Velvet Tonka from BDK Parfums Paris

Velvet Tonka is a Floral Gourmand fragrance for women and men and was launched in 2021. The nose behind this fragrance is a very accomplished perfumer – Alexandra Carlin who has also worked on some of the amazing fragrances like Amouage Honour for Women and more. Velvet Tonka is unisex leaning more towards the feminine side. I sampled it first via this month’s Cohorted Beauty box and fell in love instantly. This fragrance is inspired by Moroccan Sweets and is a tribute to the Moroccan origins of founder David Benedek.

Packaging: The pink color on the outer packaging compliments this fragrance so well! If Velvet Tonka had a color, it would definitely be blush pink. The bottle is the same as other bottles from the brand but the lid has become gold and very reflective. The gold lid takes up the packaging just a little bit more. Love it!

Tonka bean is an ingredient full of contrasts, sometimes reminiscent of vanilla leather, sometimes of almonds, sometimes even revealing chocolatey facets. Velvet Tonka is characterized by its trilogy of tonka bean, orange blossom, and almond. When worn on the skin, it coats it like an oriental delicacy dusted with icing sugar. The balmy tonka bean is adorned with almonds and rose petals for a velvety touch, and with a hint of tobacco absolute to give it a honeyed feel. In the base, addictive notes of milky Amyris wood unfurl, enhanced by ambroxan and vanilla absolute for an unparalleled velvetiness and sensuality. Velvet Tonka is a tribute to the Moroccan origins of founder David Benedek and to the iconography associated with the region through its flavors and its landscapes, like a sweet, indulgent breeze coming straight from the Atlas Mountains. – BDK PARFUMS

Notes:

• Fragrance Family: Floriental Woody with Gourmand undertone
• Top notes: Orange blossom, almond.
• Heart notes: Absolute of rose, absolute of tobacco.
• Base notes: Absolute of tonka bean, absolute of vanilla of Madagascar, Amyris wood, amber wood.

BDK Parfums Velvet Tonka is delicately sweet, a little nutty, and powdery fragrance. It gives a vibe of a fluffy velvet almond cake with some sugared dusting or icing which is sweet but not overly sweet or dense. This is a translucent fragrance that will remind you of a very fine pastry shop. I get a heavenly combination of vanilla and almonds in the opening. The vanilla is sweet but not sickly sweet. The tobacco adds a little smokey touch to the fragrance. It has orange blossom, rose absolute amber – Ah so good! It has beautiful woody notes as well as ambery nuances in the dry down and makes it smell a bit sexy and sensual.

Performance: Velvet Tonka is not a beast fragrance by any means! It is soft but noticeable. It has a moderate projection and projects at about arm’s length. It is one of those delicate fragrances that won’t make people smell your fragrance before your arrival in the room. I tested this fragrance in the month of August and it lasts for about 9 hours on my skin. For the first 2 hours, it was quite noticeable but gradually turned into a skin scent before fading completely and that’s very impressive for a soft gourmand.

Versatility: It is a very versatile fragrance. Except for super hot weather, I feel Velvet Tonka would be great for all around the year. If you love gourmands, almonds, tonka bean, and powdery vibe in your fragrances, I encourage getting at least 10ml travel size of Velvet Tonka! For me, the bigger the better :).

Final thoughts: Velvet Tonka is an almondy fragrance but has a very airy and fluffy feeling to it. It is very delicately sweet. There is a slight smokey touch from tobacco balancing the sweetness. The fragrance has a powdery vibe to it but not too much. Velvet Tonka is a very well-put-together, elegant fragrance and is definitely one of the best from the house of BDK Parfums. I do not have anything like this in my fragrance collection. My husband loves it on me and I love it on him – what else can I say?

If you haven’t tried Velvet Tonka yet, I highly recommend sampling it. BDK Velvet Tonka is exclusive to Selfridges in the UK.

Buy BDK Velvet Tonka here

Until next time, Ashh xo

*This post features PR samples without any obligation to post. Opinions are my own and unbiased.