VANILLA (PLANIFOLIA)

Vanilla planifolia is the orchid behind much of the familiar sweet vanilla used in flavouring and fragrance. In perfume, its cured pods suggest rounded warmth that can move from creamy sweetness towards woody or balsamic depth. Planifolia is a botanical name: it tells you which plant is meant, rather than where it was grown or how its aroma was extracted.

The fresh fruit needs curing to develop the characteristic vanilla aroma. Perfumers can then work with different preparations: an absolute and an alcohol tincture, for example, do not name the same process. Guerlain describes a tincture made by soaking its chosen planifolia vanilla in alcohol, alongside other processing techniques. A perfume may emphasise the resulting sweetness or surround it with spice, woods and amber-like warmth. The botanical label alone does not specify that finished composition.