Back in December, Robin capably tackled the topic of fragrance layering, with suggestions for combining scents to enhance and emphasize certain notes. I must admit that I’m something of a purist: I prefer to wear one perfume at a time. However, I’m willing to experiment with layers of other products underneath. Although some fragrance lines do offer their own matching body products, those shower gels and lotions are often disappointing. Sometimes, the fragrance just doesn’t live up to the richness and complexity of the original perfume; in other cases, the formula of the gel or lotion is surprisingly low in quality.
Instead, I prefer to find unrelated scented products that harmonize with my favorite perfumes, based on broader fragrance families or single notes. I’ve written about my quest for rose lotions once or twice before, and vanilla is another category that seems to merit frequent layering discussion here on Now Smell This as well as at MakeupAlley and other forums. The right lotion can moisturize the skin so that perfume “clings” better, and a vanilla-scented body product adds an extra, underlying dose of warmth and sweetness to any fragrance. Here, then, are a handful of vanilla lotions that have recently impressed me, with suggestions for fragrance matches.
My top pick for an all-around, vanilla-fragranced lotion is Roger & Gallet’s Vanilla Gentle Fragrant Nutri-Moisturizing Body Lotion. The name is a bit wordy, but the scent is straightforward: pure, dense vanilla with a subtle caramel note. The lotion itself has a perfect texture, silky and quickly absorbed, and the fragrance lasts for hours on the skin. It would pair well with anything from Guerlain Shalimar to L’Aromarine Vanille. Roger & Gallet is better known for its soaps, but this lotion is just as wonderfully effective. Of course, it also has that ineffably chic “Made in France” appeal. ($16 for 6.6 oz at beautyexclusive or shoplondons)
For a more natural choice, Desert Essence Organics offers a Vanilla Chai Hand and Body Lotion that smells of cream and cloves, just like a very milky cup of chai tea. It contains plenty of jojoba oil, as well as antioxidant extracts of green and black tea leaves, but no mineral oil, silicones, parabens, phthalates, dyes, or artificial fragrance. It feels luxurious to the touch, and its scent is derived from real vanilla and clove flowers. I would smooth it on as a sweet base for a clovey fragrance like Aroma M’s Geisha Rouge or the smoky Tea for Two from L’Artisan Parfumeur. ($8.99 for 8 oz at drugstore.com or vitaminshoppe)
Just as its name suggests, Almond Cookie Shea Souffle from Carol’s Daughter offers plenty of skin-quenching shea butter in a lotion that looks and feels like whipped heavy cream. Its scent is a comforting blend of almond, vanilla, and soft sandalwood that tempts the taste buds as well as the nose. (Yet it’s quite different from the scent of the Almond Cookie Shower Gel, which smells uncannily like almond-oatmeal cookie dough.) As a first layer of fragrance, it gives an extra note of vanilla to any almond-based perfume, such as Christian Dior’s Hypnotic Poison or Keiko Mecheri’s Loukhoum. ($12 for 4 oz; $30 for 16 oz at sephora or carolsdaughter)
If you’re looking for deeply moisturizing formula with a light vanilla scent, you may want to try Shea You Love Me Body Butter from Juliet’s Room Organics. Its thick consistency is the result of generous amounts of shea butter, aloe, meadowfoam seed oil, and neem oil, and its delicate, all-natural fragrance comes from vanilla extract. This cream’s ingredients would heal the skin while providing a discreet layer of scent under a vanilla-accented floral such as Annick Goutal’s Songes or Kenzo’s Flower by Kenzo. ($24 for 3.5 oz at julietsroom)
Despite Lavanila’s enthusiastic claims, the ingredients in its Lavanila Healthy Body Butter are really no different from those in many natural products sold at health-food stores (see Desert Essence, above). However, this lotion does feel lush and creamy without any stickiness, and its Pure Vanilla fragrance suggests the Madagascar vanilla bean, with tonka and patchouli for just a hint of earthiness. It would complement gourmand vanilla scents from the notorious Aquolina Pink Sugar to i Profumi di Firenze’s Vaniglia di Madagascar, without adding too much extra syrupiness. ($25 for 8 oz at sephora or amazon )
I have by no means sampled every vanilla lotion on the market, so if you have a favorite of your own, or a layering idea to share, feel free to comment!
I have recently been experimenting with Hermes Elixir de M, layering it with Jo Malone's Orange Blossom body creme and spritz of the OB EdT (or cologne) to give it a bit of a floral kick. Works for me, as the warmer notes of Elixir are a bit overpowering for me.
I love the idea of layering with an eye (nose?) to picking out a particular aspect of a fragrance and smoothing it out or boosting it a bit.
Excellent post. Thank you for some great ideas!
My favorite vanilla lotion is the basic one from Yves Rocher. It's consistency is a bit thin, but it absorbs immediately w/ no stickiness, and leaves my skin very soft. The scent is a dark, not too sweet vanilla, and it's definitely cheap, always a plus.
My current body layering fixation is scented dusting powders. They cancel out any lotion stickiness and leave my skin soft, with a trail of scent. My favorite is Dana's Tabu dusting powder. It leaves a nice trace of all purpose spiciness that goes well under all my wintery orientals. Woods of Windsor rose talc (I always see this at TJMaxx/Marshalls) is a lovely rose scent that's not overpowering, just pleasant. (I'm not as fond of the WoW rose lotion, unfortunately.) And finally, a wonderful MUAer sent me some vintage Arpege dusting powder to go with my edp. I like it so well I want to buy dusting powders AND lotions to go with everything. There's no end to scent lemmings! Thanks as always for a great post.
Thanks, Mamabear! I always wear body lotion anyway, and sometimes I prefer an unscented lotion, but choosing a complementary scent can be enjoyable. Jo Malone's Orange Blossom is such an uplifting fragrance, isn't it?
Hi Rosarita, I need to try more products from Yves Rocher; they are so affordable and they seem to get so many positive reactions. I love dusting powders, too, and for a “vanilla” theme I would try Lush's almond-vanilla-rose Snow on Snow (although it's a holiday edition, if I recall correctly). Thanks!
I've been using unscented lotions, just because I'm tired of the scented ones in my closet. I'll have to dig around and check out my stash. I read somewhere that a daub of Vaseline can help perfume 'cling' to the skin (i.e., not evaporate in winter). Is there any truth to this?
FYI – I frequently see Roger & Gallet products at TJ Maxx; definitely will keep my eye out for their lotions!
Hi Bartamy, I've really enjoyed every Roger & Gallet product I've tried. They're worth checking out! As for Vaseline, I've never tried it “straight.” I prefer a nice thick emollient-rich lotion that sinks in. 🙂
Yes, it is – but I find it doesn't last very long on my skin and it seems a bit 'thin' for winter (I'm in the Midwest and it gets seriously cold here). Somehow the combo of Elixir des M and OB just seemed to make sense – maybe it was the orange bottle?:-)
Another fragrance combo I love is Fresh Lemon Sugar, combined with either Vincenzo Nardi Lemon Body Lotion (a TJ Maxx find, now can't find it at all, alas). It is very tart and cuts the sometimes cloying sweetness in FLS – a perfect combo in the summer.
Now that I can't find Vincenzo Nardi, I layer it with (are you ready for this?) Watkins Lemon Body Oil! Who knew? It's got the same straight lemon, no-nonsense type of fragrance, almost a little harsh by itself…but perfect for hot summer days, layered with FLS.
if you would like a bit of burnt sugar with your vanilla, claus porto vanille body cream is excellent. it is almost identical to smn's vaniglia, which also has a caramel-smoky feel. the claus porto has a lot of scent, so whatever you layer over it needs to have some personality. and i think it was suave that had a burnt sugar and vanilla lotion – it was excellent. not sure if it's still out there – hope so. great scent for a great price.
Thank you, Minette! I own Claus Porto's Wild Pansy lotion (a light, greenish floral) and I'd like to try some other products from this line. I've heard that their vanilla candle is worth trying, too.
bartamy,
an interesting notion about the Vaseline – but a litte clarification, please, for the terminally slow-witted (me:-)….would one daub on vaseline before you apply scent – and this would assume that you are applying it like a dab on the wrist or neck or wherever?
Or would it go on afterwards, sort of as a fixative?
Hope I'm not sounding too stupid here
Hi Mamabear, I'm assuming that she dabs it on first, to moisturize the skin, on wrists etc. Scent supposedly “clings” and lasts longer on well-moisturized skin (or naturally oily skin). I tend to avoid Vaseline in general, but perhaps bartamy has experimented and has results to share!
Thanks for the clarification – that makes more sense than the concept that'd sort of popped up in my addled mind. Thinking like a painter, I'd envisioned the Vaseline as a sort of 'medium'……never mind, it's Monday – I'm going with your version!LOL!!
Thanks again.
Fragrance molecules tend to cling best to oilier skins. When applying scent, those with dry skin probably notice that what they've applied will usually be fleeting in terms of being able to detect it. While it's not very elegant, Vaseline should help scent stick around a little longer; just dab on a little on the skin where you intend to spritz yourself. A truly unscented lotion (sometimes companies like to sneak in masking fragrances or essential oils – even to something they've labeled 'unscented'..just check the ingredient label to be sure) will do the trick, if you're not a fan of layering your scents.
Thank you, Julien! 🙂
I'm wearing vanilla suger cookie oil ( cheap) and the perfume of Lavanila and the Healthy Body Butter lotion. Trust, it smells richer as the day gets longer.
Hi Thelma, Thanks for weighing in on the Lavanila line! The perfume certainly has a beautiful bottle. I admired it in Sephora.
For another cheap option, I can suggest Curel Nourishing Lotion with Honey, Vanilla, and Shea Butter extracts. It also includes petrolatum, if I recall correctly, so I'm probably not going to purchase a full (huge) bottle. However, if that's not a problem for other users, this is an effective and sweet-smelling lotion (mainly vanilla, with soft honey).
Hi, sorry I didn't see this earlier… I haven't tried using the Vaseine, only read about it. If I were to try it, I would rub in a small amount on areas that I spray.
I like Bath & Body Works Warm Vanilla Sugar – it layers under almost anything. In fact I use a lot of the B&BW lotions, they moisturize nicely and have a wide variety of scents. Can't seem to find an incensey lotion anywhere though – I would love to find one that goes well with Passage d'Enfer, for example.
Hi Jessica, I like vanilla but not that much in creams and fragrances. I remember the Body Shop had a vanilla body lotion and a vanilla scent.
I wish there was a body lotion with incense, for that is also sweet and a nice base for perfumes.
Hello Cazaubon and Marianne, I'm not an incense expert, but I can imagine that incensey lotions are not easy to find! Here's one suggestion: Sonoma Scent Studio (an online retailer) has a few spicy-woody scents in a high-quality shea cream. One of those might fit the bill! I should write an SSS review one of these days, come to think of it.
Thanks, Amy! And don't worry, you are not required to monitor the comments 'round the clock. 😉
My latest lotion love is not vanilla (which I really like) but chocolate! It's Nature's Gate Organics Chocolate Mint and Neroli lotion. I found some at TJ Maxx, but I know it's available online for about $7. I've been layering it with Covet to bring out the chocolate note of the perfume. It's also very good with Elixir des Merveilles, which is warm yet sparkling on my skin. The chocolate in the lotion is dusty and soft and dusts down the sparkle of ExdM.
Dana, I remember that lotion! I haven't used it in a while (so many products, so little time), but I loved it when I owned it. Sounds like a great combination with Covet or Elixir des Merveilles, both of which I've also tried at some point. 🙂
Here's another chocolate-y suggestion for you: Juliet's Room Organics (see my original post!) makes a “Chocolat” white chocolate body cream. It smells delicious, and it moisturizes very well too!
Yes, it's a great lotion. It's not super chocolatey because of the soft mint and soft orange. It doesn’t smell like you jumped in a vat of fudge syrup! Those notes harmonize with so many other notes. I put the lotion on today with a couple sprays of my Iris Poudre sample (which was recommended as fitting my personality by a SA from FM which I think is funny, because it’s not something I would pick to wear, getting OT). Anyway, the combo also works! Thanks for the suggestion. Haven't tried JRO products …
I'd love to know your take on layering Valentino V with a vanilla lotion, as I love the frag but I think it would smell even more delicious with some vanilla at the base… suggestions? 🙂
Hi Caramel, I have to admit that I've never tried Valentino V! But I've read that it's a floral-oriental, so I don't see why a simple, warm vanilla wouldn't enhance it. I'd suggest the first one in this review, the Roger & Gallet Vanille cream, or the Juliet's Room Organics body butter that I mentioned.
At the drugstore, you could check out Jason Organics's Vanilla Hand & Body Therapy, or Curel Natural Healing with Honey, Vanilla, & Shea Butter. Happy experimenting!