Vanilla perfumes

Where the smell comes from

Vanilla is the cured pod of a climbing orchid, grown mainly in tropical regions such as Madagascar and Tahiti. The pods are fermented and dried until the aroma develops. Perfumers use the result as an absolute or extract, often next to pure vanillin, the molecule that carries most of the scent. In a bottle it reads as creamy, soft and slightly balsamic, and depending on the dose it runs from milky to dark and smoky.

What it does in a composition

Vanilla is a base note. It evaporates slowly, so it is what remains once the opening has passed. It rounds off edges: it takes the bite out of pepper and cinnamon, gives woods a smoother finish and adds body to flowers. It sits comfortably with sandalwood, tonka bean, benzoin, labdanum, patchouli and musks, and it bridges to boozy or dessert-like notes such as rum and caramel.

Ways the houses here use it

• Byredo Bibliothèque puts vanilla in the base with birch woods and patchouli, after plum and cinnamon at the top and a leather accord with violet in the heart.
• Les Eaux Primordiales Vanille Supermassive comes from Les Eaux Primordiales, which calls it spicy vanilla: vanilla meets caramel, patchouli, ambroxan and white musks under bergamot, elemi, cinnamon and fir balsam.
• Lorenzo Pazzaglia Van Exstasyx from Lorenzo Pazzaglia lists Bourbon, Madagascar, Tahitian and black vanilla at the top and returns to vanilla bean, tonka bean and agarwood (oud) in the base.
• Sospiro Il Padrino sets vanilla wood, labdanum and Siam benzoin against dark rum, amaretto and blackcurrant. Sospiro files it as oriental.
• Xerjoff Erba Pura keeps Madagascar vanilla beans, amber and white musk beneath lemon, bergamot and orange; Xerjoff files it as fresh and fruity.
• Nishane Hundred Silent Ways places vanilla with sandalwood and vetiver below tuberose, mandarin and peach. Nishane lists it as floral, gourmand and musky.
• Fascent Crème Brûlante has no pyramid: Fascent names vanilla duos, cake batter accord, almond balm, rum drop, amber wood, benzoin and olibanum.

Choosing your vanilla

Look at what surrounds it. Wood, leather, birch or oud around vanilla gives a dry, grown-up version. Caramel, rum, almond and cake accords move it towards dessert. A top of citrus or fruit keeps it light, and a high concentration such as an extrait makes it denser and slower to fade. If you like warmth but not heaviness, start with the fresher and woodier examples above.