Eclaire

Forget everything I said in my original review below, that was 9 months ago, this is now. E just got placed on the top shelf next to Her Confession, yes both them bottles are cleverly displayed while hidden. E went from bottom disappointment shelf to favs top shelf after I sprayed her for bed. This ain’t even the same fragrance, nope. I had hoped it would transform by Fall, indeed it did. This is a rich vanilla, whipped caramel cream, just a hint of floral, and sweet, sweet. I smelled the lactonic aspect for the first time ever since getting last December. Yall just don’t understand, I was SO disappointed when I got this and confused. What everyone said, was NOT what I had, is now. This is so comfy and cozy, very relaxing. It has filled my room, this is 3x stronger than it was. At this point, I assume it will be outlasting its previous performance as well. I am too tired to wait up and wanted this down while fresh in my head. I am very happy and this is one moved on up. So you gotta give this one ample time. It could have been ready months ago, I haven’t touched in 6 months, it is still 90 freaking degrees during the day here. At night though, it is dipping as low as 50s, windows up. So this is singing a sweet, relaxing lullaby on my skin and in the air. E is very good!

I must live under a brick because the first time I’ve encountered this brand was actually in a shop. I got intrigued about the unusual packaging and inexpensive prices. I sprayed éclaire on myself, my notes of that day said ‘smells like éclaire indeed’. I totally understand the popularity of this brand- the price and large variety of fragrances make it very attractive. My experience is rather positive so far to be honest - I find éclaire extremely comforting after a long day. It has something a thick blanket and pair of socks would do on a cold rainy day. It’s reassuring, it’s sweet, it’s a recognizable vanilla. It’s not a poem or an art piece of any kind, but it ticks all of the boxes. I find it’s an easy pick when I don’t know what to wear - I’m a gourmand lover through and through. It’s synthetic, yes, but way less compared to some lush fragrances for example that are just screeching and plasticky and take ages to dry down. I really enjoy layering it as well. Not a safe blind buy though, unless you really enjoy sweet gourmands.

One of my new ultimate favorites. Dont be fooled by the burnt, almost chemical-ly initial spray, this perfume is a dreeeam for the gourmand girls. I will say it's not as substantially vanilla-centered as people seem to make it out to be, to me it's more of a smokey, cinnamon sugar-y custard kinda vibe with a vanilla undercurrent to it all, very accurate to the listed notes here imo. For the (absolutely unbeatable) price, this scent is also powerful without being cloying- people will notice this on you, but it's not overbearing to the point of annoyance. It does stick very tightly to clothes, which to me is a good thing, but could turn others away. I get a lot of compliments on this one and I'm always so excited to tell people it only sells for $30! This will be my go to for a while :):)

Right after getting this in it had a very synthetic vanilla smell to it and I didn’t think I’d ever want to wear it again. After sitting for about a month I don’t get that synthetic “cheap vanilla candle” smell at all. It’s very creamy, smooth, and all around what I’d consider a solid vanilla. I get almost a white chocolate scent to it, not sure if that’s the milk with the praline or something else. This could easily be used for layering too. I will say to me the dry down is pretty close to the initial spray with maybe more of the musk coming through if I had to guess what changes for it.

I had expected this to be a lot stronger/more "sickeningly sweet" with the top notes being caramel and sugar, and I'm also honestly shocked at how many people are commenting on how strong/sweet this is! Because my first impression is... it's actually a lot more subtle than I expected. I still think it's very nice and worth how affordable it is, but it's a gentle, soft sweet smell instead of one that bombards your senses. Reminds me a bit of marzipan? I think I'll spray this one more generously for a stronger sugar smell personally, no need to be stingy with an affordable scent anyways.