Pernoire Luvani is a vanilla extrait where the vanilla is there for warmth, not sweetness. Moonflower, jasmine and tuberose sit on top, incense, guaiac wood and olibanum keep it dry, and it costs 1,790 DKK for 50 ml. If you've written off vanilla because it all smells like cake, this is the one to try.
"I don't really like vanilla." We hear it in the shop all the time, and we get it. Most vanilla perfumes smell like a cupcake trying too hard. Sweet on sweet, and after an hour you're tired of yourself. Luvani is the one we hand to those people. Usually they come back for it.
What does Pernoire Luvani smell like?
The idea is the moonflower: a white blossom that opens after dark, with no audience, and closes again by first light. The name carries it too, moonflower and vanilla.
- Top: moonflower, incense, jasmine, tuberose
- Heart: hazelnut leaves, vanilla, guaiac wood, nutmeg, white flowers
- Base: Ambrostar, cedarwood, olibanum, white rose
The white flowers keep a coolness around the vanilla.
Why doesn't it smell like a cupcake?
Because the vanilla isn't working alone. Incense and olibanum add smoke and resin, guaiac wood and cedar add dryness, and nutmeg and hazelnut leaves give it a slightly green, spiced edge. There's no caramel, no sugar accord, no candy floss. What's left is vanilla as a texture, warm and soft, rather than vanilla as dessert.
Who makes Luvani?
Pernoire is a perfume house whose Odus line is made in Switzerland: five extraits at 30% concentration, each built around an overdose of one or two raw materials. The others go big. Pineapple and pomelo in Anelo, popcorn and caramel in Poka, yuzu and Swiss mint in YUMA, durian and oud in Oudian. Luvani is the quiet one in the family.
How much should you spray?
One or two sprays. At 30% it's an extrait, so more doesn't make it better, it just makes it louder, and loud isn't the point of this one.
When should you wear it?
Evenings, mostly. Dinners, dates, the kind of night where you want someone to lean in rather than smell you from across the room. It's wearable year round, but it makes most sense in autumn and winter, when the cold keeps it close to the skin and the dark does half the work.
If you already love vanilla, you'll probably love it. If you don't, it might change your mind. If you want the sweet, full-dessert version instead, our vanilla picks are the place to look.
What does Luvani cost?
- 50 ml: 1,790 DKK. Right now it comes with a free 7.5 ml Luvani travel size, so you have one for your bag.
- 7.5 ml: 440 DKK
- 2 ml sample: 70 DKK
Try it before you buy
Smell it, and everything else on the shelves, in our shop at Badstuegade 16, 8000 Aarhus C. Open Tuesday–Friday 12–17 and Saturday 12–16, closed Sunday and Monday. No appointment needed. Not in Aarhus? Order a 2 ml sample and wear it for a few evenings first. If you love it, what you paid for the sample comes off the 50 ml when you order online (here's how that works).
