Tonka Bean

If you're familiar with Guerlain's Shalimar, then you're familiar with tonka bean. Tonka beans are the fruits of the Dipteryx odorata, a tropical tree native to Central and South America. Classed as a spice, the scent of tonka beans offer a wide variety of characters and properties to any scent it lives in - think milky, deeply sweet, hay-like, almondy, soft, bittersweet and warm like cinnamon. It is also widely used as a substitute for musk, acting as a fixative in the base, anchoring more volatile notes to the skin. 

Scent Profile: Sweet and warm and reminiscent of either hay, almonds, cinnamon, vanilla and cloves.

Made Famous In: Chanel, Allure Homme Sport Eau Extreme (2012).