Ani Nishane 2019 Extrait de Parfum

It just so happens that today, 17th of October, marks one year since I've been on Parfumo. And quite conveniently, it just so happens that "Ani" in my language (Romanian) means "Years". Looking back at where I was last year, glorifying Lattafa's crap juice and dreaming about owning JPG or anything influencers glazed without remorse, I must say I never though I'd reach the point where I would be reviewing niche fragrances from Amouage and Nishane. And I only got here thanks to the community here on Parfumo. Otherwise, who knows in what unrecoverable state I would've been, collection full of Armaf and Lattafa; a stranger to true perfumery...

Regardless, let's now focus on Ani Extrait de Parfum itself. Being one of the most hyped niche fragrances on social media, portrayed as one of the best vanilla fragrances there is, I did come with a little bit of hope. But as we all know (or should know), when a fragrance starts making waves on the social media scene, it's best to stay away. And as for Ani Extrait de Parfum, it's nice, but not as nice as influencers make it seem.

The opening strikes with a squeeze of citric bergamot, followed by a dosage of pink pepper, which is less actually peppery and more sweet-spicy. Some green crispness, reminiscent a bit of galbanum but fresher, take a seat further back. But the real deal here is the blue ginger, which is arguably the best and most unique part of the whole composition. It brings the typical ginger warmth and spice, but it is not overpowering or too sharp, as it is accompanied by a smooth floral sweetness and some clean muskiness. This pairs nicely with the other top notes, but unfortunately, it doesn't last too long, mostly gone 20-30 minutes into the wearing.

But until that happens, the heart notes accompany it to its grave, with a sweet and dark fruity blackcurrant, slightly tart and even aromatic. The cardamom keeps the warm spice alive with mild minty undertones, while also sweetening things up. The Turkish rose appears briefly and just as quickly it dissipates, adding a mild creamy-honeyed rose aroma which is not too strong, but undeniably smooth and well-incorporated.

But now, this is acclaimed as a top-level vanilla fragrance, so the base really must hit the spot. Well... not at all. Sure, vanilla is the main protagonist once things dry down, but it doesn't strike me as impressive in any way. Frankly, there's a very noticeable lemony undertone present too, which in combination with the vanilla here evoke a clear picture in my mind: Dr. Oetker vanilla/lemon pudding powder. Can't really un-smell it once you make this connection. As for the rest of the notes, the benzoin adds a nice dose of ambery sweetness, while the musk and ambergris strongly convey musky warmth. There's not much woodiness to talk of, at best a creamy sandalwood creeping through. And the patchouli, you can tell it's there, but things are so well-integrated and blended that it's hard to pinpoint things on their own. And that's probably Ani Extrait de Parfum's highlight - the blending and balance of the notes. It all comes off as very smooth and well-put together, but the scent itself just fails to stir any emotions in me. It's just a nice, sweet fragrance.

Performance didn't really impress either. On my skin, about 7 hours was the most I got out of it, with projection being decent. The first hour I got a little over 2 feet of projection, mellowing down slowly afterwards but staying consistent up until around hour 4 where it turned into a skin scent.

It's a pretty easy fragrance to wear, overall. Apart from the warmer weather, Ani Extrait de Parfum is quite versatile, and I could see it work from formal events to daily school/office wear (that if you can afford Nishane as a daily). Perfectly unisex too.

Now, you can easily find Ani Extrait de Parfum for $170, so it's not even the most expensive of options from Nishane, and it's one of their nicer compositions too. I can see why it gets all the love it gets online, but when it comes to "endgame vanilla fragrance", I don't think Ani Extrait de Parfum should even be considered. It's just a very easy vanilla fragrance to like (like most, really), and apart from that blue ginger at the opening and the Dr. Oetker products resemblance, nothing else really makes it stand out. It's definitely worth a sniff, more so because of its blending quality rather than its scent structure. But I'm convinced there's better vanilla fragrances out there.

Overall Rating: 6.4/10