Escapade Gourmande Grand Cru

Escapade Gourmande Grand Cru is built on three tiers around a single theme: vanilla, in two absolutes that the house places one in the top and the other in the base. Black sugar, tonka bean and Peru balsam pull the whole toward caramelized dessert and balsamic notes.

Top

Cristal vanilla absolute opens the fragrance, whereas vanilla usually sits in the base of compositions. Peru balsam essence accompanies it: this Central American resin, sweet and balsamic, with vanilla and cinnamon accents, brings the warmth the house attributes to the composition.

Heart

The black sugar accord provides the caramelized facet the house describes as intense, that of burnt sugar evoking the crust of a crème brûlée. Tonka bean absolute adds its roundness, somewhere between almond, cut hay and vanilla, and links up with the two vanilla absolutes.

Base

Bourbon vanilla absolute, the name given to vanilla from the Indian Ocean islands, anchors the base; the house credits it with richness and sensuality. A musk accord extends the composition, which the house calls velvety, enveloping and deeply addictive.

What the label declares

The ingredient list published by the house confirms vanillin, coumarin, the molecule that carries the scent of tonka bean, and Peru balsam oil, declared under its botanical name, Myroxylon pereirae. Benzyl benzoate and benzyl cinnamate, two major constituents of this balsam, come right after.

Isoeugenol, benzyl alcohol, benzaldehyde, cinnamyl alcohol and anise alcohol close the list, behind alcohol, fragrance and water. No colorant appears in it, and no musk molecule is named, the musks remaining blended into the fragrance entry.

What remains outside

The house specifies neither the origin of the Cristal vanilla nor the formula of its black sugar and musk accords, two perfumer’s reconstructions. Benzoin, which some retailers attribute to the original extrait, does not appear among the Grand Cru’s notes.