Pas de Velours Les Néréides 2020

Updating my review a bit: maybe be pallette has matured more or maybe this just grew on me. Either way, this vanilla is surprisingly complex for only three listed notes. I believe it's the ambroxen that makes it so addictive and smooth like suede. Maybe I'll be buying this gorgeous bottle after all!
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I wish this fragrance was as much of a standout as the bottle design. If it were, I'd have no choice but to buy a bottle.

This is a fragrance with a definite ambroxen note, which gives it a woodsy, smoky elegance. So smooth and seductive. However, if you're looking for a show stopper, this isn't really it. I mostly smell a really well done vanilla fragrance.

The woodsy note also makes it smell a bit fresh and reminds me a little bit of baby wipes. A little too sterile for my liking.

This was straight-up sweet vanilla, no florals or frankincense to me. Has a similar kind of vanilla note to Eau Duelle or Addict. I found it had very low sillage, but it did stick around at least. Used up my sample as a layering note as it was so gentle - it worked really nicely over most fragrances, however for layering and/or a vanilla frag I'll continue looking.

A heavier kind of vanilla, underpinned by subtle accords of incense and ylang‑ylang. A rich composition that envelops and lingers for a long time. This is not a typical sweet gourmand, but rather a more sensual interpretation, offering a deeper, warmer character that unfolds slowly and leaves a graceful, lasting impression on the skin.

As I have recently noticed more and more that it is apparently assumed one can sufficiently describe and appreciate a fragrance in 50 to 60 words, I will divide the following review into two parts: Part 1 says everything you need to know about the scent, Part 2 is aimed at people with too much free time.

Part 1: Hammer great juice, really cozy and a bit sexy, decent performance, completely underrated. Price-performance hit. Absolute must-buy for vanilla and incense fans.

Part 2:
How I came across this fragrance is quickly told: I picked up "Pas de Velours" somewhere on this site, visited the fragrance page, read the pyramid and statements, and ordered a sample.

Well, eventually the sample fluttered into the house, was sprayed on the wrist, and deemed good. No, here I am not flirting with Nordic restraint. Since I first smelled "Pas de Velours," I have become utterly enchanted by this fragrance.

"Pas de Velours" ... ah, how lovely that sounds. Très français! But what does it actually mean? My school French immediately tells me "no velvet." Hello? No velvet? Nope. That can't be serious. How can one explicitly deny any velvetiness to such a wonderfully warm and truly velvety scent just by its name? There must be more to it. The word "Pas" is quite a sneaky character; it can not only be used as a building block for French negation but also as a versatile noun meaning step, dance step, gait, street, or sole. And "Pas de Velours" in France refers to what Germans commonly call velvet paws. Cat feet. Aha. Yes, I completely agree with that name-wise.
"Pas de Velours" wraps itself around its wearer like a purring cat seeking cuddles. Mind you, a clawless cat. Because the incense that undoubtedly dominates this fragrance is not scratchy and cool here, but is enveloped by a fluffy-light vanilla cloud that makes it warm and inviting. And to be honest: Much more doesn't happen here. The pyramid leaves no doubt that "Pas de Velours" is rather simply constructed in its conception. Ylang-ylang at the top, incense at the heart, vanilla at the base. It can get more complex. And the combination of tropical ylang-ylang and incense sounds somewhat grotesque. About as harmonious as a caramel cake chord with civet and castoreum. But to make it short: This peculiar trio manages to strip the incense of its sacred teeth and give it a welcoming-optimistic aura. Thus, "Pas de Velours" immediately shows its caress-soft and bright side in the top note, flanked by a pleasant sweetness reminiscent of powdered sugar. The further development of the scent is, as the pyramid already suggests, not particularly spectacular. But it doesn't have to be, because this sweet, smoky-warm cocoon of well-being can happily linger just like that. Over time, however, the scent settles a bit, the vanilla comes more to the forefront, relegating ylang to the background. Here, the scent impression finally becomes darker, more intimate, and more ambry.

I love the smell of incense and have long been searching for a wearable fragrance that clearly highlights this note without drifting into a strained avant-garde direction of "olfactory performance art." I have tested many, many smelled like incense (and some of that like a mess), but truly wearable in the sense of my antiquated dogma "Perfume as a flattering fragrance" was the least.

With "Pas de Velours," I now have a truly fine incense companion by my side that can fully enchant me. I am fascinated by how skillfully the three main players have been woven into a magical unity that caresses me all day like a silvery-golden veil. Sometimes less is more. Sometimes it is enough when perfumers simply knit.

"This is so under the radar" was this wonderful frankincense charmer.

I chose it because of its similarity to Dior Addict (2002) Eau de Parfum and purchased it at a fair price in the souk (thanks again dear @ELDE).

The stars of this fragrance are undoubtedly frankincense and vanilla. This combo is not phenomenal, extraordinary, innovative, or new. No, it is not.

What makes this beautiful scent special is that it does not come across as heavy and cloyingly vanilla but rather light, dancing, and powdery from the very first spray.
Ylang-Ylang reveals itself wonderfully with the first spray, but not in a cloying way, rather in a beautifully sugary vanilla manner.

For all sugar and powder enthusiasts: definitely worth a test

One more thing I forgot:
The bottle is a 10/10