Discovering the many faces of vanilla…

From the kitchen to the bath, vanilla has slipped into every facet of our daily lives, including perfumery. While Guerlain’s Shalimar transformed an overdose of vanilla into a minor miracle, vanilla bean’s current omnipresence means that it has lost some of its magic. Fortunately, some fragrances look at vanilla in a less-consensual light, as if to remind us of the many nuances the bean can express.

Like an ingredient in a magic potion, vanilla is inseparable from Guerlain’s signature. So it makes sense that the house would pay tribute to the note in one of its exclusive fragrances: Spiritueuse Double Vanille. Rum notes echo the bean’s liquory facet, drawing the fragrance into a licentious atmosphere where vanilla is paired with cedar and spices, the better to highlight its tobacco accents. A hint of rose bestows femininity before the trail melts into resinous notes of vanilla absolute and benzoin. A complex and intoxicating vanilla.

It’s worth noting that L’Artisan Parfumeur has explored similar territory with Vanille Absolument. These are two very different fragrances, but they both pair vanilla bean’s boozy and tobacco-y facets with its natural lushness… plus a hay effect and lots of musk in the case of Bertrand Duchaufour’s composition. A gem of creativity that L’Artisan has unfortunately decided to discontinue, but some of you might get lucky and snare a bottle at a reduced rate during the house’s sales.

Vanilla absolute also exhales the bean’s woody and spicy facets, for a vision that Diptyque transcribed in their Eau Duelle. A flight of cool spices (elemi, juniper, calamus) plus pink pepper gives some bite to this vanilla, which is sustained by the woody dimensions of cedar, frankincense and vetiver. Powdery notes round out this dry, not-at-all gourmand vanilla. Light, but with character, Eau Duelle reveals a vanilla that is both sensual and refined.

Because it is too often reduced to little more than a cupcake, many designers have chosen to rough vanilla up a little in order to stand out. Mona Di Orio tried her hand at that in her Les Nombres d’Or collection. The result is a somewhat cool, almost green at the top Vanille that takes us by surprise at first, before blossoming in the spicy, woody, almost-smoky heart. Vanilla and tonka beans’ sweet lushness rub shoulders with clove and rum, as well as guaiac wood and even vetiver in the trail. Subtle and unexpected, this fragrance will thrill fans of unpredictable vanilla scents.

Still, die-hard vanilla lovers can rest assured: niche house Indult is re-releasing their fragrances, including Tihota. It’s a veritable orgy of sweetness, in which vanilla bean revels in sugar over a bed of “musks in fusion.”