#musky buttery creamy slightly sea salty

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Arcana Craves Vanilla Reviews!

Vanilla Craves the Honor of Aphrodite

Scent description: Voluptuous melted caramel coils around softly whipped coconut creme. Sun-warmed Californian wild oranges are laced with honeyed cardamom, then dipped in vanilla beans, Muscovado sugar, and delicate ivory patchouli.

This is a gorgeous scent! The wild oranges are ripe and perfect--a little tart and natural and beautiful. The oranges are on a pillow of delicately cardamom-spiced vanilla and coconut cream, that’s rich and oh-so-very-slightly tropical. The caramel to my nose is barely there and not too sweet, and there’s a subtle grounding earthy element that must be the patchouli. Vanilla Craves the Honor of Aphrodite is a stunning luscious blend.

Vanilla Craves 90s Malls

Scent description: The scent of rebellious young punks and toothachingly sweet innocence. Bright fluorescent lights, glossy watermelon-flavored lip gloss, a ziplock baggie of fresh, green bud, and sticky vanilla-laced marshmallow treats.

Wow, this scent is straight out of my childhood. This takes me back to chewing endless amount of watermelon Hubba Bubba and slathering on Bonne Bell lip gloss. With some time I get the citrusy green of the bud (which is 100% NOT from my childhood, just to be clear!). This is such a happy and joyful blend, conjuring memories of the neon lights and pyramid candles in the Topkapi store!

Vanilla Craves Spring

Scent description: An absurdly delightful blend of two gourmand vanillas, young honeysuckle, pink bubblegum, white amber, a hint of galbanum, and a single drop of sweet mint.

Vanilla Craves Spring is my second favorite scent of all of the Craves! (Marshmallows Scatter is #1!) Spring is my favorite time of year, and Vanilla Craves Spring is a glorious homage to new life, light, and budding flora. Who would have thought that honeysuckle and bubblegum would smell so wonderful together? This bubblegum is pink, powdery, and fresh, like untouched Bazooka, and blends seamlessly with the waxy, heady, nectar-sweet honeysuckle. A kiss of green mint gives the scent some zip and freshness, and of course the smooth vanillas tie everything together to create a blend that smells like hope and happiness. Please do not be scared off the eclectic mix of notes in this blend. I’m no lover of mint or bubblegum, but this scent is more than the sum of its parts--it’s gorgeous and well worth a try. 

Vanilla Craves Terror

Scent description: Creamy vanilla with Arcana Wildcraft’s legendary Holy Terror (burning frankincense, sandalwood, deep myrrh, and dusty beeswax candles).

The frankincense and myrrh is in this one smells like Christmas Eve mass! The dustiness here is really lovely--it’s like a candlelit mass in a beautiful old church... with cookies. The vanilla is not prominent to my nose, but is like a binding agent that ties all of the other elements together. Vanilla Craves Terror is a cuddly, more approachable version of Holy Terror.

Vanilla Craves Sugar Cookies

Scent description: Warm sugar cookies are infused with three gourmand vanillas and a hint of vanilla musk.

Oh this does smell like warm sugar cookies! This is lovely. Warm, buttery, homemade sugar cookies with extra vanilla extract! Simple, yet cozy and wonderful.

Vanilla Craves Fireworks

Scent description: The scent of New Year's Eve. Rich black leather accord, incense-infused dark vanilla, and a splash of champagne.

This blend is magical. It really does smell like a festive winter night. The black leather is of the smooth and silky variety--it’s both cool and cozy and blends beautifully with the pop of champagne. I can’t stop smelling this one--my nose is glued to my wrist! I never go out anymore because of babies + pandemic, but this blend makes me yearn for a fun and carefree night out.

Vanilla Craves Snow Fairies

Scent description: Frozen honey with dry white musk, winter vanilla, opulent amber, snow, vodka, and a sliver of orris root.

Vanilla Craves Snow Fairies smells like snow! This is a fun and magical blend that manages to smell cool and cozy all at once. A crisp and cloudy white musk is kissed with vanilla and sweetened by a subdued honey and made elegant by a hint of orris (a la the glorious Celestite blend) and a smooth, rich amber. A touch of vodka creates the illusion of an icy, snow-covered vista. This is one of my favorites of this collection! It’s smooth and elegant, beautiful, and fun.

Vanilla Craves Warmth

Scent description: Our Garnet Grapefruit blended with dark, smoky, intoxicating vanilla.

I was a little confused when reading that Vanilla Craves Warmth features grapefruit, but now that I’ve tried it, it 100% makes sense. This opens with the most wonderful red, tart, juicy grapefruit note. I’ve loved every grapefruit scent that Julia has created--they’re all punchy and realistic in the best possible way, and Vanilla Craves Warmth is no different. Somehow when combined with this beautiful smoky vanilla, the grapefruit develops a warming quality, almost like burning embers. It’s an intoxicating scent, and a fun experience as well.

Vanilla Craves Mermaid Shoals

Scent description: A gourmand aquatic fantasy. An opening of warm, musky neroli leads to a heart of lemon biscotti, bright tangerine, sunlight glittering on blue water, vanilla, sea foam, briny seaweed absolute, and scattered rose petal incense.

Vanilla Craves Mermaid Shoals is another fine example of Julia’s expertise with aquatic and tropical scents, with some toothsome gourmand elements added to keep things interesting! This is the scent of eating orange creamsicles and iced lemon cookies on the most beautiful tropical beach. The creamsicle is perfection--smooth, sweet vanilla cream and juicy, tart tangerine--and the iced lemon cookies melt a bit in your fingers. The sea breeze carries the scents of sparkling, pearl-crusted foam, and a light hint of waxy pink blossoms. This is a fantasy indeed. An utterly beautiful scent!

Vanilla Craves Grind Shows

Scent description: The edible aromas of a traveling carnival overflowing with oddities and amusements. Vanilla-laced cotton candy, deep fried funnel cakes encrusted with powdered sugar, salty peanuts, kettle corn, and caramel-covered apples.

This scent is also reviewed in the Daydream Collection post, but I’m  including it here as well! Sweet kettle corn, pink cotton candy, and a pop of salty peanut! With time, the kettle corn wins out as the dominant note for me, and it’s wonderful. It smells so realistic that I feel like I’m sticking my nose into a bag of warm, freshly-popped, sweet and salty kettle corn. This is a wonderful and happy carnival scent that makes me yearn for our local fair.

Vanilla Craves Cocoa

Scent description: An elegant twist on chocolate and vanilla. Swanky white amber and sheer vanilla musk with our Hot Cocoa accord (a rich cocoa CO2 infusion melds with the finest dark chocolate and a mug full of fluffy white marshmallows).

Vanilla Craves Cocoa is so, so delicious. The Hot Cocoa layering note is my favorite chocolate scent (it smells like the perfect cup of frothy hot cocoa made with milk, coated in melty marshmallows), and Vanilla Craves Cocoa adds some complexity to it with the hint of opulent amber and kiss of diaphanous vanilla musk. It’s a beautiful scent, and I recommend it for even those who don’t typically love chocolate in perfumes.

Vanilla Craves Gingerbread

Scent description: Rich, gourmand vanilla with Arcana Wildcraft's Gingerbread accord (luxe golden ginger, gingerbread, warm ginger cookies, and delicately piped icing).

Well, this one was unexpected! I get fresh, candied ginger and a squeeze of bright, tart lemon. It smells like sparkling ginger candy or fresh, cool ginger beer. It’s bright and refreshing. With time the freshness of the ginger tames a bit, and I do get some festive, warm, bready goodness. This is artisanal gingerbread made with actual ginger, not the stuff from a box.

Arcana Craves perfumes may be found at https://arcanacraves.com/