Beau de Jour Parfum vs Vanilla Sex
Side by side. Scored honestly.
← Compare different fragrances
No shared notes — these two land in very different territory.
Side by side
Comparing the originals — price, breadth, listed-note depth.
Beau de Jour Parfum is an intensified, darker interpretation of the classic Beau de Jour fougère, leading with aromatic lavender and rosemary over a deeper, more resinous oakmoss and vetiver base. The parfum concentration amplifies the earthy, mossy qualities while retaining the crisp herbal freshness of the original. It strikes a balance between classic barbershop elegance and a brooding, woody depth that feels distinctly modern.
Opens with a warm, slightly medicinal saffron that cuts through what could otherwise be pure dessert territory, then gives way quickly to a creamy jasmine-vanilla heart that smells expensive rather than edible. The benzoin anchors the dry-down into something resinous and skin-close — soft projection, intimate sillage, the kind of fragrance that reads differently on everyone but always lands as quietly sensual. It doesn't announce itself across a room; it rewards proximity — Cool-weather evenings, close contact, people who want their scent noticed only up close.
How they overlap
Beau de Jour Parfum and Vanilla Sex share no notes in common — these two fragrances target very different olfactory territory, and the comparison is a question of which direction you want to go rather than which version of the same accord.
The buying decision
Vanilla Sex is the cheaper original at $385 compared to $460 for Beau de Jour Parfum — about 16% less. They sit in different families — Beau de Jour Parfum is fresh+woody, Vanilla Sex is gourmand+oriental+floral. Comparison is more about preference than tradeoff.
Recommendation
These two land in genuinely different scent territory — there's no "better" answer, just which direction you want to go. Read the scent descriptions above and pick the one that sounds like you'd want to smell.