LS5

Vanilla has always made me feel positive already in childhood. My favorite ice cream was vanilla ice cream, my favorite was simple cakes that tasted of creamy vanilla, and my favorite way to refine warm milk with honey was to boil a vanilla bean in it. This vanilla addiction also transferred later to my preference for vanilla fragrances: candles, creams, shower gel and finally perfume - as soon as vanilla was included as a prominent note, I could hardly resist.
That has not changed until today. Vanilla has a calming effect for me. I love vanilla scents, especially when I have a craving for something sweet or just want to feel good in my skin.

I have now been able to test a few vanilla scents. "Vanilla Crush | Gleam" has thereby catapulted directly to the 1st place of my top vanilla fragrances.
I can not say exactly what it is about the fragrance. He just fits very well with my skin chemistry and combines exactly what makes the perfect vanilla fragrance for me.

Now to the fragrance:
Vanilla Crush is a gourmand through and through. People who like it neither sweet nor gourmandig, will probably find no pleasure in this vanilla magic.
Vanilla Crush changes very little in the course. It starts with a very strong caramelized vanilla flavor. After some time, a great creamy note joins in. Here he starts to remind me of "Vani' Charnel | Epicò".
The scent remains vanilla, but at some point gets such a nice powderiness, similar to "Black Tie | Celine" and "Green Butterfly | Byron Parfums". Musk here probably creates what excites me most about the fragrance: it's sweetly vanilla, and at the same time it floats around me like a cloud all day. It's heavy and light at the same time. It is edible and yet it has enough "perfumy" components to not drift into the juvenile.

About the durability and sillage, I can say that it was still noticeable on my skin after about 8 hours. On the clothes even longer. Others have him after about 3-4 hours also still very good and very positively perceived.

The bottle is sweet, but not particularly. The sprayer, however, is super.
Overall, a wonderful vanilla fragrance, which is elegant by its powderiness and seductive by the dark caramel part.

To Lira I have already made a statement, but now I have to tell a nice story about this wonderful fragrance again.

After I got hold of a sample of Lira - thanks at this point to the dear Parfuma - I had to test him immediately. A day later, it was clear, I must have him, because the sample would definitely not last long. No sooner said than done, ordered fragrance, it was delivered quickly and I could now spray myself with it without restraint, ...in the home office, for a walk with the dog, for bumming on the couch and for bringing packages to the post office (I know, very exciting my life at the moment :-D)

So... i was freshly fogged with lira two consecutive days at the post office to mail packages. The nice woman at the store already knows me, but we hadn't talked much before. Mostly there was a nice "hello, ah another package, all right. have a nice day". The usual small talk. On the said second day I had put on Lira again. I handed in my parcel, was about to pay, when she looks at me and says: "Ah, there it is again the smell. Even yesterday when you were in the shop it smelled so delicious. I don't even know what it smelled like, but I was really hungry for lemon cake." :-D
Since that day, she is always happy when I come to the store because "it would always smell so good when I was there". Just compliments like that just make me happy.

So and now to the fragrance:
I think the woman at the post described it very aptly with her lemon pie perception.
Lira is definitely a beautiful gourmand.
The scent starts off very tangy with the blood orange note. Don't let that put you off (if you find that note too heavy), as it quickly subsides and is joined by this wonderful caramel cinnamon vanilla biscuit note that gives it that lemon cake vibe.

I think Lira stands out from other gourmands in this vein. The lavender listed is minimal for me to smell. Rose and jasmine I do not necessarily perceive so, but I think they give this fragrance its noble aura, Exactly what makes Lira suitable for everyday use for me. Edible but in a grown up way.

Lira lasts about 6-8 hours on my skin and is definitely very noticeable by the environment for 4-5 hours.

So, anyone who is looking for a nice gourmand, I can definitely recommend Lira. Not too sweet, gentle but still present. One of the noblest Gourmands I have smelled so far

Oh you luscious start,
with your luscious fruits,
far too strong for me!

But then, oops, what do I smell?
Almonds, vanilla?
How wonderful!

Why are your fruits so shy all of a sudden?
Ah yes, the tobacco, it's looking quite lustful!

A dance together shall unite you,
takes away each one's strength,
but you needn't weep for it!

For together you seem so much better,
so wonderfully soft,
with sweet laughter.

I will take you now,
always by night,
that's when you're most beautiful,
in your full glory!

I'm sure many of us know this: receiving gifts is great. But giving someone a gift is just intoxicating. Especially when it comes to perfume. I don't know why, but most of the time I'm much more excited about gifting my partner a fragrance than buying one for myself. The only problem with this is that I often tend to buy a bottle straight away, rather than holding a sample under the gentleman's nose first. Sometimes that works, sometimes it doesn't. Such is the case with Montale's Arabians Tonka, so beloved by many.

In the short time of the Click & Meet, I had snagged a shopping appointment at the Albrecht. Full of anticipation and with the goal of getting myself a new fragrance, I let them show me 7-8 scents. Unfortunately there was nothing that I liked 100%, but of course I couldn't go back to work empty handed. So I asked the wonderful and very patient saleswoman to show me some more men's scents. I told her my partner likes it sweet and spicy, something along the lines of Layton Exclusif, and it has to last. She showed me four scents, including Arabians Tonka. I took a quick sniff and was immediately blown away, "Yes, exactly! Exactly what I'm looking for! Oh, it's delicious! Yes, he'll like it! Wrap it up once please, I'll take it with me." No sooner said than done, I drove home full of joy and handed my partner his gift. I urged him to try the fragrance immediately. He did and I waited for his reaction, which was not as enthusiastic as I had hoped. "Yes, yet smells quite good, yes, mhh mhh, quite good". I was puzzled at first because I thought he was so great after all. Then my partner swung his arm in my direction and I picked up a scent that I found quite unpleasant. We both waited out the evening, but that animalistic sweet a little sweaty smell only got stronger. Not overly so but strong enough for us to notice it. A few days later, my partner wanted to try the scent again. I had actually forbidden him to wear the scent in my presence :-D. Well, the second test also revealed this one scent that we both didn't like. And that's a shame, because the fragrance itself has quite a bit going for it.

About the fragrance:
The fragrance actually starts rather fresh spicy. I find the bergamot in the opening is only briefly but very nice. Shortly thereafter, I smell actually only sweet. The Tonka comes through super strong and actually also quite nice. Probably the combo of amber cane sugar and tonka. And then I don't know what scent or combo it is. I have a hunch that it's the Nepalese oud? I have no idea though, because so far I've only known oud from the Delina exclusive and I think it's super nice there. In the drydown the sweetness softens even more, the musk definitely does a good job here. Still, that note continues to linger and does so for hours. And yes, Arabians Tonka is a beast. The longevity is really insane and the sillage is fierce too. I think two small sprays are enough for the complete day.

Definitely a fragrance that I would not buy blindly, because it is already special. But I can well imagine that it is just this one note (probably the oud?), which many like so much. It makes the fragrance less mainstream in my opinion. Arabians Tonka definitely has a high recognition value. I'd probably sniff that one out anywhere right now. Actually, after that I had told myself, no more blind-bought fragrance gifts for the partner, but... I'm already thinking of one that he will definitely like :-D (I'll never learn)

Delina was the beginning of my fragrance journey for me, perhaps the beginning of my addiction to "the scent".

Delina. Just saying that name evokes a sense of freedom in me. Delina was my first fragrance outside of the designer world. Previously, I had read through countless perfume reviews and watched Youtube videos until I decided to order a sample of this fragrance.

I have to confess: Yes, I thought Delina was quite nice the first time I sniffed it, but I thought to myself: it's yummy, but why is it so hyped? There she was about 30 seconds on my wrist (patience is not my strong point, you should know).

I gave her another chance, of course, let her get comfortable on my arm for now. And she did. Really snuggled in she has. My hand wandered again and again to the nose. For my partner this was surely a very amusing sight: Me, snuggled up on the couch, arm wandering every 30 seconds (trying elegantly) over and over to my nose. Then a roll of the eyes and a low moan. And bang: I'm in love.

Delina was the first fragrance that had purely nothing disturbing for me. Kind of a benchmark for all the fragrances to come. And yes, it is an expensive fragrance, but for me worth every penny!

Since the bottle has moved in with me, I can no longer stop to deal with fragrances. A new hobby to which Delina has inspired me. Since then, I've already ordered several samples, ventured in new directions and discovered wonderful fragrances. Thank you for that, Delina!


Now to the fragrance:
At the beginning I smell quite clearly this tangy rhubarb- lychee combo. Very very fruity, very little green and tart, but pleasant, not pungent. Simply fresh and delicious. This tangy opening lasts only a short time with me. It remains beautifully fruity, but now comes this beautiful fine rose and for me also already a slight vanilla note, which makes the fragrance seem warmer and deeper. It just smells heavenly. On some days I can also perceive something woody but not always and if then very subtle. This beautiful combination also stays for some time and radiates very pleasantly outward.
Towards the base, it becomes more and more creamy and pleasantly sweet on my skin. I do not want to say milky, it just becomes soft. The cashmeran and vanilla in tandem with the rose and fruit combo are incredibly sensual.

On my skin, Delina lasts about 6-8 hours, with about 4-5 of those being noticed by others.

Delina, as well known as it may be by now, is still a special fragrance that will probably always be in my collection