Perfumer: Luca Maffei
Vanhera: a dark Vanilla, an unexpected fragrance that recalls intriguing and unclear sensations. A journey around one of the most iconic perfumery’s notes. A Vanilla perfume, not the usual Vanilla fragrance where just sweet notes are emphasized. A battle, a conflict among ingredients.
In Vanhera, a Madagascar Vanilla absolute tries to find a place in a universe of ingredients that want to suppress it. Vanhera is surrounded, almost besieged, by spicy notes of pepper, cardamom, cinnamon; it is embraced by warm notes of sandalwood and cashmeran and it is stained by karmawood, timbersilk and ambery notes. Nevertheless, the Vanilla absolute arises and makes its presence felt, conquering heart and soul of whoever smells it.
All about this fragrance
Vibe check
Vanhera suits close, intimate settings where warmth matters more than brightness: a room with low light, a wool coat still carrying the day’s chill, conversation that stays near the ear. It projects a composed, slightly enigmatic presence rather than a loud gourmand cloud.
How to wear
Best in cool weather and evening air, Vanhera wears comfortably with a restrained hand: one to three sprays are enough to let the vanilla, spice and woods unfold without becoming heavy. On skin it reads warm and textured; in colder air it feels smoother and more enveloping, with a soft but persistent trail.
Who it’s for
For those who like vanilla with depth, spice and shadow rather than dessert sweetness. It will appeal to wearers drawn to woody-amber compositions, tactile warmth and fragrances that feel polished, slightly mysterious and unisex in character.
Release year
2017
The nose
Luca Maffei is an Italian perfumer known for a modern, expressive style that often balances clarity with tension. His work tends to play with contrast and texture rather than simple linear prettiness, which suits Vanhera’s idea of vanilla as a note under pressure, pushed and shaped by spice, woods and amber. Maffei has become one of the more visible contemporary Italian noses, with recognition from the Art and Olfaction Awards and a portfolio that spans niche houses and distinctive signature compositions. In Vanhera, his approach turns vanilla into a dramatic focal point: not a soft gourmand accord, but a material with depth, resistance and aromatic force.
Collaborators
Roberto Drago, as Creative Director, shaped the concept with Luca Maffei, steering the fragrance toward an experimental dark-vanilla brief rather than a conventional gourmand profile. His role was to frame the idea of vanilla as a conflict of ingredients and to guide the artistic direction of the composition.
Laboratorio Olfattivo’s story
Laboratorio Olfattivo is a niche house built around authorship, creativity and storytelling rather than trend-led formulae. Founded by Daniela Caon and Roberto Drago, it works with independent perfumers and treats fragrance as a creative project first, with Roberto Drago overseeing the brand’s artistic direction.
Vanhera’s concept
Vanhera was created as part of Laboratorio Olfattivo’s “Laboratorio in Nero” collection and introduced in 2017 as the house’s sixteenth Eau de Parfum. The brief was deliberately unconventional: Madagascar vanilla absolute is placed in a kind of aromatic struggle, surrounded by spices, woods and amber so that its sweetness becomes darker, more tense and more intriguing.
Extra info
Vanhera is part of Laboratorio Olfattivo’s “Laboratorio in Nero” line and was the brand’s sixteenth Eau de Parfum. Its name points to the idea of a dark vanilla, and the composition is built around a deliberate tension between vanilla absolute and the ingredients surrounding it.
Perfumer: Luca Maffei
Vanhera: a dark Vanilla, an unexpected fragrance that recalls intriguing and unclear sensations. A journey around one of the most iconic perfumery’s notes. A Vanilla perfume, not the usual Vanilla fragrance where just sweet notes are emphasized. A battle, a conflict among ingredients.
In Vanhera, a Madagascar Vanilla absolute tries to find a place in a universe of ingredients that want to suppress it. Vanhera is surrounded, almost besieged, by spicy notes of pepper, cardamom, cinnamon; it is embraced by warm notes of sandalwood and cashmeran and it is stained by karmawood, timbersilk and ambery notes. Nevertheless, the Vanilla absolute arises and makes its presence felt, conquering heart and soul of whoever smells it.
All about this fragrance
Vibe check
Vanhera suits close, intimate settings where warmth matters more than brightness: a room with low light, a wool coat still carrying the day’s chill, conversation that stays near the ear. It projects a composed, slightly enigmatic presence rather than a loud gourmand cloud.
How to wear
Best in cool weather and evening air, Vanhera wears comfortably with a restrained hand: one to three sprays are enough to let the vanilla, spice and woods unfold without becoming heavy. On skin it reads warm and textured; in colder air it feels smoother and more enveloping, with a soft but persistent trail.
Who it’s for
For those who like vanilla with depth, spice and shadow rather than dessert sweetness. It will appeal to wearers drawn to woody-amber compositions, tactile warmth and fragrances that feel polished, slightly mysterious and unisex in character.
Release year
2017
The nose
Luca Maffei is an Italian perfumer known for a modern, expressive style that often balances clarity with tension. His work tends to play with contrast and texture rather than simple linear prettiness, which suits Vanhera’s idea of vanilla as a note under pressure, pushed and shaped by spice, woods and amber. Maffei has become one of the more visible contemporary Italian noses, with recognition from the Art and Olfaction Awards and a portfolio that spans niche houses and distinctive signature compositions. In Vanhera, his approach turns vanilla into a dramatic focal point: not a soft gourmand accord, but a material with depth, resistance and aromatic force.
Collaborators
Roberto Drago, as Creative Director, shaped the concept with Luca Maffei, steering the fragrance toward an experimental dark-vanilla brief rather than a conventional gourmand profile. His role was to frame the idea of vanilla as a conflict of ingredients and to guide the artistic direction of the composition.
Laboratorio Olfattivo’s story
Laboratorio Olfattivo is a niche house built around authorship, creativity and storytelling rather than trend-led formulae. Founded by Daniela Caon and Roberto Drago, it works with independent perfumers and treats fragrance as a creative project first, with Roberto Drago overseeing the brand’s artistic direction.
Vanhera’s concept
Vanhera was created as part of Laboratorio Olfattivo’s “Laboratorio in Nero” collection and introduced in 2017 as the house’s sixteenth Eau de Parfum. The brief was deliberately unconventional: Madagascar vanilla absolute is placed in a kind of aromatic struggle, surrounded by spices, woods and amber so that its sweetness becomes darker, more tense and more intriguing.
Extra info
Vanhera is part of Laboratorio Olfattivo’s “Laboratorio in Nero” line and was the brand’s sixteenth Eau de Parfum. Its name points to the idea of a dark vanilla, and the composition is built around a deliberate tension between vanilla absolute and the ingredients surrounding it.