Perfume Pen Pals: Atelier Cologne Vanille Insensee


Dan, Atelier Cologne Vanille Insensée smells like sweet books. Katie
Katie, Here's what I think is hanging me up about Atelier Vanille Insensée: it's surprisingly mediocre for a perfume that so closely resembles another perfume (Le Labo Vanille 44) I love. Which calls into question all that I believe about this silly hobby of ours. If this were a church, I'd fire some difficult questions at the priest. But whom do I question regarding a perfume crisis of faith? Luca Turin? He doesn't care, he's in Greece. Metaphors help explain everything, so here's my best attempt. Have you ever walked into a delicatessen without your glasses, and the menu on the wall is all fuzzy? That's Vanille Insensée: a deli menu as it appears with your 20/80 vision. (I took the liberty of calling your optometrist to get those numbers. She says hello, by the way.) And Vanille 44 is the same wall menu, but viewed with perfect vision. You can take a number and read all about the sun-dried tomato aioli, the house-made pesto, whether the corned beef comes with aged Swiss or Havarti (though I'm happy either way). The details are sharper, on the menu and in Vanille 44. Vanille Insensée is similar to the other Ateliers I've tried (Bois Blonds and one of the citruses): it smells good, it's potent, there are no rogue notes, everything is as smooth as Barry White on a Saturday night, though a little sweet for me, so maybe Luther Vandross is a better example. But all that adds up to a fuzzier Vanille 44. And what's the point of that? What's the point of any of this? Dan
Fumies, what's the point of any of this?

16 comments:

  1. The point is that nobody else wants to play my smelly games with me and YOU'RE ALL I HAVE!!!

    * weeps *

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  2. Yes, but Barry White is smooth and listening to him makes me very, very happy. Smiling, head bobbing, let's get out on the dance floor happy! So wouldn't listening to him be like going to the deli, seeing the menu clearly and ordering a hot pastrami sandwich? Which clearly, Vanille Insensée is not if you sniff it side by side with LL Vanille 44. Vanille Insensée doesn't even get to be Luther Vandross in my deli world of mixed metaphors.

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  3. Pure magic - that's what the point of any of this is. Never mind the ad copy, the flacons, the reedy magazine models.

    Fragrance is your body's attempt to deal with the infinite and the sacred in the most personal and private way possible.

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  4. Did you hear what Nora said, Dan? We're all she has!


    melisand61 -- when I was scouting through Barry and Luther's vids on YouTube, I realized that I adored them both, and that they're in an entirely different deli to Vanille Insensée. But I had to include Barry's vid in this post because his music is frown-proof, and also for his Betty Crocker hairdo.

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  5. Stefush -- yes, pretty smells are magic, aren't they? Alchemy, as Mandy Aftel would have it. Wearing perfume is an intimate spell we cast on ourselves...and others on our wavelength.

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  6. Hey, there, Mr.Dan--

    I remember in an earlier post you mentioned that you purchased New Look 1947. I finally got around to picking up a sample, and it's the dreamiest thing ever. Yay, thank you! I'm floating in a cloud of fragrance love.

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  7. Alas, Nora, I didn't purchase New Look 1947. Like you, I picked up a sample. And it IS dreamy. I thought that one and Mitzah were the two winners of the new line. But it surely smells dreamier on you. On me, the sharp contrast between perfume and perfume wearer might strike some as unsettling.

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  8. Katie Pukoriku:

    I think it's magic in the way that we're not really sure how the nose does what it does, at least not in the way in which science can pinpoint what sight, hearing, taste do. There's this mystery to it that I've always been drawn to as much as I've been drawn to the actual scents themselves.

    Which is why I guess, yeah, I'm more drawn to the Mandy Aftels of the world than the fashionistas?

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  9. This post illustrates something I've noticed about the few Le Labos I've smelled: They all have a clear, legible, "placeable" quality that seems at odds with the often muddier, denser creations from indie one-man-bands like Aftel, Tauer, Sonoma, etc. I'm not surprised that Dan found Vanille Insensee murkier and less focused than the 44. I mean, I love the concepts behind Tauer's Desert Marocain and Incense Extreme (to cite two random examples), but they smell like bong water and/or a lab accident on my arm, whereas Vetiver 46 and Patchouli 24 simply sing. Is it the materials, the perfumers' training, the methods of maceration, the artistic direction...what? Am I secretly just a corporate whore shunning my nose at the DIY upstarts? Is Le Labo the Urban Outfitters of the perfume world? Should I be posting blog comments at 2:30 AM on four hours of sleep?

    Oh yes, the point of it all. Sensual indulgence. Sensual indulgence - be it perfume, gourmet food, or whatever else - leads to happiness, broadens our horizons, and promotes feelings of goodwill, thus preventing us from going on killing sprees due to the sheer insanity of the world we live in. That's point enough, no?

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  10. Agreed, Darryl. I've complained more than Katie can probably stand about many of those dense, muddy indie creations. They often seem weighed down with too many heavy notes, stagnant in a way that the best fragrances never are. Patchouli 24 is a great example of something that could've been similar, but instead it moves, it floats, it definitely sings. We can both testify to that. Deposition at 9 a.m. Get some sleep.

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  11. Dan- Now I have to try Vanilla 44! This week, I am in LOVE with Le Labo Iris 39. My god, this thing is brilliant! I haven't tried any others in this line. What should I seek out?

    I really like the Atelier line, but I haven't tried the Vanilla Insensee yet. The others were quite clear and pristine (a touch sweet, but otherwise fantastic and joyful).

    Darryl - I thought that this was very true: "This post illustrates something I've noticed about the few Le Labos I've smelled: They all have a clear, legible, "placeable" quality that seems at odds with the often muddier, denser creations from indie one-man-bands"

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  12. Darryl--

    My first Puckrik encounter involved me asking for incense-y perfume suggestions. She guided me towards Incense Avignon, Incense Extreme and another one whose name escapes me. I remember thinking that Avignon was the one I *should* like better, that it was more complex and subtle, but my favorite was Incense Extreme, it felt more like POW, BURNING!!!

    And I like that.

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  13. Oh man, another Incense Extreme fan here - Tauer can DO NO WRONG. I'm sorry for anyone who gets bongwater from that scent. Genuinely, heart-feltedly, sorry.

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  14. I'm sorry, too - I thought both of them would be directly up my alley, and the dissonance between what I expected and what I got was astounding. And scrub-worthy. (Sigh.) But I suppose it's better to fall in love with two spendy scents (Patch 24 and Vetiver 46) than, say, seven. My wallet thanks my fickle nose.

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  15. Gator Grad -- Funnily enough, Iris 39 was my initial recommendation to Dan when he was venturing into the world of Le Labo. Once he familiarized himself with the line, he discovered one of his all-time favorite perfumes, Patchouli 24.

    The one time we've ever met in person, he was wearing that, and it's a beauty. I believe he enjoys wearing Neroli 36, too, because he's partial to a good Coppertone white floral.

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  16. Katie - I will seek out Patchouli 24. :) Thanks for the rec.

    And have you been reading about the new Santal 33 release? It sounds like a must have!!

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