One of the new personal insights I’ve discovered this winter is gourmands are really good. I’ve liked the style for years. This year I have been receiving more new gourmand releases to try in the colder months. As I have been wearing them, I am finding them just as much a comfort scent as the warmer Orientals which are where I usually turn. The latest to leave an impression is Mancera Vanille Exclusive.
Mancera debuted the “Exclusive Collection” at the end of 2018 along with Vanille Exclusive there are Aoud Exclusif and Jasmine Exclusif. Why two get the French spelling and one gets the French-English hybrid I don’t know. The Aoud and Jasmine are the style of perfume Mancera has done well; big bold constructs. Vanille Exclusive is also that but the early going is a subtle wonderland of gourmand notes which is fantastic.
Vanilla Flowers in Whipped Cream
The decision is to use the floral gourmand trend as a launching point. Vanille Exclusive cleverly plays with both of those ingredients throughout the first part of the development before settling in to an Oriental base. The early choice of osmanthus as the floral foil to the foodie elements turns out to be inspired.
It is very typical fruity floral territory where Vanille Exclusive begins as osmanthus and peach are the first thing you notice. It doesn’t take long for this delightful whipped cream cloud to appear. This is the smell of sweetened cream turned into a transparent accord. It adds a lilting creaminess to the osmanthus and the peach. Brown sugar provides a caramel-like effect without tripping completely into that. It tethers the airy whipped cream to the florals. As things drift along a candied violet finds space on this gourmand accord. Vanilla deepens things just in time for the larger impact florals of tuberose and jasmine to join in.Tthis is the kind of floral gourmand accord I could drift in for days. This is as good a version as I have tried. It heads towards a soft Oriental base of amber, woods, and musk which is where things end.
Vanille Exclusive has 14-16 hour longevity and average sillage.
I think it is because I’m used to more straightforwardly powerful perfumes from Mancera that the gentle charms of Vanille Exclusive caught me off guard. I was happy to float the day away on a gourmand thunderhead which took some time to find that power.
Disclosure: This review was based on a sample from Mancera.
–Mark Behnke
