Nicola Thomis, a fragrance designer, expert and reviewer has worked with Sarah Baker to bring to life the vanilla trilogy which includes Velvet Vendetta, and newly released Va Va Vanilla. A third fragrance will join the set in 2026. Nicola took us through the process of what it was like collaborating with the Sarah Baker brand.

cover photo: Kristina Kybartaite 

Above L-R: Nicola Thomis, Margaux Le Paih Guérin, Sarah Baker

"I’ve been helping brands design fragrances for a while now, lurking in the background of their production processes and acting as another hand on the tiller of creation. What I’ve learned is that each brand is unique, and they all have their own particular character, tone, and things that they want to say or achieve with their scents. 

When Sarah Baker approached me towards the end of 2024 and asked if I wanted to collaborate on the design of a trio of scents, I was beyond thrilled. I had admired the brand for a while, already loved many of their creations, and was delighted at the prospect of helping to work on their fragrances. Even better that they were vanilla scents, as it is one of my favourite fragrance ingredients. Initially, I knew that achieving a clarity of vision was going to be really important for this work, everything the brand does is well formed, there are no half-baked ideas here, so I had a high bar to live up to. 

screenshot from the brief for Velvet Vendetta

I went away to consider what direction I thought the fragrances should go in, and immersed myself in films, books and music to spark ideas. I wanted to come up with an angle that was worthy of the high standards set by the brand, but which was also new and novel. 

Early in 2025, I presented my ideas back to Sarah. Of all the brands I have worked with, what struck me was how genuinely open and collaborative Sarah’s process is. We spent hours discussing angles, ideas, even vibes that we wanted to achieve. The conversations we had were genuine and open. No idea was off the table, and even when I suggested things that others might consider bonkers, Sarah listened and bounced back her own inventive suggestions. 

photo:  Kati Smulders-Niisuke

Eventually, we arrived at the point where we had a set of briefs, and an overall arc for the trio, but even as deadlines grew short, we both found ourselves returning to the briefs we’d developed, to refine, hone and perfect them. Other brands might have just let things be, but it was clear that between us we had a very strong imagining of the scents, but that we were also both quite perfectionist in wanting to convey that effectively to whomever the perfumer ended up being. 

When it came to approaching the perfumer for the project, a beautiful sense of serendipity came into play too. Both Sarah and I had smelled some of Margaux’s work separately and we were both excited about it, so when one of us suggested her name, the other readily agreed. It was as if it was meant to be. The fact that it was clear from our first meeting that Margaux understood and completely “got” what we were going for really underlined that she was the right perfumer for the job. 

screenshot from the brief for Va Va Vanilla

One of the most validating parts of the whole experience for me has been the sense of bravery and boldness that we have been able to foster between the three of us; perfumer, creative director and collaborator. There’s a lot of average perfumes out there, and to be exceptional requires bravery, a belief in what it is you’re creating, as well as the skills to make that happen. I feel really proud of the scents we have created together, I had more fun than is reasonable in going through the process with Sarah and Margaux, and I am excited to bring the final installment of the trio to completion very soon. Watch this space!"