Vanilla perfume notes: what vanilla smells like and which FAAN bottles use it

What vanilla smells like (and what it does not)

Vanilla comes from the pod of an orchid. In a perfume it smells of warm cream, sugar and a trace of wood, a little like the inside of a baking tin. Bourbon vanilla, listed in Senses, is the type most people describe as rich and creamy. Vanilla does not always mean dessert. With resins, wood or leather it turns dry and almost smoky, and with flowers it turns soft.

How perfumers use vanilla: top, heart or base

Vanilla is a base note. It lasts for hours and gives other notes something to rest on. It sits in the heart rarely, where it softens flowers. A vanilla in the top is almost unheard of, because it is too heavy to rise.

Vanilla in the FAAN range

What it is paired with in these pyramids

There are three families of vanilla here. The sweet pair, Signature and Queen, put it with praline or coffee and cherry, so it reads as pastry. The dry group, Al-Badr, Honour, Bakhour, Bidaya and Mystery, puts it with vetiver, resin, leather or wood, so the sweetness is a background warmth rather than the main act. The creamy pair, Purity and Senses, pair it with musk, milk and flowers, so it feels soft and clean.

The one outlier is Senses, where vanilla moves up to the heart and shares the stage with iris, coconut and roses.

Which vanilla fits your taste

Think of how you take your vanilla. If you love crème brûlée or a warm waffle, the sweet pair, Signature and Queen, is your corner. If you like vanilla in a spiced chai, where it sits behind cardamom and pepper, look at Al-Badr, Honour and Bidaya. If you like a vanilla yoghurt or a milky coffee, the soft, creamy pair, Purity and Senses, will feel familiar. And if you only like vanilla when it comes with a bit of smoke, try Bakhour. None of this is a rule, it is only a way to pick a first bottle.

Wearing advice: season, sprays, who tends to like it

• Seven of the nine are listed for autumn and winter in some form. Senses is the summer one, listed for spring and summer.
• Two or three sprays are plenty for any of them. Honour, Bakhour and Queen project the furthest.
• People who like comfort food and warm drinks tend to like sweet vanilla. People who like smoke, leather and wood tend to like the dry versions.
• If vanilla has put you off in the past because it felt like body spray, try a dry one first: Al-Badr or Honour.

If you like vanilla, start with Amjad Honour

Honour wraps vanilla in amber, oud, ambergris and benzoin, which makes it sweet without being sugary, and it lasts longest. For a pure, sweet vanilla, Signature is the classic, and our Signature review describes it. For a calm daily vanilla, Al-Badr. For a note that often sits beside vanilla, read our guide to cardamom and the one on saffron. The whole range is in all FAAN perfumes.

FAQ

Which FAAN perfume is the sweetest vanilla?

Qasida Signature, with praline and vanilla in the base and gourmand among its accords.

Is there a FAAN vanilla for summer?

Qasida Senses, which lists Bourbon vanilla in the heart and is listed for spring and summer.

Is vanilla only for women?

No. Honour, Signature and Al-Badr, which all list vanilla, are listed as unisex.

Related reading

• Cardamom in perfume and the FAAN bottles that use it
• FAAN Qasida Signature review: notes, strength and when to wear it
• Saffron in perfume and the FAAN bottles that use it