Perfume for vanilla lovers: five ways FAAN uses vanilla

We are an independent retailer. Seven of the fourteen bottles carry vanilla in the base. This page keeps to the five that use it most distinctly, and ranks them by how sweet they read.

Vanilla is not one smell

In a perfume, vanilla can be creamy like custard, dark like a roasted pod, powdery like a biscuit or almost resinous. It changes with its company. With praline it becomes dessert. With coffee it becomes a mocha. With milk and musk it becomes skin. With benzoin and leather it becomes a warm, balsamic cushion.

So "I like vanilla" is the start of a question, not the end of it.

Creamy, nutty, dark and resinous versions

• Creamy and sweet: vanilla with praline, coconut and almond.
• Nutty: vanilla with hazelnut and sandalwood.
• Dark: vanilla with coffee, cherry and patchouli.
• Milky: vanilla with white musk, tuberose and sandalwood milk.
• Resinous: vanilla bean with benzoin, leather and opoponax.

Five FAAN bottles with vanilla

Qasida Signature is the full gourmand. Bergamot, cinnamon, almond and cardamom, then orange blossom, coconut and guaiacwood, then praline, vanilla, dry amber and cashmeran. Eau de Parfum, unisex, autumn and winter.

Qasida Queen puts vanilla with dark fruit. Cherry, clove and pink pepper over orange blossom and jasmine, then vanilla, amber, patchouli and coffee. Eau de Parfum, listed for her, autumn and winter.

Qasida Purity is the gentle one. Pear, fig nectar and lily of the valley, then ylang-ylang, sambac jasmine and tuberose, with cashmere musk, sandalwood milk and vanilla below. Eau de Parfum, unisex, rated 2 for projection.

Amjad Mystery pairs vanilla with a nutty, rosy heart. Pear, hazelnut and frankincense, then rose, saffron, sambac jasmine and osmanthus, then sandalwood, vanilla, ambergris and akigalawood. Extrait de Parfum, unisex.

Qasida Bidaya uses vanilla bean as a base for resin. Saffron, bergamot and cardamom, then opoponax and cedarwood, then vanilla bean, benzoin, leather and white musk. Extrait de Parfum, unisex.

How to wear a vanilla perfume

Vanilla gets heavy when you overdo it. Rated by projection, Purity is the quietest (2 of 5) and takes three or four sprays. Signature, Mystery and Bidaya are 3 of 5 and take two. Queen is 4 of 5, so one or two is plenty. Spray on clothes if you work in a small room, because vanilla clings to fabric and keeps for days. Four of the five are listed for autumn and winter. Purity is listed for spring and autumn.

A sweetness scale

This is our own reading of the notes, not a lab figure. From sweetest to least sweet:

1. Signature: praline, coconut, almond and vanilla.
2. Queen: cherry and vanilla, held in check by coffee.
3. Mystery: hazelnut and vanilla, with saffron and rose for balance.
4. Purity: milky and soft, but light.
5. Bidaya: vanilla bean softened by leather and resin, the driest of the five.

For a complete ranking of all fourteen, see FAAN perfumes ranked from sweetest to driest.

Layering vanilla

If you own one vanilla bottle and want a second mood, two layering ideas from us: Signature and Queen together make a darker gourmand, which we explain in layering Signature with Queen. Signature with Bakhour adds incense. These are suggestions, so test on paper first. For a wider view, the full range lists the rest.

FAQ

Which FAAN bottle has the most vanilla?

Vanilla is a base note in all five, so none of them is primarily vanilla. Signature reads sweetest overall.

Is there a vanilla bottle for summer?

Qasida Senses lists bourbon vanilla in the heart and is listed for spring and summer. It is fruity and floral rather than dessert-like.

What if the bottle is sold out?

Use the notify option on the product page. Delivery takes 3 to 6 working days in the Netherlands and 5 to 8 in the rest of the EU.

Related reading

• Vanilla in perfume and the FAAN bottles that use it
• FAAN Qasida Signature described note by note
• FAAN perfumes ranked from sweetest to driest