Vanilla Era

Boy Smells started in Los Angeles as a candle brand before moving into fine fragrance, and it has kept the irreverence that came with that beginning. Vanilla Era, released in 2023, is described by the house itself as an anti-vanilla gourmand scent with attitude, which is a fair summary of the intent. Boy Smells credits Jérôme Epinette as the perfumer, and his stated aim was a refined, modern reading of the classic vanilla note with a spicy yet delicate opening. In a category currently drowning in vanilla, that positioning matters.

The house publishes white tulip and black pepper on top, beetroot and black amber in the middle, and vanilla with coffee absolute at the base. Beetroot is the note that gives the game away. It is earthy, faintly sweet and slightly raw, and it is the reason Vanilla Era never smells like a bakery. Wider readings also list saffron and olibanum in the opening and papyrus and cashmere wood underneath, which fits how it wears.

The first ten minutes are peppery and green, more floral than sweet, with the tulip reading fresh and almost stemmy. Then the amber arrives, dark and resinous, and the vanilla underneath is roasted rather than creamy, with the coffee absolute giving it a bitter edge. There is an animalic warmth to the drydown that surprises people who bought it expecting comfort. It is a vanilla for people who normally avoid vanilla.

It is unisex without hedging, best after dark, and it prefers cool air. A Cape winter evening gives it room; heat pushes the amber forward and can make it heavy.

Performance is good rather than enormous. As an eau de parfum expect six to eight hours on skin with moderate projection in the first two, settling into a close, warm, faintly smoky trail. No reformulation has been announced, which is hardly surprising for something this new. Boy Smells also sells Vanilla Era as a candle, a reed diffuser and a travel spray, so the name alone does not tell you what format you are buying; the eau de parfum is the one worth judging the composition on.