Most commercial production of vanilla is in Madagascar, Mexico and Tahiti. As the world warms, cyclones and storms in these regions are growing stronger, toppling the orchid blossoms and vanilla beans before they get a chance to fully mature. In 2017 a Category 4-equivalent cyclone devastated an estimated 30 percent of the vanilla vines in Madagascar, which produces 80 percent of the vanilla used around the globe. As a result, the price of vanilla bean pods surged to nearly $300 a pound.

— Read more in This Is How the World’s Favorite Scent Disappears at New York Times.

“There is something really big happening with vanilla right now,” says [perfumer Bérénice] Watteau. [Perfumer Rodrigo] Flores-Roux agrees, noting that there are many different types of vanilla as well. “When you think about a vanilla bean, it doesn’t really smell like sweet, fluffy, yellow Häagen-Dazs,” he explains. “They smell very leathery, very smoky and very oily. That’s why we have musky vanillas, solar vanillas— meaning they have a sunny, beachy vibe—and also burnt, smoky vanillas.”

— Read more in These Are the 3 Biggest Fragrance Trends of the Year, According to Perfumers at NewBeauty.

Vanilla perfumes are having a moment right now. With over 437.4 million views on TikTok, virtually every niche perfume brand is now coming up with its take on vanilla. But before you write this off as a short-lived trend for the gourmand-loving girlies, it's important to note that modern vanilla perfumes have evolved far beyond the traditional, cloyingly sweet body spray concoctions of the past.

— Read more in 17 Decadent Vanilla Perfumes That Are Sophisticated (Not Sugary) at Refinery29.

“If you have bad thoughts, they disappear, if you’re angry, it disappears, because the aroma has an effect of high relaxation,” said Lucio Olmos Morales, a local artisan who often works at a table on his porch weaving vanilla pods into crowns, rosary beads and flowers.

— Read more in In the Mexican city that once perfumed the world, a push to revive vanilla at Los Angeles Times.