Best Fatale Intense by Agent Provocateur Alternatives & Similar Perfumes

Vanilla’s in the name, but it’s not the name of the game, here. Instead, vanilla’s a team player with sticky, resinous labdanum, enigmatic orris and dark’n’dirty vertiver and patchouli. White chocolate smooths out the rough edges, while a lick of licorice adds an exclamation point!

From the heart of the Mediterranean scrub, where the air hums with resin and sun-drenched leaves, Ladano rises — a fragrance shaped by the slow pulse of Cistus ladanifer. For centuries, this golden resin has been gathered from the wool of animals, breathing its scent into fabric and skin. Here, labdanum glows rather than burns — thick, balsamic, embracing. It’s animated by tickly aromatics: licorice, celery seed, cinnamon leaf and immortelle.

Feret Parfumeur, a French family business producing toiletries and perfumes since 1865 are launching a classic theme of patchouli and spices but with a contemporary linear architecture and lovely playful licorice twist.  

“In rifleing the closet of the ladie, they found a pipe of oyntement, wherewith she greased a staffe, upon which she ambled and galloped through thick and thin, when and in what manner she listed”
– Proceedings Against Dame Alice Kyteler, Prosecuted for Sorcery, 1324

Hexensalbe, also known as witches’ flying ointment, was a hallucinogenic salve used in witchcraft in the middle ages. It was a mixture of extremely poisonous ingredients that produced an ecstatic trance with powerful sensations of flying, images of otherworldly creatures and a primal sexual hunger. 

But where did the witches’ broomstick come in? The ointment was too poisonous to eat, so instead it was applied to other soft membranes, commonly the genitals. Because of the erotic effects of the high, the salve would often be rubbed directly onto a phallic object like the end of a staff or a broomstick. (Now that’s what we call “riding a broomstick”!)

Given which aspects of the history of hexensalbe have been suppressed, it would seem that the one thing more terrifying than witches is female sexuality. This fragrance celebrates the forbidden rituals of personal power, summoning the ancient ways with dark aromatics: wormwood, liquorice, belladonna and black hemlock. Voluptuous tuberose and vibrant patchouli ensure a long and blissful trip.

I was inspired while visiting Kew Gardens in London in May. Every May there are hundreds of blooming magnolia trees in different sorts, sizes, scents and colours. Usually it is a very rainy season and my inspiration was to create a scent of the water and rain on magnolia trees.  

The symbol of this modern perfume is an American modern dance pioneer Ruth St. Denis. She is not only a very talented performer, but also very feminine. 

Divine Dancer is an ethereal, watercoloured, light, fresh, feminine floral perfume. It is modern and vivacious fruity floral scent .

The Divine Dancer perfume is dedicated to one of the first American modern dance and ballet performers Ruth St. Denis.

Her vibrant and spirited art of dance, influenced by the East and South Asia, her divine body move and incredible costumes made Ruth St. Denis a worldwide well known star. Her body projects as Temple of femininity. 

When the dancer emerged from the darkness of the stage, her presence was immediately captivating, the air suddenly fragrant with her appearance. Adorned in jewels from head to toe, radiant in a special gold sari, her hair crowned in jasmine, she is an embodiment of divine feminine, mirroring the images of goddesses of Lakshmi and Saraswati but with the talented Ruth St. Denis touch of modern dance and ballet movement.

The name Pushpak comes from the Sanskrit for “season of flowers”, and this extrait is inspired by the essence of first love. Love’s first touch is summoned with notes of white champaca and osmanthus absolute, with fruity notes of peach and apricot. The warmth of a first hug is suggested by the glow of vanilla and amber, with tonka bean absolute and Thai oud deepening the experience. A tender whisper of powdery musk remains delicately present throughout.

Anna's blends are more like smell experiences or perfume escapes, pure fun for connoisseurs looking for something beyond perfumes created with the help of modern synthetic materials.

Being natural only blends, the perfumes have a very peculiar projection: close to skin, quiet but excitingly complex upon a closer sniff.

Please note: 15 ml and 8 ml EdPs come with a spray and the 4.5 ml perfume comes in a tiny splash bottle.

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Please be aware that natural perfumery has to be patch tested before continual wear.

Important notice:

Anna Zworykina’s blends are olfactive smellscapes (but neither aromatherapy, nor ‘spray-and-go’ perfumes). Her blends are sensory experiences, closer to works of art created in the scented plane (rather than, say, visual or audio).

Certain essential oils and absolutes that are used in her 100% natural perfumes may potentially cause allergies in some people. Please spray Anna Zworykina’s blends on fabric (on sleeves, scarves, etc.). This said, Anna Zworykina has acquired a huge fan base over many years and people interacted with her blends for quite a while now. We are not aware of any reports of any skin reactions so far.

However, Anna advises that those who are prone to allergic reactions, pregnant and nursing women, as well as people with chronic illnesses to be extra careful. Before trying natural blends, study the list of ingredients and consult with a doctor if you are not sure or a had a history of allergies. If you do decide to put these blends on your skin (unable to resist the temptation) always test the blend on the inside part of your elbow first and wait.

Do not spray these blends liberally as a cloud in the way you would spray a conventional perfume. Anna’s smellscapes need to be… carefully applied and experienced. Be mindful that some oils can also make your skin hyper-sensitive to UV.

A sultry heat wafts across the land, lapped up greedily by the abundant flora that thrives in its midst. Trees soar to majestic heights and plants flower for the first time, their petals spreading to give birth to a world rich in diversity. The Cretaceous period comes of age against a backdrop scorched by wildfire and lightning strikes. Over this turbulent landscape, a massive predator looms. Giants rule the earth, but even giants can be cut down within the powerful jaws of the fearsome tyrannosaur. Standing tall, the terrifying beast fears nothing, until that pivotal moment when a fire in the sky signals the end of their deadly reign.

Zoologist Tyrannosaurus Rex is a gargantuan scent that sinks its teeth into the world of delicate fragrances and rips it wide open. Primitive woods and florals seize you and snatch you away to an ancient era. Smoky, charred wood warns of the danger of smouldering fire, setting your senses on edge, while droplets of metallic rose oxide offer a chilling premonition of blood-lust. The mighty Tyrannosaurus Rex is sometimes menacing, sometimes fascinating, but never, ever ordinary.

Native to Central America, vanilla is an orchid which lives as a liana hanging off trees in humid tropical forests. Wild vanilla harvesters roam the dense jungle to find the precious vanilla fruit.

Cultivating vanilla pods is hard and delicate work. Each flower has to be pollinated manually by a master pollinator, impregnating each flower with a finger. This process is actually called “marriage”.

Several varieties of vanilla exist, and the most vibrant is the vanilla tahitensis. The fruit ripens naturally without human intervention, spontaneously releasing the typical warm, exotic and sweet notes.

Perris bestowed upon us a beautiful Tahitian vanilla blend with their new perfume Vanille de Tahiti.

Gian Luca Perris, the nose behind the new perfume, shares the uniqueness of this vanilla in an exotic and gourmand fragrance.

« I dreamed of giving voice to the soft scent of vanilla flower rather than the sweet aroma of vanilla most commonly used in perfumery. Thanks to excellent raw materials like this vanilla tahintesis, I was finally able to realize my olfactory painting. »

Vanille de Tahiti is a symphony of warm, exotic and gentle sweet notes. A powerful and enveloping vanilla is enriched with floral notes of ylang ylang and champaca, while warm notes of amber mingle with musk and sandalwood.

« I dreamed of giving voice to the soft scent of vanilla flower other than the sweetest aroma typical of vanilla most commonly used in perfumery. Thanks to the exclusive raw materials of excellence, like this vanilla tahintesis, I was finally able to realize my olfactory painting ».

Vanille de Tahiti is a symphony of warm, exotic and gentle sweet notes. A powerful and enveloping vanilla is enriched with floral notes of ylang ylang and champaka, while chanting warm notes of amber mingle with musk and sandalwood.

Champaca is a tiny flower with a big personality: heady, insinuating, almost syrupy, vibrating between the rich sweetness of orange blossom and magnolia.

It is also tea-like, which is why it blends so shimmeringly with mate leaves.The addition of jasmine grandiflorum heightens the drama, while raspy vetiver leavens the syrup with a cloud of dusty smoke.

Afternoon Tea brings the whole party: the finger cakes, the floral arrangements, and above all, the tea.