ZOMG Smells: Vanilla Forest

First scent review dealio features the delicious Camping in a Vanilla Forest.  A word of warning:  I am not good at describing individual notes in perfumes.  I can recognize scents, and I can tell you what they remind me of or how they make me feel, but there's no way I can tell you what EXACTLY I am snorfing at any given time.  Hopefully this will improve with practice, but I make no promises.

The website description via ZOMG Smells:

Holly says this scent is like going camping in a vanilla forest, and so we went with that. Imagine, if you will: your campfire sends up thick vanilla smoke as night falls upon your little party deep in the woods. The fire heats a chunk of old tree sap-- young amber in the making-- until it adds its golden essence to the sweet aroma. The night air from the ancient vanilla forest smells of rich earth and herbal secrets under fragrant fallen logs. In the morning, you will hunt black vanilla truffles.

Young amber, smoky vanilla, earthy patchouli and a hint of vetiver-green shadows in the underbrush.

Intriguing, no?  I've always seen vanilla as a sweet, foody type of smell rather than one that would blend with smoke and amber, so this should be fun.

Method Man

I've never tried to apply an oil-based perfume before so I wasn't sure how much I was supposed to use.  I ended up dipping the little wand into the vial and smearing it onto my wrist, then repeating the dip-n-smear again (for a total of 2 times) before smooshing my wrists together to distribute the oil.  The amount I applied was just enough to be able to smell  the perfume from about 6 inches away.

Official Sniff Testing

Immediately after application my wrists smelled very strongly of smoke.  It wasn't a burnt food or stale cigarette sort of smell, but more like starting a campfire with slightly damp wood.  There was a hint of incense that reminded me of the stuff they burn during Easter services.  At this point the vanilla was very subtle --- it was there, but not as a main component.  I also smelled browned butter, which was a little odd but still quite pleasant.

After about 3 hours the smoky layer started fading a bit and the vanilla became more prominent, as if someone threw a big bag of vanilla beans onto a bonfire.  The incense scent was also a little stronger without overwhelming the other things, and the buttery smell had practically disappeared by this point.

After 5-6 hours the vanilla was at its strongest and the smoky scent had died down to a faint smolder. The incense level remained about the same.  The overall scent had faded a bit by this time, but I could still smell it from about 4 inches.

At the time of writing I've been wearing the perfume for about 8 hours.  It's faded quite a bit now; I have to put my nose against my wrist to get anything.  Then again my nose is really cold right now, so maybe my sense of smell is deadened.

Overall Impression

I didn't realize it until I started writing the review, but the scent profile (or whatever) actually resembles the site description:  hardcore smoke/amber scent in the beginning fades to a soft, earthy vanilla with a smoldering background.  

I really like this scent.  I feel delicious while wearing this, kind of sexy without the high maintenance feel of heels or a dress.
Preeeetty sure I'm going to buy a full-size bottle of this.