I’ve never tried my hand at perfumery, but I’ve heard enough from the people who do to appreciate how much work goes into it. My recent conversation with award-winning perfumer Amandine Clerc-Marie about Burberry’s newly launched Goddess Amber Vanilla EDP Intense ($192) only reinforced that: I’m convinced the job requires the precision of a scientist, the imagination of a novelist and the structural eye of an architect. Bringing this particular vanilla to life required not only all three but also an appetite for experimentation.
Clerc-Marie, principal perfumer at dsm-firmenich, has been the nose behind Burberry’s Goddess line since the original Goddess Eau de Parfum ($185) launched in 2023. This time—for the line’s fourth fragrance—she wanted to build on its signature trio of vanillas and lavender, making the vanilla “more textured” and “more addictive.” And that she did: Goddess Amber Vanilla EDP Intense opens with lavender and maple syrup, followed by vanilla at the heart and amber at the base. Editor translation: The vanilla is richer, toastier and woodier (good news if you like the note but don’t want to smell like frosting).
Clerc-Marie’s breakthrough involved roasting vanilla beans in a small machine in Grasse, similar to a coffee roaster. “We made many, many trials,” she says in her lilting French accent. The process brought out caramelized notes, a subtle coffee-like quality and a little saltiness. “It was like a new vanilla,” she says.
Then there’s the maple syrup note. As someone whose frame of reference is a stack of pancakes made from a boxed mix, I needed a little help imagining it in a $192 perfume. But one spritz made it click: I could smell the golden warmth and slight saltiness Clerc-Marie described, and understand what she meant by a nectar-like texture.
But there’s more to it than sweetness. Contrast, after all, “is the most important idea for me in a perfume.” It’s been central to Goddess from the start: traditionally masculine lavender paired with vanilla, which she considers feminine and comforting. Here, fresh lavender, bright ginger and deeper notes of woods and amber keep the sweetness in check. “My job is never to create a dessert,” she says.
Clerc-Marie also had a hand in the story behind Goddess—a first for her. She and the Burberry team developed the scent and its narrative together, discussing what the ingredients could evoke as she worked. “I wanted to create a fragrance that felt like stepping into your own power,” she says. For Amber Vanilla, that meant a golden aura: warm and luminous, but deeply comforting, too.
“Deeply comforting” is exactly how I’d describe Burberry Goddess Amber Vanilla EDP Intense, too. It reminds me of slipping into a cashmere sweater on a chilly winter morning, with the light creeping in and a candle freshly lit. The fragrance and my best cashmere have that in common: I’ll be wearing both on repeat all season.
