I recently acquired two more Gorilla Fragrances to add to my Lush perfume collection: Vanillary (liquid spray) and All Good Things (solid balm). I received them at at the latest Bloggers United event hosted at Lush’s QVB store.

Vanillary

Vanillary has become my new everyday fragrance. As you can tell from the name, this is a hardcore vanilla fragrance! It’s not sweet, simple and lightweight like you might expect, but a spicy, buttery, full-bodied vanilla that’s gorgeously warm and sunny on the skin. There’s also a healthy blast of jasmine, especially at the beginning (it’s supposed to be less pronounced in the solid perfume) and tonka bean, which adds a creamy, brown-around-the-edges, caramelised toffee character in the middle and base. After a few hours it’s a lot less floral and mostly creamy, comforting and oh-so-sniffable – my sister says it “smells like cookies”. It’s reminiscent of the tonka drydown of the limited edition Twilight perfume. The sillage is great – one spray is enough, unless you want to offend everyone around you, and the creamy base lingers on your clothes for days. If you like creamy scents, this will probably be up your alley!

Vanillary and the other Lush Gorilla perfumes come in square glass bottles now, which are much sturdier than the narrow-bottomed black painted bottles they used to use. The old bottles still give me frequent heart attacks when they fling themselves off my dresser (totally not my fault for being clumsy, obviously…).

All Good Things

Here’s how Lush describes All Good Things:

“Succumb to this rich, sensual and smoky blend of all good things. Both bitter and sweet, representing a parting of ways and celebrating new beginnings. A sweet, boozy stumble down a dark basement staircase will leave you in a blissed-out cloud of candyfloss and black pepper.”

I initially thought from the name and the sunny yellow packaging that this perfume would be a blend of pleasant, inoffensive scents, but the name actually comes from the phrase “all good things must come to an end”. Instead of a straightforward cheerful perfume, it’s an unusual, quirky blend of smoky and creamy notes.

Upon application, All Good Things smells like it does in the tub: a smoky, woody, incense-like mix of burnt cedarwood and pepper. Quite quickly (less than an hour) the woods fade a bit, giving way to rose and creamy tonka bean with a hint of citrus, reminiscent of a less sugary version of the scent Lush uses for Rose Jam and Ro’s Argan Body Conditioner – the slightly spicy woods are still there though, keeping the scent from becoming too predictable. It reminds me a lot of the smell of a Lush store, weirdly, but stripped back and less brashly in-your-face. I wasn’t expecting to like it much, and I wasn’t a fan the first time I wore it, but its unusual but comforting scent has really grown on me. If you decide to try this, make sure you try it on your skin and let it develop over a few hours!

I’ve only tried the solid perfume, which comes in a lip balm-style tub and has gold shimmer in it (for my fellow skincare freaks, the balm is made of jojoba oil, castor oil and candelilla wax). It lasts around 3-4 hours on me if I apply a few layers generously, but it stays pretty close to the skin and doesn’t project much. I’m yet to try the liquid perfume, but in general, the sprays last longer and project more. I’m looking forward to dousing myself in the spray next time I pass a Lush store! (And trying out all of their other perfumes…)

These products were gifted at a blogger event, which did not affect my opinion. For more information, see Disclosure Policy.