How Vanilla Are You?
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If you venture down the online rabbit hole of how the word vanilla became synonymous with boring and basic, you learn that, ironically, it gained traction in the 1970s as a slang for sex—albeit as a dig for being unexciting and unadventurous in that regard. Over the years, vanilla evolved into a blanket term to describe anything deemed bland and uninspiring despite the fact that as a spice, vanilla is rich in sweet, nutty flavor and that the smell of vanilla was recently crowned the number one most pleasing scent to people worldwide in an Oxford University–led study.
You don’t have to convince Mona Kattan, founder of the hugely popular Kayali Perfume brand and sister to makeup megastar Huda Kattan (the two are business partners in Huda Beauty). She believes that our sensory relationship with vanilla starkly contrasts its blah colloquialism.
Kattan’s Vanilla 28 Eau de Parfum—a soft, delicately sweet blend of three different vanilla notes with musk, a hint of jasmine, and brown sugar—is the bestselling fragrance in her collection. Its huge popularity inspired her newest scent, the limited edition Vanilla Royale Sugared Patchouli 64 Eau de Parfum Intense. A richer, sultrier vanilla-amber blend, it spices things up with sugared patchouli, royal oud, rum, and crème brûlée.
While floral scents and citrus fragrances have traditionally been the top sellers in the U.S., the success of Kattan’s vanilla fragrances (the first of which launched at the end of 2018) wafts of a larger shift in our overall fragrance habits where in addition to applying perfume to smell good for others, we’re now embracing it as a means of self-care.
“For many of us, fragrance served as an escape during the pandemic lockdown,” says Kattan, who at the time ordered all the scents she wore in high school and spritzed them on while stuck at home to mentally bring herself back to simpler, happier times. “Whether it was putting on perfume just for yourself or lighting candles in your home or setting out fresh flowers, scent became a tool to change up our environment when we couldn’t physically go anywhere.” Indeed, in a survey conducted by fragrance house Firmenich, 58 percent of consumers said they appreciate scents more now than they did pre-2020, and soothing, comforting fragrances that ignite feelings of serenity—particularly those with gourmand notes like vanilla that convey a sense of wellbeing and nostalgia—are in greater demand now.
While the height of the pandemic is behind us, the current news stream is still a source of anxiety for many of us, which seems to be driving a collective desire for familiar, comforting fragrances. “Scent can take us back to a memory of feeling safe and secure, and vanilla is so tied to our childhood,” says Kattan. “Growing up, we all had celebratory moments that involved vanilla cake or vanilla ice cream, so the smell of vanilla is often nostalgic and triggers memories of happy, childlike innocence and feeling protected.”
Our yearning for the warm fuzzies may be tied to a newfound appreciation for staying in our comfort zone, says Sherry Pagoto, a licensed clinical psychologist and a professor of allied health sciences at the University of Connecticut. “We all sought relief from two years of anxiety and stress,” she explains. “We were out of our comfort zone for such a prolonged period of time that now we want to get back into our safe space, so you may find yourself drawn to scents, sights, sounds, anything that you associate with a sense of calm.”
Then there’s the added bonus that wearing perfume invites people to lean in and smell you, so it encourages the intimate, personal contact we were cut off from for some time. “We all crave physical closeness, and we use fragrance to make that experience even more powerful,” says Pagoto. “For so long, we were restricted from these very core human desires, and now that we’re engaging in them again, the familiarities feel better than ever.”
Not only are people finding tranquility and connection lately through scents like vanilla—they’re also discovering the benefits of leading a more vanilla, stable lifestyle. The thrill of living moment-to-moment that energized some of us pre-pandemic became less appealing after the long stretch of uncertainty. “Now simple pleasures are exciting, and serenity feels almost euphoric,” says Pagoto. There’s also something to be said for how being more vanilla allows for better attention on your goals. “I’ve found that to be a go-getter, you have to be a little vanilla,” says Kattan. “You need consistency, stability, and a bit of safety to achieve success. So I own being vanilla because to me, that doesn’t mean you’re boring—it means you’re focused and an achiever.”
The smell of success may not be vanilla for everyone, but there’s no question that soothing scents affect our state of mind. If you want to find a fragrance that ignites feelings of comfort and calm, Kattan suggests thinking back to a memory that brings you immense joy and envisioning what was around you at that time. “What scents were in that environment—were you at the beach? In the crisp mountain air? Then, explore fragrances that have notes or a scent profile that links to that environment. Or think of a person who really comforts you and determine a scent that you associate with this individual, then look for that in a perfume.” Kattan encourages approaching fragrance less as a beauty accessory and more as a mood enhancer. “When you find a fragrance that reminds you of when you feel your best and safest, it’s an incredibly powerful tool for self-care,” she says.
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