Vanille Aoud M. Micallef for women

M. Micallef's Vanille Aoud categorized a an "Oriental Vanilla" (see top of page "Groups"), and while it gives the initial impression of a gourmand (in the bottle and upon application), it is not. The aoud immediately hits the plum and quickly ripens the fruit with benzoin. Then gradually - almost imperceptibly- the aoud brings up a hint of caramel where the vanilla is encased, emitting a fine mist... waiting to explode. But it doesn't. Instead the vanilla ascends, equal to the other notes. The aoud keeps everything working together in perfect balance. I won't call it "harmony" because it seems any given note could break out and run riot at any moment. THIS is the adventure of aoud in **anything**. Finally, Vanilla and Aoud take their prominent places, a few steps forward from the rest. After all, they do have top billing, but they are generous and share the spotlight at the fringe. Vanille Aoud is a masterpiece!

The oud in this is very subtle and understated which is good for me as I'm not an oud fan. I am a huge gourmand/vanilla fan though but this scent left me a little unimpressed. I don't get any plum. All I get really is a thick rich caramel underscored by a little oud. It's nice and I do love caramel but I just expected this to evolve somewhat but it just stayed the same. For the cost, I have many other caramel/gourmands that do the same job.