In March 2013, Wes Anderson and Roman Coppola made a short film for Prada. It starred Léa Seydoux as Candy, a woman caught between two friends named Julius and Gene, and it borrowed its shape from Jules et Jim. Miuccia Prada said the films encompass Candy as the most sparkling and unexpected character. That is a good description of the scent too. It is not a girl, exactly, more of a personality that walks into a room.

Prada Candy Eau de Parfum arrived in August 2011, made by the perfumer Daniela Andrier. Fragrantica lists caramel at the top, powdery notes and musk in the heart, and benzoin and vanilla at the base. Prada itself calls it a playful and sophisticated oriental gourmand, built around warm benzoin resin, a caramel accord and white musk. What I like is the point of view. Miuccia Prada made her name on clothes that play with taste, and this is a sweet perfume made by someone who does not do the obvious. It is sweet, but the resin and musk keep it from reading as bakery.

The trick is to smell the first grid as one warm family. Candy Eau de Parfum, with caramel and white musk, is the one everyone comes for. Infusion de Vanille, with vanilla and bergamot, is a lighter, more grown-up vanilla. The three Paradoxe perfumes are the newer, more modern side of the house: Paradoxe with white musk and amber, Paradoxe Intense with amber and jasmine, and Paradoxe Radical Essence Parfum with sandalwood and salted pistachio, which is the most unusual bottle here. Infusion de Santal Chai, Rhubarbe and Gingembre are the quiet, spiced ones.

Start with a simple filter: do you want your Prada sweet, clean or floral. That question sorts this grid faster than any note list.

Paradigme is the amber and vanilla one in Le Parfum form, and the Eau de Parfum, with bergamot, is its brighter sibling. Paradoxe Virtual Flower pairs musk with jasmine, and Sweet Chemistry brings in blackcurrant for something juicier. The Paradoxe Hair Mist is the small, useful one, a way to wear Paradoxe on your hair when the perfume feels like too much.

Then the Infusion line, which is what I would send anyone who says they do not like sweet perfumes. Infusion d'Iris, with neroli and mandarin, is powdery and clean. Infusion d'Ylang, with sandalwood and bergamot, is the softest of them. Infusion de Rose is the floral one. They are quiet, elegant and easy for an office.

A pairing I like: Infusion d'Iris on the skin and the Paradoxe Hair Mist on the hair. Clean below, warm above.

What I would skip: wearing Paradigme Le Parfum on a warm afternoon. Amber and vanilla want a cool evening.

Here is a test I like for a gourmand. Spray it on a scarf, leave it overnight, and smell it in the morning. Whatever is left, resin, wood or musk, is what the perfume is really made of, and it tells you whether it is candy or something more serious.

If you like Candy, these are the closest neighbours. Ellis Brooklyn's Queens Caramel, with pink salt, is a good match for the caramel of Prada Candy. PHLUR's Honey Moon and OUI The People's Souk Honey bring honey instead of caramel. Eauso Vert's Vanilla Embers is the smoky one. Odette Parfum Co.'s Petit Gâteau lives up to its name, and CYKLAR's Vanilla Verve is a roll-on perfume oil, so it sits close to the skin.

Boy Smells has two here. Vanilla Era with espresso is the one for a coffee lover, and Coco Cream, with coconut and vanilla, is the easy, sunny one.

A pairing I like: Candy on the wrists and a vanilla oil on the neck. Caramel and vanilla are old friends.

What I would skip: wearing a honey perfume right before a long meeting. Honey notes are cozy and they travel further than you think.

One rule for warm fragrances: put them on after you dress, on the collar and the inside of a scarf. Vanilla and amber cling to fabric, and last longer there than on bare skin.

PHLUR's Caramel Skin and Vanilla Smoke are the two mists, and both are good for layering under a perfume. The 7 Virtues' Amber Vanilla is the direct one. Lancôme's La Vie Est Belle Vanille Nude, with warm vanilla and musk, is a softer take on a familiar bottle. Armani Beauty's I Will, with vanilla, is the one for evening. Henry Rose's Dave, with vanilla, has a friendlier, more casual feel. Moroccanoil's Fragrance Originale is a hair and body mist, and Montale's Sweet Vanilla is the plainest name and the most straightforward bottle of the group. If you want to build a small wardrobe of warm scents, one mist, one perfume and one oil is a lovely start, and none of them has to compete.

A pairing I like: PHLUR Vanilla Smoke on the hair and Prada Candy on the skin. The smoke takes the edge off the sugar.

What I would skip: two vanilla perfumes that are both loud. Pick one to lead.

I think Prada Candy is one of the rare sweet perfumes that grown-ups can wear without embarrassment. It is warm, a little powdery and a little odd, in the way a good Prada thing is odd. It has been on shelves since 2011, and it still does not smell like anything else near it.

So I would start with the Eau de Parfum, try one Infusion beside it for a quieter day, and add a vanilla mist for the hair. Keep the sample in your coat pocket for a week and see which one you reach for.

Julius and Gene both wanted Candy. I do not blame them. If you want to keep browsing, I also put together Nest Perfume Guide and Lattafa Perfumes, Khamrah and the Warm Scents in the Same Family.