Felanilla 21 by Parfumerie Generale, 2009

Felanilla is my vanilla of choice. It also happens that my favorite vanilla scent of choice is also one of my favorite iris scents, and that one of my favorite iris scents is also one of my favorite saffron scent. These are three of my favorite notes, so that's saying a lot. It literally purrs on the skin like the somewhat cheesy "feline" + "vanilla" name suggests. It's an exotically sensual and sexy blend that starts off with a burst of sweet and warm vanilla pods, cool iris, and a delicate saffron note that is slightly salty. All the three main notes are apparent right from the first spray, resulting in a complex and unique opening that is slightly medicinal, antiseptic, and animalic while remaining familiar and cozy. I was at first doubtful when I heard of the resinous "banana wood" note, but when it revealed itself, all my doubts were gone as it worked perfectly and added a nice quirk that made the scent even more characterful. I loved how the banana, iris, and saffron worked with each other to create something abstractedly animalic. I mean, who would have thought banana could be made into something this sexy? Felanilla dries down to a comfortable bed of powdery vanilla, amber, soft musks, and hay with the saffron and iris still present but at a much lower volume untill the scent disappears and sinks into the skin. I don't believe in having a single penultimate holy grail, but if were forced to choose the "one and only," Felanilla would be one of the top candidates. I have gone through over 50ml's and still find myself reaching out for it, and it never fails to satisfy. My only complaint is that I wished it lasted longer, but it is okay as it is. Highly recommended for you to sink your teeth into!

When I first sampled this one I had a contrasting feeling. On one side I thought it was a pleasant warm vanilla, on the other side I thought it was too similar to FM Musc Ravageur but without FM power. I gave it a second chance and got a another sample. Well, I still think Maurice Roucel is much better than Guillame, I still think Felanilla lacks in something but I can definitely say Felanilla is incredibly addicting and very comfortable scent. Here follows my review based on the first sample I got: I quite like this one but, to be honest, it striked me as a sort of mash up between Musc Ravageur and Acier Alluminum. Well, actually I think Musc Ravageur has a stronger personality and Maurice Roucel is much better than Pierre Guillame, but that's another point. Felanilla is surely a well crafted warm vanilla scent, filled with top quality ingredients, with an acceptable sillage and a no more than reasonable lasting power but IMO it lacks in depth. It has a nice opening with a lot of amber and a hint of banana wood somewhere and a much better drydown that turns the scent into a confortable and quite close to the skin amber/vanilla but it still lacks in something...I still have to decide if I really like Pierre Guillame's creations or not but my suggestion to him, would surely be to reduce a little the reange of his productions and maybe focus on just a bunch of fragrances and complete them. I love Cozè, Intrigant Patchouli, Aomassai and find Papyrus De Ciane absolutely fantastic (unfortunately the latter doesn't match with my skin chemistry, but on paper is delightful) but my impression is too many of Guillame's fragrances (not all of them) are kinda incomplete or inconsistent. A nice scent, anyway.

This is one of my favorite PG compositions along with L'Ombre Fauve. If you're expecting it to be like a conventional sticky, creamy and sweet gourmand-y vanilla, you'd be in for a surprise! This one opens with an accord of fizzy saffron, and oily, slightly carroty and buttery iris. This duo seems to combine to give a rather quirky aroma. The vanilla here doesn't exactly take centre-stage. I understand that the idea of Felanilla is "Feline Vanilla" and I have to say that Moltening got it right when he mentioned that the Iris, Saffron and Banana wood have been infused to mimic an animalic accord (As Feline would suggest), and that at first whiff can actually smell a little like antiseptic. The vanilla which rounds up the Iris, Saffron, Banana wood accords, isn't anything too rich or sweet. As the scent settles, the ambery vanilla, soapy musk, and some lingering iris and saffron is what is left for one to enjoy. This is my choice non-gourmand vanilla. In fact, it was through Moltening's recommendation that I got introduced to this. And being a fan of saffron, iris, vanilla, musk, this scent is a winner. It is easy to identify and detect the notes in this one as they are all well-represented and managed, never being mashed into some accord too difficult to breakdown or understand. A simple composition, yet so alluring, addictive and warm.

My only gripe: Even for a skin-scent, it ought to have much better longevity! It is an "Eau De Parfum Intense" after all...


Moltening's review is probably the most accurate for me.

Vanillas! Vanillas everywhere! I'm not sure exactly which fragrance started the current proliferation of high-end vanillas (was it SDV that started it?), but regardless of how it started it seems like every house needs to have a high end vanilla. Even houses that have one or many vanillas are coming out with more vanilla perfumes (i.e. L'Artisan had Vanilia, came out with Havana Vanille, Profumum has several vanillas, came out with Vanitas, etc.).

Pierre Guillaume aka Parfumerie Generale has a line full of vanilla/amber gourmands and the PG specialty, the 'semi-gourmand' (i.e. Aomassai, Cadjmere, L'Oiseau de Nuit, L'Ombre Fauve, Brulure de Rose, etc.). Those like myself who appreciate and understand the subtle genius of Guillaume were very curious as to what a PG vanilla would be like, and some bought blind without even sampling, such were their trust in PG's quality.

I can't lie, I was not blown away by Felanilla - not at first - but over months of continuing samplings and wearings has revealed a fantastic vanilla-grounded fragrance that is about much more then "just vanilla". Vibert's review excellently describes the interplay of notes and I'm not sure I can do much better. The smokiness of the orris, the unique hint of 'bananawood' (which smells like it sounds), the musky/powdery iris, and the dry complexity of hay absolute all balance and enhance a vanilla note that is rich without being too thick. While SDV remains my holy grail vanilla for its volume and pure audaciousness, Felanilla represents a superior technical composition. Compared to the other high-end niche vanillas, whether it be Profumum Vanitas, SL Un Bois Vanille, LP Havana Vanille, PdN Vanille Intense, etc. this PG is the most intriguing, the most nuanced, the most truly unique. As is typical of PG perfumes I get significant sillage with a typical application and roughly 10 hours of longevity. Now that PGs are available in 30ml sizes (to join 50ml and 100ml options) it's even easier to put these on your shelf.

If you could only own one vanilla I'd say get SDV, but if you're buying a second vanilla make sure it's Felanilla.... thumbs up!