Donna Karan’s 2025 gourmand musk from the Cashmere Collection: pink pepper and apple, violet and jasmine, over vanilla bean, sandalwood and amber.
At a glance
Cashmere & Vanilla Essence is a 2025 eau de parfum from Donna Karan’s Cashmere Collection. The brand calls it a gourmand musk: pink pepper and apple at the top, violet and jasmine in the heart, and a base of vanilla bean, sandalwood, amber and musk.
It is a soft, sweet skin scent rather than a heavy dessert vanilla, and it extends a line that began with Cashmere Mist in 1994.
Creation and context
The Cashmere name goes back to Cashmere Mist, Donna Karan’s 1994 fragrance. Now Smell This dates the original to 1994 and reported a richer flanker, Cashmere Mist Essence, in July 2018, which Fragrantica also lists under 2018. Over time the name became a collection: Fragrantica lists pairings such as Cashmere & Palo Santo and Cashmere & Tiaré Flower, and Now Smell This has covered Cashmere & Rose Absolu and Cashmere & Tunisian Neroli.
Cashmere & Vanilla Essence was added in early 2025. Now Smell This reported it on 25 February 2025 as “a new gourmand musk addition to the Cashmere Collection”, available at Nordstrom at $150 for a 100 ml eau de parfum, and Fragrantica also dates it to 2025. Donna Karan describes it as “an alluring gourmand musk fragrance”. This post was first built from that Nordstrom product listing.
Fragrantica credits the composition to the perfumer Arielle Le Beau. Donna Karan does not name a perfumer on its product page, and no second source confirms the credit, so treat it as Fragrantica’s.
The composition
Donna Karan, Now Smell This and Fragrantica describe the same materials. The brand’s simplified pyramid lists pink pepper, jasmine, vanilla bean and sandalwood; its full description adds the rest.
Fragrantica classifies it as an oriental vanilla, and its community rates vanilla and powdery as the leading accords, followed by woody, violet and amber. The balance matters. The pepper, apple and violet keep the vanilla from becoming syrupy, and the musk and sandalwood give it the soft, fabric-like texture that the Cashmere name promises.
Why it matters
Cashmere & Vanilla Essence shows how far the gourmand has travelled since Angel in 1992. What began as a daring edible accord has become a familiar comfort style, softened here with musk and woods.
It also shows how an older designer franchise is kept current. Donna Karan has built a collection of pairings around the Cashmere name, each named for one featured material. Here that material is vanilla. For the soft woody-musk materials behind this kind of “cashmere” effect, see Cashmeran.
Reformulation and editions
Cashmere & Vanilla Essence launched as a 100 ml eau de parfum; Donna Karan’s own store has since listed it at $156. No reformulation has been documented, which is expected for such a recent release.
Donna Karan’s original Cashmere Mist is a different fragrance, not an earlier version of this one. If you already wear Cashmere Mist, sample the Vanilla Essence to see whether the family resemblance suits you.
Wearing it today
Expect a bright pink pepper and apple opening, a soft violet and jasmine heart, and a warm, creamy vanilla-musk base that stays close to the skin. Fragrantica reviewers praise its smoothness but are split on longevity and projection.
It suits cool weather, casual wear and evenings, and is easy to wear to work in small doses. Apply to skin and clothing if you want it to last longer, and if sweet scents feel dense to you, start with one spray and let the base settle.