The best vanilla colognes are generally a bold choice. Sure, vanilla has become shorthand for can’t-fail, baseline appeal. Everyone likes vanilla, even if their individual favorite flavor is something different. Because of this, the word has now taken on new, less positive, meaning: plain, boring, safe, milquetoast.
But funny enough, vanilla is anything but safe in the perfume world: Some people loathe any fragrance with vanilla notes. (Usually the extends to anything that smells edible—a “gourmand” fragrance in the lingo.) But the best perfumers understand vanilla’s powers, and its ability to play well with hefty notes like patchouli, musk, amber, and wood. Even when they use vanilla as the pivotal note, it is delicately laced with these supporting players, so that it settles smoothly into the senses—rather than smelling like a sundae.
If you’re a fan of gourmand fragrances, or if you want to know where the real baseline is set in vanilla perfumery, have a look at out picks for the best vanilla colognes.
The Best Vanilla Colognes, According to GQ
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Best Vanilla Cologne Overall: Tom Ford Tobacco Vanille
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Tyler Chin
Tom Ford
Tobacco Vanille Eau de Parfum
A true heavy winter pick, this is a genuine gourmand vanilla that, with cocoa, complements tobacco’s smokiness perfectly. It’s rounded by spicy ginger and sweet fruit notes, serving up dimension and richness like a top-shelf scotch. There’s a beautiful warm feeling about this scent that has us yearning for cooler temperatures so we can finally drench ourselves in this concoction.
Best Affordable Vanilla Cologne: Snif Vanilla Vice
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Tyler Chin
Everything Snif makes, from laundry detergent to candles, smells good. Everything is meant to evoke a familiar aroma, whether it’s a dessert or a walk through the woods. Snif’s Vanilla Vice cologne is the sweetest of the bunch, getting about as close to having you smell like a scoop of vanilla ice cream on a waffle cone (a very important distinction). It might be a bit too sweet for someone who’s more accustomed to smokey or woodsy scents, but it complements the notes of sweet vanilla sugar with an underlying hint of musk—just to keep things balanced.
Best Savory Vanilla Cologne: D.S. & Durga Deep Dark Vanilla
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Tyler Chin
D.S & DURGA
Deep Dark Vanilla Eau de Parfum
Vanilla doesn’t need to be all about sweets and desserts. D.S. & Durga’s Deep Dark Vanilla brings in heavier hints like patchouli, and leather in the mix that helps to accentuate vanilla’s underlying savory notes. There’s also a bit of spiciness in there that really makes this interesting. It’s a bit like you sprayed yourself with some good rum, minus the smell of booze.
Best Crisp Vanilla Cologne: Diptyque Eau Duelle EDT
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Tyler Chin
Diptyque
Eau Duelle Eau De Toilette
For something a little more crisp and refreshing, Diptyque’s Eau Duelle (French for “duel”) offers yet another dimension to vanilla that doesn’t necessarily play up its sweet aspects. We like this one because it has a clean cotton type of smell that’s evocative of clean laundry that you might have accidentally dripped some vanilla extract onto. This feels like a great scent to apply in the morning and have it linger throughout the day before transitioning to something darker and headier for the night.
Best Luxury Vanilla Cologne: Guerlain Spiritueuse Vanille
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Tyler Chin
Guerlain
