430 Vanoffeander

This is an unusual blend, that started out of curiosity. A friend who is not really into perfumery, wanted me to make a blend of their 3 favourite scents, Vanilla, Coffee and Coriander.

I mixed the 3 materials at first in a simple blend as a test, and showed my friend.

They were very surprised that it did not smell how they expected, but they enjoyed the aroma. They thought it would have a sweet top note, with a green herbal middle and a coffee base. But this is not how perfumery works, things do not stay separate, they form connections.

Also the Vanilla I used was a Papuan Vanilla pod, quite unique compared to most commercial vanilla, the leathery aspects connect with the dark earthy elements of the Coffee, creating a sweet, resinous aroma.

The Coriander adds a dynamic, unexpected twist to these 2 harmonious materials, pulling them towards a more herbal profile. This creates a kind of cola-like note, to be more specific, those cola bottle sweets that are half brown and half clear.

I worked upon this simple blend, shaping it to be more interesting to my nose. It was quite difficult to work on, as highly contrasting materials that combine well, have to also match the new materials added, which can create unwanted too intense contrast, or smooth out things too much that the interesting contrast disappears.

Smelling from the applicator, Vanoffeander opens with a rich, warm, earthy coffee note, that smells almost like peppermint chocolate. The coriander adds an unusual effect to the coffee, making the note feel more robust and fresh, with a green, herbal twist. The Coriander has a kind of mirage effect where it can feel green and herbal, or sweet and resinous.

The Papuan Vanilla sits at a lower frequency in the blend, nestled in the middle notes, rather than the high.

It brings in an earthy sweetness, that merges beautifully with the Coffee, making it slightly harder to recognize.

Other detectable notes are: Cocoa, which comes through with the Coffee, providing a sweet connection to the Papuan Vanilla.

Brown Ambergris, which adds a interesting smoothing effect, which feels like it comes from the base upwards. Deep, musky notes that add an interesting atmosphere to the blend.

Beeswax, which helps add creamy facets to the Coffee and Vanilla, and this works very well with the Ambergris too, enhancing the smoothing effects.

Flouve, which helps add a more complex feel to the Coffee, with it;s delicately sweet, earthy tones.

Smelling on the skin, Vanoffeander opens with a beautiful note that is in-between Coffee and Cocoa. This blend has had a lot of time to sit and mature, so the notes have become fused, and create interesting nuances. The Beeswax comes through really nicely in the opening too, combining with the other notes, and carrying them through to the opening.

Initially this blend smelled like cola bottles, but now it has had time to mature, it smells more like a Coffee infused caramel chocolate slice, with interesting woody nuances from the 2017 North Thai Agarwood in the base.

The coriander notes are much more base oriented when wearing on the skin, it feels camouflaged under the other notes, acting more as a contrast element and enhancer to the Coffee and Vanilla, although it still has the same mirage effect, where once noticed it seems to change it's shape.

I used the following materials in Vanoffeander in relative order of potency:

Italian Coffee Co2

Mysore Sandalwood EO

2017 Thai Agarwood EO

Buoya Wood EO

Papuan Vanilla Absolute

Brown Ambergris Tincture

Cocoa Co2

Najjar Arabic Coffee Absolute

Ruh Khus

Coffee Blossom Absolute

Coriander EO

Beeswax Absolute

Orris Absolute

Ugandan Vanilla Absolute

Greenheart Wood EO

Cassie Absolute

Flouve Absolute

Civet Absolute