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L'Occitane Eau des Baux and Guerlain Spiritueuse Double Vanille

post #1 of 23
10/9/10 at 6:54pm
Thread Starter 
"I guess when other say "boozy" it registers as "cedar" to my nose...it's a very nice scent, but to be perfectly honest, you could get nearly the exact same thing for 1/4 the price with L'Occitane Eau des Baux
19 July 2010"


That was one reviewers assessment. Can i really save myself 75% and go with Eau des Baux ? Input appreciated. Are they that similar?
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post #2 of 23
10/9/10 at 7:28pm
Are you asking if you can interpret the 'booziness' of l'occitane to be equal with double vanille ?

If so, I would have to emphatically respond with NO. To my nose those two are at opposite ends of the spectrum from top to bottom, beginning to end. Even on the 'sweetness' register they are totally different.

Have I understood your question correctly ?

Quote:
Originally Posted by neal View Post

"I guess when other say "boozy" it registers as "cedar" to my nose...it's a very nice scent, but to be perfectly honest, you could get nearly the exact same thing for 1/4 the price with L'Occitane Eau des Baux
19 July 2010"


That was one reviewers assessment. Can i really save myself 75% and go with Eau des Baux ? Input appreciated. Are they that similar?
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post #3 of 23
10/9/10 at 7:33pm
I do not think they are similar at all. But I do like Eau des Baux much more than SDV.
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post #4 of 23
10/9/10 at 7:39pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by petruccijc View Post

i do not think they are similar at all. But i do like eau des baux much more than sdv.

absolutely
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post #5 of 23
10/9/10 at 7:39pm
Absolutely not. SDV is more gooey sweet vanilla, honey, and other spices. It does have a note or notes in it that has/have a sharpness to it, like alcohol. I'm thinking rum, but don't quote me on that. When I think of SDV, I think of the color red. It's weird, but it's just a red scent to me.

Eau des Beaux, to me, smells very nutty. It reminds me of almonds. It's sweet too, but in a more masculine way. To me I get like an almond butter kinda vanillac scent. But definetely no, not the same at all. The closest fragrance I have smelled to SDV is Michael Micallef's Note Vanille. It's slightly less expensive per ml, and if you can get the old 75ml bottle on ebay, it's definetely a better bargain. They usually go for a little less than $160 including s&h, vs. approximately $225 for SDV. When I first sampled NV, I instantly thought fake @ss SDV. However, as I began to wore the sample, I got the same "essence" as SDV and didn't feel like I was missing anything but that alcoholic/boozy note in sdv. So I figured I could live with NV instead of SDV. I tried to purchase it a few weeks ago online, but the transaction was cancelled for some reason. I'll try another vendor in a few weeks. But yeah, definetely check it out here:
http://www.luckyscent.com/shop/secti...ollection.html
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post #6 of 23
10/9/10 at 7:50pm
The Boozy note that reviewer reports in Eau des Baux must come from all the alcohol s/he consumed before concluding the two scents have any significant similarity.

A far more comparable scent to SDV is L'Artisan's Havana Vanille, although (in spite of my allegience to L'Artisan and Duchaufour) I prefer the Guerlain.
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post #7 of 23
10/9/10 at 7:57pm
Now now Paul - woodford reserve has it's place too.
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post #8 of 23
10/9/10 at 8:51pm
Personally, I think ABSOLUTELY! In fact I even tried to write a review of SDV, but for some reason zero of my reviews ever posted....anyways, I tried SDV at a Guerlain botique in Vegas and it's ok and all, but I found it very similar, like a cedar note or something. In fact I like EdB better and it really is like 1/4 the price.....in my peronal opinion, even if you don't think they are taht comparable, I think you still could think "is SDV worth that price tag?" I personal don't believe it is, ad would choose EdB 100 times out of 100 over it.

EDIT: LOL, it WAS my review....I love how the others threw me under the bus...in fairness I WAS drinking, but that's what I got.....
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post #9 of 23
10/9/10 at 8:58pm
SDV and EdB are not at all alike. Now, EdB and Hermes Hermessence Ambre Narguile, pretty similar.... EdB and Michael Kors for Men? Very similar! The Guerlian is really much more like a vanilla bean. Go to a high-end spice or luxury goods store and smell some fresh Haitian Vanilla. That is SDV. I don't want to smell like that, but I can appreciate how well it is done.

A fresh, moist vanilla bean is naturally boozy. (Whereas, e.g., Tom Ford's Tobacco Vanille smells more like a natural vanilla extract).
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post #10 of 23
10/9/10 at 9:22pm
whoa there, really? I've got a sample of SDV and a bottle of EdB and I get almost no similarity there...

The SDV is firstly thick and honeyish in my mind. It has a boozyness in the sense that it smells like a sweet liquor of sorts, and there's a certain rawness plus a strong vanilla. Personally I don't believe SDV is worth the price, but that's not my point.
What I get from EdB is more like a hollow puff of smoke, a charcoal incense that floats, and then slowly solidifies and warms up into a nice vanilla.
I just don't see the comparison between these two at all!

TFTV maybe has some of a similar vanilla, once the tobacco wears off. As for Kors or Ambre Narguile, well i like both but I still don't see the similarity, at least not enough to be replacements of each other.
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post #11 of 23
10/10/10 at 2:10am
They are nothing alike. Though I've got a bottle of EdB, I probably won't buy again when it runs out.EdB seems to have incense and vanilla. SDV is OK if you like a pretty "straight up" vanilla scent. SDV seems much more femme, while EdB definitely comes across as a masculine. I also wonder whether SDV is worth the price.
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post #12 of 23
10/10/10 at 5:50am
They are different enough to belong in the same wardrobe. SDV is smooth & excels under cool dry conditions; the EDB wears a little edgier. Price aside, it's a matter of preference really. If you enjoy SDV, just get the SDV - even if it's just a decant. Trying to find something similar for much less can be a fun experience but can also quickly become a frustrating exercise in futility.
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post #13 of 23
10/10/10 at 5:58am
I do love Baux, and Guerlain Vanille. But this comparison doesn't smell like Davidoff >< Creed???

By the way, like everyone's said, they smell diffirent.
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post #14 of 23
10/10/10 at 6:14am
Thread Starter 
Sooooooo glad I asked this!
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post #15 of 23
10/10/10 at 7:43am
I prefer SDV, EdB emits a very medicinal calming serene vibe to me which I would rather smell in a sauna than anywhere else.
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post #16 of 23
10/10/10 at 8:22am
Not similar at all IMO.
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post #17 of 23
10/10/10 at 8:27am
I would never confuse them. They are different.
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post #18 of 23
10/10/10 at 9:29am
Both are excellent, high quality scents.
Both completely obliterate any designer gourmand imo.
However they are very different in character.

Eav Des Bavx is much more masculine, much drier/spicier.
While heavily tonka/vanillic, it is also heavily spicy, with peppercorns, cardamom, cinnamon, and clove.
And of course it has dry incense and wood accords as well.
Lovers of the Amouage house may also tend towards Eav Des Bavx.
It's very much a complete scent, not a vanillic/tonka soliflore.

SDV on the other hand, is completely unisex, not masculine or femme at all. And it's texture is not dry or spicy.
Guerlain SDV has a very thick, gooey, honeyed texture, and a richness that is not dry at all.
I personally would choose Tom Ford's Tobacco Vanille over guerlain's for a unisex Vanilla scent.
As it's spiciness and moist tobacco note make it just barely masculine enough to wear for me.
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post #19 of 23
10/10/10 at 7:02pm
^^ very nice descriptions there. You've eloquently written my sentiments. Thanks.
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post #20 of 23
10/10/10 at 8:59pm
I'm alone on an island here!! :P
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post #21 of 23
10/10/10 at 11:32pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by petruccijc View Post

I do not think they are similar at all. But I do like Eau des Baux much more than SDV.

I concur with JC on this. I prefer the Eaux des Baux, and it's a better value, too.
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post #22 of 23
12/21/11 at 1:24am
Hi Force of One... u are not alone... i find them very similar too! it happened by chance incidentally cos' i was sampling the SDV for a couple of days (that was a few years back). subsequently, i was at the l'occitane store and i sprayed the EdB. i kind of froze for a minute, struggling to figure out where i have smelled this before. then it dawned on me that it smelled very similar to the SDV. both are vanillas with a twist... of course they do not smell identical (even knockoffs can smell different), but quite similar imho.
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post #23 of 23
12/21/11 at 8:02am
I've tried the L'Occitane one in the store and it's really nice. I'm not the biggest vanilla fan, but I might consider buying it. It definitely has a wood-like smell to it. For 4x the price the other one who have to knock my socks off!
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Basenotes › Basenotes Forums › Fragrance Discussion › Male Fragrance Discussion › MFD Archive › L'Occitane Eau des Baux and Guerlain Spiritueuse Double Vanille