Sweet and strong, gourmand and bitter, soft, spicy and warm, with some animalic facets. Vanilla is one of the most popular and sought-after notes in perfume. It’s simple, spicy, sweetness is a powerful aphrodisiac, and it blends wonderfully with any other note. The range of vanilla accents is deep, ranging from light, filigreed frosting to plush, heavy, smoky syrup. It’s natural spiciness allows vanilla to pair well with not only other sweet, dessert notes but also exotic additions like suede, patchouli, yuzu, or litchee fruit, gardenia and tuberose. What’s best about vanilla perfumes is that they are always appropriate no matter the season, and transition instantly from light day wear to ultra-sensual late-night looks. Vanilla perfumes are a must in any collection, and the variety available will allow years of happy sampling. For those seeking the finest, spiciest style in vanilla scent - start by trying Madagascar vanilla first.

Patchouli is a deeply spiced, thickly herbal and immediately recognizable note - it’s “dirty hippie” reputation doesn’t do it justice. Patchouli’s scent lies somewhere between cumin’s sharp and acrid tang and nutmeg’s smooth, sweet warmth, and it can carry a fragrance or blend easily with other, spicier notes. It is ideal in heated, spicy perfumes that feature leather, smoke, resins, and lighter aromatic notes like lavender and geranium. Patchouli’s exotic strength can be an acquired taste in perfume, but it’s many moods and blends make it an endlessly fascinating note to explore in the spicy end of the scent spectrum.

Blackcurrant

An intoxicatingly sweet scent of many facets: velvety, smoky, balsamic and whisperingly reminiscent of tobacco. Tonka bean is an excellent fixative, extending its milky-smooth facets to mix and meld notes in complex accords. A powerful, sensual scent that is often likened to vanilla. Tonka beans are tiny, shriveled, black seeds from the Tonka tree found in Central and South America. Their slightly sweet, vanillic, and smoky hay scent adds a spicy, gourmand edge to a fragrance. Tonka beans work best in spicy and sweet scents featuring similar notes: clove, vanilla, heliotrope, bitter almonds, labdanum, cinnamon, etc. Their vanilla and hay-like scent is ideal for fall or winter, but usually blends well enough to wear any time you need a little sweet, warm spice to liven up the citrus or wood notes in a fragrance.