Darker cells mean a higher score for this topic on that metric.
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Quick answers
What is Vanilla?
Bean, smoke or vanillin — the note everyone thinks they know until it turns woody or sacred.
EDP vs EDT — what changes?
Concentration is oil in alcohol, not a quality score. EDT (about 5–15%) shows more top; EDP (about 15–20%) shows more heart and base. Houses vary; this is not a lab assay.
How should I wear Vanilla?
One or two sprays on skin or cloth — sternum or hair, not a cloud in a lift. Let it turn an hour before you add more.
Which season fits?
Cool to cold, close to skin. Overdose reads as bakery.
Does skin chemistry change it?
Yes. Warm, moist skin amplifies sweet and spice; dry or cool skin can turn the same juice woody, soapy or short. Test on your skin, not only a blotter.
What about IFRA and oakmoss?
IFRA sets industry limits on some naturals and synthetics. A reformulation is usually a legal edit, not a betrayal. This atlas is not a safety sheet.
An accord is a geometry. Vanilla is rose, jasmine, sandalwood, oud, vetiver, musk or amber stacked on purpose.
Naturals and molecules share the same pyramid; IFRA draws some of the lines.
Accords
- Jicky vanillin-civet — Herb + crystal + animal.
- Shalimar night — Bergamot-vanilla balsam.
- Rum bean — Spiritueuse.
- Pipe vanilla — Tobacco Vanille.
- Skin vanillin — Musk + a crystal, 2010s.
Materials
- Vanilla absolute — Solvent of cured beans; smoky, leathery, costly.
- Vanillin — 4-hydroxy-3-methoxybenzaldehyde; the crystal.
- Ethyl vanillin — Stronger, more pastry.
- Tonka / coumarin — Hay cousin, not the same orchid.
- Vanilla tahitensis — Anisic, floral, rarer.
- Benzoin — Balsamic extender of vanilla.
Smell the materials before you trust a note list on a box of Vanilla.
Origins & milestonesNotes & accordsCraft & methodCulture & meaningIcons & legendsHow to wearMarket & bottles