Geisha Vanilla Hinoki by Maria McElroy for Aroma M 2016

/ australianperfumejunkiescom

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Post by Val the Cookie Queen

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Hey APJ Vanilla Vamps and Vampettes.

The Fox becomes a mule……..

Dr Fox, my dear friend, CB therapist and partner-in-crime recently spent a few weeks in the U S and A. I decided on the spot that it was time for a blind buy and ordered Geisha Vanilla Hinoki, the most recent of Maria McElroy´s wonderful Geisha collection. The package was posted to Frau Fox-Mule at her US address. It travelled from New York City to Salt Lake City, onto Philadelphia, down to Kitty Hawk in North Carolina, onto Washington DC, and back to New York. From here it took a flight to Munich and then on into Austria by car.

During the three week waiting period, samples arrived of the Vanilla Hinoki, the EdP and the oil. I put them in the cupboard so that the thrill of the blind buy remained. And I left them there. Hahahaha. Did I hell. The next evening I grabbed the EdP and applied a hefty dose. A gleaming flash of bergamot ignited the room making the blind buy an instant success.

Geisha Vanilla Hinoki by Aroma M 2016

Geisha Vanilla Hinoki by Maria McElroy

Geisha Vanilla Hinoki Aroma M FragranticaFragrantica

Notes include: bergamot, clove, cardamom, nutmeg, lavender, smoky vanilla, incense and patchouli, amyris, cedarwood

The luscious and sharp bergamot delights for quite some time, until the tantalizing trio of clove, cardamom and nutmeg push through. With a barely touch of lavender a calmness descends. Moroccan vanilla, the star of the show bides her time, until she decides to make a lazy entrance. She rises above her costars and lies herself across them all….. and stays there for hours. Occasionally disappearing to take a breath of the revitalizing hinoki, a beloved Japanese wood, the oil of which is used in medicinal treatments. But she returns. She is not loud but nonetheless quite stubborn. People do not die in her wake, those who come in close will recognize her. Staunch and stalwart she comforts and keeps tension at bay.

Geisha Vanilla Hinoki Aroma M2

I am very generous with spraying, it is not a one spritz nuclear bomb. It lasts many hours, but I do know that my skin hangs onto fragrance for an extremely long time. Vanilla Hinoki feels like something I have always had – but haven`t . It won´t be for everyone but nothing ever is, except perhaps cookies.

Further reading: Non Blonde and Colognoisseur
IndieScents has EdP $90/50ml
LuckyScent has the Perfume Oil $60/7.5ml

Geisha Vanilla Hinoki Aroma M 1

Maria McElroy mixes her fragrances drop by drop. The bottles are filled by her and wrapped in exquisite imported Japanese paper. A skilled craft worker creating things by hand, the definition of artisanal. May there always be people who care enough to do this.

Have you found a vanilla to wear or do you prefer to eat it?

Bergamot Bussis
CQ

23 thoughts on “Geisha Vanilla Hinoki by Maria McElroy for Aroma M 2016”

  1. Hi Val!

    Yay, you’ve chosen my sotd for me AND I located my sample. Well done me! I have recently come around to vanilla in a major way and am mincing around amber now, too. I have had some delusions that this does not bode well for my bank account, but I have reined those in and quickly revert to my firm belief that I have won the lottery even though that has not yet manifested. A trifling point, as far as I’m concerned.

    Holly xo

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    • Amber? You are? Try and get a hold of the Geisha Noire. Drop dead gorgeous and the only amber perfume that I wear. It doesn´t smell like the typical amber that most amber perfumes are based on, I don´t get on with that at all. It makes me feel quite ill.
      Yes, we need to have our trifling point lists, and our take the extreme seriously lists. 😉
      Good to see you Holly, as ever. Big hug. xxxx

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    • You like them? Picked them up in Germany when I met up with a dear friend. Only the best perfumes get photographed with them xxxxxxx

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  3. Wow, you know how to pick your blind buys CQ! Lovely to see that gorgeous bottle in front of your fabulous perfume cabinet.

    It’s very special when you find a fragrance – or a person – that you feel you’ve known forever. I feel that way about you.

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    • Good evening Tara (slurps a cup of Matcha in honour of the day) I had a feeling that it would be right up my street, but of course there is always a slight risk. it was worth it and I love the thrill of the ride! I WAS happy that I liked the sample though, as it was a foundation for my obsessive excitement. And yes, I don´t remember ever not having you in my life. Hugs and love. xxxxxxx

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    • Hi Tara!! As I mentined to Azar, I have the oil in the post and I hope it arrives this week. Should have ordered it at the same time as the EdP. It is deeper than the EdP and in a way a little quieter, but I think that is just because the bergamot slowly unfolds as opposed to the wicked blast of the spray. It takes ages to get to the vanilla, in fact I wondered where it was. But as in the EdP, it creeps up really slowly until you are turning in circles wondering where the amazing smell is coming from. I am going to layer my heart out.
      I love aroma M`s fair prices, great service, and the personal love that is put into the creations. Superb stuff. Bussis. xxxxx

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  5. Hi Val,

    Thanks for another tempting review! I think… It seems I always want to buy (or at least try) everything that you write about. The hinoki aspect of Vanilla Hinoki that you describe is very appealing to me.

    Re vanillas: I’m still hoping for a totally “non-gourmand” vanilla fragrance and wondering if such a thing is even possible, given the infinite food-y associations attached to the extract. So far, the closest thing I’ve found to my ideal inedible vanilla is Dame Perfumery Scottsdale’s Black Flower Mexican Vanilla, drier and more outdoors-y herbal with less of that custardy, baked goods appeal. Does Vanilla Hinoki make an attempt to avoid gourmand?

    Azar xx

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    • Hi Azar! NO!!! To my nose it is not gourmand at all. (I have to say to my nose you know, perfume etiquette 😉 ) It is very unusual, and yet absolutely familiar. Definitely worth trying if you get the chance, both their and the EdP. I have their in the post as I write. Couldn´t resist. Magical. xxx

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  6. Hey Val! I really enjoyed reading your review. It smells divine on you. Vanilla? Can’t live without it. But you know that already. Sandra xoxo

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    • I am gonna make you try a lavish dose of the oil next time and see if that works better with your skin type. xxxx

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  7. Val that sounds just fab. Is now on my radar. Vanillas in winter are yummy. And I’m about to start a winter, I suppose…

    xx Tina G

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    • Would be interesting to see how it works in the winter. I have been wearing it in warm, even though extremely rainy, temperature and it is absolutely lovely. Could be that the oil is better in winter. Lucky I have a bottle on the way. 🙂 xxxxxxx

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    • I`m thinking hard here, I don´t know if I have ever made a blind purchase. Nope I haven´t. And actually I prefer to called the Vanilla Hinoki an educated guess …… 🙂 So yes, this was the first one. Interesting, I did not know that myself. Hmmmm. Hugs. xxxx

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  9. Hi Val, yes I love to eat and wear vanilla too! I enjoyed your story and the artisanal aspect, may there always be people who do it. Ah the memories of your cookies Val, and lovely people to share these stories xoxo

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    • Nice of you to drop by Anna maria – maybe we could meet for a drink again in a little bar I know in Vienna? xxx 😉

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  10. Hi Val! Just wanted to drop by to say that I appreciated your liking the post on my blog! ^.^

    I used to think that I didn’t like vanillas, but I’ve learned that I seem to like it very much as a co-star note. For example, I love Cristina by Hilde Soliani (Vanilla patchouli), Cuir Beluga (vanilla suede), Incensed by Smell Bent (vanilla incense), and many others…
    My favorite that’s closest to vanilla is probably Imaginary Authors, Memoirs of a Trespasser

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    • Hey Connie! Nice to see you. There is a nice little buzz of patchouli here in the Hinoki, just keeping the vanilla vanilla-y. If that makes an sense at all! Cuir beluga is beautiful I must admit, although I don´t own it. Just a few mls.
      I enjoyed the blog post! I have very few decants, as I prefer to own bottles. I have very few bottles comparatively speaking because I don´t like much stuff enough to buy. I have ordered splits, but include the bottles with them. We all have our idiosyncratic behaviors huh? Hugs x x x

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