Boise Vanille
by Montale

The dominant players here are vanilla, patchouli, cedar, and iris, in that order. These are the notes that you're going to be smelling the whole time. There is a boozy vibe that starts out monstrous and slowly fades to a whisper over the course of about 6 hours, after which it completely disappears. I can only guess that this effect is the result of the slight citrus on top of everything else slowly evaporating, but I should make it clear that I never got a clear citrus note in here.

The overall experience is very good, and the only downside to this fragrance is that as the glossy "booziness" wears off, the iris becomes a little more prominent and it gives off this lipstick-crayon vibe that I'm not terribly fond of. It's 3-4 hours of amazing with a slow taper down to solid, and that works for me.

Wait a minute, I just went back to the sample and the boozy vibe that I had experienced was indeed a result of the citrus.

27th January, 2012.

Of Montale’s vanilla offerings, this one appears to be more targeted to male wearers, being the least sweet of the vanillas. The vanilla seems suffocated by a dense, muddy wood accord that makes Boise Vanille unwearable to me.

3rd July, 2010.

I don't know what this is, but this fragrance literally set my teeth on edge. The sample I got in the mail leaked a tiny bit (into the small plastic baggie, which was open just a bit), and when I opened the package a powerful aroma emanated to fill the area around it. I double packed the sample in additional baggies, but left the mailer behind. Kept wondering where I getting the big whiffs of the scent from. Then realized that the package was still sitting there on the table. Whoah! Giving it a neutral rating as it does not look like I will be able to wear it in public. Not for the faint at heart. This is raw, powerful stuff. I was getting mostly cedar, very little vanilla.

8th June, 2009.

this montale is one of the best IMO. It is very very hard to explain this one. Its kinda like red vetyver....but intead of using the peppery note they use in red vetyver, they use a very light touch of non sweet vanilla to blend the citrusy grapefruit and the woods together. It almost smells citrusy and powdery at the same time....kinda like side by side. thats why it is hard to explain this one......it kinda has the notion of a creamcycle.....take citrus and add a slight touch of vanilla to it.....yet it remains more of a wood citrus scent then anything.......besides all that it smells wonderful! definatly worth a try.....one of my favorite montales.

6th March, 2009.

This is totally different from any other vanilla fragrance in that it does not smell of the sweetened 'vanilla extract' found in all other vanilla fragrances, but rather vanilla pods that have a smoky, woody aroma. Although the listed notes (below) may give the impression that this fragrance is all over the map, on the skin nothing besides vanilla pod and cedar is clearly evident... the remainder of the notes are exceptionally well blended and serve to provide depth and structure. I thought Guerlain SDV was the booziest vanilla until I really spent some time with Boise Vanille. Especially at first, there is an almost rum-like booziness that is rich and thick. Citrus notes create sharpness while woody undertones and a touch of spice balance and round out the composition. The entire fragrance has a slight iris like powderiness to it.

There are many, many Montales that I enjoy, but this is the first one that has compelled me to buy a bottle.

Notes from Luckyscent: lemon, geranium, bergamot, lavender, cedar leaves from Canada, Jamaican pepper, iris, patchouli, vanilla, tonka bean.

18th November, 2008.

I'm trying out a sample of Boisé Vanillé by Montale and finding it the perfect comfort scent this morning. I almost reached for Estee Lauder Sensuous in the sample box, but something told me to try this one instead, and thank goodness. It's beautiful - woodsy, spicy, incensy, sweetly vanillic yet not crudely synthetic or desserty. It's the natural, resiny sweetness that emanates from the real tonka bean and vanilla pod. The woods are smooth and velvety, not harsh, as I find many woodsy fragrances, I suppose it's all in the quality of ingredients. I don't know what they are, but I know when I smell them. I'm very impressed with anything by Montale and looking forward to trying more in this line. This one is a little bit masculine for me, but it smells so good that I'd wear it anyway.

22nd October, 2008.