My Vanilla Collection
Vanilla fragrance
I have created 5 fragrances around vanilla, a raw material that has always been dear to me. Vanilla-based perfume is a theme that I have worked on many times for Guerlain, notably with Cuir Beluga, Double Vanille, Angélique Noire, Bois d'Arménie, Tonka Impériale, L'instant pour Femme and L'eau de Toilette Instant pour Homme.
I wanted to create a collection where the main raw material is natural, unsweetened vanilla.
My aim was to shake things up, to reinvent, to surprise with audacious associations and to provoke contrasts between top, hear and base notes.
My challenge is to appeal to those who might say "no, I don't like vanilla-based perfumes", with fragrances that are suitable for both men and women.
Did you know that a man's perfume on a woman's skin softens, while a woman's perfume on a man's skin becomes more masculine?
Different themes of my vanilla perfumes
Before revealing my Vanilla Collection in detail, here are the main themes of the 5 fragrances:
After my Musk Collection, here are 5 perfumes based on vanilla in my second Collection, still in the same sober and elegant bottle.
I chose to work on these perfumes around a vanilla from Madagascar, even if today it is found in 18 countries including Mayotte, India and Mexico.
Vanilla has become a rare and very luxurious material because the price has increased tenfold in 4 years.
You can discover Valkyrie fragrance with very fresh citrus notes such as bergamot, lemon and aromatic notes, which contrast with vanilla.
You will also discover a woody fragrance Vangelis where vanilla combines with woody notes such as vetiver, cedar, patchouli and spicy scents.
Vanori will take you on a journey with its solar and exotic vanilla.
Vahina will cuddle you with its orange blossom and osmanhus notes.
Virgile will surprise you with its original combination of sage and vanilla notes.
Why vanilla?
Vanilla is a unique material because of its botanical nature, the olfactory treasures it contains and its price.
Indeed, the vanilla bean is surprisingly rich in aroma and has always been a queen.
The fleshy Madagascar vanilla bean is not sweet, in fact it has an enveloping scent and a great sensuality that comes in milky, honeyed, amber, woody, spicy, animal and rum notes.
Vanilla is the magician of desire, a bewitcher that provokes a sensual dizziness, it is hypnotic, generous and invites sin.
The scent of vanilla has the taste and smell of happiness. Vanilla is the odalisque of perfume and leaves an addictive trail.
Only a few perfumes, eau de parfum or eau de toilette, contain natural vanilla. Often it is substituted by synthetic vanilla scents, which are much sweeter and less expensive.
On the other hand, synthetic vanilla products can enhance the natural one.
The origin of vanilla, a wonderful raw material
In the tropical forests, in the shade of the undergrowth, a mysterious liana grows. It is an orchid, the only one to bear fruit.
Vanilla planifolia pod is used for the vanilla scent.
It is a vanilla that originated in Mexico and is pollinated by the melipone, the work of a small bee.
Edmond Albius found the secret of fertilising vanilla at the age of 12, while still being a slave in 1848.
The plant spur that closes the orchid is lifted with a piece of bamboo and the pollen is collected and brought into contact with the pistil.
This operation can only take place in the morning, when the flower has just bloomed.
It takes about 18 months to obtain its fruit, the famous black pod.
Vanilla processing
Vanilla beans are scalded for 3 minutes and then placed in a blanket for 24 hours.
Upon awakening, the vanilla beans are turned once a day under the sun for a few hours to kill the bacteria and dry them well.
This step is done from morning to early afternoon for 15 days. The vanilla beans will then be sorted by hand one by one to make sure they are dried.
In perfumery, 3 types of products are used to obtain the sensual scent of vanilla
- Vanilla tincture, which consists of macerating split pods in alcohol for about a month. At Guerlain, they can macerate for much longer, and are even kept for several years. This technique is almost no longer used. Guerlain is one of the few houses to create vanilla tincture.
- Vanilla absolute is obtained after extraction of the pods with volatile solvents.
- Vanillin and ethyl-vanillin, or caramel notes (maltol): synthetic products that I used sometimes to sublimate natural vanilla, which is at the centre of my creations.
You can also use :
- Benzoin resin, which also gives natural vanilla notes.
- Natural chocolate.
Anecdotes
The Aztecs used vanilla to flavour a chocolate-based drink.
Vanilla is said to be a remedy for anxiety. It brings strength and good health.
Discover the Vanilla Collection by Sylvaine Delacourte
Try at home the Vanilla Collection thanks to its Discovery Box (5 Eaux de Parfum x 2 ml) and rediscover this raw materials as you never smelled it before.