BDK Vanille Leather vs Matière Première Vanilla Powder

Both have vanilla in the name and powdery among their first accords, but they reach the same feeling by different routes. Vanille Leather builds its powderiness from iris, violet and leather, Vanilla Powder from tonka, musk and coconut. The first is complex and floral, the second almost ascetically simple — and €1.32 more per millilitre.

Property	Vanille Leather	Vanilla Powder
House	BDK Parfums	Matière Première
Concentration	EDP	Extrait
Top notes	violet, red pepper	coconut
Heart notes	indian tuberose, egyptian jasmine, orange blossom	palo santo
Base notes	madagascar vanilla, patchouli, beech, leather, orris, benzoin	tonka, musk, vanilla
Main accords	vanilla, powdery, floral, leather	vanilla, powdery, sweet, woody
Longevity (community rating)	6–12 hours	8–12 hours
Sillage (community rating)	Moderate	Moderate to strong
Full bottle	€228 / 100 ml	€360 / 100 ml
Price per millilitre	€2.28	€3.60
Decant 5 ml	€25	€24
Decant 10 ml	€45	€45

The difference isn't which one is more vanilla, but where the powder comes from. In Vanille Leather it's made by orris and violet, surrounded by tuberose, jasmine and leather — the scent has many parts and changes noticeably over the day. Vanilla Powder has five notes in its whole pyramid: coconut, palo santo, tonka, musk and vanilla. So it's flat, soft and the same throughout, which for this kind of fragrance is a strength, not a flaw. If you want a vanilla you can wear without thinking about it, take Vanilla Powder. If you want something to happen in your fragrance during the day and leather doesn't bother you, Vanille Leather is more interesting — and costs €132 less for the same volume.

Which one is sweeter?

Vanilla Powder. Among its main accords sweet comes third, and coconut and tonka pull in a gourmand direction. Vanille Leather holds the sweetness back with leather and benzoin — the vanilla there is creamier than it is sweet.

Is Vanille Leather suitable for men?

In our database it's listed as feminine, but leather, orris and benzoin aren't distinctly feminine notes. The same goes for Vanilla Powder, which is also listed as feminine. The label is a starting point — with both, a decant is a quicker answer than a label.

Why is Vanilla Powder so much more expensive?

It's an extrait, while Vanille Leather is an EDP, which means a higher share of perfume oils. The bottle costs €360 against €228, so €3.60 against €2.28 per millilitre. With decants the difference shrinks to €5 for five millilitres.

Which should I try first?

Vanille Leather, if you don't know vanilla well yet — it's cheaper and tells you more about what you actually like in vanilla. Vanilla Powder is narrow and refined, so it only makes sense once you know that's exactly what you want.