Vanilla gets dangerous again with Matière Première’s new Extrait

If you think vanilla is only for cookies and first dates, Vanilla Powder Extrait will ruin that fantasy in the best way. Matière Première and perfumer Aurélien Guichard took their signature Vanilla Absolue, turned the concentration up, and slipped in tonka to blur the edges into a soft-focus haze. The result on my skin was intimate, tactile, almost indecently close. I caught myself sniffing my wrist in a meeting, which is exactly the kind of problem I like.

This extrait doesn’t shout. It hums. The opening has that weighty, resinous pull you only get from true Vanilla Absolue, not a frosted-gourmand trick. Within minutes, a powder cloud lifts over it, the cosmetic-drawer kind, cool and whispery, like the hush of vintage face powder cracking open. Tonka rounds the vanilla into something more adult, almond-tinged and hay-warm, the sweetness trimmed to a satiny sheen.

Projection is a skin aura rather than a room-filler, but longevity is stubborn. I wore it through a long train ride and dinner, and it clung like a silk camisole under a blazer, discreet yet insinuating. If you chase beast mode, look elsewhere. If you prefer a fragrance that people discover when they lean in, this is your lane.

The beauty of Matière Première at higher concentration is the texture. You feel the raw material, not a collage of synthetics. Aurélien Guichard lets vanilla be adult, a little smoky, a little creamy, then polishes it with tonka’s suede softness. That powder note keeps it from veering edible. It reads more boudoir than bakery.

Wear it when you want to look composed and feel dangerous. Layer only if you must, but I found it complete on its own, like a well-cut slip that needs no embellishment. For vanilla obsessives, Vanilla Powder Extrait is a keeper. For vanilla skeptics, it might be the one that changes your mind.