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I tried Love's Philosophy the first time it came out, and could not wear it. I was heartbroken. On me, the original smelled like wintergreen lifesavers for the entire duration.

 

This one is a very rich, creamy vanilla, with a sharpish medicinal note. I do not like it up close when I sniff my wrist, but the fragrance wafting around me is to die for. So much so that I will likely get a second bottle before the Lupers depart.

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This scent was almost entirely all saffron for me. From opening the decant to first application, it blasted a bitter and unsweet odor into my nostrils. Vanilla and cream came in after a few minutes but it was still very much saffron. The cream kind of curdled :( I'll be swapping this!

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2016 version:


In the decant: I can definitely understand the comparison to cream soda here. There's a sweet vanilla and something that smells effervescent. There's also something about it that smells almost medicinal/band-aidy to me? Not really a fan of that aspect.


On my skin: Unfortunately, that "band aid" aspect amps up right away. Is this the cream being sour? I don't know what it is. It starts to smell a teeny bit spicy, too, which I'm assuming is the saffron? I am not really familiar with saffron as a spice individually, though I know it's used in Indian spice blends.


As it dries: less "band aids" and more root beer or cream soda.... but the "band aids" thing never totally fades.


Not for me, sadly.

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I've been dying for a bottle of this since I received a tiny drop as a swap gift way back in '09. Despite some sharpness fresh out of the bottle (which I know will round right out with some aging) Love's Philosophy remains my perfect vanilla dream! Creamy, rich, divine, and will become more so with age. So happy to finally have a bottle of the scent that was #1 on my wish list!

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I got a decant of 2016's Love's Philosophy, and it's so fabulous, I ended up buying a partial bottle.

 

It's got something in it that has a variable response to my chemistry. The first day I tested it, I was underwhelmed; the next, it was a hallelujah vanilla cream party. During the first, meh test, I got a lot of the "wintergreen/root beer/Ben Gay" note on application, and it took a looking time to go away. Subsequent wearings have been free of that curse.

 

This has medium throw, but incredible staying power. I get a lot more vanilla than cream, and only a wee bit of saffron.

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I bought a full bottle of Love's Philosophy blindly and don't regret it at all! A great purchase.

 

Cold sniff: First thoughts were...nice, something warm, autumn/Xmas like about this. It definitely smelled familiar to me. It came to me that it smelled like this decor piece I bought for my mom for Christmas back in high school. It was a silver bell, shaped like a star with potpourri inside. It now resides in my grandmothers home and whenever I'm there I always take a whiff and the scent is still mildly there despite being purchased like 15+ years ago. This smells exactly like that and I like it. In the bottle is is mild and not overbearing at all.

 

Skin: On my skin it smells the same, just like the decor, basically like vanilla/spicy scented potpourri in a decorative bowl. I really like, but not quite at the love mark. On a scale from 1-10 it would be about a 7 or 7.5. Prob 7.5. I think I want to use this in a diffuser because I would really like my home smelling like this during the winter months but on my skin it's just a tad strong.

 

I can absolutely smell the cream soda scent that others mentioned in some of the reviews. There is a hint of sweet vanilla fizz. I wasn't getting wintergreen at all and find it interesting that a lot of people did. With the idea in my head now, the more I sniff it I can almost get it, or see how others have! I do rather like wintergreen so for me it is a welcome note.

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In the bottle: sharp vanilla

 

Wet: Wintergreen rootbeer! Now I did not see that coming XD At this stage, the cream is starting to go a bit sour.. uh oh. I fear the worst...D:

 

Dry: this one seem very sensitive to any change in my skin chemistry.When I first tried Love Philosophy, I caugh a cold during the day ( because why not. Eh. -___- ) and the vanilla reeked of playdoh mixed with sour cream...horrible! And it lasted forever! :X Had to scrub it off...

 

Now feeling better, it became instead a delicious vanilla cream with a bit of saffran throw in it. ♡

I don't think I'll reach often my bottle but I'm starting to like it though!

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Love’s Philosophy smells like the world’s best vanilla candle on me. That is, the cream goes a little waxy, but not in a way I mind. I’m surprised by that, because the cream in Boo, one of my favorite vanilla-and-cream blends, doesn’t turn waxy at all. I can pick out the saffron, especially when this is wet.

 

I can see why so many people have compared Love’s Philosophy to cream soda, though I wore this soon after testing Champagne Lace, which, with its carbonation note, reminded me of cream soda even more strongly. I would have loved to get the wintergreen that others have described, but alas, no.

 

Love’s Philosophy is a snuggly scent with minimal throw; even after a not very strenuous day, I had to reapply in the early evening.

 

I’m happy I bought a bottle of this unsniffed.

Edited by lucycat

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I am always so torn with this blend; I had the original in 2008 and this 2016 version is the same on my skin: vanilla saffron creamy goodness that turns to a slightly band-aid/plastic drydown.

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Freshly applied, this is the custardy vanilla of the lab's French Vanilla Single Note blended with a thick cream, soft saffron, and, weirdly, just a little carbonation and sassafras? To my nose, at least, BPAL's French Vanilla SN is pretty but with a waxy tone I've run into in one of my own plain vanilla oils, and don't love. Love's Philosophy is like a vanilla candle's more sumptuous (and a touch presumptuous) next-door neighbor: creamy and lush and better-than-thou, yet somehow charming and excusable. I spilled some of this on my forearm once, and reveled in the cloud of cream.

Love's Philosophy doesn't change after drydown on me, except to soften. I like it, even if it's not the absolute best vanilla ever.

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This one opens smelling like Birch Beer (which is like a slightly minty Root Beer) and stays that way for about 15-20min

Then it dries down to a creamy vanilla that somehow smells slightly chilled with out still being minty anymore, like you took vanilla cream out of the fridge

I really like it in both phases

I wish it lasted a bit longer on my skin though ( I only get a few hours wear)

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In the bottle and wet, I get a weird wintergreen rootbeer/cream soda mashup that I'm definitely kinda diggin'. A few moments on my skin and omg we have nostril searing not-quite Ben-Gay! If there was actual burning involved, I'd say Tiger Balm because it really does smell more like that, herbal instead of medicinal. I am a sad panda :( I'll give it the benefit of the doubt because none of these should be bad notes in any way on me and based on other reviews, this might take a bit to calm down. Nope. Nopenopenope. I gave it hours. It went play-doh, then rancid. I have NO idea why. Something just isn't meshing well when it really should be, like I said these are really REALLY good notes on me. I suspect the saffron isn't playing well with the cream because I've noticed it can be touchy. Ah well. At least I got to experience this blend which has been on my bucket list for awhile now :)

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2016 version:

 

I've got mixed feelings about this scent.

In the wet stage it starts out sharp and acrid. I smell acetone.

 

Once dry, the acetone aspect goes away but is replaced by the faint smell of band-aids.

I can smell all the notes listed too: vanilla, saffron, and cream. The part of the scent where these three notes combine is really wonderful.

However; I can't get past that lingering band-aid smell hovering under my nose.

 

Its too bad really.

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2016 version

 

In the decant: This is a weird smell... First sniff is vanilla and then.. Mint? Pine? A bit astringent and not at all what I expected from this.

 

On me: So freaking weird. Pine and mint with an almost dusty smell. Vanilla is typically very dominant om my skin, so I'm surprised I don't smell any in here. There's also something that reads as commercial perfume, maybe alcohol-y? For a very short while the vanilla makes an appearance I get vanilla ice cream with pine. And then a blast of saffron. And then it goes back to dusty pine and mint.

 

This is not at all what I expected and if it doesn't change with some aging, it is not for me.

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