The Story
Why it exists.
The beginning
My Vanilla emerged in 2011 from Anna Zworykina's studio, where she had been working with natural materials and complex compositions. The concept took vanilla and stripped away what the word had come to mean. No dessert. No comfort. Vanilla as a vehicle for distance and heat, winds from afar, ship planks, spices carried across seas. The fragrance reimagines the note entirely, positioning it not as something sweet or familiar but as something unexpected and atmospheric. The name announces this departure: My Vanilla, not the vanilla you'd expect. Drawing from a background in natural perfumery, Zworykina incorporated resinous materials and smoky accords into the structure alongside the eponymous note.
Incense, cumin, and elemi hit with a sharp, bracing intensity, cutting through the composition like a shop door flung open in midday heat. Threaded through every layer from the start are juniper and clove, a quiet backbone that keeps the incense from reading as harsh. The vanilla is woven in from the beginning, dry and resinous, never gourmand. Jasmine and ylang-ylang unfurl in the heart, their floral warmth tempered by tonka bean and lingering smoke. The composition is layered, blending multiple materials into a coherent whole. Woody, balsamic, resinous, smoky, all at once, without chaos.
The evolution
The opening hits with a sharp exhale. Incense, cumin, and black pepper surge in tandem, with elemi lending a camphorated brightness that cuts through the density. It reads almost medicinal, a bracing shock before anything sweet appears. Juniper and clove have softened the edges, and the vanilla arrives not performing sweetness but present, dry, powdery. Jasmine and ylang-ylang begin to unfurl in the heart, their floral warmth tempered by tonka bean and the lingering smoke of Choya Loban. This middle passage carries a quality of temple incense: deliberate, smoky, still. Cedar and oud form a warm wooden base, with patchouli grounding everything in earth. The vanilla, still present, becomes talcum-dry and intimate. The projection settles close to the skin, and the ghost of smoke and resin lingers on warm fabric.
Cultural impact
My Vanilla arrived as a counterpoint to the sweet vanilla trend that dominated mass and niche markets. Where other houses built vanilla from sugar and cream, this fragrance constructed it from smoke, resin, and unexpected distance. The incense-forward opening distinguished it immediately. It read as challenging and material-forward. Among niche collectors, it found a devoted audience. The fragrance has stayed in production for over a decade, a rarity for an independent house. That longevity signals it earned its place.
