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How to layer sweet vanilla with fresh floral

Sweet vanilla is creamy, sweet and enveloping. Fresh floral is airy, dewy and clean, like peony, freesia or lily of the valley.

Starting ratio

two sprays of vanilla to one of the floral

Best for

Spring days, daytime events and anyone who finds vanilla too sweet on its own.

Note families

Gourmand and Floral

Why this combination works

Vanilla is dense and sugary, while a fresh floral is light and watery. The floral lifts the sweetness so the vanilla reads as creamy rather than cloying, and the vanilla gives the floral something to hold on to, so it lasts longer on skin.

How to layer it

1. Start on clean, moisturised skin. Unscented lotion helps both scents last.
2. Apply the sweet vanilla first, since it is the stronger of the two. Use two sprays of vanilla to one of the floral as a starting point.
3. Wait about a minute, then add the fresh floral over it or on a different pulse point so it is not buried.
4. Give the blend 20 to 30 minutes to settle before judging it. Notes shift as they warm on skin.

The blend as a scent blueprint

This is how the combination maps across a fragrance's top, heart and base. Use it to look for individual scents, or to describe the result you want.

• Toppear, green leaf
• Heartpeony, lily of the valley
• Basevanilla, soft musk

What to avoid

Do not use a heavy, indolic floral here. Heady white florals with vanilla can turn thick and syrupy.

Frequently asked questions

Which goes on first, the vanilla or the floral?

Apply the vanilla first on moisturised skin, then add the floral over the top or on different pulse points so the lighter scent is not buried.

Will the vanilla overpower the floral?

It can. Keep the vanilla to the lower ratio on warm days, and apply it to the wrists while the floral goes on the neck.

More layering guides

• Layering sweet vanilla with bright citrusone spray of vanilla to two of the citrus
• Layering lavender with sweet vanillaone spray of lavender to one of the vanilla
• Layering leather with sweet vanillatwo sprays of leather to one of the vanilla