A placeholder no more

I discovered this perfume while I was sampling iris and trying (in parallel) to hunt down my White Whale (YSLVelours). The iris presentation struck me immediately as similar to the one in Velours: dense, earthy, chewy. But it didn’t stay there—it shape shifted to a vegetal (carrot-like) iris making it wholly unique. It would scratch the itch YSL made. It would serve as a placeholder. I was gifted a bottle for Mother’s Day and as I wore it, it stopped being a placeholder for Velours. The vanilla here is so pretty. It’s the vanilla pod vanilla rather than gourmand. I found myself returning to it day after day, my husband complimenting it each time. While the two have similar iris notes, VDA is unique and special all on its own. It demanded of me separate respect.