This is the second gorgeous Vanilla from Guerlain for me this fall.
The first one is Shalimar Ode a la Vanille, my review of which is coming but still needs a little time to stew…
My sister-in-law brought Spiritueuse Double Vanille back from Paris, where she spent a few days recently. It was the hardest thing to decide on only one item she should bring back, since I didn’t want to burden her (or seem greedy, since she is a one bottle at a time perfume type ;)). This one made the cut, because I couldn’t think of any other way to obtain it here in Vienna.
Spiritueuse Double Vanille was created by Jean-Paul Guerlain himself in 2007 intended as a limited edition. Since it is still readily available at every Guerlain counter in Paris, I am not sure whether it has been made permanent or if I was just lucky.
UPDATE: According to The Non-Blonde’s information, SDV seems to be a permanent addition to Guerlains line-up as a part of the L’Art et la Matiere line. Good News!
Notes include pink peppercorns, bergamot, incense, cedar, bulgarian rose, ylang ylang, vanilla and benzoin. It is available in 75ml Eau de Parfum.
Spiritueuse Double Vanille opens indeed very boozy and alcoholic, like some kind of liqueur, as suggested by both name and bottle design. This is a glorious gourmand scent, if I ever smelled one!
It is thick, viscous and smoky-sweet vanilla with a plummy touch. The latter being so intense at times, it immediately reminded me of Hermès Ambre Narguilé. The similarity is only passing though, as Spiritueuse Double Vanille goes on to be deeper, more vanillary and somehow denser and richer than the Hermessence.
It is an extremely yummy scent. I could bury my nose in my wrist whenever I wear it. But still, it never makes me feel like somebodys dessert.
I love to wear Spiritueuse Double Vanille especially when it is very cold outside, it starts blooming in the crisp air.
It’s lasting power is good, I can still smell traces from last night on my wrist.
So, given its limited availability, is this something you need?
I hesitate to rush in and say “Yes, yes!”, because it is a really lovely fragrance, it is highly wearable, I would sorely miss it from my collection, but I’d still say it is not a must have. It is quite expensive for what it is (160 Euro for 75 ml) and as mentioned, hard to find. This alone would have once made it a must-get in my book, but as one’s collection grows, one grows a bit wiser…
If you have Ambre Narguilé, you have a decent dupe.
Bottoms up!
Olfactoria's Travels 
Dear B, I am looking forward to your review of Shalimar Ode a la Vanille. We are on the same wavelength today!! I am actually wearing SDV, because I wanted to see what makes its vanilla so smooth–what a very nicely balanced vanilla fragrance. Generally, I am not a fan of this much vanilla, but I cannot help but admire its balance. You describe it so well for me when you say “smoky-sweet vanilla with a plummy touch.”
Dear V, what a nice coincidence! I appreciate your compliment, it means a lot to me, when someone can relate to what I experience with a perfume.
Ode A La Vanille is coming up this week. I am on a vanilla roll, these days. Sweet times, indeed 😉
Havana Vanille (or Vanille Absolument, although my bottle still reads HV 🙂 ) has the combo of rum, hay, vanilla, and pipe tobacco that really seems to work for me, while SDV seems a little over-loaded on both the liqueur and the vanilla. However, I think I’ll wear it again today and see if the cooler weather changes anything for me!
Thanks for the review! 😉
I am interested how it turns out for you, I haven’t tested SDV in warmer weather yet, so for me it is the other way round.
So: a little over four hours in, I can tell you that this time around, I’m really enjoying SDV! After reading your thoughts, I noticed the “plummy” note that I didn’t detect previously, and overall, am enjoying it more than I ever thought I would.
It just needed cooler temperatures for me to enjoy it 🙂
Also, I’ve been wanting to try Ambre Narguilé for a while, and now I want to try it even more!
I am glad you revised your opinion of SDV, it seems to need cool temperatures 🙂
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