Feminine vanilla, from balsam to praline
Vanilla in women's perfume has taken three roads in a century. The first is the ambery oriental: Shalimar in 1925, Opium in 1977. Here vanilla is mixed with resins, opoponax or clove, and it smells as much of smoke as of sugar. The second road is gourmand. Angel opened it in 1992 with caramel and patchouli, and La Vie Est Belle took it mainstream twenty years later with praline. The third is floral and powdery. Allure, Flower by Kenzo and Dolce Vita tuck vanilla under flowers to round out the base without weighing it down. What separates these from men's vanillas is the company. In masculine scents vanilla is usually held in check by lavender, tobacco or spice, which dry it out. In feminine ones it sits with fruit and white flowers. At the same dose it reads rounder and sweeter.
Smoky, gourmand or powdery: how to choose
Start with your tolerance for sugar. If dessert-in-a-bottle gets old fast, stay on the smoky side with Shalimar, Opium or Hypnotic Poison. Their almond and musk pull the vanilla toward skin rather than pastry. Bakery lovers should head for La Vie Est Belle, Angel and La Petite Robe Noire, each at a different sugar level. Angel is the most extreme and La Petite Robe Noire the lightest. For the office, go floral. Allure and Flower by Kenzo sit at 3 out of 5 in intensity and won't bother anyone at the next desk. Check intensity before you buy. Six scents on this list are rated 4 or 5, and those punish a heavy hand.
Wearing vanilla without filling the room
Vanilla is a base note that grows with body heat. One spray too many and it takes over the space. For the strongest scents here (Angel, Opium and La Vie Est Belle), a single spray at the nape is enough. The lighter ones like Dolce Vita can take two on the wrists. Sprayed on a wool sweater, vanilla often lasts longer than on skin and stays softer. Skip pale silk, though, because the oils can mark it. Most of these perfumes are built for autumn and winter, when the air is cool enough to keep vanilla in check. Summer heat turns dense vanillas into syrup, so switch to Allure or Flower by Kenzo in July and save Hypnotic Poison for cool evenings.
