Vanilla

An ever-popular fragrance note, known mostly through its synthetic variant vanillin, which is sweet, cozy, comforting, with a pleasing cookie-baking feeling to it. Alongside amber, the reference note for the Oriental family of scents (The most famous classic being Shalimar). The real vanilla pod has darker facets that recall treacle and booze with off notes. Simple vanillas (Victoria’s Secret Love to Dream, Charlie Touch, TBS Vanilla, Coty Vanilla Musk) have become increasingly popular with the adolescent market, giving rise to the ambiguity of the gourmand category of scents, while complex, earthier vanillas are appearing steadily in the niche sector (Spirituese Double Vanille by Guerlain, Tihota Indult, Montale Vanille Absolue).