Vanille Extreme (2006)
by Comptoir Sud Pacifique

I love this scent and I especially love that it's not a soft vanilla, but a spicy vanilla. It's got more attitude, and I wear it when I want to feel feminine and bratty; like a beautiful trickster. I've always said that men love women who smell like food, and this scent definitely does the trick for me. On many occasions when I've worn this scent alone or layered, I often get approached by men who want to know what I'm wearing. My boyfriend simply nibbles his approval on my neck.
This one is definitely one of my wardrobe staples.

I love the original Comptoir Vanille. Do not Vanille Extreme at all.

Comptoir Vanille Passion is okay, but the original was just perfect, IMO.

I miss the old original company.

Smells just like Jergens' Shea Butter Cream Lotion with a touch of vanilla pods.

It sure does smell synthetic, but what did you expect?

Vanille Extreme presents a burnt-vanilla – a sort of caramel – vanilla fragrance with a tiny amount of spice and a modicum of heliotrope. As with other scents like this, I think the smell is great. I love it. It could be called “foody,” but I don’t think of it as that, I think of it as a deliciously sweet wood scent. I also think of it as being okay as a masculine scent. I don’t smell any of the milk that is supposed to be in the background. It’s been accused of being synthetic, but I take that as a given for any CSP scent even before I spray it. Vanille Extreme is linear and long lasting.

To me this is the perfect layering vanilla. It's so foody and sweet my teeth ache just thinking about it. The opening blast is loud, trashy, and semi-synthetic, but given a little time, this fragrance dries down to a lovely, close to the skin vanilla with a hint of spice. Good on it's own, but GREAT for layering with scents that are spicy but not too sweet.

Vanille Extreme will definitely be a bit of a shock to most who expect the confectionery version of vanilla that we are all used to. It is definitely not that type. This type of vanilla, Tahitian Vanilla, reminds us why they call vanilla a spice. Its opening notes are like you would expect, but warms to something very different. This is a very strong vanilla fragrance and has a spice element to it than most of Comptoir's other vanillas. It is very warm, but it will turn off some who prefer the traditional vanilla scent. I like it on certain days, but I tend to prefer their Vanille Passion, which, to me, lingers more as vanilla and less like Play-Doh (yes, I definitely see that! But it's much nicer than that plastic-y smell of a child's toy, believe me). If you prefer the confectionery type of vanilla, you'd be better off with Occitane's Vanille which is a traditional vanilla scent, but a very high quality version of it. Or Comptoir's Vanille Passion which, to me, is THE perfect vanilla and lacks the spice notes that may turn you off to Vanille Extreme. All in all, Vanille Extreme is a very wonderful fragrance, perfect for the days when you want your vanilla warm and spicy but not too sweet.