The Story
Why it exists.
The beginning
Ellis Brooklyn was founded by Bee Shapiro, a former beauty journalist who identified a gap in the clean fragrance world for accessible, everyday scents. Based in Brooklyn, the brand blends natural and synthetic materials to create compositions that feel familiar without being predictable. When the brand set out to develop Vanilla Milk, the ambition was clear: make vanilla interesting and avoid the candle and home-fragrance associations that tend to plague the note. Working with perfumer Meabh McCurtin, Ellis Brooklyn approached the brief as outsiders to the vanilla category, determined to build something that stood apart from the expected interpretations.
The note choices reflect a deliberate attempt to move vanilla away from the gourmand spectrum and toward something more abstract and wearable. Milk and frangipani create an opening that feels inherently comforting, while peony keeps the florals present without competing for attention. Bourbon vanilla and cocoa in the heart build warmth without relying on sweetness alone, and the sandalwood-benzoin drydown ensures the composition has structure and longevity rather than fading into a flat, linear sweetness. The result is a fragrance that references vanilla throughout but never settles into a single, predictable interpretation.
The evolution
The opening introduces milk and frangipani, a pairing that immediately sets a lactonic, tropical tone, before peony adds a clean floral layer that keeps the introduction feeling fresh and airy. As the scent moves into the heart, bourbon vanilla takes command, bringing the warmth and richness the note is known for, while cocoa adds a dark, slightly bitter dimension that keeps the composition grounded and prevents it from tipping into sweetness overload. The drydown extends this warmth with sandalwood and amyris, two creamy woods that smooth the transition from heart to base, while benzoin adds a resinous, faintly sweet depth and musk provides a clean, lingering finish that clings softly to the skin for hours.
Cultural impact
Vanilla Milk arrived with a fresh perspective on lactonic fragrances. Non-traditional perfume notes have found their place in the market, and vanilla has become a beloved choice for many. What sets Vanilla Milk apart is its refusal to be purely sweet. The cocoa shell and the florals push it into more complex territory, with enough depth to intrigue those who wear it. It's the kind of fragrance that reads differently throughout the day, which is rarer than it should be.
