Velvet Tonka

Bought this from Jovoy Paris- it was the shopkeepers current favorite out of 100s of niche beauties, and may become my new fall signature scent. Almond marzipan joy, reminiscent of a Parisian bakery early in the morning with a butter croissant. True to her name, she is a beautiful velvet tonka on the drydown, masterfully blended with a lot of vanilla, a touch of pipe tobacco, and mellowed by a soft, enveloping amber. Projection and performance are excellent. Two sprays lasted a day. Truly unisex, as it smells just as good on my hubby as it does on me. Anyone could totally rock this. This is a fantastic fireside fragrance, as there is something alluringly warm about it. I personally detect a trace of sour cherry, although it is not listed in the notes. (Perhaps the tobacco is of the cherry varietal?). It is not overly sweet - think bitter almonds as opposed to the sugar-coated kind. While "almond extract" has a grain of truth to it given how prominent the almond note is, there is no alcohol blast that you find in many cheap compositions. My bottle is bright orange, by the way, not at all the light yellow color shown on the bottle on the main feature above...I'm guessing she has aged to the perfect time, as I'm absolutely in love with her.

This is interesting. I blind bought a full bottle because I love Tonka bean, almonds and amber woody notes. I was expecting a marzipan almond opening like that of Guerlain Tonka Imperiale that’s my baseline marzipan fragrance. Unexpectedly, the opening is creamy like lotion! I get bitter almond and cherry nuances from the Tonka and almond oil but it’s not as gourmand as I expected. It’s also not as beast mode as some have claimed it to be. It’s moderate/ average projection. Velvet Tonka certainly is smooth and velvety. I don’t experience and rose or florals on my skin. After the opening, VT veers into RM N°5/ Ishq Al Shuyhuk territory with the vanilla suede/ rubber tyre accord which I love. I don’t know how I feel about this one yet. I’ll come back once I get a few more wears. Edit: I’m sorry but this isn’t gourmand! The inspiration for this was tchereck or gazelle horns a almond and orange blossom filled cookie topped with pistachio - I’m not getting that at all. Maybe in the deep dry down I get some true nuttiness but the main accord is a very lightly scented high end body oil with a slightly rubbery amber dry down. It’s great it’s just not what was advertised but I’ll keep testing and sniffing. Maybe other notes will emerge for me.

This is a love or hate at first spray I think. Warm Almond Marzipan but not sickly sweet as I have found some of the Xjeroff fragrances to be. I found it was best on skin and not too overpowering in projection which is good as if people don’t like almond you could offend early after application lol. The floral emerged but mainly the base brought forth a gentle woodiness to the sideline that never took over the main soft gourmand. It’s not groundbreaking and that is totally fine. Sometimes the sophistication of simplicity means you know what you are getting and I think this is no surprises after spraying, a beautiful sweet but not too sweet, medium projecting beauty of a fragrance and I have to buy it now, my poor bank balance. I don’t think it’s like Aqua DP Mandorlo di Sicilia. I had that and found it had too much cake for the lightness. Too watery for that level of sweet richness. The only fragrance I have found had combined that light and richness so far is Bake by Akro. I don’t think it’s like Bianco Latte in that it’s warm and rich but it’s Almond, so different enough to justify buying it. If you like Bianco Latte and the smell of marzipan you will hopefully love it. Longevity is mid, could be longer, yes please to an Extrait.

There’s something hypnotic about Velvet Tonka. Yes, it leans more feminine, but honestly, that’s part of its charm. I’d love this on my wife—it’s enveloping, cozy, softly sweet, and refined—but I still had to have a bottle for myself. On its own, Velvet Tonka is great: almondy, airy, with this delicate powdery warmth that feels like being wrapped in cashmere or the softest sweater. It’s elegant without trying too hard, sweet without becoming cloying, and always feels comforting. But for me, this fragrance really shines in layering. When paired with Soul Café by Savoir Faire, it transforms into one of the most addictive signature scents I’ve ever worn. The richness of Soul Café adds depth and contrast, while Velvet Tonka smooths out the edges with its creamy, slightly floral sweetness. Together, they create something truly special—elevated, inviting, and impossible to forget. I’ve found that BDK fragrances just resonates with me. There’s a softness to many of their creations, a restrained elegance that still feels modern and wearable. Velvet Tonka might not be what I’d usually reach for as a standalone, but layered or not, it’s found a permanent place in my rotation.

I love this! It doesn’t smell like your typical vanilla Perfume. I am a self proclaimed Perfume addict. I prefer to think of it as a collector. The opening is very vanilla very almond, but not your cheap smelling bakery vanilla I also get the tobacco almost right away, but it is not overpowering to take over the original opening, but it’s there and it’s nice. I get a little paranoid when I see tobacco in a scent because it can be so overpowering but sometimes it’s needed to be there to balance out sweetness. It lasts all day I wouldn’t think of it as a warm weather fragrance. I really like this a lot, which is a good thing because I never buy decants I always blind buy full bottle perfumes. I know crazy right? So if you like a very dense smelling vanilla almond tobacco scent that last forever this is your baby. This is just how I smell it as I know everybody smells fragrances differently. At last forever on skin, I put it on in the afternoon and the next morning I could still smell it on me and it was sprayed on my wrist.