Vanille de Tahiti Perris Monte Carlo 2020 Eau de Parfum

Please listen to the end, and please put it on and wait 「at least 30 minutes.」 I thought this after reading the harsh reviews on fragrantica, but you shouldn't judge it by the initial stinky scent. Recently, instant products that have a great scent from the top are popular, but this is not like that. Wait for the scent to bloom, just like steaming delicious tea leaves. There are so many reviews with flowery language that I feel like most people try it expecting that. "The best vanilla!" "I want to try it!" → "OMG,It stinks..." Wait. At least 30 minutes. Below is the review.

It's sold at a store called NOSESHOP in Tokyo. I told the clerk that I wanted something that smelled like Haagen-Dazs vanilla ice cream, and he introduced me to this.
At first, it smells like natto. It's totally fine. Some people say it smells like feces and urine, but to a Japanese person, this is natto. lol
It's a fermented vegetable scent, so I was like, "Oh, I know that well." After enjoying the scent of natto for a while, suddenly "vanilla smoke" appears. It feels like the aftertaste after taking vanilla ice cream out of the freezer and enjoying it. If you could smell vanilla directly from your skin, if you let vanilla essence soak into your skin and let it smell well, it would smell like this. It's not a liquid or powder, it's a "steam", "vapor", and "smoke" scent. Then, after 2 or 3 hours, it gradually changes to the scent of white flowers. This is also beautiful. It's transparent, but it's strangely gorgeous on your arms.
It's a slightly flowery vanilla scent, about 1 part jasmine: 3 parts vanilla flower. The finish is also beautiful.
Whether it brings to mind Tahiti is up to the individual, but if you like gourmand fragrances but dislike amber, or dislike sticky Middle Eastern perfumes, designer fragrances, or overly artificial flavors, this may be your last beautiful vanilla. Vanilla is everywhere these days, but it's rare to find a vanilla that is this simple and well-reproduced. I can see why it's so expensive. Eau Duel is also great, but if you're looking for a simpler "ice cream" flavor, this may be it.

As with most perfumes created for Perris Monte Carlo (in this case by Gian Luca Perris), Vanille de Tahiti is linear and focuses on a single note. The star here is Tahitian Vanilla CO2. While other notes are listed, they serve solely to accentuate the vanilla's traits rather than act as key protagonists.

The vanilla here is not just vanillin; it encompasses the entire vanilla pod. This is why CO2 extraction is remarkable: the low temperatures of supercritical CO2 yield an absolute that is closer to the scent of raw materials than other extraction methods.

Vanille de Tahiti feels like opening a glass tube containing a vanilla pod (do you also have these in your country?). The scent is complex: vanillin is present, along with floral notes, a spicy facet, and both woody and earthy characteristics (the latter bringing a subtle dirty soil undertone). While I associate this aroma with baking, I wouldn't describe it as a gourmand vanilla.

I love vanilla as a note; I find it calming and comforting. However, it can easily be cloyingly sweet. Vanille de Tahiti isn't: it is sweet without ever crossing the threshold into an unbearable sugary nightmare. Good value for money (available at discounters).

Opening minute is pretty dirty with how it comes across. Between the the ylang-ylang influence and champaca opening, I get why people might get put off by it. That does clear out pretty fast, for me at least.

The ylang-ylang initially has its earthier aroma going for it, but then starts to take on its more banana-like scent. The champaca here, really comes across as an orange flower note, at least a few minutes in. With those two and the vanilla, there plastic/rubbery tinge to this scent.

Much more floral on the skin. Like a tropical flower smell, once that initial dirtiness wears off. The vanilla seems like one part of a triad on the skin, whereas it feels more dominant early on, when sprayed on clothes.

Actually on clothes, this has a classier Le Male vibe to it, that same fuzzy spice (sans mint/cinnamon). Strange.

Eventually, both on skin and clothes it becomes very much the same. Still, an early divergence.

More of a light champaca, ylang-ylang with a definite sweetness, vanilla, and amber especially. The vanilla isn’t pure creamy vanilla either. Leans that way with the sandalwood influence but Vanille de Tahiti does have a musky/powdery undertone throughout.

The dry down for me is a rather simple aroma of a naturalistic vanilla, amber, and sandalwood. It’s creamier at this point, still a lovely sweetness without being sickly, and this Perris perfume has a nice balance.

Overall, do I like this perfume?

Yes, I actually kind of love it. I knew nothing of this fragrance when I received it, but it’s won me over.

The opening minutes almost made me doubt, but it is a beautiful scent, once I’m past that. Even still, it’s nothing all that bad.

I guess there are some people who get a dirty or toilet type of smell for a long duration. Not the case for me, it’s more just a dirty floral scent for a brief time.

That’s probably going to stop me from giving this a total buy recommendation. I’d say for sure try, if you can before you commit. It’d be disappointing to find out you’re one of those people, who it smells terrible on, after splurging on a fully bottle.

The sandalwood, vanilla, and amber dry down is awesome. With the remaining floral notes floating around, it’s very enjoyable.

The scent opens with a rich natural, slightly dirty, vanilla pod, smothered over silky buttery sheets.
Not even a few minutes in, the creamy and intoxicating ylang-ylang knocks on the door. What happens next it's none of our business. Only the perfumer, Gian Luca Perris, knows what magic has happened there. Perhaps he has it on tape.

All is left, sometime after, is the creamy indulgence. Melty, with a soft touch of sandalwood in a base.

When I was little, I remember visiting a friend of the family's house. We were regularly invited over for dinner, the friend in question was a very cool French lady who cooked delicious French cuisine but also smoked, wore black eyeliner and always spoke her mind. She loves lilies and her husband bought her a big bouquet of lilies every week. Their living room had this distinct scent of fresh lilies. I also remember the big bottle of Tocade (1994) Eau de Toilette in her bathroom - to me it seemed so incredibly chic, and 9 year-old little me was overwhelmed with joy when she gave me a miniature of that magical vanilla.

Vanilla and lilies is how I'll always remember that year. And I have never ever managed to find a true lily pollen in perfumery- until now! It must be the champaca, but my nose decodes it as lily - the peppery orange pollen that left an indelible mark in my neuronal pathways apparently! This peppery, indolic opening note may not be to everyone's taste - I love it. The vanilla that follows is not gourmand in the slightest, but reminiscent of classical French perfume vanilla (just like Tocade as I remember it from the '90s).
Incredible longevity (my sweater is very fragrant with vanilla even after washing), and as far as I can tell good sillage as well (noticeable but not monstrous).

As with all fragrances that are tightly interlaced with childhood memories, I am really no objective judge on this one. I don't know if it's any good, all I know is that I will love it forever. Very grateful for the decant I received, and very much looking forward to buying a full bottle!