Vintage Vanilla, our fourth fragrance, is a tribute to things that get better with age. A worn-in leather jacket, a vinyl record rediscovered at the back of a crate, a carefully curated vintage piece of furniture. Here's the story behind this eau de parfum featuring vanilla and leather notes.
After &Horace and its timeless white t-shirt vibe, Oud Rose and its bold leopard-print tuxedo, l'étiquette and its lavender-cigarette accord, then Vetiver Primavera inspired by a morning in an Italian lemon grove, we were looking for a new direction for our fourth fragrance. The idea came from observing the objects around us: that noble patina that makes things more beautiful, richer, more desirable over time.
The Inspiration: A Unique Vanilla-Leather Accord
We wanted to capture this vintage idea in a men's fragrance. Not in a nostalgic or old-fashioned sense, rather in what's most noble about it: materials that improve, leather that develops character, pieces that gain personality over the years. From this reflection came the concept of Vintage Vanilla: an accord between raw, powerful vanilla and notes of weathered leather and suede.
To help us, we called (once again) on Caroline Dumur, the perfumer who had already created Oud Rose and l'étiquette for us. The brief: create an enveloping yet raw fragrance, spicy and warm, that evokes those precious objects that improve with age. A vintage leather jacket, an antique piece of noble wood, a material that tells a story.
A Spicy Vanilla Far From Conventional Codes
To break away from the sweet, gourmand vanilla of mainstream fragrances, we envisioned a vanilla with character, presence, something enveloping and bold. Caroline Dumur worked with a raw, almost wild vanilla, which she immediately paired with the requested leather accords.
Leather is the vintage material par excellence. It's also a fragrance note that's simultaneously animalic, warm, and noble. Combined with vanilla, it creates that sense of raw comfort and authentic material we were looking for. To reinforce this skin-like texture, the perfumer added suede notes and labdanum, an amber, balsamic resin that gives depth and longevity to the eau de parfum.
Oriental Spices That Make an Immediate Impact
We also wanted to surprise from the first seconds. Vintage Vanilla had to be a bold men's fragrance. Caroline Dumur crafted assertive top notes: nutmeg, cumin, and pink pepper. Pink pepper brings vibrancy and spicy sweetness. Nutmeg warms immediately. And cumin, more daring, establishes a slightly animalic, leathery dimension from the start that hints at the base notes to come.
These spices are like the imperfections of a beautiful, raw material. They add depth, character, personality. For us, embracing our creative choices has always been essential, and Vintage Vanilla fully continues in this direction.
At the heart of the fragrance, saffron—a precious, slightly leathery spice—adds richness, while violet brings a powdery facet reminiscent of a leather jacket's lining and softens the composition while maintaining its intensity.
A Woody Fragrance That Evolves Over Time
Like a vintage object, Vintage Vanilla reveals itself gradually on the skin. The more you wear it, the more it unfolds. The base notes—vanilla, leather, labdanum—are present from the start, and they reach their full expression after a few hours. It's an eau de parfum that lasts all day and evolves, warms up, becomes almost a second skin.
This longevity and evolution result from Caroline Dumur's work on dosage and raw material selection: highly concentrated vanilla, persistent labdanum, high-quality leather accords. Everything was designed so the fragrance continues to reveal itself throughout the day and accompanies the wearer from morning to night.
A French Fragrance Handcrafted in Grasse, World Capital of Perfume
Like all our men's fragrances, Vintage Vanilla's concentrate is handcrafted in Grasse, the historic birthplace of French perfumery. This commitment to quality and artisanal craftsmanship guarantees exceptional olfactory richness and lasting power. Working with Grasse artisans ensures an uncompromising level of quality and authentic expertise passed down through generations.
Who Is This Fragrance For ?
Vintage Vanilla is for those who appreciate fine materials, who love things with history and character. It's a men's fragrance for someone who embraces a bold, enveloping, almost tactile sillage. An eau de parfum that, as its name suggests, improves with time—both on the skin and in the bottle you rediscover with pleasure each day.
Raw and enveloping. Spicy and warm. Vintage Vanilla is the olfactory expression of a philosophy dear to us: the finest things are those that get better with age.
Fragrance Notes:
- Top Notes: Nutmeg, Cumin, Pink Pepper
- Heart Notes: Saffron, Violet
- Base Notes: Vanilla, Leather, Labdanum