Mancera Aoud Vanille EDP 120ml

This fragrance is amazing, with a caveat.

Vanilla, oud or some sort of oud-ish scent, and a woodsy spiciness combine to form a rather complex fragrance that wears well on me and my wife, interchangeably (truly a unisex fragrance, imho). Longevity and projection are off the rails. I can still pick up the scent 24 hours after one spray, and pretty much no amount of showering or scrubbing can get rid of it, so be sure you really want it on you before you spray it. I have used very, very few fragrances that are as immediately picked up by the people around me as Aoud Vanille. 1 spray is all it takes to surround yourself in this scent, and more would be dangerous unless the environment really calls for it.

So, the caveat. The vanilla in Aoud Vanille is very nice, smells natural, and at first is extremely pleasing. However, over time, it can become cloying. The sweetness and, later on, powderiness do give one a bit of a feeling of being stuck in a poorly ventilated candy factory, in particular the section that is making vanilla powder for malteds or something. This is especially true if more than one spray is applied. It’s true that the oud and spicy notes blend with the vanilla and prevent it from becoming a vanilla bomb, but it’s also true that the vanilla is very prominent and demands your (and everyone around you) attention. After it has well and truly dried down, the vanilla recedes a bit and it gets more woody/spicy, which is nice and not nearly as cloying as the 30 to 90 minutes mark.

I like it as an occasional wear. When I used it for a few contiguous days, I suddenly found myself fatigued with vanilla and couldn’t go near it for a couple of weeks. This is a great cologne when applied in moderation and occasionally, but not heavily or continuously. I have a 120 ml bottle, which I suspect will last me the rest of my life.

Longevity: 10
Sillage: 10
Scent: eh, 7 or 8, maybe 9 if I haven’t used it for a week or two.