Beauty Care: Maison Tahite VaneXstasy Perfume Review

Maison Tahite VaneXstasy Eau de Parfum was a milky caramel–somewhat coconutty, sort of vanilla–but almost entirely a barely-there cloud of subtle sweetness for its entire duration on my skin. This was a scent I had to test multiple times because it was so short-wearing and hard to detect within minutes of application!

VaneXstasy Notes

It is described as being “immersed in the millennia-old scents of vanilla absolute and precious and sensual sandalwood.” Here are the notes:

top notes: coconut milk and caramel accord
heart notes: vanilla absolute, balsam of Peru essential oil
base notes: sandalwood essential oil, cedarwood essential oil

What does VaneXstasy Smell Like?

It opened with warm, boozy vanilla–not overly sugary or cake-like–softened with swirls of coconut milk and a diffusion of caramel. There was a lightness to the scent, even in those opening moments, where I wondered if I did not apply enough. The caramel became the most distinctive, slightly ahead of vanilla and coconut milk.

There was little progression from the opening moments through the drydown; the changes were quite minute, and the fragrance itself seemed particularly weak–and less of a preference so much as an objective point to make. I tried it on two separate occasions (totally different days) because the opening was intense for about a minute or two and then so soft and hazy that it made for more challenging work to discern notes and shifts over time. I didn’t find it was any better the second time around with nearly six sprays from the branded sample spray (from their discovery set).

It was primarily milky caramel, slightly sweet and honey-like rather than really dark and caramelly, with wafts of vanilla and a perfume-like facet–enough to prevent it from being photorealistic, which I imagine was the addition of balsam and woods, at best. The drydown was less milky, sort of woodier but so subtle even with my nose pressed up against my skin.

Longevity

It lasted for a half hour until it was a skin-scent and about three hours before it was quite difficult to detect on my skin. The sillage and projection were almost minimal from a few minutes after application!

Personal Notes

I’ve had really lovely wear experiences with other scents from this fragrance house, so the weakness of this scent was unexpected and certainly made for a more forgettable experience!

These are more subjective feelings based on what I like (or don’t like) in a perfume as well as considering the fragrance against other perfumes I own and love.

Testing Methodology

For testing, I tried using three sprays from the discovery set sample vial and then a second test using six sprays from the same vial. I used an unscented moisturizer prior to applying the scent as I found scent did not hold well here otherwise.

I purchased my sample in January 2022; fragrances are known to be reformulated over their lifetime, so be mindful of when a review was made, e.g. a review from 2010 may not reflect what the same-named perfume smells like in 2022.

Availability

VaneXstasy is available for $120/100ml.

If possible, I highly recommend trying a fragrance before purchasing a full bottle because fragrance can wear differently just because of skin chemistry. Skin chemistry can effect not just the longevity of a fragrance but also what notes are prominent or hidden.

VaneXstasy Samples

We recommend the following retailers for purchasing decanted samples (typically 0.7ml to 2ml in size). This is a fuller list, so individual availability may depend on inventory.