Best Women’s Luxury Vanilla Perfumes
The search for the best luxury vanilla perfume… not too sweet and not too mature
To all my vanilla fragrance lovers out there, this one is for you. Why is searching for a great women’s vanilla perfume such a challenge?
I absolutely love vanilla based scents, but finding the right ones can be difficult. I’m always searching for a scent that isn’t your typical cloyingly sweet vanilla, but also isn't too musky either.
There are so many vanilla fragrances that seem either mature or too juvenile for me. It feels like when you search for “best women’s vanilla perfumes” you get a lot of results that either remind you of a grandma, or a middle school body spray that will give you a headache. What about the women who want something upscale in between and still love the smell of vanilla?
Also, what are the best unique vanilla perfumes? While Baccarat Rouge 540 by Maison Francis Kurkdjian and Flowerbomb by Viktor and Rolf are lovely scents with notes of vanilla, I really love fragrances that smell distinctive and special.
I’ve tried many perfumes over the years, but below are my current favorites that I would recommend and my reviews of each one. Hopefully this guide below will give you some great new fragrances to try!
Best luxury vanilla perfumes for women:
Chloé Atelier des Fleurs
Vanilla Planifolia Review
This fragrance smells SO good! I absolutely love this scent. To me, it smells like vanilla mixed with fresh flowers, toffee, and a dash of cinnamon. It is more of a green or fresh vanilla, but definitely still vanilla leaning. If you’re looking for a truly special vanilla fragrance that smells more grown up but still fun, this fragrance could be for you! When first sprayed out of the bottle, the scent can be a bit robust and lean more towards the floral notes. However, as it dries down, it turns into a really lovely powdery vanilla.
This scent is something super unique that I have never smelled before. The Chloe website describes the scent as containing “spicy petal notes…with a fresh floral accord”. While I would say this description is accurate, it really does not do this fragrance justice as these notes are wrapped in a sweet vanilla.
So, where do you purchase Chloe Vanilla Planifolia?
Unfortunately, the answer to this question is the biggest downside to this perfume. It was extremely difficult for me to find this scent in California.
Nordstrom online does seem to carry it in very limited quantities, but it sells out fast and is consistently out of the stock. The scent is also available on the Chloe website, but it seems to be almost always out of stock there too (ugh!).
Thankfully, I managed to purchase a bottle in person at the Chloe boutique located in South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa when I was in the area for my sister in law’s wedding. If you’re located near a Chloe store and interested in this fragrance, it might be worth calling or stopping by to see if they have it in stock!
Van Cleef and Arpels
Orchidee Vanille Review
I am so excited to share this review with you about Van Cleef and Arpels Orchidee Vanille! I have to be honest, this fragrance was a totally unexpected find for me, but I am really loving it so far.
I actually stumbled upon this scent totally by accident. I had purchased some shoes for my wedding from Saks Fifth Avenue, but when they arrived, they didn’t look quite the same as what I saw online, so I needed to return them. There is only one Saks Fifth Avenue location in all of Northern California, and that happens to be the large store in San Fransisco. I didn’t want to make the trip alone, so I asked my best friend Marisa to come with me and turn our return into a girls day.
First order of business once we got the store, return the shoes. Once we had that completed, we headed over to cosmetics and accessories area to browse for a while. I saw this fragrance on the counter, spotted the word “Vanille” on the bottle and asked the sales associated for a test spray.
I always like to wear perfume or fragrance on my skin for a few hours to test it out before purchasing, so the associated gave me quick spritz and we decided to return to our shopping day.
A few hours went by and Marisa and I kept saying “WOW THAT SMELLS SO GOOD!” every time we would catch a whiff of it throughout the afternoon. We got in the car to drive home and even after many hours out and about, were still talking about how great it smelled on our drive back!
Needless so say, I couldn’t stop thinking about it and ended up going back to purchase it in person from Saks Fifth Avenue a few days later. This is also available online at Neiman Marcus and Bloomingdales.
La Collection Privee
Christian Dior
Vanilla Diorama Review
I first discovered Vanilla Diorama in my own research about luxury vanilla perfumes not too long ago. This fragrance falls under La Collection Privee Christian Dior, which is a special collection that is not as widely available as the traditional Dior scents like Miss Dior, J’adore or Poison.
I searched high and low at different department stores and beauty retailers for many weeks to find it to smell it in person and was unsuccessful. Thankfully, a good friend of mine (Hi, Matt!) happened to be traveling to Paris and offered to join me on the hunt for this elusive perfume from abroad. We were both so excited when he found it in the Dior store at the Paris airport on his way home! He purchased a bottle for me and brought it back to the US.
However, as luck would have it, a few weeks later (before I had a chance to meet up with Matt) I popped into Neiman Marcus in San Francisco. To my surprise, they had an entire Dior beauty area, including a seriously gorgeous build out for La Collection Privee Christian Dior. The private collection area was stunning and featured all the special scents with perfumes and candles, as well as beautiful artwork and decor.
So, while it may not appear on the Neiman Marcus website, if you are looking to purchase Vanilla Diorama in person, the SF location in Union Square definitely has it! If you don’t live in SF, it may also be worth checking out your local Neiman Marcus, Bloomingdales or a Dior Boutique to see if they carry it. I have also seen this scent available at the Bloomingdales at the Century City Mall in Los Angeles as well.
And now, on to the review! This is definitely the deepest of the vanilla fragrances, with boozy notes and patchouli. When you first spray it, it has a very strong citric scent, but the middle notes develop with notes of rum and spices. However, the dry down is where this scent really shines! It smells like a dark vanilla bean with notes of sandalwood. After several hours, it turns into an addictive smell that reminds me of fresh vanilla ice cream, without being sickeningly sweet. It is mysterious and really decadent in a gorgeous way.
Please note this fragrance is definitely one I would recommend smelling and wearing for several hours before purchasing because it is quite intense and you definitely have to be game for a boozy darker vanilla. When applying, I would consider praying lightly (just one or two sprays - max!). Otherwise, it can quickly be overwhelming.
This is beautiful unique scent for a special night out or a cozy winter date. This is available directly on the Dior website and in select department stores.
Acqua Di Parma
Blu Mediterraneo
Mandorlo di Sicilia Review
I am really saving one of the best for last with this round up. Where do I even begin with Mandorlo di Sicilia? If you know me, you know this fragrance in particular has had my heart for many, many years. This is an oldie, but always a goodie for me!
You see, I must confess I have been wearing Acqua Di Parma Blu Mediterraneo Mandorlo di Sicilia for the last 15 years! I can’t even remember how I originally heard about this scent, or what drove me to try to find it, but I do remember begging my high school boyfriend to take the train with me since we didn’t have cars. I saved all my money for months from working at my after school job at PacSun just to buy this. At the time, I think it was ~$160 for the large 5oz bottle and it was one of my first big purchases for myself.
Turns out, it was totally worth it. Mandorlo di Sicilia has become my signature scent for over a decade and it will forever be a go-to for me. This is still my #1 fragrance and I can’t recommend it enough if you’re someone who loves a gourmand, sweet, or vanilla-esque scent, but really doesn’t want anything too boring. I truly feel like this is one of the best-kept secrets in the fragrance world.
Personally, I think this smells like a cold glass of root beer from an old school soda fountain, in a good way! It has this sweet almond vanilla scent, that somehow feels light and bubbly. The description technically says “star anise, bergamot and orange blend with green Mediterranean almond and ylang-ylang”, but I will let my review speak for itself :).
Fun fact - this scent is actually unisex. I love the refreshing light sweetness of it mixed with the hint of spices and touch of orange. I think this is one of those special fragrances that can really mold to highlight the personality of the wearer.
One more huge plus for Mandorlo di Sicilia? Unlike some of the others on this list, this item is actually pretty easy to find these days. This scent is available at Nordstrom, Sephora, Bloomingdales, and several other other major department stores.