MiniGBIC

The cliff path leads into a narrow path, now heading inland.
It is barren here, herbs and dry grasses stretch out towards the sun between the rocks, with the occasional shrub lining the narrow path.
A light breeze still blows from the sea, bringing with it mineral-citrus notes that mingle with the scents of the herbs and the green of the bushes.
Behind a bend in the path, a few wild roses have sown themselves, beautiful colorful spots in the kaleidoscope of black, grey, brown, green and the blue of the sky.
I stop and smell one of the roses, a sweet but also somewhat tart fragrance rises to my nose, which blends seamlessly into the scented landscape.
The sun has now reached its zenith, drying the last damp patches on my path. The sea breeze has also disappeared, only a hint of the mineral notes can still be detected. The bushes are getting taller and drier, and there are a few trees along the way, stretching their branches into the sky. It smells of dry wood and hay and a honey-like sweetness comes from somewhere, perhaps there are roses around the next corner.

I don't know whether the landscape I described exists and, if so, what it smells like there. But when I wear this fragrance, I go on the scent journey I described, for me it's all there: herbs, citrus, leaves, stones, minerals, wood, hay and honey. It's like walking outside in nature on a beautiful day.
According to the website, the fragrance is intended to reflect the Gotland landscape: "Rough and sweet. Dry and lush. Grey and green. Spiky and soft." The fragrance has all that for me.
Maybe it smells like this in Gotland, I haven't been there yet - but it would be worth a trip just for this beautiful scent hike.

I have to say something about the bottle: The fragrance has a yellowish color, the bottle is transparent with green writing. When sunlight falls on it, you immediately get the impression of a sunlit landscape.

You never stop learning. I've already tested so many (vanilla) fragrances and yet there's still so much I don't know yet and every now and then there's a real surprise.

Like this one created by Carlos Benaim, who is the 'nose' of the Sana Jardin brand :
Immediately after spraying it on, Vanilla Nomad smells so similar to Absolute Aphrodisiac (which I really like) that it's almost scary.

So vanilla, spicy and a bit dirty / wicked - all in all very seductive.
Quite quickly, a cool incense note is added, which meanders along, sometimes I notice it, sometimes I don't, it has something similar to Eau Duelle.

It stays that way until the drydown, a very attractive spicy vanilla that is a bit dirty and yet cool at the same time, I like it very much - and it's a bit addictive :)

Hm, what's that? Next to my labeled test strips from the last perfume tests is one without a label, that can't be, I always label everything. Anyway, statistically speaking, around 95% of the fragrances I test are not for me for various reasons. The fact that this unlabeled test strip, of all things, falls into the 5% of fragrances that I really like and then into the subset that I absolutely have to have - very, very unlikely.

So much for the theory. As the reader will have guessed, that's exactly what happened (i.e. the subset). Such a beautiful vanilla fragrance and - even more tragically - in drydown it smells to me like another fragrance that I love but which has been discontinued.

Uaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa.

I think only a Parfuma / a Parfumo can understand my condition, a 'normal person' can't: I had a full-blown crisis.

And first compared: Does the fragrance really smell like the scent posted - Yes!
I have to find out what I sprayed on the test strip!

I'll leave out the middle part for now, just this much: it took me a few days to figure out what I had sprayed on the unlabeled strip in a fit of senile dementia:
It was Vanille Dorée. I'd had a manufacturer's bottling of it for ages, which I'd always liked but hadn't paid much attention to. Only to realize now that the drydown of this fragrance smells like "Le Vestiaire - Velours | Yves Saint Laurent" to my nose (only without leather).

I know it's a dupe for Spiritueuse Double Vanille, I notice that too. What always bothered me about SDV was the alcoholic note, which to me smells like medicinal alcohol instead of rum.

Vanille Dorée doesn't have that. A soft, somewhat spicy, somewhat smoky - and for me very, very beautiful, warm, embracing - vanilla fragrance.

Like now. And that's the conclusion after the whole prehistory?
Yes, exactly. Sometimes the simple things are the best :)

Maybe there's something wrong with my nose or my olfactory synapses, but Tistar smells to me like salted caramel dusted with cardamom. It could be that someone in the next room has run a health bath with aromatic essences. A light hint of eucalyptus and peppermint, a tiny lavender leaf, a few woody notes wafting over.

The fragrance reminds me a lot of Changing Constance - but with aromatic notes.
As it progresses (grin), the fragrance shifts between gourmand and aromatic, which is a little confusing, at least for my nose.
But still somehow good, I like it.

The late drydown is also very pleasant, like after a stay in a wellness spa - scrubbed down with aromatic essences and then creamed with a sweet balm.

To get back to my synapses:
I think if I had never tried Changing Constance, I probably wouldn't have the salted caramel association. But since the scent is so similar for me, the salted caramel brain immediately comes up, and I can't get out of it either... :)

Unfortunately, I don't know what a baobab tree smells like, but I do know what a Coke bottle (the candy) tastes and smells like.
This is how the fragrance starts for me: citrusy-sweet, cola bottle on the 12, it's also a bit sparkling.

As the fragrance progresses, a spiciness joins the citrus and sweetness that I can't really categorize.
A bit like the spice mixture mukhwas that you get in an Indian restaurant after a meal.
Very unusual, but it smells somehow healthy, I had to think of wellness when wearing it.

A little vetiver emerges in the drydown. And it becomes generally woody, too woody for me and actually a bit boring compared to what was going on before.

If you like cola scents and a certain woodiness, it should be worth testing. I think you can get used to the Indian spices in the middle section :)