The Story
Why it exists.
The beginning
Vaan arrived in 2018, created by Johanna Venables around a single restless idea: the longing for a distant utopia, a home never known. The composition follows that pull. Neroli and bergamot establish a citrus opening against cinnamon, pink pepper, and clove. Rose and coriander come next, followed by benzoin and labdanum. The base runs darker, warmer, and closer to the body, with opoponax, castoreum, civet, vanilla, and balsamic notes shaping its animalic, resinous, and sweet character. Nothing here is decorative. The brand's premise is fragrance giving form to a feeling, and Vaan's is the ache of the unfamiliar, expressed through contrasting notes that move from brightness and spice into warmth, resin, and sweetness.
What makes Vaan worth studying is how it holds opposites without resolving them. Neroli and bergamot bring light and citrus, then cinnamon, clove, and pink pepper push heat into the frame. The heart adds rose beside that spice, along with coriander, which keeps the composition from becoming overly pretty. Then the base makes its move. Opoponax, castoreum, civet, and labdanum contribute animalic and resinous accords, with vanilla adding sweetness and balsamic notes bringing warmth. Balsamic and animalic sit right beside warm and sweet, and neither wins outright.
The evolution
The opening is the brightest part of Vaan. Neroli and bergamot establish citrus, sharpened by pink pepper and clove, with cinnamon warming the edges. As the citrus recedes, the heart comes forward: rose and coriander settle into benzoin and labdanum. The shift is where the composition gets interesting, because the warmth deepens into something resinous and close to skin. Opoponax, castoreum, and civet contribute darker animalic facets, while labdanum reinforces the resinous character. Vanilla arrives later, but it does not behave like a dessert. It behaves like a softener, smoothing the sharper spice and the more pronounced animalic and balsamic notes. As Vaan develops, what remains is a warm, sweet, balsamic trail that stays close to the wearer.
Cultural impact
Vaan is built around a tension between bright citrus, warm spice, floral heart notes, and a darker base of resinous and animalic accords. Neroli and bergamot provide an aromatic opening before cinnamon, pink pepper, and clove introduce heat. Rose and coriander add a more intricate middle, while benzoin, opoponax, labdanum, castoreum, civet, vanilla, and balsamic notes create a warm, sweet, animalic foundation. The result invites close attention: each stage introduces a different facet of the composition without losing the connection between its notes.
The House
NOT perfumesNOT Perfumes emerged in 2018 with a deliberately provocative name and a commitment to challenging fragrance conventions. The brand takes its unconventional approach from the get-go, refusing to play by traditional industry rules. Rather than relying on elaborate marketing language, NOT Perfumes focuses on pure sensory experience, creating scents that give form to formless sensations and articulate what often goes unspoken. Their no-nonsense philosophy strips away pretense, allowing the fragrances themselves to communicate directly with wearers. The five debut offerings (Ashka, Vaan, Nadir, Svaha, and Orm) arrived simultaneously in 2018, presenting a cohesive collection that rejects the typical staggered release strategy favored by most fragrance houses. This approach signals a brand confident in its vision from the outset, presenting a complete artistic statement rather than incremental launches designed to build hype over time.
The Creator
Johanna VenablesVenables works in materials that pull at something primal. Her compositions favor depth and darkness, resinous smoke curling through labdanum, leather softened by vanilla warmth, clove and eugenol lending sharp intellectual edge to sweeter bases.
