Bourdeaux II

Bourdeaux II opens with a tart bitter orange and bergamot that balances the spice to come. The heart is the heart of the original: a strong, yummy cinnamon laced with immortelle - that maple-and-salty-sea-breeze flower - over a touch of musk. The drydown is mainly creamy vanilla, spiced lightly with lingering cinnamon and rounded by tonka and sandalwood. It chases L de Lolita Lempicka, a beloved (now discontinued) oriental vanilla that balanced sweet creamy vanilla, zesty citrus, cinnamon and immortelle. This budget version captures the cinnamon-vanilla DNA but renders flatter and a touch sweeter: the cinnamon and vanilla read up front, while the distinctive salty immortelle and the original's huge sillage are dialled back. Where the real L projects strongly and lasts ten hours, this version settles closer to the skin within a few hours. As a cosy, sweet spiced-vanilla for autumn and winter evenings and dates it delivers the comforting warmth people miss about the original; just without its power or its salty twist.