I was a little tired after the weekend and feeling a bit uninspired, when I happened upon a sample of Felanilla that I had forgotten in the depths of my sample box.
Thank Goodness I found it!
Felanilla quickly got me out of my slump, that is one thing I love about perfume: You smell a great one, and presto!, spirits are restored, moods are lifted, energy starts flowing again and creative writing urges kick in.
Why? Because Felanilla is gooooood!
More Roar, than Meow! actually 😉
Created in 2009 by Pierre Guillaume for his niche house Parfumerie Generale, N° 21 Felanilla features notes of vanilla, saffron, iris, banana wood, hay and amber.
The perfume starts with a blast of saffron, that is not to be characterized as shy in any way, but it recedes to make way for an exceptional darkish, burnt vanilla with a dirty edge, that is toe-curlingly rich and warm and naughty. It resembles its grandmother Shalimar a lot. Which can only be a good thing in my book.
As the name suggests, Felanilla is supposed to be an animalic vanilla. For me that is a spot-on description. It has a presence without being overwhelming, it is elegant and smooth, it is a bit dangerous, it is sweet, but not like a confection and it has a furry, soft quality that makes the vanilla so interestingly alive. It feels capable of hissingly showing its claws or purring contentedly, depending on how it is treated.
It is a fragrance that makes me smile.
And purr a little…or growl, depending on how I am treated.
Picture source: luckyscent.com, tornadostaroflightningclan34.blogspot.com some rights reserved, thank you!
Olfactoria's Travels 
Oh, you are definitely on a vanilla kick these days! 🙂 I have not tried Felanilla, but anything animalic and with saffron sounds right up my alley. I confess though that the PG line overwhelms me with its numerous fragrances. I have not checked their website for a while, but I recall getting a headache the last time I tried to make sense of it.
You are absolutely right, PG is quite overwhelming, what is what kept me from trying any until recently, but Felanilla definitely put the brand on my map!
Love this one too! Yep, it’s purr is sort of…predatory 🙂
Hello Marina,
Exactly 😉
Do you have any other favorites from Parfumerie Generale you would recommend to try next?
I liked their Gardenia Grand Soir, L’Ombre Fauve, Querelle, Bois de Copaiba
I second L’Ombre Fauve—it’s fabulous, and has some of the same animalic growl from Felanilla 🙂
Will definitely check this out, thanks!
Noted, thank you!
Mmm sounds good. I love vanilla but hate lemon so Shalimar doesn’t work for me. But this sounds like something special.
Oh, it must be hard hating lemon, it is so ubiquitous!
But you are right, this is like Shalimar without the lemon.
Pingback: Wooden, But Elegant – Review: Parfumerie Générale Cadjmeré | Olfactoria's Travels
Pingback: NSFW – Review: Parfumerie Générale L’Ombre Fauve | Olfactoria's Travels