French Avenue Liquid Brun vs NEH The Element

Vanilla gourmands are a category where you pay the most for a niche name, even though the ingredients often repeat. These two are exceptions: Liquid Brun costs €52 for a hundred millilitres, The Element €125 for fifty. The first is among the cheapest per millilitre in our range, the second an extrait at a price that's low for an extrait.

Property	Liquid Brun	NEH The Element
House	French Avenue	NEH
Concentration	EDP	Extrait
Top notes	cinnamon, bergamot, cardamom, orange blossom	mandora, lychee
Heart notes	bourbon vanilla, elemi	tonka, elemi, rose
Base notes	musk, praline, ambroxan, guaiac wood	benzoin, patchouli, caramel, vanilla, ambroxan, oakmoss
Profile	sweet, spiced vanilla with cinnamon	vanilla with caramel and a fruity opening
Longevity (community rating)	6–12 hours	6–8 hours
Sillage (community rating)	Strong	Moderate to strong
Full bottle	€52 / 100 ml	€125 / 50 ml
Price per millilitre	€0.52	€2.50
Decant 5 ml	€8	€18
Decant 10 ml	€15	€32

Liquid Brun is vanilla with spices: cinnamon and cardamom up top, Bourbon vanilla in the heart, praline and ambroxan underneath. It smells expensive and projects strongly, which at €0.52 per millilitre is why so many people have heard of it at all. The Element starts differently — mandora and lychee give a fruity, almost fresh opening, and only then come tonka, caramel and vanilla. Being an extrait, it's denser and more rounded, though according to community ratings not necessarily longer-lasting. If you want the most scent for the least money, the answer is clear and it's spelled Liquid Brun. If the spices bother you and you want a softer, fruitier vanilla, The Element is worth five times the price per millilitre — but that's a decision best made with a decant in hand.

Is Liquid Brun really that cheap?

Yes — €52 for 100 ml is €0.52 per millilitre, which puts it among the cheapest in our range; only Vulcan Feu from the same house is cheaper. A 5 ml decant costs €8. That's not a pricing error, but a difference in what the house pays for its name and packaging.

What does it mean that The Element is an extrait?

That it has a higher share of perfume oils than an EDP, so a smaller application is enough and the scent develops more slowly. It doesn't necessarily mean longer longevity, though — according to community ratings, with this pair it's actually the other way round.

Which is better for winter?

Both, but Liquid Brun more so. Cinnamon and cardamom are winter spices that work better in the cold than in the heat. With lychee and mandora, The Element is a little more all-season.

Are they suitable for a beginner?

Yes, and precisely because of the price. For less than €30 you can try five millilitres of each and find out whether you're in the vanilla-gourmand camp at all — before you take on things that cost €300 a bottle.