Vanilla
Vanilla, originating mainly from Madagascar, Tahiti and Mexico is a versatile ingredient used in a variety of industries including patisserie, cooking, perfumery, and beauty. Its cultivation requires great care and precision. Its gourmand, intense and warm perfume makes it a note used in numerous perfumes and it has made its mark on history from its early use to the present day.
What does vanilla smell like in perfumery?
In perfumery, vanilla can reveal different facets, making it gourmand, smoky, spicy, liquorish, powdery, or even woody. Vanilla can be extracted in a variety of ways for use in perfumes, but the most common extraction is with volatile solvents. We then obtain a vanilla absolute with balmy, round, and deep notes. This absolute is used as a base note in perfumes as it has a low volatility that reveals it after a few moments and allows it to last a long time. This ingredient is widely used for its facets and effects that it brings to perfumes. The vanilla brings depth, comfort, trail, and a gourmand effect to a composition.
Why does vanilla smell good?
Vanilla owes its gourmand scent to the various scented molecules that make it up. Vanillin is one of the main scented molecules in vanilla. This molecule, also found as an ingredient in numerous perfumes and in facets of vanilla-flavored sugar, white chocolate, and almost spicy smokiness. Vanilla is also composed of spicy and other molecules, which give it its diverse facets. In combination with other notes, vanilla can reveal different effects, resulting in perfumes with distinct notes.
Best vanilla perfumes
There are many fragrances with vanilla notes, as is the case with most perfumes on the market. However, not all fragrances contain natural vanilla which is a rare and expensive ingredient. Vanilla is interpreted in different ways through a variety of olfactory families, with fragrances for women, men and unisex options. Discover a selection of must-have vanilla fragrances, to wear for different occasions:
• Tobacco Vanilla, Tom Ford: This eau de parfum is a bold fusion of vanilla and tobacco, offering the vanilla various woody facets including cedar wood and an original smoky note. Tobacco, cocoa, and vanilla combine to create a warm perfume, ideal for winter evenings.
• Vanille Antique, Byredo: Vanille Antique by Byredo offers vanilla wrapped in woody and fruity notes, creating an intense and gourmand composition. This perfume extract highlights Madagascan vanilla and interprets it with notes of plum for a liquorish and candied effect, and woody, amber notes like cistus and cashmere wood.
• Vanilla Vibes, Juliette has a Gun: Juliette has a Gun offers a bold interpretation of vanilla with eau de parfum Vanilla Vibes, a perfume inspired by sunny beaches. The vanilla there is combined with salty and sunny notes, like a note of fleur de sel, vanilla flower, as well as woody, amber and gourmand notes. This perfume gives a mineral dimension to vanilla, exploiting it in an innovative universe.
• Spiritueuse Double Vanille, Guerlain: Inspired by the timeless elegance of vanilla, eau de parfum Spiriteuse Double Vanille offers a perfume in which vanilla is enhanced by accents of rum and precious woods, creating a rich and warm fragrance. This famous perfume celebrates the heritage of the Guerlain house, with its emblematic raw materials and signature scent.
• Vanilla Diorama, Dior: Dior’s Eau de parfum Vanilla Diorama features vanilla combined with floral and fruity notes. This intense vanilla offers an enveloping, intense and amber scent, marked by patchouli and liquorish rum.
• Vanilla Powder, Matière Première: Vanilla Powder by Matière Première offers a woody and intense vanilla. In this perfume, the notes which cover the vanilla give it a powdery texture. This interpretation of vanilla is very woody and dry, providing an intense, contrasting scent between vanilla and palo santo.
• Vanille Leather, BDK Parfums: BDK presents a leathery vanilla with its eau de parfum Vanille Leather, an eau de parfum with striking contrasts. Vanilla is supported by notes of leather and white flowers, rounding out the intense base notes. Top notes of pink peppercorns bring freshness and create a duality with the solar floral heart.
• La Vie est Belle, Lancôme: Lancôme’s La Vie est Belle is another example of a must-have vanilla perfume. Combined with fruity notes, vanilla creates a very powdery effect. This perfume, available as eau de parfum and eau de toilette, celebrated its 10th anniversary and remains an emblematic perfume from the start of the century to the present day, worn by several generations. Its many flankers take up the theme of vanilla and distort it in many ways.
• Vanilla Sex, Tom Ford: Launched very recently, this eau de parfum is built around a vanilla note created on a duality between the vanilla tincture and the vanilla absolute. Accompanied by almond notes, sandalwood and white flowers, this vanilla accord is a very creamy perfume for the skin which heralds a new success for Tom Ford.
• Black Opium, Yves Saint Laurent: Black Opium is not a perfume in which vanilla is the main ingredient. However, it is a very good example of a perfume in which vanilla is combined with a gourmand and floral note. In this case, coffee combines with vanilla and orange blossom to bring a gourmand and soft scent.
• Jicky, Guerlain: The perfume Jicky is an iconic perfume from the House of Guerlain, launched in 1889. It is considered one of the first modern perfumes in the history of perfumery. Created by Aimé Guerlain, it is often described as an innovative perfume for its time, because it introduced unusual notes and new accords. Base notes of vanilla combined with notes of sandalwood, tonka bean and musk. At the heart, an aromatic floral accord signs off the fragrance.
Jicky occupies an important place at Bon Parfumeur as it was the first perfume worn by our founder, Ludovic Bonneton
Bon Parfumeur vanilla perfumes
Bon Parfumeur offers a wide range of made in France fragrances containing vanilla. Vanilla notes are showcased differently depending on the perfume. Their description can help you choose a perfume.
• 106: This floral perfume offers a comforting vanilla base. At the top, candied fruits with sweet davana. Two roses at the heart. One floral and fruity. The other, more honeyed. At the base, the Peru balsam, the sandalwood, and the vanilla which is like a grand bed that would mold to the contours of the fragrance.
• 203: A syrupy and smooth top with red fruits and pear. At the heart, strong rose, and jasmine. A snowy effect with the vanilla powder covering the fragrance.
• 401: A multifaceted top with raw and cold elemi, peppery, resinous, and lemony. Cypress subtly adds a woody touch to the fragrance. Incense and candied plum gently sweeten the spices. Vanilla and cinnamon reconcile the contrasts.
• 402: A milky top which immerses us in the gourmand duo formed by almond blossom and almond. The intense and sunny heart of jasmine resonates with almond blossom. Vanilla and caramel blend into the creamy top. An equally creamy base with sandalwood and benzoin balm. Only the powdery musks contrast with the smooth texture of the fragrance.
• 103: The top is minimalist with the freshness of bergamot and the green note of neroli. The blooming of the tiare flower in the heart is accompanied by the fruity touch of the jasmine Sambac. The vanilla envelops these powerful flowers, and the white sand warms them.
Vanilla perfumes offer a wide range of olfactory experiences, from soft, comforting vanilla to intense, characterful vanilla. Whether you are searching for a sweet and gourmand vanilla or a more woody, spicy, or other interpretation, there’s a vanilla fragrance for every preference and occasion.
