Skin Benefit
Ground vanilla, fine exfoliation. Sweet-dark scent that makes Vanilla Twilight feel like ritual.
Spiritual Benefit
Used in Mesoamerican skin and body preparations long before it reached Europe; carried into European perfumery from Aztec ritual baths.
The record
In use for 700+ years
Origin
The vanilla orchid of Mexico, first cultivated by the Totonac people.
Harvested
The pods are picked green, then sweated and sun-dried for months until they turn black and fragrant, and finally ground.
Cultural impact
The Totonac tended vanilla before the Aztecs taxed it and Europe fell for it. It remains the world's most labor-intensive spice, each flower pollinated by hand.
Traditional use
Perfumed the body and cacao drinks of Mesoamerica, and warmed skin preparations wherever it traveled.
