To choose an Adi ale Van perfume, start from what you already like to wear, then ask yourself how far you are willing to go with strong notes. The thirteen extraits available at Passion Parfum fall into three groups: a majority of pastry gourmands, a few brighter fruity scents and a set of smoky or leathery perfumes. If you are new to the house, begin with Decembrie 89 as a 2 ml sample: it gives you a reference point for judging the others. The story of the house and a presentation of each perfume are in our article on the Adi ale Van house.
Choose your Adi ale Van perfume by taste
You like gourmands
This is the largest group in the house, and the most consistent on paper. All five gourmands have an intensity rated 4 out of 5 and a stated longevity of 10 to 12 hours. What sets them apart is what comes with the sugar.
Decembrie 89 is the most straightforward: apple, orange and lemon up top, then vanilla bean and hazelnut, over three vanillas and rum. Its product page presents it as the easiest perfume in the house to love. Cozonac leans towards brioche, with panettone, panna cotta, orange blossom and candied fruit. Miez focuses on spice and cereal: cinnamon, gingerbread, oat flakes and hazelnuts, then chocolate, vanilla and sugar. Oven Veil starts from chocolate and brownie, then drifts towards pumpkin and clove.
The fifth, Coliva, stands apart. Its family is listed as "incense gourmand". It opens on licorice, absinthe, frankincense and coffee, moves through baked bread and orris, and ends on labdanum, butter, amber and vanilla, with animalic notes and musk. Its product page recommends it to people who want a gourmand that is more than a dessert. If you love vanilla but not incense, keep it for later.
You prefer fresh or fruity scents
Four perfumes in the house have a freshness rated 4 or 5 out of 5. Hai Hui is the only one at 5. It pairs pineapple, black pepper, peppermint and cardamom, then elemi, almond and fig, over a base of vetiver and papyrus. Its sillage is rated 3, quieter than most of the others.
Dulce plai stays fruity from start to finish, with mandarin, blackberry, yuzu, guava, pomelo and peach. Its base of milk jam and sugar brings it close to the gourmands. It is a good choice if you like sweetness but want something lighter. Melancolie opens sparkling, on passion fruit, ginger and a champagne accord, and finishes powdery, on ambrette, orris and mahogany wood. It has the shortest stated longevity of the group, 6 to 8 hours.
The fourth, Mezcal My Love, opens fresh with grapefruit, mint and ginger. Its heart is smoky, with a mezcal accord and agave syrup, and its base is woody and green. It bridges the fruity and the smoky perfumes of the house.
You are looking for smoke, tobacco or leather
Four perfumes cover this ground, at very different levels of difficulty. Labels of Feelings is the most approachable: a heart of white flowers, lily of the valley, magnolia and jasmine, set between a fruity top cut with juniper tar and a base of leather, frankincense and smoke. It is also the least concentrated of the thirteen, at 25%. Adiere starts from a Cuba Libre and cola accord, then brings in tobacco, whisky and leather, before a base of smoke, vanilla, cocoa and oud. The vanilla in the base makes it rounder than the next two.
Leaves in the wind and Gun Shadows are the only two perfumes in the house with an intensity rated 5 out of 5. We compare them below. If leather in perfumery interests you, our article on leather in perfumery explains where these birch, tar and castoreum effects come from.
Similar perfumes, two by two
Decembrie 89 or Cozonac
These are the two festive perfumes of the house, and the Cozonac product page presents it as the warm, homely counterpart to Decembrie 89. They share vanilla, rum, hazelnut and citrus top notes. The difference lies in the heart. Decembrie 89 stays centred on vanilla, with a fruity freshness that lingers, according to its product page. Cozonac is more of a pastry and more milky, with panna cotta and orange blossom, then candied fruit in the base. It is also more concentrated, at 40% against 32%.
As for seasons, Cozonac is suggested for winter and evenings, and its product page mentions December. Decembrie 89 is suggested for autumn and winter, in the evening, and all year round for vanilla lovers. If you can only choose one, Decembrie 89 can be worn over a longer part of the year.
Miez or Oven Veil
Both are by Jimmy Bodin, concentrated at 40%, with the same stated longevity. Miez is the simpler one: seven materials, spice, cereal and sugar. It is also the least fresh perfume in the whole house, with a freshness rated 1 out of 5. Oven Veil is broader. Cherry brings acidity to the chocolate, pumpkin and clove give a spicy, slightly vegetal heart, and the product page describes a roasted, dry base without too much sugar.
Choose Miez if you want a soft, easy to read gourmand. Choose Oven Veil if vanilla on its own feels a little thin to you, which is exactly what its product page says.
Leaves in the wind or Gun Shadows
These are the two most challenging perfumes in the house, for different reasons. Leaves in the wind, composed by Michele Marin with 60% natural materials, is dense and animalic. After black pepper, tobacco and cinnamon, it brings in birch, smoke, frankincense and leather, then a base of oud, civet, castoreum, patchouli and dust. Its product page reserves it for lovers of dense compositions.
Gun Shadows, made by the artist himself at 40%, is more conceptual. It opens on metallic notes and a blood accord, then moves through an aged spirit and a cheap cigarette accord, before a base of wood, oud, old newspaper and ink. Its product page puts it plainly: it is not easy. It also has the longest stated longevity, more than 12 hours.
If you like smoky leathers and animalic bases, try Leaves in the wind first. If you are after a dry, unusual scent rather than a leather, Gun Shadows will speak to you more.
From the most approachable to the most demanding
The product pages give ratings out of 5 for intensity, longevity, sillage, projection and freshness. They do not measure the same thing, as our article on longevity and sillage explains. Read alongside the descriptions, they make it possible to rank the thirteen perfumes by how easy they are to approach.
The most approachable are Decembrie 89, which its product page calls an ideal entry point into the house, and Dulce plai, which its product page also recommends to anyone who finds the house intimidating. Hai Hui and Melancolie have an intensity rated 3 and a sillage rated 3, which makes them the most discreet. Miez, despite its 40%, remains easy to read.
Next come the perfumes that ask you to like one particular trait. Cozonac and Oven Veil are very gourmand and very long lasting. Coliva asks you to like incense. Mezcal My Love asks you to like smoke, Adiere tobacco and leather. Labels of Feelings sits at the start of this group, thanks to its floral heart.
Leaves in the wind and Gun Shadows bring up the rear. Keep them for last, once you know the style of the house.
By season and time of day, when the product page says so
Each product page suggests a time of day and seasons. For spring and summer, during the day, the choices are Hai Hui, Dulce plai, Mezcal My Love and Melancolie, whose product page adds that it also works in the evening. Labels of Feelings is the only one suggested for every season, day and evening.
For autumn and winter, the choice is wider. Miez is suggested for daytime. Oven Veil and Coliva work both during the day and in the evening. Decembrie 89, Adiere, Leaves in the wind and Gun Shadows are evening perfumes. Cozonac is the most specific, suggested for winter evenings only.
An order for trying them with 2 ml samples
All thirteen perfumes come in 50 ml and 2 ml, and all are available in both sizes at the time of writing. The 2 ml costs from €13 to €20 depending on the perfume, most of them €14, while the 50 ml ranges from €220 to €350. The bottles are painted and assembled by hand, and production starts when you order, so allow some time before shipping. That is one more reason to try before you buy.
Test one perfume a day, on your skin, and note what is left after four hours and again in the evening. These extraits are concentrated: one spray is enough to judge. Our guide to 2 ml samples explains the method in detail.
For a first discovery of the house, we suggest this order:
- Decembrie 89, as a reference.
- Dulce plai or Hai Hui, depending on whether you prefer sweet or fresh.
- Labels of Feelings, to approach the smoky side through flowers.
- Coliva, which links gourmand and incense.
- Leaves in the wind, if you liked the previous two.
Gun Shadows comes after that, only if Leaves in the wind did not put you off. If you already know you love gourmands, the order changes: Decembrie 89, then Miez, Oven Veil and Cozonac, with Coliva last. Comparing Miez and Oven Veil a day apart is the quickest way to find out whether you prefer softness or spice.
How to order samples is explained on our samples page.
Frequently asked questions
What is the most popular Adi ale Van perfume?
According to its product page, it is Decembrie 89, a vanilla gourmand by Jimmy Bodin. The Hai Hui product page also presents it as one of the most popular.
Which Adi ale Van perfume should you wear in summer?
The product pages list four perfumes for spring and summer: Hai Hui, Dulce plai, Melancolie and Mezcal My Love. Hai Hui is the freshest. Mezcal My Love suits you if you like a touch of smoke.
Which Adi ale Van perfume lasts the longest?
Gun Shadows states more than 12 hours. Decembrie 89, Cozonac, Miez, Oven Veil, Coliva and Leaves in the wind state 10 to 12 hours. Melancolie is the shortest, at 6 to 8 hours. Actual longevity also depends on your skin.
Are Adi ale Van perfumes unisex?
All thirteen product pages say "unisex". The choice therefore comes down to the notes, as we explain in our article on unisex perfume.
How much does an Adi ale Van sample cost?
The 2 ml costs from €13 to €20 depending on the perfume, most of them €14. The two most expensive are Leaves in the wind and Gun Shadows, which are also the most expensive in 50 ml.
To see all thirteen perfumes together, visit our Adi ale Van page. Samples can be ordered from each product page, and our samples page brings together the useful information. For the story of the house and its perfumers, read our profile of the Adi ale Van house.