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Guerlain Spiritueuse Double Vanille vs. Tom Ford Tobacco Vanille

Poll Results: If I had to choose one... I would choose to own:

 
  • 47% (56)
    Tom Ford Tobacco Vanille
  • 52% (61)
    Guerlain Spiritueuse Double Vanille
117 Total Votes  
post #1 of 57
10/12/08 at 4:10pm
Thread Starter 
Has this been done before? Anyway, what do you guys and gals think? I am leaning towards SdV, but I would choose both if I could. These two, along with Fumerie Turque, is IMO, pure heaven.
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post #2 of 57
10/12/08 at 4:32pm
While I find TV to be a real wonderful thing to smell, it has ZERO development and in the end, gets a bit nauseating.
SDV, on the other hand, evolves. I know that Luca Turing hates it, but I find it to be the most intriguing vanilla scent that I've ever tried. Rich, slightly medicinal with hints of tobacco.
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post #3 of 57
10/12/08 at 4:51pm
i have tobacco vanille and when i first sprayed it, it smelt medicial and the tobacco notes were overpowering the vanilla. but when it cooled, it developed into a spicy, smoky, vanilla. it is one of the most intriguing smells i have ever known. the complexity is what makes it stand out. my other favorite vanilla, though not as complex is serge lutens un bois vanille (u should check that out).
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post #4 of 57
10/12/08 at 7:02pm
Buy SDV first. Then buy TV.
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post #5 of 57
10/12/08 at 7:36pm
I say buy both - however they're hardly alike at all. This isn't really a comparison of a this or that.. more of a buy this AND that
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post #6 of 57
10/12/08 at 8:08pm
Of those two - Tobacco Vanille.

But you should really try Micallef Note Vanillee.
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post #7 of 57
10/13/08 at 2:49am
Thread Starter 
Thanks everyone. It actually should've been a "Should I Buy X or Y First?" poll. I think I will inevitably buy them both in the end. I wish real life would have a add money cheat code like in The Sims 2.

**types in "motherlode" and gets $50,000 to spend on fragrances... woo!**

Un Bois Vanille is also very nice as well, and also pretty accessible and easy to buy here in Bangkok. IMO, I think one primary factor of SdV's 'charm' is its exclusivity.
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post #8 of 57
10/13/08 at 6:13pm
I'm a bit anti-Tom Ford, so it was a no-brainer for me...
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post #9 of 57
10/13/08 at 9:52pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Trebor View Post

I'm a bit anti-Tom Ford, so it was a no-brainer for me...

I'm curious as to why you are anti Tom Ford? Do you dislike all his fragrances?
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post #10 of 57
2/15/11 at 5:08am
I tried today SDV. I was initially quite impressed. I think it is one of the highest quality vanilla out there. Not cloying. BUt the drying seemed very linear, monotone and no special for that price. I think the TV is more specific aroma, but too sweet for my taste, ..unfortunately
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post #11 of 57
2/15/11 at 6:08am
Tobacco Vanille. All day, everyday.
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post #12 of 57
2/15/11 at 7:44am
Tobacco Vanille
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post #13 of 57
2/15/11 at 7:46am
Tobacco Vanille first then later you can purchase SDV.
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post #14 of 57
2/15/11 at 10:50am
Personally I think both are WAY overpriced and would probably never buy either. That said, I like TV better
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post #15 of 57
2/15/11 at 11:34am
They're both really good and different enough to own decants of both. I also think that Montale Vanille Absolu is a very underrated Vanilla, a sleeper in my eyes.
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post #16 of 57
2/15/11 at 7:47pm
They are both a bit much for me but of the two I would recommend SDV as it does seem to have some development and play of ingredients at least. TV has a nice 'wow' at the front then just settles into a relentless sweet chemical monotone for me - I think the novelty would wear off with this one pretty quickly.
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post #17 of 57
2/3/12 at 11:43pm
Love the boozy notes of SDV, I don't really get the tobacco here as much as the booze and vanilla.

Tom Ford is a projection beast, but I think its a tad more masculine.
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post #18 of 57
2/3/12 at 11:44pm
Spiritueuse Double Vanille is better IMO.
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post #19 of 57
2/3/12 at 11:47pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Trebor View Post

I'm a bit anti-Tom Ford, so it was a no-brainer for me...

Just his line or everything he's ever done? I would find it tough to hate Noir Noir, TV and Gucci 1 all together.
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post #20 of 57
2/4/12 at 2:09am
The cloves bother me in Tobacco Vanille.
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post #21 of 57
2/4/12 at 2:27am
Tobacco Vanille for sure.
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post #22 of 57
2/4/12 at 7:04am
Quote:
Originally Posted by volley2 View Post

Tobacco Vanille first then later you can purchase SDV.

That is exactly what I did.
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post #23 of 57
2/4/12 at 7:24am
Quote:
Originally Posted by mr. reasonable View Post

...of the two I would recommend SDV as it does seem to have some development and play of ingredients at least. TV has a nice 'wow' at the front then just settles into a relentless sweet chemical monotone for me - I think the novelty would wear off with this one pretty quickly.

+1. Your last sentence is something that I experience more with designer fragrances than niche.

Quote:
Originally Posted by mrclmind View Post

I'm curious as to why you are anti Tom Ford? Do you dislike all his fragrances?

Quote:
Originally Posted by tracerbullet View Post

Just his line or everything he's ever done? I would find it tough to hate Noir Noir, TV and Gucci 1 all together.

I just don't like his concept that panders towards the niche market audience - I find it glaringly fake and pretentious. Also, I've never come across a Gucci (regardless of Tom Ford's involvement) that's wowed me.

Quote:
Originally Posted by leor_77 View Post

I also think that Montale Vanille Absolu is a very underrated Vanilla, a sleeper in my eyes.

Although it's more of a straightforward creamy vanilla, than of the boozy variety, that's a very valid point. If Profumum's Vanitas didn't exist, I probably would have added Vanille Absolu to my wardrobe.
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post #24 of 57
2/4/12 at 8:39am
SDV wins this hands down
TV to me is a smoked honey fragrance and doesn't get that much more respect from me
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post #25 of 57
2/4/12 at 9:16am
I like them both. Lately I've been gravitating towards wearing Double Vanille more often. But that bottle redesign . . . sheesh . . . no male or unisex cologne should come with that little fabric atomizer attached.
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post #26 of 57
2/4/12 at 9:23am
^It's not male or unisex, it's marketed towards women.

I like TV more.
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post #27 of 57
2/4/12 at 9:36am
With Tobacco Vanille you will feel like a hairy monster ape (though in a most pleasant way), with Spirituelle Double Vanille most likely like a cockatoo. That being said, women like cockatoos very much by nature. The attractive, hairy monster ape is a completely different thing, a sexual thingy, only for the grown ups.
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post #28 of 57
2/4/12 at 9:39am
Guerlain Spiritueuse Double Vanille
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post #29 of 57
2/4/12 at 11:00am
Quote:
Originally Posted by JiveHippo View Post

^It's not male or unisex, it's marketed towards women.

I like TV more.

Yes, I get that. I do find it a little strange, though, to shift the bottle design emphasis to be clearly feminine when I'd guess at least 40% of its wearers are male. I realize it was part of a larger Guerlain bottle redesign campaign.
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post #30 of 57
8/23/12 at 8:58am
I'm trying to minimize my S. Double Vanille bumps, but this thread has solidified my decision to get SDV.
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post #31 of 57
8/23/12 at 9:38am
It's so hard to pick a winner as I like both of these so much. TV is definitely sweeter, which I think allows it to be worn by a more youthful audience and it's definitely a masculine leaning scent. SDV feels more expensive/classy and is unisex down the line, if not ever so slightly feminine leaning.

I did a side-by-side recently and the morning after the SDV was far more pronounced than TV, so for all the longevity praise of TV I still find SDV to be even more long lasting.

TV can get cloying at times (especially if the weather isn't bitingly cold) so I'd say the SDV is a bit more wearable, but I don't think many people would choose either as their daily so you may find it in your best interest to get some decants/splits of both as both my full bottles of TV and SDV barely have dents in them.

One last thing, many people have said go very light on TV. I've found that a very faint application (one spray or even half a trigger) produces quite a different smell than 2 or 3 shots all on the same spot. I was wearing TV light for a while and noticed I was losing interest, it was too vanilla-ish, but when I started putting 3 sprays on my neck I was getting huge billows of that incredible tobacco leaf note.
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post #32 of 57
8/23/12 at 9:50am
I was thinking along the same way as to which one is more pleasing and have come to the conclusion after this thread that neither will satisfy. I shall try again later. Oh I also was a lil confused where you looking for a tobacco vanilla or just a good vanilla? Thanks for this thread.
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post #33 of 57
8/23/12 at 10:03am
SDV is a strange scent and I have a love/hate relationship with it -- sometimes it makes me feel a little sick (that rich fruity note clashes occasionally imo) and other times , especially in the drydown I just want to lick myself. I'd use sparingly. I think on the whole I prefer TV, which doesn't make it a better scent though. I just feel more comfortable wearing it out.
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post #34 of 57
8/23/12 at 10:08am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Kaern View Post

SDV is a strange scent and I have a love/hate relationship with it -- sometimes it makes me feel a little sick (that rich fruity note clashes occasionally imo) and other times , especially in the drydown I just want to lick myself. I'd use sparingly. I think on the whole I prefer TV, which doesn't make it a better scent though. I just feel more comfortable wearing it out.

That is how I felt with Tonka Imperiale, strangely. I applied it, and after a while I was nauseated.

Honestly, I think it relies on an atomizer with a FINE mist. The finer the mist, the more I like it. The more concentrated, the more I hate it
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post #35 of 57
8/23/12 at 10:09am
I actually get zero fruit from SDV, however sometimes the cedar note stumbles into "pencil shaving" territory.
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post #36 of 57
8/23/12 at 11:11am
Quote:
Originally Posted by jrd4t View Post

I say buy both - however they're hardly alike at all. This isn't really a comparison of a this or that.. more of a buy this AND that

Agree. It's like comparing apples and oranges. Both are great in their own ways. It depends on what one is looking for.

The SDV is certainly boozier.
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post #37 of 57
8/23/12 at 11:30am
Quote:
Originally Posted by JiveHippo View Post

^It's not male or unisex, it's marketed towards women.

It was originally marketed towards women and then, due to its popularity among male customers, Guerlain reclassified it as unisex (thus giving an extra incentive to insecure men who fall for general marketing claptrap, whilst helping to increase the sales of SDV in the process).

Such classifications mean nothing - if you like it, wear it.
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post #38 of 57
8/23/12 at 11:49am
Am I the only one that hardly smells anything from SDV? I put a healthy blast to my wrist from a NM tester, and I swear I couldn't smell anything within an hour. Granted, I ended up testing some other Guerlains on my other arm (Vol de Nuit parfum, Sous le Vent), but SDV smelled faint from the get go, and in an hour it had faded to a ghost of a scent.

I'm sure I need to test SDV again, but for now, I'll go with TV.
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post #39 of 57
8/23/12 at 12:26pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by hobbes22 View Post

Am I the only one that hardly smells anything from SDV? I put a healthy blast to my wrist from a NM tester, and I swear I couldn't smell anything within an hour. Granted, I ended up testing some other Guerlains on my other arm (Vol de Nuit parfum, Sous le Vent), but SDV smelled faint from the get go, and in an hour it had faded to a ghost of a scent.

I'm sure I need to test SDV again, but for now, I'll go with TV.

Give it one more try but don't sample anything else that day (go for at least three sprays). Assuming that it hasn't been reformulated, it initially has a tendency to come across as underwhelming. Then, a couple of hours later, it suddenly hits you with gorgeous wafts that seem to come out of nowhere (well, that was my first experience of it).

I suggest giving it another chance before settling for TV.
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post #40 of 57
9/2/12 at 4:45pm
Guelain!!!!!!!!!!
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post #41 of 57
9/2/12 at 5:30pm
Own both TF Tobacco Vanille and Guerlain Spirituese Double Vanille. Both are excellent, but also quite different. Basically TF TV is a very strong spicy tobacco with a very warm and spicy vanilla dry down. Guerlain SDV is smoother, quite a delicate scent in fact, and almost hauntingly beautiful. It also has a beguiling spirit like quality to it I've not really encountered before in a vanilla type scent, which I'm still trying to figure out. But if you go for TF TV get a 50mls bottle, it is brutally powerful, only one spray needed, so it will last you years with occasional use. I voted for TF TV on your poll, basically because although I think Guerlain SDV is gloriously beautiful, I really don't find it strong enough for my tastes, even though I think it is the better fragrance.
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post #42 of 57
9/2/12 at 5:33pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jamie A View Post

Own both TF Tobacco Vanille and Guerlain Spirituese Double Vanille. Both are excellent, but also quite different. Basically TF TV is a very strong spicy tobacco with a very warm and spicy vanilla dry down. Guerlain SDV is smoother, quite a delicate scent in fact, and almost hauntingly beautiful. It also has a beguiling spirit like quality to it I've not really encountered before in a vanilla type scent, which I'm still trying to figure out. But if you go for TF TV get a 50mls bottle, it is brutally powerful, only one spray needed, so it will last you years with occasional use. I voted for TF TV on your poll, basically because although I think Guerlain SDV is gloriously beautiful, I really don't find it strong enough for my tastes, even though I think it is the better fragrance.

This is pretty much my assessment.
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post #43 of 57
9/2/12 at 5:39pm
SDV has a most glorious boozy opening then it slowly fades and its downhill from then on with the vanille becoming too feminine for my taste. TV smells great but just too sweet and overwhelming in the long run for me.
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post #44 of 57
9/2/12 at 8:12pm
SDV I like quite a bit...TV I dislike quite a bit. SDV is all about the Vanilla...TV is not all about the Vanilla.
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post #45 of 57
9/2/12 at 9:32pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Kybid View Post

SDV I like quite a bit...TV I dislike quite a bit. SDV is all about the Vanilla...TV is not all about the Vanilla.

I have to disagree with you. 1-2 hours after application is when the vanilla in TV starts to shine. The tobacco/vanilla really starts to balance at that time.
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post #46 of 57
9/2/12 at 9:42pm
SDV is very nice, but I would choose TV. SDV is just a bit too feminine, so TV gets the nod, even though the vanilla in SDV may be slightly more appealing than the vanilla in Tobacco Vanille. I love the tobacco note with it.
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post #47 of 57
9/2/12 at 9:48pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by dougczar View Post

SDV is very nice, but I would choose TV. SDV is just a bit too feminine, so TV gets the nod, even though the vanilla in SDV may be slightly more appealing than the vanilla in Tobacco Vanille. I love the tobacco note with it.

The tobacco in TV brings me back to my childhood, poking my nose in my dad's cigar box.
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post #48 of 57
9/2/12 at 10:06pm
Neither are favorites, but ten times out of ten I'd rather be wearing Tobacco Vanille than SDV. I know this is heresy, but the latter just smells like a bottle of synthetic vanilla flavoring to my nose.
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post #49 of 57
9/2/12 at 11:03pm
They are so different that you need both
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post #50 of 57
9/2/12 at 11:33pm
TV is an all time favorite....
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post #51 of 57
9/3/12 at 2:37am
Quote:
Originally Posted by hobbes22 View Post

Am I the only one that hardly smells anything from SDV? I put a healthy blast to my wrist from a NM tester, and I swear I couldn't smell anything within an hour. Granted, I ended up testing some other Guerlains on my other arm (Vol de Nuit parfum, Sous le Vent), but SDV smelled faint from the get go, and in an hour it had faded to a ghost of a scent.

I'm sure I need to test SDV again, but for now, I'll go with TV.

Got a little booklet from Guerlain and here's what it said:

Parfum: Also known as extract, the perfume expresses itself differently on each skin. A few drops applied directly on the inside of the wrists, elbows or décolleté will revel its aura.

Find this method not just only work on parfum but actually on EDP as well. I usually spray SDV (or others from L'Art et la Matière line) on the chest and both inner elbows when i want that soft aura envelop me. Sometime i even wear SDV on one inner elbow and either Bois d'Arménie or Cuir Beluga on the others and find both fragrances complement each others very well.
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post #52 of 57
9/3/12 at 3:53am
Going to go Tobacco Vanille, though I adore both.
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post #53 of 57
2/11/13 at 5:56pm
Gsdv
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post #54 of 57
2/11/13 at 7:15pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Spoombung View Post

The cloves bother me in Tobacco Vanille.

It's exactly the cloves that add some spiciness to tv, which make it a tad more interesting imho. I didn't particularly like any of them in the beginning, but both got me addicted somehow.
I would say tv is the more interesting and complex one with more pronounced tobacco and spice, while sdv is a bit more versatile.
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post #55 of 57
2/11/13 at 7:21pm
i though this poll would be landslide in favor of tobacco vanille, but i was totally wrong.
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post #56 of 57
2/11/13 at 7:31pm
Tough call... I'd lean toward TV. A little more masculine to me. I reach for that more frequently.
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post #57 of 57
2/11/13 at 8:13pm
Tobacco Vanille is the best vanilla frag of all time
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