Insulo

I'm so glad I tried this sample on my skin. On paper, it was just vanilla. On my skin, it opens with toasty spice and caramelized sugar, and like the top of a creme brûlée, that spiced crust soon cracks open to reveal a soft, natural vanilla laced with jasmine. I was surprised I could detect the jasmine note, floral wafts kept taking me by surprise all the way through the dry down. And this stuff really lasts. The next morning, the vanilla was still gently wrapped around my wrist. Of all the vanilla-based perfumes I sampled, this was the most intriguing and seductive. Not too sweet, cloying, or foodie like others, but it still has depth. Full bottle, here I come!

This is lovely. Three simple notes, but balanced and blended so beautifully that no one note shouts over the top of the other – creamy vanilla, soft jasmine and delicate musk, all playing extremely nicely together. It’s quite sweet when it first goes on, but that settles after a few minutes, and then you'll find you're sitting in a lovely soft cloud of musky, flowery vanilla. Chocolate isn’t listed as a note, but don't be surprised if you do find wafts of chocolate. Longevity is excellent – I consistently get a good eight hours out of this. I think a lot of blokes might find this too sweet, but then again, I guess it would depend on the skin chemistry. It’s a super pretty scent.

This is a heady scent and only a spritz or two are necessary to convey its full power. It's intoxicating and spicy but with a thick, sweet patina. I'm not quite an expert in the art of effectively describing fragrances (yet!) but this is sort of like something I could imagine Dada and Surrealist artists wearing in Zurich or Paris during the 1910s. Thank you t the Scent Bar employee who turned me on to this!

The opening is one of the most lovely I've smelled: sweet and warm and delicious. Soon after however - and lasting for a good hour - it's a horror movie: a very masculine chemical/plastic/body odour nightmare. And then it settles. Never quite as beautiful as the opening but nonetheless a much more subdued slightly spicy vanilla that loses the toxic notes. It fades quickly but remains closeness to the skin.