Archive Vanilla
Base note · Sweet
Vanilla.
Creamy and warm. The comfort at the centre of a sweet blend.
Our read on the material, not a measurement.
What it smells like.
Vanilla is warm cream and soft sugar with a faintly boozy, balsamic depth underneath. It is the note people describe as cosy without knowing why. On skin it stays low and close and it takes the sharp corners off everything around it.
In a blend it is a finisher. Fruit becomes dessert, florals become skin-like, woods become warmth. Because it evaporates slowly it is often the last thing left at the end of the day. The caution is the obvious one: vanilla plus caramel plus cotton candy is not a fragrance, it is a bakery. Give it something dry to push against.
Real vanilla is the cured pod of a climbing orchid, and nearly every flower is still pollinated by hand within hours of opening. Months of curing and sweating turn a green, scentless pod into the dark, balsamic bean, most of it from Madagascar. Its price is why perfumery leans on vanillin, the pod's main molecule, for all but the richest builds.
Further reading: Vanilla, Wikipedia
In a blend.
The most reliable base there is. Vanilla rounds edges off everything. It is also the fastest way to make a blend read as sweet, so use it deliberately.
Sweet. Soft sweetness without overpowering. Shop the sweet scents.
Pairs beautifully with.
The 14 scents built with it.
Questions about vanilla.
What does vanilla smell like?
Creamy and warm. The comfort at the centre of a sweet blend. Vanilla is warm cream and soft sugar with a faintly boozy, balsamic depth underneath. It is the note people describe as cosy without knowing why. On skin it stays low and close and it takes the sharp corners off everything around it.
Is vanilla a top, heart or base note?
It is a base note, so it appears last and stays longest. The most reliable base there is. Vanilla rounds edges off everything. It is also the fastest way to make a blend read as sweet, so use it deliberately.
What does vanilla pair well with?
The studio would start with strawberry, jasmine, cedarwood and mandarin. In a blend it is a finisher. Fruit becomes dessert, florals become skin-like, woods become warmth. Because it evaporates slowly it is often the last thing left at the end of the day. The caution is the obvious one: vanilla plus caramel plus cotton candy is not a fragrance, it is a bakery. Give it something dry to push against.
What fragrance family is vanilla in?
Sweet. Soft sweetness without overpowering.
Which Next Fragrance scents contain vanilla?
14, including Next Pearl - Eau De Parfum, Next Rose - Eau De Parfum and Next Bronze - Eau De Parfum. Every note listed on a product page is the real pyramid for that fragrance.
Can I use vanilla in a custom blend?
Yes. It is one of the 42 notes you can choose at the Bench, where you build across the three tiers and we blend it by hand in Adelaide.
Blend with vanilla.
Pick it at the bench, choose up to four notes per tier, and we blend it by hand in Adelaide.
Open the bench
