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Sweet tooth? Discover 11 editor-approved gourmand perfumes
Feature: Long Read
Words by Amelia Bell
Buttery aromas escaping a Parisian bakery. Spun sugar at the fairground. The smell of ground coffee at your local café... Who can resist the mouthwatering notes that make up the gourmand olfactive category? Also known as edible perfumes, gourmand fragrances are defined by evocative scents that are good enough to eat. However, gone are the days of the sweet, verging-on sickly perfumes of old; the latest concoctions are sophisticated with just the right amount of sweetness. And while they’re still reminiscent of some of your favourite treats, they’re a little more refined than their previous counterparts.
What are gourmand fragrances?
The term ‘gourmand’ wasn’t actually ever part of the olfactive category. It was made famous byMugler Angel, a perfume that launched back in the Nineties and epitomised what we now refer to as ‘gourmand’ thanks to its distinctive notes of tonka bean, chocolate, and sweet honey.
“Gourmand fragrances are essentially an overdose of sugary notes,” agrees Jerome Epinette, perfumer for Floral Street. “They’ve become more and more present in modern scents where these edible notes offer an alternative to classic sweetness,” he adds. Gourmands can be made up of a variety of notes. “Essentially anything that delights the senses with sweet, sugary, creamy accents in addition to maltol/ethyl maltol (cotton candy), which can include caramel, chocolate, milk, praline, coffee, toffee, almonds, bubblegum and of course vanilla,” shares Epinette.
Discover the new and cult gourmand scents to add to your wishlist.
Akro, Bake Eau de Parfum, 30ml, £160
Gourmand Ingredient: Brown Sugar
If you’ve spent any time on Instagram recently, you’ve probably seen that Bake, the new scent by London-inspired brand, Akro, is trending. Thought up by founder Anaïs Cresp, it’s been praised by some of the best noses in the business for bringing a new appeal to the world of gourmand scents. Reminiscent of your favourite baked goods – think croissants and choux pastry – the scent combines notes of brown sugar, lemon peel, vanilla, chantilly cream, and praline. What makes it so enticing, say the experts? It’s sugary and gourmand but never saccharine, somehow balancing, and completely addictive.
Floral Street, Wild Vanilla Orchid Eau de Parfum, £68
Gourmand Ingredient: Vanilla
You might know and love the brand’s Ylang Ylang Espresso, a scentcreated by perfumer Jerome Epinetteas an ode to his favourite dessert, tiramisu. But Floral Street's Wild Vanilla Orchid is just as delicious. A gourmand concoction, it's a floral, sweet scent with contrasting notes of jasmine,creamy vanilla, and patchouli. Fresh and delicious.
Byredo, Rouge Chaotique,50ml, £250
Gourmand Ingredient: Praline
Oud and gourmand: Two words that don’t go together on paper. And yet, when spritzed in the new scent by cult scandi-born brand Byredo, works like magic. The first oud gourmand fragrance courtesy of Byredo’s Night Veils collection, Rouge Chaotique is inspired by nightfall. "I think there is something about night-time, it’s a different world of possibilities; a different version of who you are, a nocturnal sense of duality," says Ben Gorham, Creative Director andFounder. The result is a play on extremes – think saffron paired with blackcurrant, bergamot contrasting with spiced leather, and sweet flavours of praline and plum.
Kilian Paris, Love Don’t Be Shy, 50ml, £220
Gourmand Ingredient: Marshmallow
Inspired by that addictive and familiar feeling of falling in love for the first time, Kilian’s Love Don’t Be Shy is a fruity-gourmand fragrance that’s as sweet as it is juicy – with orange blossom, rose absolute, and amber mixed up with marshmallow and white musk. A little saccharine, yes, but so is that feeling of first love. Tempting, delicious, and the sort of perfume you’ll want to spritz day and night, season after season.
Parfums de Marly, Oriana, 30ml, £130
Gourmand Ingredient: Chantilly cream
Mille-feuille – meaning a thousand layers in French – was the inspiration behind Parfums de Marly’s Oriana. To represent the flakiness, unique textures, and different layers of the classic French patisserie, Nathalie Lorson and Hamid Merati-Kashani, the brains behind the long-loved aroma, created a scent with a floral and gourmand finish, featuring marshmallow, Chantilly cream, mandarin and Italian bergamot.
Jo Malone London, Myrrh & Tonka Cologne, 50ml, £106
Gourmand Ingredient: Tonka bean
Jo Malone London’s Myrrh & Tonka Cologne has garnered attention among scent lovers thanks to its distinctively sweet yet intense finish. What sets it apart from classic gourmands? A spritz will reveal all the sweetness and warmth from the tonka bean, with elements of almond and vanilla, plus an intensity from the Namibian myrrh tree. Sweet, smokey, and a great wear-anywhere fragrance.
Penhaligon’s, Portraits Collection Mr Thompson, 75ml, £220
Gourmand Ingredient: Sweet rum
The latest addition to Penhaligon’s Portraits Collection, Mr Thompson is the new collectible you’ll want on your wishlist. Because, much like the rest of the fragrance family, it tells a unique story of the omniscient Mr Thompson. As for the blend, the spritz combines unexpected aromas of sweet rum, powdery orris, and leather with warming vanilla and sesame milk – all housed in the iconic Portraits bottle.
Jean Paul Gaultier, Divine, 100ml, £125
Gourmand Ingredient: Meringue
Jean Paul Gaultier’s fashion-forward fragrances have long been synonymous with gourmand-scented goodness. And the latest arrival is no exception. 30 years on from the first fragrance, Classique, this new and Harrods exclusive aroma aptly named Divine takes on a floral-gourmand iteration. Blended by Quentin Bisch and featuring notes of black pepper and bergamot along with sugary meringue and jasmine, it’s fresh, sweet, and a little spicy.
Guerlain, Aqua Allegoria Nettare Di Sole Eau de Toilette, 75ml, £89
Gourmand Ingredient: Honey
If you’re a loyal fan of Guerlain’s science-backed, naturally-derived skincare, you’ll know that honey is a star ingredient for this French-born beauty brand. And the same can be said within its fragrances too, where the Aqua Allegoria Nettare Di Sole Eau de Toilette, for instance, marries the natural sweetness of honey and tonka bean with zesty bergamot and magnolia. Floral and sweet, this sun-soaked fragrance has summer holidays written all over it.
Tom Ford, Café Rose Eau de Parfum, 50ml
Gourmand Ingredient: Coffee
Few scents are as transportive as the smell of coffee. Whether it’s the nostalgic memory of your favourite coffee shop or the signal of your daily wake-up call, most of us can’t get enough of the rich, roasted sweet, and intense aromas of the coffee beans. Capturing this is the new Tom Ford Eau de Parfum, Café Rose, a refreshing and typically unique scent for which Ford is famous, fusing refined rose with dark coffee, ylang-ylang, patchouli, and spicy cardamom.
Available 21st August
Boy Smells, Italian Kush Eau de Parfum, 65ml, £105
Gourmand Ingredient: Pistachio
As pistachio perfumes continue to gain traction on social media (a term that has nearing 700 million views on TikTok alone), the cream of the crop has to be Italian Kush by equally viral LA-born perfume house Boy Smells. Fans of a pistachio gelato will delight in this summer number which features sweet and creamy pistachio, along with fresh and spicy notes of patchouli, sandalwood, and limoncello. Not your typical gourmand scent but just as delicious.
Discover more gourmand perfumes to add to your collection.
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