Ingredient Guide
What Is Vanillin?
What is interesting about vanillin is that, since its discovery in the nineteenth century, nobody uses natural vanilla anymore. What you need to know is that the scent linked to your earliest childhood memories of cake is synthetic vanilla. Wonderful fragrances are made by human beings, not by nature.
Mathilde Laurent
Vanillin is the main constituent of vanilla’s aroma, a white crystalline substance with a melting point of 81°C–83°C. Synthetic vanilla scent dominates the market to such an extent that vanillin is said to account for 85%–90% or more of vanilla aroma on the market. This is because natural vanilla essential oil is so expensive.
In 1858, the French biochemist Nicolas Théodore Gobley first succeeded in isolating pure vanillin from vanilla extract. In 1874, the German scientists Johann Karl Ferdinand Tiemann and Wilhelm Haarmann determined its structure and succeeded in synthesizing it.
Tiemann and Haarmann subsequently established a company, but it struggled at first. It is said that the factory began to prosper after Ludwig Reimer discovered another way to synthesize vanillin. This company became Haarmann & Reimer (now Symrise).
Incidentally, Tiemann also synthesized ionone, which is said to have generated enormous profits.
Vanillin is not found only in vanilla. It also occurs in clove, jasmine, osmanthus, and even potatoes and tomatoes; it also appears in coffee, oatmeal, and umeboshi plums when heat is applied. Interestingly, it can also be synthesized from an aromatic polymer called lignin, a by-product of papermaking. Lignin contributes to the distinctive smell of old books, and vanillin is used when creating fragrances inspired by them.
How Vanillin Is Produced
Tiemann, Haarmann, and Reimer devised various ways of producing vanillin. Synthesis from lignin or guaiacol, as mentioned above, and from the eugenol in cloves was very straightforward, and these were the principal methods until the 1930s. A method of extracting it from rice bran has also been developed, but guaiacol still appears to be the most widely used starting material.
In 1894, similar methods also produced ethyl vanillin, whose scent is said to be about three times as strong as vanillin’s.
With production said to reach 25,000 tonnes a year, vanillin is one of the world’s most widely manufactured flavorings and is used far more extensively than natural vanilla.
In Perfumery
While Jicky was still being conceived, the synthetic fragrance material vanillin was just emerging from the Reimer–Tiemann reaction, and the French company De Laire acquired the patent rights. The first synthetic vanillin was not merely cheap: it had an exaggerated sweetness and creamy scent unlike the natural material. The perfumer Aimé Guerlain skillfully blended synthetic and natural ingredients to create a powerful yet radiant fragrance. But De Laire’s yellow vanillin was distinctive. The German process used to develop it left small amounts of smoky phenolic compounds such as guaiacol, an ingredient in cough syrup. That is why Guerlain continues to favor this material.
Luca Turin
Jicky (Guerlain, Aimé Guerlain) was born in 1889. Alongside Fougère Royale, it is said to have elevated perfume into an art by combining synthetic and natural ingredients. The synthetics used in Jicky were coumarin and vanillin (natural vanilla was used at the same time). Adding ethyl vanillin to Jicky gave rise to Shalimar (Guerlain, 1925, Jacques Guerlain).
How Does It Smell in Perfume?
Vanillin is a single molecule with a sweet scent reminiscent of vanilla and balsam. In perfume, it forms a core of sweetness and adds a warm, smooth impression. The same molecule can be produced through several routes, using plant-derived raw materials, bioconversion such as fermentation, or chemical synthesis. Natural vanilla-bean extract is a different material containing many aroma compounds besides vanillin. It has a more complex character, with nuances that can also suggest leather, wood, and spices.
Choosing Vanillin Fragrances
A fragrance centered on vanilla sweetness offers a different experience from one in which sweetness blends into flowers or woods. Caramel and chocolate suggest confectionery; patchouli and woods pair the sweetness with drier scents. Vanillin on an ingredient list does not, by itself, tell you which note leads the fragrance.
Find Your Next Fragrance
To explore more fragrances through the notes you enjoy, open our Fragrance Finder. Choose “Favorite fragrances & notes”, then search under “Favorite notes”. Select from the suggestions shown and press “Next”. You can start with notes even if you do not have a favorite fragrance.
