Bath & Body Works Warm Vanilla Sugar (2007): Euro-American Cultural Curio {Perfume Review & Musings}
Warm Vanilla Sugar Eau de Toilette by Bath and Body Works (2007) (to be distinguished from the 2006 limited-edition BBW Seductive Perfume Mist Warm Vanilla Sugar) has an interesting background story to it. It was specifically designed by perfumer David Apel, like a puzzle to be solved, to consist of the most popular common notes which he could find both in the European and American markets at the time he was inspired to create it. Veltol, which is another name for Ethyl Maltol and which smells of cotton candy and caramel, is one of the 8 transatlantic notes. "I looked at [the top fragrances in the] US Market and the European market -- they were completely different." At the time, gourmand notes dominated in Europe, while the US list was ruled by "very aquatic, sheer" scents. I made a compilation of just the raw materials that were common between the two," he says. "There were only eight. Those eight raw materials in that proportion is Warm Vanilla Sugar by BBW. Everyone said, "This will never sell,"but we presented it and [the client] snapped it up. It's fun to find some kind of puzzle." [Perfumer & Flavorist Magazine]
Notes: sheer florals, vanilla absolute / Basmati rice, coconut, vanilla absolute / vanilla absolute, heliotrope, musk, Veltol, sandalwood.
The perfume opens on an airy floral, orchid-like note of vanilla with a nuance for me of exotic Jackfruit followed next by a more toffee-like impression of sweets but enlivened and spiced up by a hint of smokiness. Yes, smoke can feel like spice for its wake-up-call effect and light jolt given to the nerves...
The Basmati rice accord is distinguishable on its own sometimes, smelling more at times like sticky rice pudding, at other times like an ethereal impression of rice steam. You can see that the note contributes to add both lightness to the vanilla absolute and bring added fattiness to the buttery toffee impression, which nevertheless stops short of smelling like a regular caramel candy; it is a little bit more abstract and suggestive than that.
The Basmati rice accord becomes more distinctive when the watery note in it becomes more discernable. There are fleeting nuances of almond milk and almond-scented glue too.
The gustatory impression in Warm Vanilla Sugar is undeniably present. When I smell the perfume again after a short pause, my general fresh impression of it feels like lifting the lid of a cooking pot containing a stew of Thai coconut curry, savory nuance included. Created before Jo Malone Sweet Lime and Cedar (2008), there are common tonalities between the two scents and certainly a shared kinship in the family of gourmand fragrances.
As the perfume dries down, the almond nuance of heliotrope becomes more prominent accentuating the comforting personality of the scent but also its slightly vintage charm as if L'Heure Bleue or Hypnotic Poison would have accidentally been spilled into a bowl of warm milk made from diluted condensed milk. On another take, it makes me think of a Belle Epoque Après L'Ondée flacon filled with dry granulated brown sugar.
What prevents the composition from feeling only like a predictable ode to Ethyl Maltol (Thierry Mugler Angel; Aquolina Pink Sugar) are the white notes of Basmati rice and heliotropin which cut through the brown caramelized crust of the sugar.
Going back to David Apel's quote, we can see more clearly that what he did also was unite the gourmand oriental family which is popular in Europe with the sheer musky-floral, a perennial favorite in the United States. The Basmati Rice note, I suspect, might come from Creed Love in White (2005).
If you count the notes in the description there are indeed 8 distinct notes as promised. Apel confesses to having a scientific mind-set, and it was given leeway in this fragrance made by an engineer.
When happening on the scent at your next visit at Bath and Body Works, you will be able to smell an Euro-American cultural curio, something you probably did not suspect was on display at BBW. It also goes to show how perfumes are not inert, stupid objects but really the translations of mental processes inviting you to open the pages of their contents to decipher them.
The fragrance is currently on sale for 50% less at $13.25 for 2.5 fl. oz.
Previous Posts in Perfume Review & Musings:
Armani Acqua di Gioia (2010): Jukebox-Fragrance
Jennifer Aniston EDP (2010): Remake Made in Hollywood
Jessica Simpson Fancy Nights (2010): American Gum-Popping Princess
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