212 VIP Black Carolina Herrera 2017 Eau de Parfum
2
An unexpected favorite of mine
In short, 212 VIP Black is sweet, aromatic lavender with anise. Initially I compared it to Armani Code. It smells like a raw, musky, less sour version of Code, in which they made sure to polish the edges and make the scent well rounded and accessible, somewhat warm. Code is smooth, but tame, one could say limp, even. Here it's a similar basic theme, but bolder, very straightforward, without any adornments. Most importantly, however, it's not as sour, which is a good thing. There's a little bit of vanilla offering some sweetness.
At the start I didn't particularly like the scent, I found it uncaring, cold, and abrasive to the sinuses. This is, or was, my main problem with this fragrance - I found it very aromatic in an artificial, chemical way. I could tell why some people liked it, though - that musky vanilla in the background is nice.
With time, I came to like it more and more, to the point where it’s among the few perfumes I like the most. If you tolerate the abrasiveness of lavender, it's one of the best lavender fragrances.
Prada Luna Rossa Ocean by the same designers is somewhat similar, though much heavier and with citrus instead of vanilla - less sweet, more sour. I think of Valentino Uomo Born In Roma as a mature version of 212 VIP Black.
I would say the bottle doesn’t fit the scent at all, although if you consider black the color of Aventus and its clones, then you could say the color fits, as the perfume is not that far from the the Aventus archetype, although it’s more aromatic.
Read more of my perfume reviews at The Scent Stories: thescentstories.substack.com
At the start I didn't particularly like the scent, I found it uncaring, cold, and abrasive to the sinuses. This is, or was, my main problem with this fragrance - I found it very aromatic in an artificial, chemical way. I could tell why some people liked it, though - that musky vanilla in the background is nice.
With time, I came to like it more and more, to the point where it’s among the few perfumes I like the most. If you tolerate the abrasiveness of lavender, it's one of the best lavender fragrances.
Prada Luna Rossa Ocean by the same designers is somewhat similar, though much heavier and with citrus instead of vanilla - less sweet, more sour. I think of Valentino Uomo Born In Roma as a mature version of 212 VIP Black.
I would say the bottle doesn’t fit the scent at all, although if you consider black the color of Aventus and its clones, then you could say the color fits, as the perfume is not that far from the the Aventus archetype, although it’s more aromatic.
Read more of my perfume reviews at The Scent Stories: thescentstories.substack.com