Vanille 44 (2007)
by Le Labo

I wouldn't classify Vanille 44 as a vanilla fragrance. Although there's quite a bit of vanilla, it's just as prominent as the other notes in the scent. It's a good vanilla but I wouldn't recommend it if you're a big vanilla scent lover, you might be a little disappointed. Vanille 44 is a transparent mix of gaiac wood, vanilla, with some incense, bergamont and mandarin peel. The vanilla is puffy, almost cloud like. It's not thick or overly sweet. You can just smell it, but it isn't dominant. The scent structure, as mentioned already, is fairly light. I had the trouble of first trying it and not smelling anything at all. It seems like the type of scent that needs to be sprayed liberally, so you can actually pick out the notes. If you're looking for a very modern vanilla fragrance, I highly recommend Vanille 44.

18th February, 2011.

Le Labo Vanille 44

Le Labo has an irritating habit of making some of their best scents exclusive to one city. The 2008 release by Alberto Morillas for Le Labo, Vanille 44, is one of those examples as it is only available at Colette in Paris. I really like M. Morillas' Aramni Prive Vetiver Babylone for the bubble of vetiver that fragrance seems to create around me. It has a subtlety and a strength all at the same time. Vanille 44 does the same trick but with vanilla this time. When trying any Le Labo you always have to wonder whether the titular note will be prominent or a supporting player. The top of Vanille 44 starts off with a mix of bergamot, incense and gaiac with no vanilla to be seen. These three notes are lovely together and they are applied in a light way so as to begin to create that bubble I spoke of earlier. The heart is where the vanilla does come in and at first it is in balance with the light notes of the top before gaining in intensity until it is the dominant note. That intensity never becomes the sugary sweet overpowering vanilla of other scents. Instead this gains in intensity and then starts to warm on my skin and radiate in sheer waves of austere vanilla. Just as in Vetiver Babylone I feel encased in a bubble of vanilla and enjoy it tremendously. The base is a sheer musk which helps attenuate the vanilla slightly but this scent stayed all about the vanilla from the heart to the end. Vanille 44 has average longevity and is a close wearing fragrance with minimal sillage. As much as I want to be able to dismiss one of these Le Labos as overpriced hype; Vanille 44 is not Heinz 57.

16th November, 2009.

Most straightforward and boring vanilla scent I've ever experienced. This one can't hold a vanilla scented candle to the greatness that is Spiritueuse Double Vanille. And did I mention it's $500? Were they freaking stoned when they thought that up???

7th February, 2009.

Very expensive for a vanilla fragrance. Nice, but not $500 a bottle nice. That's all I have to say.

21st October, 2008.

I admit it... I'm a sucker for vanilla fragrances. The current reigning king is Guerlain's Spirituesse Double Vanille. I think most vanilla fans would concur. I had some pretty high expectations for such an exclusive vanilla. The verdict? It's not your ordinary vanilla, but it's not $500-plus-cost-of-exporting-from-Paris vanilla.

The best way I can describe the top notes are, well it's like smelling watery vanilla. It's as if high quality vanilla was somehow diluted, as opposed to just a weak vanilla. The opening reminds me somewhat of the aldehydic dry-down of Chanel No.5 Eau Premiere, with it's floral/vanilla base under the aldehydes.

The heart features more prominent and spicy vanilla. No longer watery, this must be the 'vanilla pod' smell described by other reviewers. The primary vanilla note is lightly spicy and somewhat smoky. It's at this point that the vanilla is most like SDV (though not as strong or boozy). The notes supporting and underlying the vanilla are well blended and unobtrusive - I believe it's a light citrus/floral mix.

The base provides a prominent high quality vanilla that is not too sweet, a little thick, and a little spicy. Again, it's close to SDV but the overall fragrance doesn't project nearly as much.

A great vanilla, not doubt. If it were anywhere near available, and SDV didn't exist, I'd probably buy it. If you have SDV you don't need this, but it's a thumbs up nonetheless.

16th October, 2008.

The top notes were almost non existent the first and second times I wore it - a light sprinkling of aromatic (mint?) that has a slight 'ozonic/fresh' accord that had me a little scared but faded nicely into a kind of icy synthetic note. Something you might smell in the outer edges of those Sherbet Series that CdG does. Not the most 'typical' top notes right? But then, this is Le Labo were talking about...

The weird top notes above do feature vanilla - but it is almost peeking out from behind the other notes. Pops its head up ever-so-often to let you know that it's there, but it is an entirely different animal than other 'luxury vanillas' (Tobacco Vanille by T Ford or Spiriteuse Double Vanille by Guerlain). No hint of any gourmand sweetness, yet the vanilla note has a syrupy quality to my nose. Have you ever sniffed the top of a Light Corn Syrup bottle (used for baking)? I'm thinking the vanilla note has this kind of olfactory effect. Not vanilla extract - rather something that smells vanilla prominent and yet holds it's sweetness in light, transparent folds. If I'm not making any sense, my apologies - but this is a tricky note to describe in words.

After some time on my skin it replicated 'Guerlainade'. My first thought when I realized this was, Oh - well of course Le Labo released this in the Paris, France Le Labo boutique. Those French (who are incredibly familiar with Guerlain) will 'get' the vanilla note. Perhaps that's an incorrect assumption but I must say at about 2-3 hours on my skin the vanilla note positively radiated off of my skin - all of the time at a low hushed, very close to the skin aura. It has the subtle skin vanilla scent done well, albeit a very low longevity (5 hours max).

Oh yes...the bottle is about $500 for a 100 ml bottle. And can only be bought at the Colette store in Paris, France. Well, isn't that special!?

3rd October, 2008.