Jo Malone Vanilla & Anise

I have always appreciated the philosophy behind the line of Jo Malone fragrances to use natural ingredients to make unexpectedly interesting combinations. Three of my favorites from the line are Black Vetyver Café, which is probably my most frequently worn coffee scent; Sweet Lime & Cedar, and Dark Amber & Ginger Lily. In all of these the combination of the two titular notes are front and center and they all combine in ways that keep me coming back for more. Vanilla & Anise continues that trend as those two notes are the prevailing notes in this fragrance and I keep coming back for more.

The funny thing is for a scent called Vanilla & Anise you would expect the accords to appear in order of their billing but here it is the anise that makes the opening statement. Right from the first moments the anise appears it is everything I want from it. It comes in with a bold depth and it is joined by a note of wild fennel which tilts the anise more towards its herbal side than its licorice candy side. There is also a slightly sweet neroli in the top which does lend a tiny dollop of contrast to the anise. 

The anise stays in place as the development moves into the heart with a sweet floral accord dominated by frangipani. This sweetness is the appropriate lead-in for the source of vanilla in this scent, the vanilla orchid. This vanilla accord is not the baking vanilla or the less sweet vanilla of vanilla pods.

This vanilla has a mix of delicate floral characteristics along with the easily recognized vanilla. In conjunction with the anise it makes the middle part of Vanilla & Anise a completely unique mix of lightly sweet herbal with sweet floral. The base keeps things interesting as a very faint clove note, in conjunction with vanilla absolute and tonka, take Vanilla & Anise into more traditional vanilla fragrance territory. There is some amber here to lend some warmth to the base, as well.

Vanilla & Anise definitely upholds the attribute of taking notes and giving me a new appreciation for them which seems to have become a Jo Malone trademark for me. Another Jo Malone trademark, literally, is their concept of Fragrance CombiningTM.

In the press materials sent with my sample they suggest combining Vanilla & Anise with their Grapefruit, Orange Blossom, or Vetyver Colognes. I didn’t try any of those as I was inspired instead by something else.

Living in Boston I often visit the North End which is our version of Little Italy. When I go there I most always get espresso with a shot of the anise flavored liqueur anisette added. It was my thought to combine Vanilla & Anise with Black Vetyver Café to create that accord. Not surprisingly these two scents do create that coffee and anisette accord I was looking for and I think I’m going to be wearing this combination quite a bit in the upcoming winter months.

That is one of the beauties of these Jo Malone Fragrances is the ability to combine them into your own signature mixture.

Author: Mark Behnke  (Somervill Metro Man)
Fragrantica Writer

Mark Behnke is based in Somerville, MA, a suburb of Boston, and is the writer for Fragrantica. By day, he works as a research chemist in a pharmaceutical company. By night, he has been a consistent poster on the forums at Basenotes.net under his nom de blog, Somerville Metro Man. You can also follow Mark on Twitter @SomMetroMan if you're curious to find out what he wears on a day-to-day basis.