Top Notes 
Orange
Bergamot
Heart Notes 
Raspberry
Jasmine
Plum
Rose
Cedarwood
Base Notes 
Musk
Amber
Sandalwood
Patchouli
Tonka bean
Benzoin
06/25/2025
DAVID043329
33 Reviews
DAVID043329
Very helpful Review
6
As the Name Implies...
The creators of Vain & Naïve must've really been inspired when they were naming the fragrance, because it's a spot-on description of what you can expect from it. If the same amount of inspiration was used in creating the scent itself, I believe we would've gotten a different story.
Now, frankly, fruity-floral sweet fragrances sit in a category that has never appealed to my tastes. So I guess I might be biased because of that. But I still can appreciate a good, well-crafted fragrance, even if it doesn't exactly suit me. And although Vain & Naïve is far above Lattafa-level fruity fumes that can pass as "Terrible & Disastrous", it is still nowhere near to the level of perfumery I'd expect given its price tag.
The opening brings a very short-lived burst of citruses, soon overpowered by an unexciting blend of florals and fruits. The jasmine, in particular, sticks out the most with its intensely floral-sweet aroma and slight muskiness. The rose is harder to pinpoint on its own, but it surely aids to the overall floral fruitiness of the composition, maybe even adding sort of a 'tea' vibe underneath. The raspberry is not overly strong with its fresh, sweet, tart, and vibrant fruitiness, while the plum is yet again, harder to spot, due to it having a combination of soft, fruity, sweet, and floral characters which just makes it nearly impossible to stick out in a composition with other notes that bring similar accords.
Things don't get any more interesting at the base. Actually, things get even more boring. A clean, slightly powdery musk arises, with a faint ambery warmth and sweetness, which dominate the other base notes, whilst they themselves being dominated by the floral fruitiness of the heart notes. The benzoin and tonka bean notes would supposedly sweeten things more with a vanillic-like scent, but I don't get any. At best, I get a balsamic undertone from the benzoin. As for the patchouli, it brings no earthiness or woodiness typical to it, but rather an understated, yet deep musky sweetness. And regarding the sandalwood/cedarwood, you sort of can tell that there is something going on behind curtains, like a mild spicy sweetness tied to sandalwood, but woodiness on itself stands rather hidden in the overall blend. Once the fragrance has properly developed and all the notes are through, I'm left with a fruity, feminine-leaning, floral soap-like scent, which translates to lack of originality. If I were to put the last two paragraphs in a single word, then that would be: unimpressive.
Performance disappointed me further, with about 3-4 hours of longevity, becoming a skin scent somewhere around the one hour mark. The projection wasn't something to bloat about either, although for that first half an hour to maybe an hour, the fragrance did have pretty decent sillage. But as for projection on its own, 1 foot and a half at best. So I'd say it's safe to add a few extra sprays. However, keep in mind that my skin chemistry lacks... chemistry with many fragrances, and looking at other's votes around here, it seems I sit in the minority getting such poor performance from it.
One good thing that comes out of all of this is the versatility of Vain & Naïve. It's not about finding the right occasions for it, it's about finding occasions where it wouldn't fit. It can work as a daily, for work, for school, dressed-up events, dates... The list goes on. But as I mentioned already, this leans feminine, so it might not be the best choice for a man, even though I still think it can pass as unisex just fine.
"Soft & Generic", "Boring & Bland, "Unexciting & Unimpressive"... pick your choice. Any of these would fit as a substitute for Vain & Naïve. From the couple of Nishanes I've tried so far, this one is the least inspiring one yet. It doesn't smell bad per se; it just doesn't do anything that makes it stand out. And when talking about niche perfumery, "Different & Unique" are the keywords I'm looking for, ESPECIALLY if I'm paying $200. So even if you were to love this scent for whichever of its not-so-bright attributes, I still would hardly see myself recommending it, simply because you can find many other similar scents for less money, or even better overall fumes for less money. So truly, this does seem like a fragrance made in vain.
Overall Rating: 5.2/10
Now, frankly, fruity-floral sweet fragrances sit in a category that has never appealed to my tastes. So I guess I might be biased because of that. But I still can appreciate a good, well-crafted fragrance, even if it doesn't exactly suit me. And although Vain & Naïve is far above Lattafa-level fruity fumes that can pass as "Terrible & Disastrous", it is still nowhere near to the level of perfumery I'd expect given its price tag.
The opening brings a very short-lived burst of citruses, soon overpowered by an unexciting blend of florals and fruits. The jasmine, in particular, sticks out the most with its intensely floral-sweet aroma and slight muskiness. The rose is harder to pinpoint on its own, but it surely aids to the overall floral fruitiness of the composition, maybe even adding sort of a 'tea' vibe underneath. The raspberry is not overly strong with its fresh, sweet, tart, and vibrant fruitiness, while the plum is yet again, harder to spot, due to it having a combination of soft, fruity, sweet, and floral characters which just makes it nearly impossible to stick out in a composition with other notes that bring similar accords.
Things don't get any more interesting at the base. Actually, things get even more boring. A clean, slightly powdery musk arises, with a faint ambery warmth and sweetness, which dominate the other base notes, whilst they themselves being dominated by the floral fruitiness of the heart notes. The benzoin and tonka bean notes would supposedly sweeten things more with a vanillic-like scent, but I don't get any. At best, I get a balsamic undertone from the benzoin. As for the patchouli, it brings no earthiness or woodiness typical to it, but rather an understated, yet deep musky sweetness. And regarding the sandalwood/cedarwood, you sort of can tell that there is something going on behind curtains, like a mild spicy sweetness tied to sandalwood, but woodiness on itself stands rather hidden in the overall blend. Once the fragrance has properly developed and all the notes are through, I'm left with a fruity, feminine-leaning, floral soap-like scent, which translates to lack of originality. If I were to put the last two paragraphs in a single word, then that would be: unimpressive.
Performance disappointed me further, with about 3-4 hours of longevity, becoming a skin scent somewhere around the one hour mark. The projection wasn't something to bloat about either, although for that first half an hour to maybe an hour, the fragrance did have pretty decent sillage. But as for projection on its own, 1 foot and a half at best. So I'd say it's safe to add a few extra sprays. However, keep in mind that my skin chemistry lacks... chemistry with many fragrances, and looking at other's votes around here, it seems I sit in the minority getting such poor performance from it.
One good thing that comes out of all of this is the versatility of Vain & Naïve. It's not about finding the right occasions for it, it's about finding occasions where it wouldn't fit. It can work as a daily, for work, for school, dressed-up events, dates... The list goes on. But as I mentioned already, this leans feminine, so it might not be the best choice for a man, even though I still think it can pass as unisex just fine.
"Soft & Generic", "Boring & Bland, "Unexciting & Unimpressive"... pick your choice. Any of these would fit as a substitute for Vain & Naïve. From the couple of Nishanes I've tried so far, this one is the least inspiring one yet. It doesn't smell bad per se; it just doesn't do anything that makes it stand out. And when talking about niche perfumery, "Different & Unique" are the keywords I'm looking for, ESPECIALLY if I'm paying $200. So even if you were to love this scent for whichever of its not-so-bright attributes, I still would hardly see myself recommending it, simply because you can find many other similar scents for less money, or even better overall fumes for less money. So truly, this does seem like a fragrance made in vain.
Overall Rating: 5.2/10
4 Comments
SmellsFargo
DAVID043329
JMWeed
MariaS
FreshKatsu
NicheOnly
Samasamaa
Hermesh
meg84
KimJong
