Launched in 1993 by Parfums de Nicolaï, Vanille Intense is a complex, rich, earthy vanilla scent that jumped out of the bottle and into my heart the first time I smelled it.

Built around natural Bourbon vanilla absolue, it opens with a citrus freshness from orange and a floral note from orange blossom that threads through the scent to the drydown. A whiff of rum highlights the boozy facet of Bourbon vanilla absolue and brings it forward. Slowly, the warm, floral vanilla unfolds and is joined by lush, green immortelle. Expertly balanced, they intertwine beautifully at the heart, where a note of cinnamon gives them a spicy richness. It all rests on a sensuous base of woods, amber, musk and patchouli, which gives it an irresistible dark earthiness.

The drydown is green, woody and earthy, making the sweet vanilla rich and chic and never allowing it to become cloying or dessert-y. It’s the interplay between sweet/green/earthy that makes this fragrance so cravable.

But what makes Vanille Intense unique in the vanilla fragrance genre is the lack of smoke or incense to tame its gourmand tendencies. This vanilla wasn’t tamed by a dragon; it was tamed by a genius.

Notes: orange, orange blossoms, Bourbon vanilla absolue, rum, immortelle, cinnamon, woods, patchouli, amber, musk.