orchid accompanied by the vanilla began to dominate the scent. The vanilla orchid and vanilla combination was well done. Finally notes of chocolate and almonds came in towards the base which helped enhance the vanilla and gave a slight gourmand feel to it. In a way the drydown reminded me of a baked dessert like a cake or cookie that contained frosting and chocolate, slightly sugary and sweet. I consider Orchidée Vanille to be ethereal: transparent and subdued but at the same time lingers with enormous longevity. I was able to smell this throughout the day getting whiffs of the drydown. After wearing this for the first time, I can already say this might go into my list of personal favorite vanilla based fragrances: Spiritutuse Double Vanille, Tobacco Vanille, Eau Duelle, Sublime Vanille. Wonderful experience, I'll need to re-sample this soon.

The oud is quite nice and combine not only with the - by now - almost expected rose note, but hints of an orangey-fruity background provide good counterbalance. Tonka is they name of the game in the second half, not excitingly original but quite well done.

It develops well on my skin, with moderate sillage, good projection and five hours of longevity. Great in autumn. 3.25/5

A cozy vanilla! A very well blended vanilla, high quality stuff, with hints of orchid and dark chocolat, sometimes it reminds me of Hypnotic Poison Eau Sensuelle, in the drydown. Must try! I really like it!

Probably the dog of the VC&A Collection Extraordinaire. It's basically just Pink Sugar in a $250 bottle. Cheap-smelling cotton candy and marshmallow fluff. To be fair, it's slightly dressed up with a teensy bit of soapy citrus on top and there's a dark nutty undertone that's played up with a little heliotrope, but this is pretty much the definition of what "cheap" smells like now, exclusive bottle or not.

Unfortunately i tested it just on a paper and it means that my opinion is  approximate. I say, anyway, this is far better than the untollerable Precious Oud from the same line but it just smells as thousands myrrh and vanilla hydrating creams, deodorants or bath foam. I catch just the chocolate, the final touch of tonka, a cool hint of musk and the note of bitter almond (with its simil heliotrope touch). All the other elements are hidden in the mix and almost undetectable to me. The hint of bitterness is too faint and the smell is a bit detergent and almost gourmand in spite of its lack of real creaminess. Fortunately the fragrance is not overly sweet or disgusting but is just banal, unclassy and linear.