The Story
Why it exists.
The beginning
Charli XCX and Impulse dropped two limited editions in October 2015, Rock & Love and Vanilla Kisses. The collaboration tapped into the pop star's playful, boundary-free image: someone who makes music for the dance floor and the bedroom, no distinction. Vanilla Kisses took its name from the collectible can's kiss-print design and the fragrance inside matched that energy, sweet, direct, unapologetic about wanting to smell delicious. It wasn't positioned as a signature scent. It was a moment. Released in a 75 ml collector's bottle, the partnership gave Impulse a crossover moment with a younger, pop-culture-savvy audience.
What makes this work is the structure: fruit opening that hits bright and retreats fast, a wildflower heart that adds romantic softness without competing with the sweetness, and a vanilla-musk base that does the real work. The wildflowers are unusual here, not jasmine, not rose, just an unspecified floral that reads as gentle and approachable rather than heady. It bridges the fresh fruit and the warm vanilla without drawing attention to itself. That quiet transition is what makes Vanilla Kisses smell finished rather than sweet-for-the-sake-of-it.
The evolution
Apple and peach arrive together, clean and juicy, the kind of sweetness that doesn't linger but makes an impression in the first minutes. Within thirty minutes the fruit softens as wildflowers take over, adding a powdery-romantic layer that feels like the moment after a first dance, before the crowd thins out. By hour two the vanilla begins to surface, warming everything underneath without ever becoming heavy or edible. The musk settles last, close to the skin, adding a clean skin quality that makes the whole thing smell like the kind of clean that doesn't need to shout about it. Lasts four to six hours depending on skin, stays intimate throughout, never filling a room, always leaving an impression if someone leans in.
Cultural impact
Charli XCX collaborations don't come along often, and this 2015 limited edition tapped into the pop star's image at a moment when she was transitioning from underground favorite to mainstream breakthrough. The fragrance matched that energy, sweet enough for pop fans, with enough Impulse irreverence to feel distinct from mainstream celebrity releases. The collector's bottle design, with its kiss-print decoration, turned the fragrance into a small cultural artifact. Still talked about among fans who remember the release.
