𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐞 𝐌𝐨𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐧 𝐕𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐚 𝐅𝐫𝐚𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐬 𝐀𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐚 𝐂𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐠𝐨𝐫𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐎𝐰𝐧 | 𝐀𝐋𝐋𝐔𝐑𝐄 𝐌𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐳𝐢𝐧𝐞, 𝐔𝐒𝐀

Vanilla is nostalgia bottled—and there are many ways to spritz on sentimentality. Perfumers are ushering in a new modern vanilla era—and Allure editors, even ones who have avoided vanilla perfumes in the past, are quickly falling under its spell. 

Vanilla has, historically, been the stuff of birthday cakes and ’90s perfumes: "Everyone was wearing vanilla [in the 90s] and everything smelled like it: The Body Shop, candles, vanilla-scented Beanie Babies—everything," recalls Rosie Jane Johnston, the perfumer behind her namesake brand.

And now, once again, a lot of things are smelling sweet like vanilla…but not too sweet. Because vanilla doesn’t always have to smell like a cupcake. The grunge generation’s love for the fragrance note was ignited by 1992’s Thierry Mugler Angel, for example, the first modern gourmand scent and "a heady, perfume-y thing that you didn’t wear, it wore you," says Bee Shapiro, founder of Ellis Brooklyn. It was proof that vanilla can even verge on risqué. (More proof: Vanilla was once used in so many love potions that its sale was banned in Medieval Europe.)

Over the past two years, vanilla has been taking over fragrances once again. By/Rosie Jane launched Dulce in 2022, "a true vanilla, straight up,” says Johnston, who most definitely is not exaggerating. “A tiny amount of Hinoki wood [makes it] elevated, but it’s still just undeniable vanilla." Jennifer Fisher blended vanilla and coconut for her first fragrance, My Scent, right around the same time. "I want anyone wearing it to feel sexy," says Fisher. And Ellis Brooklyn introduced Vanilla Milk.

As someone who reaches for floral, citrus, or fresh, green fragrances—basically, anything that’s the opposite of warm scents like vanilla—Allure’s senior beauty editor Paige Stables didn’t expect Ellis Brooklyn Vanilla Milk to pique her senses. But at first spritz, she says, the namesake blend of vanilla and milk (plus musk and peony rose) dried down like a second skin, only fancier. It was not overpowering, but still much more sensual and sophisticated than sugary. Stables is one to change her fragrance regularly, but she spritzed it on day after day, over any of the countless other fragrances atop her vanity. If you are looking to ease into vanilla fragrances—or not abandon your signature scent altogether—Bvlgari has made it easy for you with their Allegra Magnifying Vanilla, a vanilla bean scent for sweetening up your usual perfume by layering the two.

“I can’t exactly put my finger on why Ellis Brooklyn Vanilla Milk is what changed my mind about vanilla fragrances,” adds Allure content director Kara McGrath of her own similar experience. “Perhaps the floral notes made it feel more sophisticated, or maybe it just launched at a time when vanilla felt trendy—but not too trendy—so I happily hopped on board. But it was definitely my gateway. Before Vanilla Milk, McGrath says, “I would have described myself as only liking herbaceous, musky, spicy scents; after Vanilla Milk, I was calling in every gourmand fragrance that hit my inbox.”

Month after month, brand after brand brought something vanilla to the fragrance counter. In 2023, there was Tom Ford Vanilla Sex, Nette Thé Vanille, and D.S. & Durga Deep Dark Vanilla, to name a few. This year, millions have a sweet tooth, with TikTok views of vanilla perfume hashtags up 382.9% since last year, according to Spate—in fact, vanilla perfume hashtags have received 20.4M views on average per week. (And that’s without smell-o-vision.)

The reality is, “everyone gravitates emotionally toward the same things," says Johnston. Line up three of your favorite fragrances, and the odds are good that there’s some vanilla in at least one because it’s one of perfumery’s most universally comforting scents. "It’s in foods we’ve associated with treats since childhood, such as ice cream," says Meabh McCurtin, a perfumer at International Flavors & Fragrances. "It’s strongly linked to our memories and a signal for pleasure. It’s hard not to feel happy when you smell it."

There’s a reason why people have cookies baking when they’re trying to sell a house, adds Johnston. And it’s currently filling rooms beyond the kitchen: Vanilla has made its way into our dry shampoo, with Living Proof’s Perfect Hair Day Dry Shampoo in a limited-edition vanilla scent. Briogeo is celebrating its 10th birthday with Don't Despair, Repair! Deep Conditioning Hair Mask in a limited-edition Vanilla Birthday Cake scent. Even your laundry detergent can smell like vanilla, with Dedcool’s Dedtergent, which is now available in two gourmand fragrances called Milk and Xtra Milk.

Because of vanilla’s universal appeal, “I reach for vanilla fragrances when I’m going to be in a group setting; I know they’re generally crowd pleasers, even for the most sensitive of noses,” says McGrath. She rotates Vanilla Milk, Boy Smells Vanilla Era (spicy), D.S. & Durga Deep Dark Vanilla (smoky), and Byredo Vanille Antique (musky).

Like McGrath’s lineup suggests, “vanilla” may get the spotlight on the bottle, but most of these are not plain vanilla scents. “Traditionally, vanilla fragrances can feel sweet— a bit juvenile,” says Chriselle Lim, founder of Phlur. Lim recently launched Vanilla Skin, and as someone who has worn it regularly since it launched back at the start of summer, Stables can confirm it’s sweet—and a bit spicy. “It's not for the faint of heart,” says Lim, adding “we wanted to make sure that it was paired with some unexpected notes to add more depth to a universally loved scent, so our version of vanilla contains notes like woods and pink pepper.”

And, sometimes, vanilla is not front-and-center—but still makes its presence known. Tom Ford recently expanded their Ombré Leather collection with Eau D’Ombré Leather, a bottle filled with notes of leather, amber, and, yes, velvety vanilla. It’s a sweet (but not at all cloying) twist on the rich, woody original blend. For Allure’s art director Ingrid Fowler, it’s scents like Tom Ford’s—the ones that include vanilla without making it the “star”—that have led her into this decadent space. Fowler has been wearing L'Objet Bois Sauvage: “It's earthy-yet-sweet—herbal with a warm sweetness like brown sugar. It is so unique and like nothing I've smelled before.”

These modern vanillas are complex, unique, unexpected. Ahead, shop more of Allure editors’ favorite vanilla-infused fragrances.

Meet the experts:

• Rosie Jane Johnston is the perfumer behind her namesake brand By/Rosie Jane.
• Bee Shapiro is the founder of Ellis Brooklyn.
• Meabh McCurtin is a perfumer at International Flavors & Fragrances.
• Jennifer Fisher is an accessories designer and founder of Jennifer Fisher.
• Chriselle Lim is the founder of Phlur.