As soon as I saw Immortal Vanilla on the shelf of the ZARA store, it immediately caught my attention. It was next to Blue Temptation and Dark Romance, but this prevailed. For me, it is a unisex perfume that combines the decadent note of black vanilla with the sacred note of incense, and the creamier note of blond cedarwood. This fragrance perfectly balances sweetness and depth, creating an enveloping and sophisticated sensory experience. The dark richness of vanilla blends with an explosion of powdery white musk, with mineral and salty nuances, creating a contemporary and luminous perfume. It is a fragrance that invites you to an immortal olfactory journey.
Being a new chapter in the Zara Vanilla collection, this ingredient is dominant. It opens with a boozy and aldehydic note, which carries in the air an aroma of coconut powder, dry, dehydrated, chalky, slightly salty, and very distant from coconut sunscreens or pastry desserts. It is the scent of coconut flour, buttery coconut cookies, and Ferrero Raffaello pralines covered in coconut flakes, and overall the scent is amber and musky. In addition to vanilla, this scent is dominated by coconut, which is strong throughout the perfume. Not surprisingly, a woody and musky accord emerges from the base. These are the sides of the super matte and dry iso-e and galaxolide, a sweet and sharp white musk. Therefore, dark vanilla and blond wood are the protagonists of this perfume, making the overall aroma not too sweet, but soft and elegant.
In the heart, the fragrance becomes seductive and exotic, revealing a light talc, powdery but without a trace of makeup. The coconut fades into the background, maintaining its milky aspect that recalls a bit of the dry and mineral notes of the fig. The white of the coconut pulp and indolic jasmine flowers mix with salty notes. The sugary, buttery, burnt notes of caramel and the smoky, resinous notes of incense start to emerge, bringing warmth to the scent. It's sweet, but the resinous, waxy, and smoky ingredients keep it from becoming cloying. This powdery accord on my skin reminds me of old book paper and cardboard boxes.
The vanilla, tonka bean, amber, and cashmere wood leave an unmistakable trail. The scent is quite linear, not changing much over time, except becoming slightly sweeter and creamier on the dry down. There is a saltiness to this scent. The vanilla here is unlike any other vanilla fragrance I've tried, so salty, mineral, and mossy. But if you imagine a warm, gourmand, edible, golden vanilla scent, well, Immortal Vanilla is the opposite of that. This is a fresh, unique scent. The vanilla is rich and prominent, spicy, but not in an edible, dessert-like way, which is my favourite. I'm not a big fan of warm, thick, cloying vanilla, so this is definitely my type.
In summary, Immortal Vanilla is a woody, sweet, creamy, smooth, clean vanilla that is on the edge of being edible but doesn't quite get there because of the woods and musk. On the dry-down, the musk is strong, and strident, similar to the musky base of modern perfumes. Overall, I praise it for its artistry and distinctiveness, making it a timeless addition to any perfume collection. The performance is great, both in projection and longevity, although the scent seems to sit on the skin almost immediately. Very easy to become anosmic to this scent. I think it is more suited to cool weather, fall and winter seasons, based on the heart and dry down. Perfect for events that require a fragrance that is not aggressive or invasive, but discreet and intimate.
This review is based on a bottle that I have owned since December 2024 (BC 43030, PD 2024-10-29).
-Elysium
Salty notes
Amber
Cashmere wood
Coconut
Frankincense
Jasmine
Vanilla
Caramel
Magnolia
Elysium
Seversky
AmazingRise
Mavila16
Kmye
