VARENSIA by Ulric de Varens

Brand: Ulric de Varens ^{pronounce in French} 
Perfume: Varensia
Concentration: edp
Notes:* top - aldehydes, bergamot orange, raspberry, cloves
             middle - jasmine, rose, geranium, ylang-ylang, lotus flower
             base - patchouli, vetiver, sandalwood, cistus, vanilla, benzoin

♔Ingredients: Alcohol Denat. (80% vol.), Aqua (Water), Parfum (Fragrance), Butyl Methoxydibenzoylmethane, Ethylhexyl Methoxycinnamate, Alpha-Isomethyl Ionone, Amyl Cinnamal, Benzyl Alcohol, Benzyl Benzoate, Benzyl Cinnamate, Benzyl Salicylate, Cinnamyl Alcohol, Citral, Citronellol, Coumarin, Eugenol, Evernia Prunastri (Oakmoss) Extract, Geraniol, Hydroxycitronellal, Isoeugenol, Limonene, Linalool, CI 19140 (FD&C Yellow n°5), CI 14700 (FD&C Red 4), CI 17200 (D&C Red 33)

♔Information on the packaging: Parfums Ulric de Varens, 6 rue de Berri, 75008, Paris

♔Brand owner (now): --- - ulric-de-varens.com

♔Made in France.

 Varensia smells fruity and creamy. The fruit is more in the apricot-peach territory, barely jammy, maybe with a slight tropical nuance, and here I am thinking of pineapple, which adds a subdued tartness. The creaminess makes me think of vanilla custard, but does not take a gourmand route; I see a resemblance to Sacrebleu intense by Nicolaï parfumeur-créateur.

As time goes by, Varensia acquires a powdery facet and it seems more mature, warm and feminine. Combined with the fruity tartness, it makes for an extremely pleasant smell. The juxtaposition of apricot, peach and powder hints at Histoire d'amour by Aubousson.

The perfume has the right amount of sweetness which is kept at bay by the smoothness of the powder. It also shows a barely-there animal side, maybe greasy and metallic in the far background, and this enhances even further the fragrance character.

I must say that Varensia is fickle. Depending on the weather and the material it is sprayed on, it can partially change its smell. I encountered two situations.

The first one was when I applied it on bare skin, on a very cold day. I was greeted with a diluted version of Youth Dew by Estée Lauder and its Coca-Cola component. And I liked that.

The second case was when I sprayed it on a polyester sweater. It transformed into a dusty, fake woody and sweet smell, unidimensional and quite unpleasant.

Overall, Varensia is a tiny synthetic and because of it I am deducting one point from the 9 I wanted to give it. Having said that, Varensia is here to stay.

My verdict: 8 out of 10.
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* The notes were taken from ulric-de-varens.com