![]() Regardless, "it's the art of the perfumer to balance each fragrance," says Lottiau. While naturals are preferred, they're not nearly as sustainable or affordable compared to synthetics and other raw sources. "This is actually closer to the smell of the original vanilla absolute, which is moodier." She says achieving this starts with sourcing high-quality, natural (very expensive) ingredients, like the prized Madagascar vanilla bean. "What I can see now is that, for a couple of years, we're having more vanilla that is woodsy and spicy," says Lottiau. Its cousin, ethylvanillin, is about twice as potent and completely changed the game for gourmand fragrances when it was first added to Guerlain's " Jicky" ($145) in 1889 and subsequently " Shalimar" ($125) in 1925. ![]() Noemi Lottiau, a fragrance specialist at Unilever, says that vanilla's signature sweetness comes from vanillin, a molecule first synthesized by perfumers in 1874. The differentiating factor between the two, experts say, comes from the ingredients. They're high-qualityĪs Pagel mentions, our ideal vanilla has matured from cloying and dessert-like to something more sophisticated and elevated. What makes a vanilla fragrance 'good'? 1. What can still be surprising about an ingredient that is so well-loved and so much used? A quality vanilla on its own is complex and beautiful- is there a way to tease more of those facets out?" "The thing with vanilla is that it's at once so captivating on its own, but it can feel overdone or very stereotypical in a fragrance. "It's the quality of the vanilla but also the blend," says Shapiro. So what makes a vanilla perfume or candle tasteful, not treacly? That's where I think people get divided." So, we're still interested in the decadence and coziness and comfort of vanilla, and yet, getting away from it being too juvenile, too sticky, too sweet. ![]() "It's almost like our tastes have changed. Pagel says years of slathering ourselves in frosting-flavored lotions and body mists have caused a taste aversion of sorts, only the bellyache is in our noses. "There's a little vanilla trauma," says Greta Pagel, fragrance director at Good Chemistry and Illume. While some of us are willing to give it another chance, others have Pink Sugar-induced scars so deep, you couldn't convince them to indulge in a slice of vanilla cake, let alone spray the scent on their bodies. It references youth and yes, has this delectable quality."ĭespite its comeback, vanilla is undoubtedly a polarizing scent. There's also a 'treat' aspect to vanilla which is cozy. "There's a comfort that references the kitchen and hearth here with food-type scents. "Vanilla-dominant fragrances have made a huge comeback since around the start of Covid," says Bee Shapiro, founder of the clean-beauty brand, Ellis Brooklyn. After a particularly volatile, confusing few years, it seems we all craved something sweet and comfortable, known and nostalgic. Yes, vanilla is back and better than ever.
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