Ellis Brooklyn goes straight for the jugular with Vanilla Man and Worth Avenue

I did a tiny double take when I saw it. Ellis Brooklyn is dropping two men’s scents next week, and they are not whispering. They are called Vanilla Man and Worth Avenue. Blunt. Loaded. Kind of irresistible.

Let’s start with Vanilla Man. If you’ve been paying attention, vanilla has quietly muscled its way onto the male shelf. The pendulum is swinging from sterile blue aromatics to textures that feel lived in. A name like this plants a flag. It suggests confidence rather than coyness, and I’m into the honesty. I have not smelled it yet, but I am hoping for a grown-up vanilla that skips cupcake clichés and goes for grain, resin, maybe a touch of salt or smoke. If you are going to call it Vanilla Man, you cannot phone it in.

Then there is Worth Avenue. If you know Palm Beach, you know the reference. Bright sun, pressed collars, moneyed nonchalance, the hush of expensive air conditioning at noon. The name sketches a very specific mood, and it hints at a polished citrus-woods profile without saying a word. The question is whether it leans breezy and linen-clean or lets a little Floridian humidity into the room. Either way, that title is a whole storyboard.

What makes this launch interesting is context. Ellis Brooklyn, New York born and niche on purpose, tends to package its ideas with clarity. These two names arrive in a moment when men are asking for dimension. Not louder, not heavier, just more nuance. Vanilla that reads like skin, coastal that reads like light. If the juices back up the titles, these could slot into that rare space where daily wear meets point of view.

No corporate chest beating here. Just two bottles with names that do not hide. I will report back when I get them on skin, but for now, a few takeaways:

• Vanilla Man could be the litmus test for how far vanilla has come in modern masculinity.
• Worth Avenue telegraphs polished coastal elegance without sunscreen kitsch.
• Ellis Brooklyn is betting that men are ready for clarity and character, not more foggy freshness.

Consider me intrigued. Names this direct are a promise. Now the juice has to keep it.