Empress: Inspired by Goddess by Burberry

Empress is Larcin's interpretation of Goddess, the Burberry fragrance that rebuilt vanilla from the ground up and became one of the biggest women's launches of its decade. It follows the same layered structure: a bright vanilla infusion with lavender in the opening, vanilla caviar through the heart, and deep vanilla absolute in the base. This guide covers the fragrance's clever construction, its character, its performance and how Empress compares.

The Story of Goddess: Three Vanillas, One Fragrance

Burberry launched Goddess in 2023 as a new pillar of its perfume house, composed by master perfumer Amandine Clerc-Marie with an unusually technical brief: take vanilla, a note usually confined to base notes, and run it through the entire fragrance. She used three distinct extractions to do it. A bright, woody vanilla infusion opens the scent; Firgood, a patented solvent-free extraction nicknamed vanilla caviar and used here for the first time in any fragrance, brings a rich, almost animalic vanilla to the heart; and dark, milky vanilla absolute anchors the base. Lavender from Provence, cocoa and ginger frame the trio. The launch starred actress Emma Mackey leading a pride of lionesses, and the fragrance became an instant bestseller, credited with ushering in a more grown-up era of vanilla perfumery. It was also Burberry's first refillable bottle.

What Does Goddess Smell Like?

Goddess is vanilla with dimension. The opening is bright and slightly herbal, the woody vanilla infusion lifted by aromatic lavender with a dusting of cocoa and a flicker of ginger. The heart is the star: that rich, dense vanilla caviar, sweet and full without a trace of cupcake. The drydown turns darker and creamier as vanilla absolute takes over, milky, faintly mysterious and enveloping. The overall effect is confident comfort, vanilla for adults, nostalgic and modern at once, and it earns compliments at a rate few recent launches can match.

The Longevity and Projection of Goddess

Goddess wears warm and steady, projecting a soft vanilla aura through the first hours before settling into a cosy skin scent that carries a full day. Its sweetness clings beautifully to hair, scarves and knitwear, often outlasting the day itself in cool weather.

The Positioning of Goddess

Goddess retails around $281 for a 100ml bottle in Australia. The triple-vanilla story, the gold-labelled refillable bottle and the Burberry heritage all carry weight in that figure, and the fragrance's blockbuster marketing campaign is very much priced in.

Empress: A Faithful Goddess Alternative

Empress follows the same crescendo. A vanilla infusion with lavender opens bright and aromatic, vanilla caviar delivers the rich, plush heart, and vanilla absolute completes the deep, milky drydown. The character survives intact: vanilla in three dimensions, sweet with structure and warmth with poise. If Goddess is the vanilla that finally felt grown up, Empress puts it within reach of every day rather than special occasions.

When to Wear Empress

Empress shines from autumn through spring: date nights, dinners, cosy weekends and everyday wear whenever warmth is welcome. It reads feminine and inviting, though anyone who loves refined vanilla can wear it happily. In high summer it blooms larger, so a lighter hand does the trick. A sample size is available on this page if you would like to meet all three vanillas on skin first.