Tokyo Milk Tainted Love: Dark Vanilla, Orchid & Sandalwood

At a glance

Tainted Love is an eau de parfum from TokyoMilk Dark, the moodier line of Margot Elena’s TokyoMilk brand. It pairs dark vanilla bean with orchid, white tea and sandalwood.

Fragrantica dates it to 2011, and the brand still sells it.

Creation and context

TokyoMilk is one of the brands of the designer Margot Elena, whose company also sells Lollia and other lines. Fragrantica reports that Margot Elena presented Tainted Love in early 2011 as part of the TokyoMilk Dark collection and credits her as its creator.

The perfume blogger Sherapop, writing in January 2012, reviewed Tainted Love as one of the original eight eau de parfums of the Dark collection, alongside scents such as Arsenic, Excess and Bittersweet. The brand now numbers it No. 62.

Margot Elena’s description sets the tone: “Not for the faint of heart, a fragrance sparked by the complexities of love.”

The composition

The brand, Fragrantica and the notes printed on the bottle, as quoted by Sherapop, agree on four materials.

The brand also mentions “provocative spices,” without naming them. Fragrantica classifies Tainted Love as an oriental vanilla. Sherapop found the sandalwood and vanilla dominant, with the orchid and white tea too light to change the picture, and compared it with Christian Dior Addict.

Why it matters

Tainted Love shows the TokyoMilk approach: a perfume sold alongside hand cream, candles and other gifts, at a price that Sherapop called very reasonable next to designer sandalwood-vanilla perfumes.

As a gourmand-leaning vanilla, it has also kept a following: the brand’s product page carries more than 130 customer reviews, the brand still sells a full Tainted Love collection, and on this site it appears among the favourite fragrances of Amy Adams.

Reformulation and editions

Fragrantica describes a 60 ml eau de parfum at launch. Margot Elena now lists the eau de parfum at 1.6 fl oz (47 ml), with a Little Luxe miniature and a Tainted Love collection that includes hand cream. No reformulation has been documented.

Wearing it today

Expect a warm, creamy vanilla-sandalwood scent with a soft floral lift; it suits cool weather and evenings. Fragrantica’s reviewers report limited staying power, so carry the miniature if you want it to last through a long day.

Sherapop recommended it to people who enjoy sandalwood-vanilla compositions in the manner of Dior Addict; if that is your taste, it is an inexpensive way in.

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