Vanilla fragrances can be polemic. Are they too sweet, creamy, gourmand-like? Some vanillas are dry, some feel like they’re dripping with sugar. They can also be woody, salty, fruity, ambery, or even paired with tobacco, coconut, musk, incense and pastries. The fragrances below are almost all the vanilla prominent scents in my collection (a couple more have been added since I took these pics).
I’ve collected several of my vanilla reviews into this big post (all photos are mine). Let me know in the comments which vanilla fragrances are your favorites!
@rojaparfums enigma pour homme
this is my first roja bottle, and also the first roja that i truly get to know and get cozy with. and in full honesty, it has taken me this long because i have always felt a little bit intimidated to even just sniff roja’s creations. not because of the price point, mind you, but for some reason i thought i wasn’t worthy…
now on to the actual fragrance! i’m trying to find the right words to describe this stunning and sparkly piece of art. enigma pour homme is a slightly woody and creamy vanilla, and generally just a really boozy sexy juice. it is such a well-rounded and well crafted fragrance, i’m literally in awe.
i’ve been spraying it constantly and i can’t seem to get enough of it! i never ever thought i would find a signature scent (not that i’ve been looking for one), but this might just be as close as it gets. it has also made me very curious to try more of roja’s creations in the future.
@the7virtues vanilla woods (+ santal vanille, not reviewed)
this scent is simple and classic, yet beautiful and therefore also extremely wearable. a woodsy vanilla that at first seems somewhat basic and gentle. there’s some smoke in here, but it’s subtle. overall, this is a comforting and intimate scent, it won’t blow anyone’s mind but it will work really well in the office or at a dinner.
if you’re into layering perfumes, i’m quite certain this is a perfect contender to layer with sooo many scents. i have yet to try layering it myself, but i’m quite looking forward to testing it out with some of my favorites.
when i first heard about @the7virtues i was quite impressed. not only are the fragrances hypoallergenic, cruelty free and vegan, but they’re also sustainably sourced from nations rebuilding after war. i wish more brands would try to work on these things, there are so many angles you can work on too, not just the ingredients for your perfumes. and in the words of founder Barb Stegemann: “destruction is boring. rebuilding is exciting!”
@officialbyredo seven veils
a very comforting, warm and silky smooth fragrance. it's a red velvety, creamy, slightly peppery carrot cake. with touches of sandalwood, cinnamon and vanilla. it's delicious and delirious, almost ambery and gourmand-like but not quite.
the scent is based on the dance of the seven veils, whose name actually comes from oscar wilde's play "salome", where the dance was a sort of westernized version of imagined middle eastern dancing. a bit of cultural appropriation i guess, like most things back in the day.
usually i'm not a fan of powdery fragrances at all, but this is a magic blend and it never gets overpowdered (see what i did there?). shame its discontinued since long, because this is one of the absolute best from a brand of many bland and weak perfumes.
@milanofragranze panettone
this delicious fragrance from @milanofragranze and perfumer @mathilde.bijaoui.perfumer feels like it was made just for me. i can’t stop sniffing myself when i wear it.
it starts off with dried sugary orange, ginger and some vanilla. it smells quite similar to a real panettone, something i also can’t get enough of whenever i have it. there’s also rum and immortelle, two other notes i almost always love! in the dry down it calms down a lot, and becomes so smooth and lovely. and in the end it gets quite similar to another favorite of mine that you’ll find a review of further down in this post – el born from @carnerbarcelona
@coreterno mystic sugar
everything i didn't know i wanted, and more! i normally don't focus too much on the various notes in my reviews. but here i feel i have to mention most of them for you to get the sumptuously mouth-watering sensation of this spicy ambery vanilla that perfumer @lucamaffei has created.
orange and pineapple make the opening juicy and slightly tart, but the sweet and sugary notes of tonka, vanilla and cacao take over quite quickly. they are perfectly balanced by the spicy addition of ginger and cardamom, a blend which is then transformed into a deliciously smooth gourmand with a creamy and sensual sandalwood. trust me, it’s incredible! you’ll have a hard time wearing anything else once you’ve smelled this.
@kayali vanilla 28
i have to be completely honest, i was very skeptical about @kayali when i first learned about the brand. i just didn’t feel like a part of the target audience at all (and that’s fine!). to further this image, you can only find them at sephora, a shop with a target audience that’s far from mine. but because so many people on instagram kept raving about the fragrances, i had to at least smell them!
now that i’ve finally tried the whole line, let me stand corrected. well at least somewhat. i find that most of the brand’s fragrances are not for me, so i was partly right in my suspicions. even the universally praised amber invite only is unfortunately rather weak on me. it could work well for layering, but as mention above, i rarely go into that territory.
this vanilla on the other hand, is something else. i love it! and it reminds me of a couple other vanillas, maybe vanilla silk from gallagher most of all. although it gives me a warmer sensation, and it lingers for a really long time, sometimes 24 hours or more.
@matierepremiereparfums encens suave
a huge hype has been building around this brand for quite some time now, and the hype shows no signs of slowing down. sometimes a hype is nothing more than a hype, but in this case it feels more than justified and deserved. because the fragrance (and the brand overall) is magnificent!
encens suave reminds me a lot of casbah – one of perfumer @aurelienguichard’s earlier creations for robert piguet. both are incense fragrances, but where the less wearable and spicy casbah is more of a resinous and woody story, encens suave instead veers into a sweeter more crowd pleasing territory. it’s not difficult to understand why people have been raving about this for so long.
@antonioviscontiparfume coeur de vanille
one of my absolute favorites. this is one of those perfumes i don't think i could ever live without (i even got a backup bottle). and what a fantastic scent it is! soft and creamy vanilla ice cream blended perfectly with fresh sawdust from a lumber mill. pink pepper, nutmeg and clove are mixed in there to make it slightly spicy, more complex. the hazelnut in the dry down also gives the vanilla a nutty touch.
i would place this somewhere in between gourmand vanilla and woody, but it's certainly not super sweet or cloying in any way. it is perhaps closer to a skin scent than what i am used to wearing, but i get whiffs of it all the time, and it lasts the whole day. i adore this perfume, and the bottle too! i wear this whenever i feel like a pick-me-up, but it's also perfect for those colder autumn or winter days when you just wanna stay indoors and watch a movie, or maybe go for a walk and watch the leaves fall.
@carnerbarcelona el born
a sweet but beastly juice. there's licorice, vanilla and honey making it warm, soft, and creamy. the reviews on fragrantica took me by surprise, because many seem to dislike the scent. someone says it's the balsamicness of it, while someone else hates licorice (being a cliché of a swede, i obviously love licorice).
i would have thought this fragrance a crowd pleaser! it's so cozy and comfy, it makes me want to sit in front of an open fire with some good wine, eat lots of chocolate and talk to my friends for hours and hours late into the night all the way til morning...
however sweet and almost candy-like, i don't consider this perfume a gourmand. there’s a touch of cold air in it to balance out the taste of sugar. i also don't feel it being as close to skin as several reviewers seem to think. to me, el born is a rather sneaky beast, grounded by beautiful florals. patiently it waits in its cage. will it burn you? maybe. will it enchant you? definitely.
and finally, the ones that i haven’t written proper reviews for… (yet!)
@maisonfranciskurkdjian grand soir
@maya.njie.perfumes vanilj
@imaginaryauthors a whiff of waffle cone
@diorbeauty feve delicieuse
@nishane.official ani
@tomfordbeauty tobacco vanille
Let me know your thoughts on these, or any other vanilla fragrances, in the comment section below, or head over to my Instagram and share your thoughts there.
If you work for a perfume brand and would like me to review your new fragrance (including photos), please write me an email or DM me on Instagram. Looking forward to hearing from you soon!