Eau Duelle, AKA a "vanilla for grown ups", manages to stand up from the innumerable crowd of vanilla fragrances thanks to a spicy-musky-resiny combination that delivers something quite unique: besides a concrete, sweet but not sugary bourbon vanilla as a top note, I can smell spices, namely cardamom, pink pepper, juniper and saffron; then come a bunch of resins to give it substantiality: elemi, olibanum, ambergris... and a squeeze of bergamot, plus black tea, to add some sharpness and prevent the baker's shop effect. The musky base adds warmth and skinlike effect.
It's a nice and pleasant fragrance, but it somewhat lacks some personality. It's the kind of fragrance one would wear at a Sunday function, or at a job interview. It would be lovely as a scent for my favourite body lotion, but I go for something wilder when I have to chose a fragrance.
So, even if I agree in calling this a "grown up vanilla", I'd leave it for the younger girls (in fact, there's also a slight bubble gum and candy impression in the overall effect).

Certainly not "young" and fresh, but more mature and ridiculously elegant. Starts out as a light, but distinctly apt version of Fendi's old Theorema; a beautiful, Oriental, Spicy fragrance. As far as I can tell it was discontinued. Betsey Johnson's Eau de Perfume ripped it off, but in a much less classy vein. Eau Duelle is definitely a higher-end version of it to start. Much more subtle. Then, it begins to change once it settles. Following the initial stage, we have a nutmeg vanilla with a hint of caramel. Still Oriental, still spicy, yet subtle. Very soft. The nuances of it really have to be sniffed. Then a Cedar Vanilla comes out with notes of Nutmeg spice. Almost a milky quality to it. Smooth, soft and spicy, but rich. Your mileage may vary depending on the your chemistry. UPDATE: After sniffing it on and off for about a month, I totally fell in love. The cedar/sandalwood vanilla steadily began to charm me and now I am looking to find a larger bottle of it on Ebay. While I wouldn't pay the retail price for this for any fragrance, I would jump at the chance to get my hands on another decently priced bottle.

This is sooo pretty but I have to ask...does this not remind anyone of POTL? It's a dead-ringer to me and much less expensive. Plus, I love the fact that it comes in a solid form for travel. Love this!

I love this. I keep coming back to this, winter or summer, and that's saying a lot since I'm always checking out new scents. Never really considered myself a vanilla person (still don't) but the vanilla note in this isn't sickly sweet at all. The combo of (not sweet) vanilla and incense is addicting. I only wish it lasted longer. I saw diptyque recently announced a series of "intense" or parfum versions of some of their EDTs but sadly this one is not one of them :( Gave it a 5 for price because I see myself finishing the bottle pretty soon, from always reapplying. But I'll very likely repurchase The packaging is gorgeous as with all diptyque products. Love that you can see the backside of the front picture through the bottle when you turn it around.

I really like Eau Duelle ....... it is very light and not very long-lasting but on my skin I pick up the vanilla and musk ........ I just wish that it lasted longer as I find myself having to refresh during the day, however, it is a nice everyday fragrance and great for those who don't like stronger scents...... not one of my favorite vanilla's but very close ...... I will repurchase.

I would have loved an incense-and-cardamom vanilla, but alas, this is almost entirely straight-up bourbon vanilla on me, from start to finish. Too sweet, too heavy. Not sure what happened here. But worth a shot if you adore vanilla! I like mine mixed down a bit more than this.

This is beautiful, warm, and comforting, with the familiarity of vanilla, but the intrigue of all the unusual notes. This smells like vanilla, exotic, spiced hot chocolate, and freshly chopped wood. Sophisticated, yet edible. Delicious and surprising.

This is quite different and if this fragrance was a person, he/she would be the kind of person who says a whole lot without saying too much. It smells very unisex and is very smooth. It smells like actual sawdust from an evergreen tree upon first spritz/dab. Then the vanilla comes in and shares the spotlight. Overall it reminds me of eating sugar cookies next to a freshly cut Christmas tree. Comforting, unique, and understated. Too bad it doesn't last on my skin for more than an hour, or else it would be a definite purchase.

Aaah, Eau Duelle...it is so comforting and cozy. The opening is reminiscent of a vanilla gin martini - herbally, dry, with a hint of creamy vanilla. I get a lot of cardamom and juniper at the beginning, which soften as the scent dries down, but they never completely disappear. Those two notes for me is what keeps this scent refreshing and exhilarating.The vanilla becomes more prominent as the scent develops, but this is not your typical vanilla. It kind of reminds me of the vanilla used in Atelier Vanille Insensee. In fact, I would definitely put them in the same category. I am very impressed by Eau Duelle because it has managed to change the way I think of vanilla and how it is used in perfumery. Ever since I joined MUA, I have discovered and fallen in love with perfumes that I never thought I would ever like. When a perfume has the ability to surprise you and make you realize things about yourself that you didn't recognize before, well, that's how you know you've found something special.

This perfume really surprised me, as I had some idea in my head that Diptque only made heavy headachey scents. Salesgirl at Fred Segal convinced me to sniff Eau Duelle, and I was intrigued. Smells very creamy and slightly dense with a chai like aspect, but not sweet. Cardamom, nutmeg, pale vanilla. It's a tad green and tea like but still cozy. There's a nice tension for me in this, which also makes it a bit iffy for my migraine prone head, that slight coolness on top of what's otherwise a warm base. I prefer the solid, which comes in a beautiful heavy compact with a irresistible magnetic hinge lid. Very satisfying to open and close. Bit heavy for size if you were hoping for light travel compact, but feels lovely and indulgent in hand. Pretty on shelf. I would consider this a fall/winter scent just because of the spiciness and sort of condensed milk quality. Medium sillage with the solid. It's fairly strong in close but doesn't waft a ton. Only lasts three or so hours, but EDP might be different. Not much transition from open to close. Top herbally notes mellow just a bit. Dry down fairly true to opening though. No weird musky uriney residues as some perfumes leave behind, thank goodness. Not a traditional vanilla at all. On me the vanilla is almost non-existent, it's really all cardamom and milk. Really love mixed with Phylosykos to tame the slight sharpness of greeny spices down.