Provanilla Providence Perfume 2015

Fragrance pyramids help us, in most cases, to categorize a perfume; to classify it. This can be very useful when, for example, searching for new, suitable perfumes. So you can already start sorting!

I would have actually passed on Provanilla based on the pyramid - coconut, melon, rose, vanilla? This can't be Charna's serious intention! However, I remembered reading a blog about the perfume a few years ago. So there must be something to it.

For the "uninitiated"; Charna Ethier runs a brand called Providence Perfumes, which uses only natural ingredients. A lot is also made in-house regarding tinctures and absolutes.

Back to Provanilla. Or generally, vanilla. What do we think of when we hear vanilla? Sweet creams, vanilla rolls, pudding, fluffy pancakes. Sweet, hearty, gourmands. This is the image we have of vanilla in our minds. I also think of overly sweet designer clangers, vanillin bombs, migraine-inducing chemtrail niche brands with vanilla butter.

Provanilla is NONE of that. It is so different, so fundamentally distinct from other vanilla scents that it is truly astonishing what we classify and categorize as 'vanilla scent' in our perception.

Provanilla is "real." And in "real," vanilla is bitter. Dark, bitter, woody, and spicy. And light. Fine. Rather to be classified as a middle and base note, more of a background filler that wants other notes to take the forefront.

For these "real" vanilla tones, which are derived from handmade tinctures and CO2 extracts, Charna has chosen a bold top note; melon isolates. The melon isolate is usually derived from the natural oil of Litsea Cubeba.

Fresh, high-pitched, light, shimmering, floating; like a natural aldehyde, lightly fruity-watery mists swirl around my ears, beneath which is a very fine nutty creaminess, completely unsweet, the coconut.

Then it becomes slightly bitter, dark, with clear vanilla tones, brown, black, sometimes a bit creamy, sometimes a bit sweeter, but mostly rather bitter, woody, aromatic, and simply real. Sometimes a bit earthy, sometimes slightly smoky, sometimes it even smells like cocoa. But it definitely feels correct; this is how vanilla should smell. Real vanilla. Derived from genuine natural raw materials and processed into a perfume.

Provanilla is an aura scent, one that constantly changes and feels slightly different with each wear / season / body temperature / activity. The myrrh and benzoin blend perfectly into the background and create a pleasant, resinous frame for the coveted exotic pods.

Due to 100% natural ingredients, Provanilla is extremely dark and staining.

I admire the persistence and the idea behind this perfume. Charna has reportedly worked on this perfume for over a year. Whether it will appeal to the vanilla fans among you, I cannot guarantee.

The fact is, however: It is real and genuine, and no synthetic substances have been used to deceive us into thinking what vanilla should smell like. Rather, it smells just as it should. I won’t put my hand in the fire for it, but it may well be that Provanilla is the perfume with the highest natural vanilla content on the market.

Many thanks to Dorabella for the rare sample!