Vanilla perfumes that are more than sugar

Vanilla is in more best-selling fragrances than almost any other note, and it is not hard to see why. It is warm, familiar and comforting. The problem is that on its own, or paired only with sugar, it can read like a bakery rather than a perfume.

The vanillas that feel grown-up all do the same thing: they pair vanilla with something that pulls against its sweetness. Spice, coffee, wood, smoke or something sharp. When you read a note list, that pairing is what to look for.

What vanilla actually is

Natural vanilla comes from the cured pods of an orchid. In perfumery it appears as an absolute or extract, and very often alongside vanillin and related materials that give a smoother, sweeter effect. Bourbon vanilla simply refers to vanilla from the Indian Ocean region, traditionally Madagascar and Réunion, and tends to smell richer and darker.

Vanilla with coffee

Vanilla with spice

Vanilla with wood and amber

Vanilla with fruit

Cookie Crush is the playful end of the spectrum: raspberry, blackberry and sour cherry on top, violet, jasmine and lilac in the heart, and musk with vanilla in the base. The sour cherry is doing the balancing work.

How to choose between them

• If you find most vanillas too sweet, start with the ones built on pepper, wood or amber.
• If you want something for evenings, look for coffee, spice or tonka in the heart and base.
• If you want something bright and fun, fruit on top keeps vanilla from feeling heavy.

Vanilla also changes more than most notes on different skin, often coming across sweeter on some people than others. It is worth wearing one for a full day before deciding.