(Quick PSA: I am on the road today and heading to a place with very limited internet access. I'll be slow to answer comments or questions all weekend long, but I'll do my best.)
Fall is not my favorite season, but even I will admit that it's probably the best time of year for perfume. You can wear just about anything, and for many of us, it's a joy to finally pull out some of the heavier woods and orientals that we've been neglecting all summer. I've already done autumn posts covering iris, incense and vetiver, now I'm turning to vanilla (and Angela will join in the fun on Monday, with 5 fruity chypres for fall). As always, these are just my suggestions, and again as always, the line between the seasons is perhaps a bit arbitrary and/or personal: some of these fragrances wear just as well in summer or winter, and some of them work perfectly fine all the year round.
Indult Tihota: Vanilla cake, yes, but vanilla cake from perfumer Francis Kurkdjian, and thus perfect for someone who wants to satisfy their sweet tooth and smell elegant at the same time. Fans were pleased when new owners resurrected the brand from the dead a few years ago, and as an added bonus, better distribution means the fragrance, while expensive, is actually cheaper now than it was when I reviewed it in 2008 ($200 for 50 ml; it used to be $250).
Parfumerie Générale Felanilla: I'll save the grande dame of vanilla orientals, Shalimar, for the winter list, and offer up Felanilla as the easy-going distant cousin. This one is just creamy enough to qualify for one of my favorite fragrance family classifications, spicy wood pudding.
Tauerville Vanilla Flash: This is exactly the sort of fragrance that I forget all about in July and August, and then am happy to rediscover in October. It's a warm, dry, unisex vanilla with rose, tobacco and patchouli, perfect for people who love the smell of vanilla but emphatically don't want to smell like dessert. Bonus: it layers nicely (try it with Rose Flash) and at $63 for 30 ml, it won't drain your savings account right before the holidays.
Elizabeth and James Nirvana Bourbon: I've neglected easy-to-find in today's list, so here is one you can try at a brick and mortar store (options include Sephora or Nordstrom), and the 10 ml rollerballs aren't too badly priced at $25 (plus it's also in the Find Your Nirvana coffret, with four 3 ml mini rollerballs). The name appears to refer to Bourbon vanilla, not bourbon whiskey, but there's a little flash of booze in the opening to help fight off the evening chill. Jessica's take: "a sweet yet smoky vanilla, like a well-torched crème brûlée followed by a cigarette or two".
Aftelier Vanilla Smoke: A good strong Lapsang Souchong tea provides the smoke, and a vanilla / amber blend spiced with saffron provides the comfort. Put on some Vanilla Smoke, load the fake fireplace video on your widescreen, and you're all set. It's all natural and it's not cheap, but it is available in a variety of sizes in Eau de Parfum or Parfum.
Do add your own favorites for fall in the comments!
Although Vol de Nuit is my favorite fall Guerlain, that’s also when I love to wear vintage Shalimar EdT.
As Ernest Beaux exclaimed, “If I had used so much vanilla, I would have made only a custard sauce, whereas Jacques Guerlain creates Shalimar!”
(“Si j’avais utilisé autant de vanille, j’aurais seulement obtenu une crème anglaise, tandis que lui, Jacques Guerlain, créa Shalimar!”)
Quoted by Victoria in her invaluable series on “Fragrances That Influenced Perfume History”:
https://boisdejasmin.com/2011/02/fragrances-that-influenced-perfume-history-100-great-fragrances-series-110.html
I always liked that quote 🙂
I love Vanilla Flash in the fall. Also love Geisha Vanilla Hinoki now.
And I still need to try the Aroma M!
Vanilla Hinoki is great for fall. It’s one of the few vanillas I like since it doesn’t smell synthetic-y.
Fall is my favorite season, so I will rejoice! Robin what is your favorite season..
I wanted to share some of my favorite vanilla, and maybe inspire some vanilla haters to give some of these a whirl during Autumn.
Vanille Exquise: Won’t make you smell like a cupcake. Lots of wood in this one
A recent love is PdN Vanille Tonka: Smokey Vanilla, (won’t make you smell like a cupcake) The smoke gives it some sex appeal. oooo la la
Angelic Noire-This has a big scoop of vanilla, will make you smell more like a cupcake but its gorgeous.
My holy grail of all vanilla or to down play it my favorite and most coveted is Shalimar Ode a la Vanille Sure la Route Madagascar. This is not to get confused with the Mexique flanker. This is different in its own right and is a must try to anyone who likes Shalimar but needs a bit more vanilla. This flanker would also smell great on a man, because of the smokey sexy vanilla. When I wear this one I want more more more MORE! But it fades faster then I would hope. If you want sweeter try the Mexique version, but I urging you to come over to my side and try the Madagascar. I still see it on the Guerlain website but its not in production as far as I know.
Nice post! I like several of these. And fall is my favorite season as well despite being the harbinger of winter.
I’ve always loved vanilla with a twist and PDN Vanille Tonka has a dash of lime for fun and frankincense for depth. Where you get smoke, I get incense, but it’s lovely either way.
Guerlain Angelique Noire is another favorite we can agree on – I love its tangy green vanilla.
Another favorite is Reglisse Noire – licorice ozonish vanilla, cologne-weight.
And last but not least, Myrrhiad. There’s a bit of licorice here, too and black tea and lots of myrrh. This is like my version of Shalimar vanilla – all incensy and mysterious.
OOO!! Reglisse Noire is in my top ten of all time fragrances! had not thought of that one as vanilla but you are so right!
I must smell Myrrhaid and Reglisse Noire!
I love your descriptions, and how perfume is so personal and smells differently on so many people..
Cheers to fall and Vanilla!
Great list!
My favorite is summer and my next favorite is spring! I do not like to be cold.
I can’t remember if they are still producing the Shalimar Ode scents — my one rule about these is that I don’t include discontinued scents.
I wonder..its still on the Guerlain website.
Thanks! Then will probably be on my winter list!
Fall is not my favorite season either (I prefer the spring and return of warmer weather versus the impending “doom” of very very cold temperatures)
I love vanillas in all forms…past loves include Coty’s Vanilla Fields (goodness that was a cheap drugstore gem but I am sure by now it has been reformulated)
I really enjoyed my sample of SL Un Bois Vanille
Floating around the house are Dame Black Flower Mexican Vanilla and Peach Blossom, Violet & Vanilla, Atelier’s Vanille Insensee, Pacifica’s d/c Vanilla Vera Cruz and Island Vanilla, vintage Trouble (which has a vanilla vibe) and of course my vanilla body oil which was so incredibly simple to make (any carrier oil with vanilla bean pods added and marinated for a few weeks) In the spring I will add orange to it and turn it into a creamsicle 🙂
and almost forgot-
Berdoues Grand Cru Cologne Vanira Moorea
I did not realize it was that easy to make a vanilla body oil! I should try to make a creamsicle oil. Then again, the Weleda one is pretty darned good.
Some seem to think the ice cream industry is as bad as the fragrance industry, for example:
http://www.mouseprint.org/2013/01/21/breyers-converts-ice-creams-to-frozen-dairy-desserts/
Huh. Interesting. And sad. Dairy price increases, probably. Sounds like “cheese food”.
and the containers have shrunk massively 🙁
Just as a disclaimer, I meant no endorsement of Breyer’s vanilla ice cream 🙂
Love vanilla and really love tonka. Actually trying a just received vanilla-centered scent from the split meet, Aedes’ Cierge de Lune. It’s interesting, and very much a skin scent on me. Quite powdery with a touch of incense and leather, the whole thing is very subtle.
Also enjoy Dior Feve and year-round wear Sublime Vanilla by Creed which is a beautiful vanilla and it lasts all day on me! Do need to get my hands on some Indult as that sounds fantastic.
I like Cierge! There are a lot of great vanilla skin scents lately.
Mmmmm, vanilla. Great list, Robin, thank you!
I’ d add Mona di Orio Les Nombres d’Or Vanille too, with its orange peel, cloves and smoke. So radiant and golden, pefect for fall.
Thank you, forgot about that one!
After I moved to Northern California, I lost the track of my favorite season… Summer is probably the least favorite one but it would be hard for me to rank the rest of them. Perfume-wise, I think, I prefer late Fall – Winter season (our winter, I mean).
My most favorite vanilla perfume is MdO Vanille. The close second – Le Labo Vanilla 44.
For everybody who’s looking for not expensive vanilla perfume, I recommend a sampler of La Maison de la Vanille http://www.lamaisondelavanille.com/decouvrir/68-kit-11-echantillons-toutes-nos-collections.html . If you do not read French, use this link in Chrome and use the Translate feature to place an order.
The La Maison de la Vanille scents used to be really popular on MakeupAlley, and I almost never hear about them anymore. I liked Eau Noire du Mexique, I reviewed it ages ago but hadn’t thought of it in years…
Currently loving Dame Perfumery’s Black Flower Mexican Vanilla: https://scentsandsensibilities.co/2017/10/23/scent-sample-sunday-black-flower-mexican-vanilla/. I also like Shalimar Eau de Cologne.
That seems to be a huge favorite, and I will definitely need to get a sample.
Wearing BFMV today…albeit, not alone. I added the BFMV (Dame’s oil version) under Safran Troublant, to keep Safran Troublant from being so darn fleeting. Turned out to be a nice combo.
I adore Fall, vanillas scents I enjoy are:
-Serge Lutens Un Bois Vanille, perfect balance between powder, woods and caramelized (almost pudding-like) sweetness.
-Mona di Orio’s Vanille, gorgeous combination of smoke, spice, balsamic notes and not-too-sweet vanilla.
-L`Artisan Parfumeur’s Vanilia, sexy green ylang-ylang, vanilla and sandalwood.
The L’Artisan didn’t make the list just because it’s discontinued — that and the one I love, the Havana Vanille / Vanille Absolument.
I think that Havana Vanille has a tobacco note, if I remember?
Yes, it did!
I am impartial to boozy vanillas, so we are heading into my favorite season fragrance wise
A lot of my favs have already been mentioned, but I have a couple of additions
Loree Rodkin Gothic I – very dark and very goth vanilla. Great in both EDP and oil
Vanilla Botanique by DSH
The Rising Phoenix Sicilian Vanilla Attar
Jacques Zolty Vanil-le
Atelier des Ors Luna Feline
Liz Zorn’s Vanilla Body oil (very smoky!!)
wow..I will try some of these
Thanks — lots there I have not tried!
Many vanillas I love hav already been mentioned. I will add Van Cleef & Arpels Orchidee Vanille and Tokyo Milk Dark Bittersweet (cheap cheap cheap).
VCA is great. The more I explore them, the more I like them.
I will have to see if I can find a tester of the Tokyo Milk — we need more cheapies!
I’ve cozied up to Dame’s Black Flower Mexican Vanilla quite a bit since the temps dipped below 70. Dry, a little smoky and doesn’t smell like a cupcake or cotton candy. A newfound love.
Thanks!
Vanilla absolute is one of the best raw materials on the perfumer’s palette but it’s very expensive.
Too many perfumes smell of synthetic vanilla, and yes, very few perfumers have the talent or the budget to create Shalimar.
We are so spoiled by many niche vanilla perfumes, we sometimes forget more modest ones. That’s why I am always impressed by Nirvana Bourbon, as most of the Elizabeth and James’s line up.
I like Aerin’s Tangier Vanille, once called Private Collection Amber Ylang Ylang. It does smell of play doh but in a sophisticated way.
L’Artisan Parfumeur make great use of vanilla in Dzing or Tea for two.
Yves Rocher’s Vanille Noire is a nice take on vanilla, a bit reminiscent of Hypnotic Poison.
The only thing I like about Fall in the changing colors of the trees. And indeed you can almost wear anything.
Thanks for the great list!