Les Indemodables Vanille Havane Eau de Parfum is about the celebration of vanilla as an ingredient, but it’s less sugary vanilla and more the vanilla bean. It is a heavier, headier, and darker fragrance with lots of body and little airiness. In many ways, I felt like I didn’t get “vanilla” as I know it but the facets of how vanilla can play a role in perfume.
Vanille Havane Notes
The brand’s website had some interesting details about what was used; they listed house extracts that were used: Vanilla ‘Mauvais’ Comoros infusion Grand Cru at 9.1%, Cocoa Columbia ultrasound extract Grand Cru at 3.1%, and Jasmine Egypt concrete distillat Grand Cru at 0.2%. Retailers list the notes as: rum, cocoa, dried fruits, tobacco, floral notes, clove, cinnamon, cardamom, woods, and leather.
What does Vanille Havane Smell Like?
It opened with rich, spiced rum; incredibly decadent and boozy in its first minute before the clove and cinnamon override the alcoholic quality and then merge with candied fruits and cocoa powder, giving the rum depth and sweetness. It only took a few more minutes for tobacco blew in with cardamom underneath it, slightly peppery and lemony. The cinnamon and clove intensified, adding even more warmth to the fragrance, but I found that the cinnamon wafted in–and left more clove present between the two–and out against the sweet tobacco.
Vanille Havane grew smoother and smelled of spiced woods, sweet tobacco, and and the beginnings of vanilla sweetness wrapped around dried fruits. The vanilla sweetness moved more and more to the forefront with sweet tobacco and spiced woods filled the background. After an hour, it was spicy-sweet vanilla, sweet tobacco, and woodsy with the underpinnings of fruit just barely soaked in rum. It softened and became more muffled over the next few hours until it became sweet, spiced vanilla and tobacco.
Longevity
It lasted for six hours until it was a skin-scent and about nine hours before it was quite difficult to detect on my skin. The sillage was light to moderate and dropped within an hour of wear, while the projection was more firmly moderate and dropped significantly after two and a half hours of wear.
Personal Notes
I enjoyed this one quite a bit, though it’s expensive enough that not something I’m giving much consideration at this time. One aspect that really stood out to me was how it retained a lot of booziness on my skin for longer than I anticipated. I’ll be keeping the remaining sample I have and revisiting later on down the road.
Testing Methodology
For testing, I used 1/3 of a 0.7ml sample vial dabbed to the underside and topside of my wrist area on my left arm. I used an unscented moisturizer prior to applying the scent as this is also my swatching arm (aka, incredibly parched at any given moment) as I found scent did not hold well here otherwise.
Availability
Vanille Havane is available for $260 for 50ml.
If possible, I highly recommend trying a fragrance before purchasing a full bottle because fragrance can wear differently just because of skin chemistry. Skin chemistry can effect not just the longevity of a fragrance but also what notes are prominent or hidden.
Vanille Havane Samples
We recommend the following retailers for purchasing decanted samples (typically 0.7ml to 2ml in size). This is a fuller list, so individual availability may depend on inventory.
