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alchyornyj87 – :
@Hyacynthbucket…you are right! The ORIGINAL Coty Dark Vanilla came out in the late 80s and was housed in a clear bottle with Amber liquid. This new formulation is a purple liquid and has way too much floral. The original formulation was sexy, smouldering musky vanilla. I tried having Scentmatchers dupe it, but it didnt smell right. I think they are going off the newer (purple formulation). Its a shame that these perfume compamies are messing with a good thing. If it ain’t broke, why fix it??????
mucysy – :
I love it. It’s beautiful – sweet, mysterious and comforting. Beautiful jasmine and vanilla. Gorgeous. And lasts super well (10 hours) and everyone tells me how delicious I smell.
And I adore the gorgeous bottle!
5328746 – :
Dark Vanilla is a jasmine perfume on me. The jasmine is the dark vanilla part. Jasmine flowers can be so complex. They can smell feminine and pretty or edgier, darker, indolic, animalic (think of the jasmine in Alien Thierry Mugler). The jasmine here is almost like the one in Alien. It’s definitely dark. There’s a big tuberose that tends to take over so if you’re familiar with tuberose; or rather white floral fragrances, this should be comfortable to wear. The tuberose is fragrant, creamy, and along with jasmine really match up with the vanilla scent. There’s a musk at the dry down that can feel like a synthetic civet. Sexy, naughty, mature, a perfume to wear as an evening cologne on a date. It’s not too mysterious but it has allure. Love it. I get compliments on it. Discontinued but fortunately for me a friend send it to me as a gift.
slava356 – :
A gourmand fragrance before gourmands became popular. I wore this between the year 2000 and 2001. True to it’s moniker, it’s a vanilla scented fragrance. It’s not your sweet soft ice cream vanilla. It’s a rich, dark vanilla. It contains musk which gives it a stunning depth and a deep purple color. There is also night blooming jasmine and heady tuberose. This was strong stuff when I first wore it. People always loved it on me and they said I smelled like chocolate vanilla in a good way. The bottle was beautiful. I have 2 bottles one has been used up and I never threw it away and there is another that is about half full. I wear it from time to time. Lovely.
PS this frag has been compared to Shalimar and Vanilla Fields so if you like those 2 scents you’ll love this one.
михась7777 – :
This fragrance right here started it all for me as far a perfume collecting goes. I was 13 and going through a phrase where everything I wore was purple. I am assuming the purple bottle is why my Mom purchased this for me as a Christmas gift. Dark Vanilla was my first “adult” fragrance. I am not even sure if I liked the vanilla scent but to me I was officially a woman. Lol! I still make sure this bottle is always in my collection. The memories it conjures up are great. I do disagree with comparisons to Vanilla Fields. The scent has a touch of chocolate in it that makes a striking difference. The scent is a bit strong so I spray it it behind my knees and inner elbow. Blends well with Hanae Mori.
wimp – :
This evokes beautiful memories of my grandmother, who had a bottle at one time. It’s wonderful to finally have a bottle of my own!
Considerably more balsamic than Vanilla Fields, which I cannot wear. Not as floral as Vanilla Musk, which is more about florals and musk.
Dark Vanilla is a gorgeous Oriental!
yhl412InsuffBooni – :
Dark Vanilla and I have had a weird relationship over the years. Back when I was in middle school in the 90s/2000s I bought the gift set for $7 with my allowance because it smelt so pretty. It was my first real perfume! Then as a teenager when I repurchased it, I hated it… My body chemistry didn’t agree. I don’t know why but the cologne was the worst offender and smelt disgusting on me so I tossed it out. As I was moving today, I was gathering some things off my unused dresser and what do I find? Full bottle of Dark Vanilla perfume spray! I sprayed it on and didn’t like it much but then after it dried down, I liked it! It’s a nice floral scent with a hint of vanilla. I can see myself wearing this again now that I’m a young woman. It’s a shame that it’s impossible to find it in drug stores now. It was everywhere about a decade ago…
EDIT: I just found the full 1.0 oz. of the cologne spray on my dresser. Guess I never did throw it out as a teenager, thank goodness! I’m going to just have to try replicating the fragrance myself since the 2 piece set is impossible to find now and the cologne is nearly $200 on eBay!!! Insane!!
dikiy.m – :
I may be mistaken but I remember Coty Dark Vanilla and Dulce Vanilla in the fragrance store where I worked in the late 80’s. In the early 90’s I went to work for Christian Dior. Unless I’m confused I think fragrantica has the release dates a decade late. I think Dulce and Dark Vanilla were released in the late 80’s or early 90’s.
For the price Dark Vanilla was a very pleasant scent. White flowers, musk and vanilla. Not too sweet.
LeVKa_007 – :
I worn this for several years you used to be able to get it almost anywhere,well for those of us that didn’t see it coming what is left out there is very expensive, some sites i’ve looked on wanted 25 buck for about 1/4 of the.5 bottles. I dont know if Coty quit making it or what but if they did i wish they would start making it again.I am very disappointed though and I am betting that when you start looking you’ll have to go to e-bay and see that it ranges today from $175 to $25 makes me sad because that was the only perfume I would wear. One man begged and begged me to tell him what it was but I’d tell him no way i’ts my signature fragrance LOL, he loved it so much he wanted it to give his wife for Christmas, he came back to work and said well Wanda doesn’t smell the same on her so to poke him in the ribs I told him see I told you that it was my signature fragrance! It was kind of funny to both of us.
rvm20 – :
This was always my favorite to test out in the store. I’ve been meaning to get a bottle for years, and plan to invest in some soon. It is a delicious sweet vanilla smell, and though I’m not a musk girl, the musk in this blends beautifully with the vanilla. It’s a more grown-up vanilla scent. Would totally wear this on a date, or anytime I wanted to feel irresistible and delicious.
devil-73rus – :
I absolutely loved this fragrance. I got so many compliments on it when I wore it. People would stop me and say What are you wearing? It smells so good. I am a “sweet” fragrance person, so usually a not heavy sweet smelling fragrance suits me to the ‘T’ I really enjoyed the body lotion, but have not been able to find it for a while. Does anyone know if it is still available?
Alekc1976 – :
I had the perfume and the scented lotion both that I loved. The lotion actually moisturized very well and smelled great. The perfume smelled wonderful too.It was deeper that a regular vanilla and I liked that. Sillage was good.
sansanich – :
Update here. I had quit wearing this as I have been playing with other scents, but decided to start it again….LOVE. Since I love vanilla this one is the one that smells most like true vanilla for me. It has that non-powdery,sweetness that always makes me feel warm and safe. I think it does have a dark deepness that makes one think oF a special caramel filled fall day. This is very sweet, bold and sensuous. Now I am stingey and will keep all my bottles!!!
attastano – :
I used to have this, and it smells quite nice for the price, not the best, but perfectly acceptable.
tovkach – :
I think this is a lovely frag, specially if you like vanilla in them. It’s a pretty scent with a dark side. Back in the 90’s I went through a couple of bottles since I used to be in love with vanilla scents.
vadikasik – :
This is one of the my favorite fragrances, I have had a bottle since probably the mid to late 90’s. I use it mostly as my winter fragrances, its just so lovely, I hope to find anoter bottle soon so I can keep it as a back up.
timson_rootina – :
Have bought this on sale for next to nothing. It’s okay, not great. I like vanilla, but prefer smokey evening scents with more complexity-like Shalimar. My husband didn’t care for it-but then I put on a very inexpensive vanilla amber body lotion with Dark Vanilla and he said I smelled “nice”. The moisturizer seemed to give this perfume the depth it was lacking. Still-for the price- a decent option if you want to save the expensive stuff for special occasions.
Ozi – :
This is not your average vanilla. It’s very deep, dark, heavy and smokey, to be worn at night. This takes hours to reach the drydown, but once it does, it becomes much more pleasant and lasts forever. I prefer my vanilla more light-hearted and sweet, so this isn’t for me. Try it before you buy it – it’s not for everyone.
Скайлайн – :
This was my first “mature” fragrance–according to this website, it came out in 1998, but I was sure I’d had it before that…I must be confusing it with Vanilla Musk. I suppose that would make it my first mature college freshman fragrance as opposed to middle or high school. Oops! Anyway, I remember it reminded me of vanilla extract that one uses for baking–with a syrupy note. I liked it then, I probably would find it a bit too sweet now. I was lured in by the fact that I wore Vanilla Musk first, and that there was this elegant “dark” ad for the Dark Vanilla. Yes, I fell prey to perfume advertising… 🙂
toradora6876 – :
I’m disappointed in this.
Immediately I thought of a children’s bubblegum flavored cold medicine. It’s an artificially sweet and synthetic vanilla smell.
It also enduced a headache… When a vanilla fragrance does this, I know it’s far from a true vanilla smell. Most synthetic types do this to me.
romaboxers – :
Fragrance stirs the emotions. This composition does this deeply, seductively and softly ….cheep chic. It’s out there. Just search online.
Msolotow – :
I strongly dislike this scent, but I’m a vanilla hater. However! It smells like a “dark” vanilla should, slighty masculine and not so “pretty”. Good for night time. My bottle (well my moms bottle…) is gold, with yellow liquid, not purple,but the bottle shapes and font are the same. Mabye the version Im talking about is discountined because this perfume is extremely potent and can last for days on the skin!
karloserik1995 – :
Don’t expect this one to last more than one hour after application! I was very disappointed in this scent for the scent life. Guess thats what I get for buying an inferior product like Coty. Was a time years ago things were not this bad with being watered down but I would never spend my money on this product again.
xXxKing – :
I can’t believe I found a bottle of this for $6! So excited as I’ve had it on my test list for quite awhile.
It opens right away with a warm true vanilla, smooth and sultry. After a few minutes it starts to darken, becoming more boozy and “bourbonesque”. It’s slightly powdery but this only softens and compliments the rich overall tone of the vanilla.
The jasmine doesn’t stand out to me.
I think it smells much better than Vanilla Fields. I do agree it is similar to Tocade which is another boozy vanilla offering. I think I like this one better, but the wearing will tell.
G-grudastaya – :
gorgeous scent! this vanilla composition is not sweet as the most vanuilla scents. and somehow dark and elegant. longlasting too. nice bottle. love it! i m also used to layer it with other scents to give them a longlasting base. 🙂 recomended!
serov – :
This is what I consider my “mature” sultry vanilla. Not the sugar sweets that I normally wear. It’s a serious one. It’s not for kids…it’s for a woman.
КлЕпАтРа – :
This is my all time favourite perfume. The scent works perfectly with my body chemistry and lasts for hours.
The richness of this perfume gives it a very sultry, sexy feel.
I only wear perfumes with vanilla notes and I’ve yet to find anything comparable to this.
xcp222JeomiWogkig – :
i liked it but its a shame that it fades away too soon 🙁
dragon-serg – :
the vanilla only serves to warm up this fragrance. I only get big white floral – disappointing and headache-inducing. Then again, white florals are stricly no-no.
kukla555 – :
Thanks for swapping me for this one, c3c! One person’s scrubber another person’s perfume, lol.
That said, this is probably as close as I’m ever going to get to the feminime vanilla that’s perfect for me (I dislike sweet scents). My standard vanilla was Givenchy Pi, but Dark Vanilla has that unmistakably girly comforting nature to it, just right for a chilly night snuggled under the comforters.
At first application, it smells like a dead ringer for Tocade, albeit darker, deeper, and less powdery. But Dark Vanilla rounds out to be smooth, not powdery, and much more sensual than Tocade with the plush white florals. A deep sweet gourmandy jasmine that I actually find myself craving at times! I suspect I might actually finish this 1.0 oz!
wdw-wdw – :
I wore two bottles of this in 2001. It’s a floral vanilla underneath a light cloud of incense. I remember being pleased and receiving tons of compliments. Not sure how I’d react to it nowadays, but I’d love to find out.
KRG2 – :
I took a chance and purchased this online because of the vanilla description. This isn’t they vanilla I was looking for. It’s not unpleasant but not my style.
For vanilla I prefer LaVanila Vanilla Coconut or Filles des Iles Floral Sensual.
valmaycle – :
I think this is lovely, not amazing but still for the price its very sweet and deep vanilla and so worth it.
Spounty – :
I like the jasmin / vanilla combination. Hard to find, though.
shilova_victoria – :
Not much different from Vanilla Fields, just more flowers. Not bad for the price.