As the nights get colder and, unrelated to that, the stress level goes up (nothing to worry, just work-related), I find myself thinking about sweets more. Or maybe I just like sweets…
Saturday Question #134:
Do You Wear Gourmand Perfumes?
If yes, what are your favorites? Do you wear them in any particular time of the year? If no, are there any exceptions, or do you swear off this genre altogether?
My Answer
In general, I think I do not like gourmands. After I stopped wearing Angel (though, I still like it) and never started wearing Womanity (though I liked it), for the most part, I stayed away from sweets in perfume form.
I do like and wear some of them sometimes though. A couple of years ago, I did a post about my three favorite milk-centric perfumes – Jo Malone Sweet Milk (sadly discontinued), Kyse Fichi e Panna and Ava Luxe Milk. I also quite enjoy By Kilian Black Phantom. I will never need, want or use a full bottle of it, but a decant that I bought should keep my perfume sweet tooth satisfied.
How about you?
Undina's Looking Glass 
I love love love gourmand perfumes! Vanitas, Black Phantom Kilian Love SDV, Kerosene Unspoken, the list is endless. And I wear them all year round.
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I kind of like SDV, but not enough to go for a bottle of it before, and now I’m not even sure if it’s still in production or if it still resembles what I have in my decant. Once it’s gone, it’s gone.
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Good question! I don’t really like overly gourmand perfumes, but I do have some that are more vanilla-centric like SDV or safran troublant. The perfumes I have that lean gourmand are more perfumes with a single gourmand note; a floral perfume with a coffee note, honey in woods or chocolate and rose, but not actual Gourmands (with a capital G ;-)).
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I think that describes me, too. I like vanilla as a note, but the fragrances I have with an obvious vanilla note or accord are not usually ones I would describe as “gourmand.”
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I like a couple of vanilla perfumes but just a few: most are too sweet to my liking.
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Good question – I love sugar – I’m surprised I have teeth left, I love it so much. But oddly gourmand fragrances aren’t my thing. The closest I come is Goutal’s Vanilla Charnal, which is deep vanilla pod. Or Shalimar. I have Safran Troublant, too, but I consider that to be a spice perfume-which in my head is a very different thing. The chocolate notes in Coromandel, too – that’s as close as I come. I just find they don’t suit me, or my personality. I like crisp citrus the most.
Thanksgiving weekend here-still cleaning up after hurricane Fiona. I’ve never smelled anything as green as the air after that storm-that’s an impression that’s never going to leave me. But today it’s raining so I cooked a turkey. Rest of the weekend is supposed to be sunny so we are hoping to hit the mountain bike trails, fuelled by turkey sandwiches. I hope everyone is warm and safe and relaxed, even if those feeling are temporary I hope there’s a few moments of it over this weekend.
I’ll give thanks for the perfume community, where people share knowledge and time and decants. Perfume peeps are the best.
Best regards,
Carole
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I hope you enjoyed your Thanksgiving: ours is one of my favorite holidays, and I look forward to it this year.
Sweets in food form are definitely more attractive to me than in perfumes! :)
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I don’t actively seek out that category, but I own and wear several of the La Petite Robe Noir variations. I also love Lolita Lempicka Sweet and Chopard Wish. I like Katy Perry Killer Queen, Sofia Vergara Love, and I am sure there are others. I do have Angel edt and the Fruity Fair flanker, but Angel is not all that sweet to me.
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Oh how could I forget one of my favorites Rihanna Rebelle, chocolate and strawberries!? That in turn reminds I tested House of Oud crop 2022, which was very chocolatey and “made me look” at a full bottle.
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I remember Wish from when it was released, but I don’t think I’ve revisited it since. And if not to count Angel EdT, I haven’t tried anything else on your list. Clearly, it’s not my genre :)
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In general, I don’t wear many gourmand fragrances, but I like quite a few that have vanilla. They’re not the really sweet ones, though. I love 4160 Tuesdays’ White Queen, which has been described as a “floral fruity gourmand.” Perfumer Sarah McCartney describes the fragrance’s notes as: incense, hazelnut, citrus fruits, raspberry, jasmine, cream, opoponax, vetivert, patchouli, and musk. Her goal was to create a modern gourmand without evoking candy. You can read my review of it here: https://scentsandsensibilities.co/2019/02/17/scent-sample-sunday-white-queen/. I think she succeeded!
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I still haven’t tried it, but these were strange years for everything not just perfume testing. I still hope to try it one day: it was an excellent review!
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I don’t normally go for gourmands, but I’m not against them either. Tried a spritz of Hermetica Sandalsun the other day – vanilla, sandalwood, and hazelnut notes – and thought it might be a cozy treat. Will find out when I spend more time with my sample. I also like some perfumes with chocolate or coffee notes. Jovoy Remember Me is reminiscent of milky chai and quite beautiful.
I hope the work stress subsides soon.
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I hope too! Frankly speaking, I miss my calmer days when at least I wouldn’t even think of not wearing perfumes.
I like both hazelnut and chai, so your examples both sound interesting.
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“Wish-“ing you calmer days soon, Undina!
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I love gourmands with lots of vanilla like Van Cleef’s Orchidee Vanilla and tea and coffee notes in fragrances. I have 2 in the sweet gourmand category, Profumum Roma’s Dulcis in Fundo and Xerjoff Lira.
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I finished my Orchidee Vanilla decant, and thought I liked it, I don’t think I want more. I’m not familiar with the other two you mentioned though.
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Lira is a woody vanilla caramel fragrance, very well done, IMHO. Dulcis in Fundo is an orange, caramel and liquor scent but it reads more like orange and chocolate on my skin.
I forgot my fave coffee and rose scent, Montale’s Intense Cafe, far more rose than coffee. And Zoologist 🐄 Cow, a milk centered fragrance.
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I am not too keen on Gourmands. The closet of those i love and wear are Covet, Fils de Dieu and Ambre de Merveilles.
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Covet – love that one :)
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I haven’t tried the first two, and I don’t remember much about Ambre de Merveilles.: I think it was the closest from the line to the “like” territory for me, but that’s all I remember now.
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Yes, I really like gourmand notes. Gallagher Fragrance Behold Patchouli has a lush chocolate note, I had a decant and it is definitely fb worthy. I have coffee, vanilla, nutty, and other chocolate perfumes. Jungle l’Elephant is what Brigitte described as cardamom custard, which is spot on.
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Hahaha!! Love that you quoted me. I wear the Elephant in the heat of summer
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Most of these notes I could take in my perfume in small amounts.
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Three generation of Marzipan’s LOVE gourmands….many bottles in the basement that are worn year round, including Pink Sugar.
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Marzipans…..darn autocorrect is always wrong…
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It’s interesting: Pink Sugar (the original one, I have no idea what is out there now) was one of the perfumes that traumatized me and taught me that I really disliked sweet perfumes :) But I’m sure that it is no match to your perfume-devouring skin ;)
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I probably have more straight up vanilla than gourmand, and I can’t abide Angel. I enjoy not-too-sweet coffee and caramel, cinnamon, etc. I’m not sure I ever thought of Jungle l’Elephant as a gourmand, but that’s a favorite.
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I can do some vanillas but prefer them on the dryer side.
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Hey Undina and crew,
If you had asked me a few years ago if i would love gourmand fragrances I would have laughed at the though.
Then came Cacharel Liberté. Suddenly my nose was OK to sweet and the floodgates opened.
Do we call Serge Lutens stewed fruits and the lemon ice cream Shalimar gourmand now? If so then I was always an underground fan and just needed little push into fairy floss.
Portia xx
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Is Cacharel still around? I don’t see it in stores any more – and I used to love at least a couple of their perfumes.
SL… I’m not sure I would characterize those as gourmands, but several of them probably are, if to think about it.
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Yes Undina, Cacharel are still around. They’ve Dcd many of my favourites but still have some good stuff. Their men advertised fragrances are old fashioned but lovely.
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I love gourmands! Don’t wear them that much though as it needs to be really cold for me to enjoy them.
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The winter is coming! ;)
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Exactly! ;)
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But of course! A very favourite category…Brulure de Rose springs to mind, also Hermes Ambre Narguile and Balenciaga Cristobal to name but three. I could wear them year round unless it is stupid hot, which did happen this summer. That may be more to do with the powderiness that often goes with the territory rather than the foodie notes per se.
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Brulure de Rose! Of course! Beautiful perfume (thank you! :) ).
I’m not sure I remember the other two. I mean, I’m sure I tried Hermes, but I have absolutely no recollection how it smells.
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I come from the indie perfume scene, which follows the philosophy of hyperrealism over abstraction, and gourmands are one of the best perfumes for that style of perfumery. I love so many gourmands, it’s hard to narrow it down: Kyse’s Cocoa Noisette, Arcana Craves’ Strawberries Craves Ice Cream, Ganache Parfums Ice Cream Shoppe, and Solstice Scents Blackburn’s Parlor. Personally I wear gourmands all year because it’s my favorite category of perfumes. But the themes will change with the season: like flourmands, fresher or more spicy and heavy notes.
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