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Cedarwood & Smoked Vanilla

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This is wonderful. The cedarwood does not turn to pencils shavings on me. The vanilla floats in the background  and makes the description of this scent dead on: Dry and husky-sweet. This is an inoffensive warm scent that will do well with a little age and then be worn on cold days where I want to feel warm and dry outside and sweet and soft when I get home. It's not cuddly, but it is lovely.

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A lovely, distinctive blend. This cedar doesn't smell as red and rustic to me as it often does; instead, it feels somehow more dry and refined. And smoked! This doesn't evoke the cozy cedarwood cabin I usually get from cedar scents, but perhaps more of a sophisticated room with exposed wood and a fireplace, where smoke has suffused the furnishings a little at a time for years and lingers everywhere. The vanilla adds to the atmosphere, but isn't a strong forward note for me.

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This is very perfumey on me.  It's a boozy, syrupy scent that smells more mahogany than cedar.  The vanilla smells like a dried bean shell, rather than the sweetness inside.

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This is a little more traditionally perfumey than I expected, but it's really pleasant -- cedarwood in the decant, with just a bit of smoke and a dry, non-sweet vanilla in the background. Definitely not rustic or pencil-shavings cedar; this is a more sophisticated wood note. It seems to stick close to the skin; I had to slather a bit in order to get a good whiff of it. I started out amping the vanilla hard, but the cedarwood makes its way back out after drydown and winds up well balanced with the vanilla. Low-ish throw and inoffensive; could be good for work or wherever you want something a little more subtle. Haven't ruled out a bottle purchase of this one.

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On its own, this is mostly a dry vanilla, with a little bit of smoke, and I mean very little. Not a foody vanilla, more of the husk. Not a ton of cedar in the background; if you're a strong cedar lover like me you'll miss it. I found this one to be pleasant enough on its own -- kind of a warm, dry vanilla -- but wanted more oomph. Like maybe it's *too* well blended? Like when you blend two paint colors together until you completely lose the individual colors and it becomes a pleasant but nondescript mid-tone? 

 

It liked it much more once I started mixing it with other scents. I've got this on with Coiled Serpent (a strong cedar-forward blend) and it is heavenly, reminding me of a smokier, woodsier B.ans.hee B.e.at. I'll probably try this with other blends that I've long since abandoned because they were too dry or sharp (A B.oy and H.is Bro.ther Se.ated on a Go.at) and see how it fares there. But if you're kinda meh about this on its own, try blending and see where that takes you. 

 

Edit: I've got on The Small Brown Cat today and I'm noticing how similar they are. If you liked Cat but the cedar was too forward, Cedarwood and Smoked Vanilla will be right up your alley. For me, I prefer the stronger wood chip/rustic cabin smell of Cat.  😽

Edited by supreme_c0rt

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Sophisticated cedar draped in a cloak of dry, very lightly smoked vanilla, which is sheer and almost more like a vanilla musk, because I also get a traditional perfume sort of quality to this.

 

This is the cedar for all of those that dismiss cedar.

 

I don't think I need to find more of this, but I'll probably keep my decant.

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I didn't get any pencil shavings from this cedar. It was just this lovely, gentle woody note that was tempered by the sweetness of a very light vanilla. I almost couldn't pick out any smoked quality until a few hours in, though by then, it was already very faint. Low throw, good wear time.

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In the imp: I think my eyes may have rolled back in my head when I took my first whiff of this. This is liquid gold - the vanilla is subtle & smoky, and the cedarwood is mellow & aged (no lumber rooms or pencil shavings here!).

 

Wet: A little drier and more woodsy. It starts out about 65/35 cedar/vanilla, but quickly equalizes until it's this beautiful blend that's something entirely its own. The vanilla here isn't as crystalline or ethereal as in Zorya Polunochnaya, but it has a similar elusive, smoke-on-the-wind kind of feel to it.

 

Dry: Very well-blended, equally balanced between the two notes. It's not quite a warm & snuggly scent, but there's something comforting about it nonetheless. Stability, maybe? It's a pretty Lawful Good kind of scent.

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Y'all, I have a lot of perfume at this point. Like, way too much. I am to the point that pretty much everything kind of sounds like something I already have. But this...THIS.

 

Wet: The vanilla has a syrupy, almost benzoin like quality. The woods are sweet and beautiful, no pencil shavings here. It smells sweet yet also dry and also clean somehow. It's simple, but beautiful, and I am a wee bit obsessed. It feels comfortable on me, yet subtly sexy. I love it. LOVE.

 

 

Dry: The woods fade a bit and the vanilla comes to the front. It's a really rich vanilla, sweet without being gourmand. I really love it.

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Cedarwood and smoked vanilla is lovely restrained cedar, almost like a polished cedar, with a sheer vanilla, not particularly smoky on me.  Unfortunately my skin ate this one up -- no throw and only a couple hours of wear.  

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Warm, dry cedar and sheer vanilla musk. There is a nice smoky aspect that dances around the edges of the scent, but it's definitely not the focus. This is a subtle, unisex perfume. I really like this; the notes are blended well and complement each other with their dry almost-sweetness. But it's definitely a skin scent without much throw, and it sadly doesn't last very long on my skin. 

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