French Vanilla Dana for women

No. I don` like this. At all.

It smells just like Chopard Casmir, which I dispise.

This is more fruit than vanilla, very misleading name on this scent I must say.

Absolutely gorgeous deep vanilla fragrance. Not overly sweet as so many vanilla perfumes are. It opens with citrus and floral notes that are inviting and invigorating. It dries down after a few minutes to a lovely vanilla-woody-resin fragrance. The resin makes the fragrance smell like amber intertwined with vanilla. I am in love. This is officially my signature fragrance. The holy grail of vanillas.

Received a sample from the lovely EK and I am loving this. It's extremely... ladylike. Very soft and delicate and puts me in the mind of french lace and white gloves.

This is not an overly sweet or obviously gourmand type of vanilla, but its delicious all the same. The initial strong alcohol blast is off putting, but as it calms the vanilla and soft florals peek through in a blend that smells more like a vanilla custard that either an outright vanilla or floral. It hugs the skin but sends off an enhanced sweetness around the skin. On my skin the longer it sits the more the florals peek through. A very lovely and quite enjoyable vanilla.

This was purchased blind on the strength of the glowing reviews herein and, regrettably, it did not live up to expectations. IMO this fragrance does very much match its budget price and is not something I would wear. In the same price category, my preference would be for Coty's Raw Vanilla, which is marketed as a men's fragrance but is eminently suitable for ladies too.

I recently bought a big 7.75 oz. bottle of French Vanilla on ebay for $5 plus $6 shipping. I feel like I've won the lottery - what a bargain! A natural vanilla, no synthetic, chemical yuckiness, no sickeningly sweet fake cake batter smell. This is not a gourmand vanilla - it's a soft, clean fresh vanilla with a tinge of citrus (orange blossom?), floral and amber. Great for an everyday go-to fragrance. Perfect for layering with other scents too. Good sillage and longevity (6+ hrs. on me). It smells better than many of the high priced synthetic designer fragrances out there. Sometimes simple is best. If you find a bottle, don't pass it up.

Update: On subsequent use, it reminds me of Johnson and Johnson baby lotion in the opening, which is a little off-putting. Maybe there's a bit of artificiality to it initially...but in the drydown it's still a soft, gentle, pleasant vanilla.

EDP version: This is a creamy, delicious, and affordable oriental vanilla with citrus and wood notes accompanying the vanilla with equal strength. My nose picks up orange blossom whiffs in the opening. The heart consists of mildly citrusy vanilla with strong wood tones. So beautiful and so sensual... This could be the sister of Fire & Ice by Revlon. When I first sprayed it, I picked up a lot of similarities with it. If you’d like another great oriental vanilla fragrance, you could try Fire & Ice. It is also very affordable, has stronger citrus notes than French Vanilla, and it is also less woody. But just as creamy, beautiful, and sensual nonetheless. Enjoy these lovely creations!. :o)

I absolutely adore this perfume. It's the epitome of a great vanilla scent as far as I'm concerned.

I do love vanilla fragrances in general and this is the latest I've added to my collection and it's just so pretty.

The fragrance isn't cloying or harsh, but is subtle with undertones of woods and floral notes.

One time I actually sprayed this over my cocoa butter moisturizer and it smelled incredible.

This is the best perfume I have found by Dana so far.

Kittycat63,
That's good to know! I had passed on the EDT at a great price due to those other reviews, but now I think I'll go for it. Layering is where it's at anyway, right? :-) I am so happy i found this scent just in time for Summer, as it's sort of a fresh oriental vanilla, which seemed unlikely, but for me that's what it is. I love it!

You are welcome Kittycat and I totally agree with you on the staying power too!!

Thanks for the compliment Action!

I have to say, I disagree with Candmarie who said the EDT of this is too weak.

I have the French Vanilla EDT and the staying power on my skin is surprisingly good! It lasts at least 8 hours on me, despite the fact that I have dry'ish skin, so I'd call that pretty good staying power! Obviously, a lot depends on a person's chemistry and skin type as to whether a perfume will last a long time on their skin or not.

So, my recommendation is that anyone who's interested in getting French Vanilla should definitely try the EDT, especially as at the moment (in England anywhere, which is where I live), you can get it for a very, very reasonable price! It's such a lovely perfume that I got myself a second big bottle (230ml) just in case it gets hard to find! I'm also thinking of getting at least one or two more if I can find the space - I have too many perfumes at the moment!!! ;o))

BTW, I reviewed the EDP. I wouldn't waste time with the EDT. I've read some reviews saying it's weak and fades quickly. Unlike the EDP, which lasts and lasts and lasts. Definitely in my A-rotation!

Because of the informative reviews here I have discovered this little gem. That's what this site is all about. People often post topics asking for great but inexpensive scents. Well, here you go. Dana French Vanilla.

A subtle, complex, non-foody, slightly woody vanilla. Bravo, House of Dana! This is going into my weekly rotation.

Fantastic review Kittycat!!

This is a really lovely vanilla perfume and not one-dimensional like so many vanilla scents are.

It's soft, warm, subtle and has excellent staying power. I just got a bottle today and I'm really happy I decided to chance it and give it a try. For the price (currently £5.99 for a big 230ml bottle on one of the UK perfume websites) I felt I couldn't go far wrong and the reviews have been so good for it!

I'm absolutely loving this perfume and it makes me smell good enough to eat (in fact, almost good enough to want to eat myself!). It's great and well worth having in my collection. I can see this being one of my 'go to' fragrances, along with Oxygene, because I think it's ideal for any situation and any kind of weather!

This works really well with the Avon Vanilla Shakes body lotion, by the way, for extra Vanilla yummy'ness!!

I love your review Cisco!

Once more, I totally agree with Action. This is not at all synthetic. I am looking forward to the body lotion so I may layer. The vanilla is not blatant. French Vanilla is a lovely warm well blended scent that will find a prominant spot on my Winter roster. Not everything can be judged by its cost. Give this one a try.

This is a nice lightly spicy vanilla, it has decent depth and is not too sweet. I finished my sample but I won't berunning out to buy it as I have many vanillas already in my huge collection.

I am really suprised nobody rating this beauty yet! I am sure that a lot of us are afraid for the Dana house, being synthetic etc. Well, this one is quite different. It is a very nice and subtle Vanilla perfume that is more complex than only vanilla monotone. I would recommend it very much, if you love Vanilla in perfumes. Great choice!
Action

This is a wonderful warm fragrance. From the Dana line it is my favorite, together with the headstrong Tabu!
Action