Bonjour fellow perfumistas.  Are any of you Vanilla Freaks out there?  It's a little bourjois to love vanilla, but I do, I really do! (said a la Sally Field accepting her Oscar for Places in the Heart?)

P.S. Having a belated Bastille Day celebration, so I'll be using a few French words, and no offense to anyone who is actually French, and I realize that I may come across as a 'cretin-' (great French word means the same in English I believe but in French is sounds like a fancy desert - CRAY-Tan leaving off the n at the end and gargling the 'r' a little!)  

Anyway....here is my completely biased and opinionated and without scientific merit list of the TOP VANILLA FRAGRANCES in eBay land and beyond.  Feel free to add your own!  Enjoy!

1.  Indult, Tihota.  A beautiful musky, warm and very expensive vanilla, and IMHO worth every freakin' penny.  In my next blog entry I will subject you all to my haikus about Tihota.  I take it out to dinner and buy it flowers every once in a while, and it's very good to me.

2. Jalaine, Vanille. Buttery vanilla perfume oil. Sweet and sophisticated. In a beautiful cut glass bottle.  Also pricey and worth it-- I think.  But I haven't purchased a full bottle so maybe it's not worth it!  Still it's gorgeous.

3. Jill Stuart, Vanilla Lust. I lust for this. I think it's discontinued.  I have a half bottle that I cherish both for the fragrance and the bottle which looks like something from Alice in wonderland..all mushroomy and surreal! 

4. Molinard Les Senteurs Vanille.  A mid-range vanilla-centric spray that dries down to a soft warm and comforting, not too sweet vanilla.  Lovely alone or to layer.

5. Il Profumi di Firenze Vaniglia del Madagascar.  Sorry if I spelled that wrong, what can I say, today we are focusing on France, not Italy!  Anyway, this is a great all around vanilla with a boozy kick that deepens the vanilla.  Only downside..it's doesn't last more than 1-2 hours on my skin and it's a little pricey for something that doesn't last (unlike my beloved Tihota, which lasts 10-12 hours on me!  Incroyable!)

6. Montale makes two vanillas that I love (actually 3, but two are totally vanilla-centric) and those are Vanille Absolu and Vanille Extasy.  Strong, full bodied, not too sweet and great alone or in layers.  I don't mean to imply they are super similar, they're not.  Cousins, not siblings.  The 'Extasy' is more floral, the 'Absolu' more musk.  Both outstanding

7. Serge Lutens Un Bois Vanille.  Toasted HOMEMADE vanilla marshmallows.   Smells pricey and it is but if you love vanilla I think this is a must have.  (At least get a decant! And you know where to go for those, right?  Hint: initials are T.P'd.C.  Email me if you have no idea what I'm referring to!  Zue alors!)

8. Ligne St. Barthe Vanille.  Oh to have the money to visit their store/spa somewhere in the Caribbean, on a perfectly blue and warm day, a mild breeze from the ocean mixes with the scent of orchids and other native flowers, while you purchase bottle after bottle of this dreamy stuff.  It's  creamy and sweet, slightly bourbon-y, and quite lovely.

Et fini!  At least for now.  I will continue my list of 'Killah Vanillas' in my next blog entry.  AND I'll give you my list of 'not so hot/overrated' vanillas. 

Au revoir mes amis!  Lizzie

There are several blogs on the internet that chew up my time, and cause my children to become concerned that yes, indeed, I HAVE finally beamed up to the mothership!  But then, why leave the body? And soon, I stir, and they realize that no beaming has occurred, I'm simply reading my favorite blogs!

First up is nowsmellthis/blogharbor.com.  A VERY thoughtfully written blog, primarily the work/brainchild of Robin in Pennsylvania.  When I read her perfume reviews, especially in the beginning of my perfume obsession, I didn't understand MOST of what she was referring to, yet I GOT IT anyway.  The general idea of the scent, what she found good and bad, etc.  She's a great writer..not in an in-your-face way, but in a gentle, dear reader, Jane Austenish way.  Love her and her blog.

Perfumeposse.com.  The evil fragrance twin of now smell this.  Not really, but those gals really love the skank.  As I've mentioned elsewhere they are not afraid to let their freak flags fly, and though their reviews are often very enjoyable, even hilarious, I often read to find out what I definitely DON'T want to try.  I mean, they liked JAR SHADOW if I recall (JAR is a very exclusive fragrance line using, apparently, the most precious, refined ingredients available).  To me Shadow was Pickle Relish at a gazillion dollars an ounce! 

Boisdejasmin.typepad.com.  Fragrances are not reviewed as frequently as on the other two sites, but when they are, it's often great literature.  Beautiful poetic writing that gets to the heart of the matter on satin slippers.  Nice!

These are three of my favorites.  I'll add more. Please comment on yours!

Greetings fellow eBayers!  I thought I would provide some of you fellow fragrance fans with some of my favorite fragrance websites.  This is not meant to be an all-inclusive list, but is a good starting point for any of you who want a little more information on the fragrances you are wearing, or are considering purchasing.  These are not sites for buying fragrance..just learning about it.

First off, I must highly recommend basenotes.net.  This is such a wonderful site, with information on thousands of fragrances, and a terrific community of fellow perfumistas.  For the experienced and the novice, basenotes is a treasure trove of information. They are independent, and joining is free, though you can get a few lovely perks and a warm glow if you want to join as a supporting member for as little as $5/month.

Fragrantica.com is also very informative, with a huge list of fragrances and their notes, and pictures to boot.  Fragrances are arranged alphabetically by name, within the alphabetized house name, so it can be a little unweildy to slug through all of the 'S's to find Shalimar by Guerlain.

OsMoz.com is a very informative and stylish site.  Much of the information there is in French, and most but not all of it has been translated to English, sometimes with hilarious results, though usually the translations are fine.  For information on new fragrances it's great though overall I prefer the independence of basenotes, where people "tell it like it is."  (OsMoz is administered by a large fragrance development corporation.)

In my next blog I'll blog about fragrance blogs I like!  Thanks for reading.