Sergio Nero

Giacinto D’Acqua combines hyacinth and quince; Menta Mattina brings mint and lemon. Viola Alpina adds powder, suede and incense, while Brunello Aldeidato explores saffron, immortelle and oud.

The Vanilla line also contains contrasting profiles. Cherry puts cherry and caramel beside Strawberry’s violet and woodland berries; Choco brings chocolate, cinnamon and myrrh. Patchouli adds pepper, heliotrope and soft cashmere wood, while Patchouli d’Or centres fruit and white flowers over patchouli. Jasmine pairs tuberose and honeysuckle, while Rose combines lychee, raspberry and peony. White Tea takes a greener, marine-and-tea direction: the line name alone is no reason to expect a vanilla dessert.

In the Admiral line, Admiral’s marine citrus and soft amber contrast with Arktika’s eucalyptus and conifers. Andreyevskiy Flag carries citrus through lavender and spice into dry woods; Triumph gives herbs and pepper a more resinous frame of elemi and labdanum. For warmer choices, Posledniy Geroy combines apple and plum with clove, cinnamon and woods, while Zheleznaya Volya centres tobacco leaf, cocoa, vanilla and dried fruit.

Cocktail moves between aromatic, resinous and sweeter woody themes. Trinity sets pepper and herbs over amber-like woods, Silver Bullet adds bitter artemisia and frankincense, and B-Black softens lavender and apple with vanilla. B-52 combines neroli and herbs with amber and tonka; Alaska shifts toward grapefruit, pepper and resinous woods. In VSOP, Deep Blue pairs bitter herbs with dry cedar; Black has red apple, violet, leather and warmer vanilla. Lussuosa Eleganza Aureo gives a floral alternative: rose and peony, then osmanthus and sandalwood, with less emphasis on dessert sweetness than Vanilla Rose.

In Endorphin, Be Happy combines dry black tea and moss, Be Love suggests green tulips, and Be The Best pairs berries and lychee with flowers. Creature Eclipse centres tea and lilac, Light & Blue lemon and bamboo, and Vivat Imperatrice pear and creamy tropical flowers. In Shine’s powder and suede contrast with Viola’s tuberose and drier woods; Instant Desire Gold brings raspberry and honey. Cocktail also includes minty, ginger-led Absinth and the warmer leather of Golden Fire. Eclair has cool tea flowers, while Blue Lagoon combines pineapple, galbanum and vanilla-tonka woods.

Vanilla Peony adds a fruit-and-petal comparison to the Vanilla line: blackcurrant and citrus with peony and rose. Beside the honeysuckle and tuberose of Vanilla Jasmine, it offers a way to compare a fresh pink bouquet with fuller white flowers over sweet or musky surroundings.

Vanilla Caramel adds a berry-filled caramel direction to the Vanilla collection: citrus and exotic fruits lead into raspberry, blueberry and jasmine, then caramel, vanilla and musk. Put it beside Vanilla Cherry to compare the berry heart with cherry and strawberry over a shared vanilla-and-caramel theme. Start by noticing the fruit, then return to the sweetness as the opening settles.

Coco and Peach offer two more ways to explore Vanilla. Coco pairs milk and coconut with vanilla, white flowers, musk and woods. Peach combines peach blossom, blackcurrant, orange and chamomile at the opening, then peach, jasmine and green tea, finishing with vanilla and white musk. Compare the creamy coconut impression with the fruit, herbs and tea; peach blossom at the top and peach fruit in the heart are separate notes to follow.

Vanilla Ice-cream is an oil perfume in a roll-on: citrus and fruit ice cream lead to coconut and tropical fruits, then vanilla and white musk. Beside Vanilla Coco, compare the fruity dessert impression with Coco’s milk, white flowers and woods. Their different note profiles give two useful coconut directions to explore.