Vanisia (1987)
by Creed

Spicy oriental floral however seems very weak for something in this genre. It's a little like Midnight Poison's rose on a sandalwood base.

Sounds like an ice-cream or a science-fiction character. Beautifully blended spicy, creamy vanilla that lasts for ever -- I could detect on the test card 24 hours later. A lush oriental with a lovely drydown using sandalwood as a pin. I am not sure whether I would feel totally comfortable wearing although it can't be described as a strictly powdery floral, which is my benchmark for gender crossovers. Hmmmm.

While I fall into the camp that all fragrances are unisex, Vanisia is a lovely scent that I believe could be worn by a man who is comfortable with his masculinity, just as it could on a woman with elegance. When I first sniffed it, the spicy tinge that it opened with reminded me of the opening in Aramis - a cologne I fondly remember as a child as it was my father's signature. Spices, jasmine, and rose eventually settle to a creamy sandalwood with laced with vanilla beans. I also detect a tinge of amber. When I smell it I immediately think of state dinners, complete with cocktails, women in black dresses, and long gloves. This is a winner that makes me wish I had enough money to just collect gems like this my entire life. One day, maybe for my wife's wedding anniversary, I will pick up this lovely scent, only to sneak and spritz some on my neck on occasion.

What Foetidus said.

Beautifully blended florals over light sandalwood - genteel but seductive. Yummy!!

I was very excited to get two carded samples of Creed's Vanisia in the mail. I dabbed the tiniest micro-speck on each wrist, waited for it to dry down, and inhaled my own personal mugging. Ye Gods! It was like snorting an Avon lady. Well, I thought, perhaps the fragrance needs to settle for twenty or thirty minutes. No, no, no. After half an hour, it was like being hit directly in the face with an oversized puff of Tabu body powder. Dry--and yet cloying--with a terrible sense of an old woman's handkerchief drawer and preserved flowers from parties half a century ago. I have mummified hay-fever. Arghhhh! This is what the room in Faulkner's "A Rose for Emily" smelled like.

Wow … I had no idea Creed could make scents like this… I am totally impressed by its accords and its movement. Smooth and sensual! A rich and delicately warm texture on the surface, but a brooding, sexy, mystical, profound ecstasy underneath. The florals and vanilla don’t come through at first: they wait while the sandalwood and some sort of spicy glutinousness – ambergris, perhaps – establish a light, dry base which temporarily masks the mysteries that are going on under the surface. Then the rose and jasmine emerge into the textured opening, but they are not pure floral notes: They are accompanied by a smokiness and a dry vanilla “sweetness” that make the accord and the movement absolutely stunning. And yes, I get the occasional indoles from the jasmine and they contribute enormously to the sensuality of the depth. Unfortunately, like most miracles, this blossoming within the dry Orientalism is so very short lived. Vanisia dries down to a soft, translucent, dry sandalwood, dry vanilla, dry ambergris skin scent – quite catching, but very light. At first I get only the lightest dusting of powder, which, unfortunately, gradually grows to overshadow the delicate sandalwood vanilla drydown. I wouldn’t argue the point, but I think this scent is more feminine than unisex. I will say explicitly, though, that it is a fragrance that it demands a certain level of maturity in order to be carried off successfully.