It’s the stuff of birthday cakes and ’90s perfumes: Vanilla is nostalgia bottled, and this winter there are a lot of ways to spritz on sentimentality. Indie fragrance houses like Ellis Brooklyn and By/Rosie Jane are putting vanilla front and center of their launches. “You’d think we got together and were like, ‘Hey, let’s all do vanilla,'” says Rosie Jane Johnstonthe perfumer behind her namesake brand. “But everyone gravitates emotionally toward the identical things.”

Right away, that’s one big olfactive craving for the times of mall hangouts and baking with mom. “With the chaos over the past three years, I wanted something completely uncomplicated; the ’90s were a more innocent time for me,” says Johnston. “Everyone was wearing vanilla and every little thing smelled prefer it: The Body Shop, candles, vanilla-scented Beanie Babies — every little thing.” The grunge generation’s love for the fragrance note was ignited by 1992’s Thierry Mugler Angel, the primary modern gourmand scent and “a heady, perfume-y thing that you simply didn’t wear, it wore you,” says Bee Shapirofounding father of Ellis Brooklyn. It’s proof that vanilla doesn’t at all times need to smell like a cupcake  — it could possibly even verge on risqué. In actual fact, vanilla was once utilized in so many love potions that its sale was banned in Medieval Europe. And its scent has been shown to work as an aphrodisiac on rats. How’s that for sexy?

Meet the experts:

• Rosie Jane Johnstonthe perfumer behind her namesake brand By/Rosie Jane
• Bee Shapirofounding father of Ellis Brooklyn
• Mew McCurtina perfumer at International Flavors & Fragrances
• Jennifer Fisheraccessories designer and founding father of Jennifer Fisher

These latest vanillas are a natural extension of the ’90s redux fashion trend (faded bootcuts, anyone?). Although, to be clear, vanilla scents never entirely disappeared from our lives (unlike those bootcuts). Line up three of your favorite fragrances, and odds are good that there’s some vanilla in at the least one since it’s one among perfumery’s most universally comforting scents. “It’s in foods we’ve related to treats since childhood, equivalent to ice cream,” says Mew McCurtina perfumer at International Flavors & Fragrances. “It’s strongly linked to our memories and a signal for pleasure. It’s hard to not feel glad once you smell it.” There’s a reason why people have cookies baking after they’re attempting to sell a house, adds Johnston.

To move you into a comfortable, homey place this winter, accessory designer Jennifer Fisher blended vanilla and coconut for her first fragrance, My Scent. “I would like anyone wearing it to feel sexy and to smell like a fresh-baked cookie,” says Fisher. By/Rosie Jane Dulce is “a real vanilla, straight up. A tiny amount of Hinoki wood [makes it] elevated, however it’s still just undeniable vanilla,” says Johnston, who most definitely just isn’t exaggerating. Misting it on gives you that very same warm-as-a-hug vibe you get from a sniff of vanilla extract. Ellis Brooklyn Vanilla Milk doubles down on the snuggly perfume trend by mixing vanilla with a creamy milk accord. “Milks are having an enormous moment as well [for their] comfort level,” says McCurtin, the nose behind the scent.

My Scent Rollerball Perfume Oil

$65

By Rosie Jane Dulce Eau de Parfum

$70 at Sephora

Ellis Brooklyn Vanilla Milk Eau de Parfum

$105 $79 at Ellis Brooklyn

These are usually not complex, multifaceted perfumes because perhaps, just perhaps, that’s not what all of us need without delay. They’re the fragrance equivalent of the proper cashmere sweater and jeans, something you possibly can throw on without serious about it and feel good wearing. They’re joy and ease, and that in itself is something to smile about — like an enormous plate of sugar cookies.