On the scent....

[lagilman]

Years back, I fell in love with D&G's "feminine" for a summer daytime fragrance, and L'Artisan Parfumeur "Vanilla" for evening. They're both dry (not sweet), slightly floral scents, and suited me perfectly.

Sadly, both of them have been discontinued, and I'm down to the last drops of my last bottles. So it's time to seek out  replacement.

Anyone who has a relevant suggestion, please toss it my way....

Key terms: Oriental (don't look at me, that's the perfume industry's term), vanilla, dry (as opposed to overly sweet-smelling), floral, powdery.

For the record, and just FYI, I've yet to find a BPAL scent that works on my skin.  Yes, I've tried.  Somehow it just doesn't 'take.'  I'm not saying never, but you'll be fighting an uphill battle, especially since I can't go to a local counter and try it, first.

Fragrance description for feminine:

Top Notes: Tangerine, Yuzu
Middle Notes: White Cyclamen, Green Pear, Blue Wisteria, Lily, Heliotrope
Base Notes: Musk, Vanilla, Sandalwood, Kashmir Wood


Fragrance description for vanilla

top notes: narcissus,
middle notes: amber, nutmeg
base notes of ylang-ylang, vanilla, and sandalwood.



I suspect at some point I'll find a L'Artisan and throw myself on the mercy of the salesclerks, which is exactly what I did in the store below the Louvre when I bought my first bottle... but their vanilla replacement is a new version of the one I rejected then, so I'm not hopeful.

Comments

[difrancis.livejournal.com]

No help from me. I've been using Bath and Body Works White Citrus shower gels and lotions because I love the scent, but in general, I suck at this sort of thing. But I did want to know what BPAL is. And I also want to sympathize on losing beloved scents. I hate it went that happen. Totally.

[wolfsilveroak.livejournal.com]

Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab- http://www.blackphoenixalchemylab.com/

They create artisan perfume oils and blends.

[girasole.livejournal.com]

Since I went to Paris in 2006, I have been wearing, mostly, Annick Goutal's Songes, herein described

The heart is ruled by woodsy powdery accords, while the base is composed of creamy French vanilla notes and beautiful white flowers.
The fragrance is very romantic, a bit dreamy; jasmine is unobtrusively dominating the charming powdery cloud of flowers and vanilla.
The composition includes the notes of Frangipani and Tiare flowers, jasmine Sambac absolute, ylang-ylang and French vanilla. It was created in 2005 by Isabelle Doyen.

On me, it has a very vanilla base, and is readily available at Bloomingdale's, Saks, etc. I find it gorgeous.

Sad to hear L'Artisan's Vanilla is gone. I wore it, combined with one of their light rose scents, for years.

[girasole.livejournal.com]

http://www.fragrantica.com/perfume/Officina-Profumo-Farmaceutica-di-Santa-Maria-Novella/Vaniglia-11457.html

http://www.barneys.com/i-Profumi-di-Firenze-Vaniglia-Del-Madagascar/00457903000093,default,pd.html

Profumi di Firenze and Santa Maria Novella both have vanilla-based fragrances that may suit you.

[damiana-swan.livejournal.com]

Given that you know what all the various top/middle/base notes are, you could feasibly make them (or something similar that you might like even better) yourself. I'd get essential oils (as opposed to perfumed oils) plus almond oil or whatever you'd prefer as a neutral base, and experiment, or find someone you know who already has a collection and ask for their help.

In general, essential oils are less likely to trigger an allergic response, and the scent lasts a lot longer.

[triskelmoon.livejournal.com]

Sephora has started carrying Atelier & their Vanille Incensee is pretty amazing. It sounds like it may be close enough to at least check out.

[lagilman]

I could but honestly, it's a little more work (and too much margin for error) for my taste. I'm good with letting the pros handle some of my life. :-)

[jperceval.livejournal.com]

Have you ever tried the fragrances from Yves Rocher?

[sillylilly-bird.livejournal.com]

Have you gone to CG i hate perfume?

My favorite vanilla has always been Crabtree & Evelyn.

[badgermirlacca.livejournal.com]

Before you give up entirely, look for your perfumes on eBay.

Seriously.

My favorite perfume in the world (White Christmas) was discontinued decades ago, and I can still find it on eBay.

[lagilman]

it's available, but - like wine - uncertainly how it's been stored over the past two-three years since they stopped making it makes me leery to drop $100.

and "Vanille" is nowhere to be found.

[editrx.livejournal.com]

Nieges by Lise Watier is my recommendation. It's made in quebec, but I believe many online stores, including her own, still carry it. I highly recommend it as just the right notes for what you're looking for -- I was in a similar situation about five years ago and ran across it. I now wear nothing but this scent.

Her Nieges Pour Hommes is pretty scrumptious too!

[neko-san.livejournal.com]

My suggestions are more broad, with just perfumers to look at. I tend to go for natural perfumes, because some synthetics (synthetic musk in particular) trigger migraines. All of these perfumers do bespoke scents, which are expensive, and new creations (as opposed to "make me a copy of X"), but if you know want you like and what you want, they'll work with you to get there:

http://www.ayalamoriel.com/
http://www.aftelier.com/
http://www.dshperfumes.com/
http://www.soivohle.com/

I have it in the back of my mind to look for specific scent suggestions from my pile of perfumer links - which means i'll probably get around to it in a few weeks/months/years. =( At least I know where I'm a flake.

[neko-san.livejournal.com]

My first comment was eaten as spam. =( I will try again later, with no links.