Victoria Beckham’s Vanilla Perfume Is the Ultimate Date Night Scent (She Shares It With David)

Fragrance is transportive. A single spritz can catapult you to a certain time and place—your grandmother’s garden, perhaps, or a rebellious night out you want to relive again and again. Victoria Beckham’s 21:50 Rêverie Eau de Parfum is meant to transport you to a date with her husband, David. (If that alone doesn’t influence you to buy the scent, I don’t know what will.)

The pair was enjoying an open-air dinner in Java, Indonesia “surrounded by rice fields and vanilla vines,” the brand founder recounts. At exactly 21:50 (aka 9:50 p.m.), the entire landscape lit up with thousands of twinkling tea lights. It was a dream, one that Beckham immediately wanted to bottle with a warm, sultry vanilla fragrance and—for one week only—recreate with a pop-up art installation at NYC’s High Line. After receiving an early peek at the immersive, multi-sensory space and chatting with Beckham herself, I can confidently say that this is a perfume you must experience.

21:50 Rêverie is Beckham’s fourth fragrance, and it’s her go-to for fall. “If you like a vanilla with a difference, you’re going to love this fragrance,” she tells me. “It’s my favorite out of all of our fragrances so far.”

Many gourmands run the risk of smelling way too saccharine (it’s why I’m personally very picky when it comes to the fragrance family), but with smoky tobacco leaves, crisp cedarwood, and tonka bean, Rêverie has an earthy grit that brings some complexity to the equation—the “difference,” according to Beckham. There’s also a surprising juiciness to the fragrance, thanks to its middle notes of plum.

Just like the rest of the brand’s fragrance collection, Rêverie is genderless, and according to Beckham, it’s meant to be shared like a decadent dessert—one plate, two spoons. “I love to share fragrance with my husband,” she says. (I then have to ask whether she’s been sharing Rêverie, to which she responds: “I do.”)

The bottle itself—an emerald and gold flacon—is a work of art, so of course it’s represented by a grand sculpture positioned in the middle of the installation. The pop-up also features audio sound clouds of the scent creation in Beckham’s own words, as well as a “dream wall,” where visitors can write down their own hopes and manifestations. It’s like leaving a little piece of yourself behind, ensconced in a Beckham-inspired daydream, before departing with a complimentary sample of the fragrance.

Now, whenever I wear 21:50 Rêverie, I’m transported right back to that gorgeous Thursday afternoon, the scent of vanilla and tonka bean mingling with the crisp fall air. In a split second, I’m again chatting with Beckham as her own words filter from the sound clouds above our heads. My own little reverie—I have to believe that was her intent from the jump.

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