Disclaimer: I’m not a fragrance person. A case in point would be my furious passion for The Body Shop’s Strawberry EDT which I happen to think is rather perfect. My favourite perfume of all time is Nina Ricci’s Nina, and I don’t usually venture outside my comfort bouquet of floral vanilla notes. A while ago, however, I was seized by this inexplicable and urgent need to go back my winter 2010 scent – Benefit’s now discontinued So Hooked on Carmella. Which naturally led to many trawlings through Fragrantica and Basenotes and I somehow ended up at Ava Luxe. I knew I wanted a gourmand vanilla and maybe something summery – my final choices were the Crème Brûlée and Mousse de Chine EDPs. I blind bought both and I wasn’t at all sure what to expect, and I must say I’ve been very pleasantly surprised!

The Crème Brûlée is the longer lasting of the two on my skin. It takes a bit to settle down and while it does, I get a lovely burnt sugar note. Once it’s settled it’s a warm and rather spicy vanilla. I couldn’t stop smelling myself all through the afternoon when I sprayed it on! Mousse de Chine is an odd one. It is described as “a delightful chypre fragrance with fresh bergamot and citrus top notes that give way to soft mosses and amber notes.” I didn’t like it very much right after applying but it dried down to this powdery, slightly musty amber which reminded me so much of my grandmum when I was tiny. How could I not love it after that?

I also received perfume oil samples of Ambra Tibet, Love’s True Bluish Light, and The ‘Noir’. Ambra Tibet is my unexpected favourite here because I don’t usually go for oriental fragrances. But this is so gorgeous on me, it’s like a smoky 60s den rife with hash and incense and something infinitely sweet condensed in a vial. Ambra Tibet is definitely going to be part of my next AvaLuxe order! Love’s True Bluish Light takes a while to settle down but it’s sweet and milky and makes me hungry and I love it with all my heart. I don’t have an opinion on The ‘Noir’ yet but it can safely be concluded that my first experience with indie fragrance has been utterly lovely. The 15ml EDPs of Crème Brûlée and Mousse De Chine were $30 each and international postage to India was super reasonable at $18. As I type now, I’m compulsively sniffing my wrists and let me just say, it’s such a delightful feeling ♥