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.

First off, I get GREAT longevity out of this. I could still smell it at night in bed after a full day wear. I really like this scent, for me this is a very cozy snuggly smell. However, this is very very almond forward. If you dont like almond, this scent is absolutely not for you. I, however, love orange blossom and almond! The touch of tobacco makes this elevated & sophisticated and not an "almond cookie" sweetness overload. This is more feminine leaning than unisex. This is a great scent for fall & winter. BDK makes phenomenal scents, one of my favorite houses. Their bottles have a nice weight and the atomizer/spray is sheer perfection. Update: been wearing Velvet Tonka for weeks now and I love it SO much. Its such a well blended almond fragrance, so comforting and sensual!! Such an easy cozy reach for me. It can definitely be polarizing but if people around you love almondy scents you will get tons of compliments!! Lasts about 8 hours.

Updating a year later- holy crap this is delicious. So when I first got this the color was that of pale straw yellow. It was a predominant almond fragrance but wasn’t nutty, rather really smooth and oily like applying an extremely high end lotion. After the opening it moved to the rubbery woods a La RM5. Well, the liquid is dark red now and it’s giving gourmand! I can now envision the gourmand inspo for the fragrance - the almond horn. It’s nuttier, with a smoky/ leathery tobacco -Tonka edge. I’m still getting the rubbery woods in the background which I love. This has become a love for me now. This is why I don’t agree with catch and releases or sampling once and passing judgement. Sometimes you need to revisit a fragrance. ***Btw, imho- shaghaf oud Tonka is a gross chemical mess. I’m getting tired of people hyping cheap dupes. Most of them smell like bio weapons.

I love this. It makes me want to put on a cozy Snuggie put on a movie and snuggle and eat cookies with a glass of milk It is the type of scent that brings so much nostalgia. It reminds me of Dr Pepper lip balms, and marzipan and roasted almonds during the holiday season. It’s incredibly smooth. Blended so well it feels like one singular thing. This is not blind buy safe because I could see why people get that play doh baby doll scent. It’s because those things had almond and vanilla to scent the products. I think you’d have to be a lover of sweet almond to like this fragrance. It’s strong and very sweet. For me this is another winner from BDK. This brand has impressed me quite a bit. I have yet to smell something from this line that I dislike. And I can’t wait to smell Vanille leather next.

It was not love at first sniff at all. I got a sample and the first time I thought it was underwhelming but as the day passed it grew on me. I am used to the synthetic smell of Montale. This perfume is more elegant and cozier than my arabians Tonka. I layered the Velvet Tonka (heavily sprayed 😅 with just a minimal amount of arabians tonka (by minimal I mean sprayed once on my wrist and transfered to my neck and shoulders. I know it's a no no but....) the layering was really good. I kept getting whiffs of this amazing concoction and I am in love. Thinking about buying a full size of VT Update: I got the full bottle of Velvet Tonka. Love it! It's so warm and cozy and powdery and velvety and feminine. Love, Love, Love

I got this one in their discovery set 6 months ago and when I tried it I was like it's nice but nothing special and I have better almond dominated perfumes in my collection. Today I wanted to spay something I usually don't reach out that often so I dig into my box of 80+ samples and I decided to go with this one. This time I really enjoyed Velvet Tonka! 😍 Even two of my friends complimented me how good I smell even though they never say anything at all until I ask them what they think of the certain perfume 😄 Anyway now I'm baffled which one should I get first Velvet Tonka or Gris Charnel Extrait...🤔 Also I'm surprised how much low rating Velvet Tonka have here on Fragrantica

For anyone categorising this as a unisex - NAH! A strictly feminine fragrance! Cannot detect similarities to anything I’ve ever smelled, Velvet Tonka is elegant, sophisticated gourmand! Not overly sweet, not screechy sugary or overpowering tonka - it is just the right combination of notes and I assume that’s where the “Velvet” in its name comes from. Blended to perfection, creamy, persistent, not the most powerful sillage but I’m smelling my arm all day long. It nourishes your senses on a cold winter day! It is not among these popular intense, burning, warming fragrances that everyone is raving about. Its aura is beautiful, cozy and old money✨!

VELVET TONKA - It's a sensory caress that unexpectedly combines a sharp almond with orange blossoms in an impeccable manner. It opens like a slightly aggressive marzipan but unfurls into a fragrance of rare complexity and depth. An inexplicit gourmand fragrance, contrasting and memorable, it captures and enhances every aspect of tonka bean in a mosaic of olfactory tones and counterpoints that deserve applause. A cozy scent, its longevity is everlasting, but for better or worse its sillage and projection are quite intimate; perhaps if they were otherwise, the olfactory assault might overwhelm the most...

A beautiful scent for gourmand lovers. The almond opening is incredible- nutty, creamy, with a hint of orange blossom. Perhaps a little sweeter than I would like, but it does tone down as it dries allowing tonka and vanilla to shine through. There’s also something sharp throughout the wear, perhaps from tobacco or amyris. Great projection, cozy, comforting, and definitely smells expensive. Not sure if I need a full bottle of this, but it’s a really lovely almond, tonka, vanilla scent. You MUST be into gourmands and sweet fragrances to enjoy this.

The opening is a little too screechy for my taste—I tend to have a finicky relationship with orange blossom—but the subsequent scent cloud and dry down once mellowed out is really beautiful. Cozy and soft almond grounded by a rich natural-vanilla-bean vanilla (not syrupy or sickly sweet or plastic-y at all) and a barely-detectable thin thread of rose that I only pick up on when I’m specifically looking for it. The tobacco is soft and sweet, too. Not offensive to my nose. Definitely worth a sniff if you like soft-sweet gourmands.

Smells almost EXACTLY like Shagaf Tonka by Swiss Arabian. I sprayed BDK on one hand and Swiss Arabian on the other. Swiss Arabian has a much deeper and sweeter quality to it. BDK did NOT last long at all. The tonka bean and vanilla are more prominent in BDK and the almond notes are stronger in Swiss Arabian. I absolutely LOVE both scents, but Swiss Arabian is much better in my opinion and it lasts 3 hours longer than the Velvet Tonka by BDK. Price wise I would definitely purchase Swiss Arabian's Tonka over BDK's.

This perfume smells absolutely incredible... it keeps pulling me back to it again and again and again. If you want a truly non-ordinary piece in your collection, I would definitely recommend it. When I own it in the future, I’m sure it will become one of my signature scents. It has a slightly spicy opening, but it’s not overwhelming at all and its very cozy. It’s not overly feminine, but it’s not masculine either. It feels like it belongs to people who know exactly what they want in life and have refined taste⚜️

I love this perfume. It is very cozy, gourmand, nutty and warm fragrance. If you love such fragrance notes do check this one out it is super long lasting and having sillage. It is not offensive and office friendly. It is a niche perfume and I will not compare it with any other perfume because niche is niche full stop. Main notes are Almond and Tonka and it settles in a warm powdery scent. It is not for everyone it is for mature people and it is safe for blind buy only if you love Almonds and Tonka.

It smells amazing. It has a very subtle sweetness and doesn't have that bitter coumarin undertone at all. It smells very smooth and simple. Perhaps its weak point is that it doesn't have the complexity of the nich scents. It is exactly as its name suggests: Velvet Tonka محشره بویش. شیرینی بسیار جزئی داره و اون ته بوی تلخی کومارین رو به هیچ وجه نداره. بویش خیلی صاف و ساده هست.شاید نقطه ضعفش این باشه که، پیچیدگی عطرهای نیش رو نداره دقیقا برازنده اسمش هست: تونکای مخملی

I love/like this one, it's a 4.25/5 for me. I got a lot of tonka and almond the first time I smelled it, but now, about 2 months after I bought it and tried it, I get full on sesame/l'eau papier! I don't know what happened, but all I can smell now is a slightly more gourmand version of l'eau papier, mostly in the opening and less so over time. I still enjoy it very much, but it's odd how my impression has changed and it smells completely different now.

Well, this is just lovable and so charming. The kind of scent that brings peace to your mind and makes you smile. I’m not usually about gourmand scents and especially ones that feature cherry like tobacco and almond but this has my heart. It smells like a very fine almond dessert in an expensive restaurant in Paris. It’s done in a way that is very sophisticated and feels niche. I’ll savour my sample and perhaps put this on my wishlist.