How To Choose a Gourmand Perfume: The Best 9 Edible Scents To Try

Gourmand perfumes are sweet treats for our noses. Their smell reminds us of one of our favorite hobbies: desserts!

A gourmand perfume is a fragrance that smells edible. A gourmand is a foodie. Mostly sweet and dessert-like. Imagine your favorite smell from childhood.

Pancakes? Vanilla ice cream? There you go. Gourmand fragrances try to recreate those familiar smells. Brilliant idea if you ask me.

Not everyone is happy, though. Sweet fragrances are hard to pull off. They can be cloying or just too much. 

Why don’t we eat some cotton candy and learn to wear our sweet perfumes proudly?

What is a Gourmand Fragrance

Gourmand perfumes are olfactory desserts. They smell like our favorite sweet treats. Thierry Mugler launched a perfume in the 90s, Mugler Angel that started this trend of edible scents.

Our love for sweets has inspired a trend in perfumery. Vanilla is the predominant gourmand note, but it’s not the only ingredient.

Cinnamon, chocolate, praline, honey, and many other sweet notes, tempt our appetites. The sweetness of childhood is associated with these smells.

Tradition teaches us to save the best for last, which is dessert. However, there is a problem that sours our love for gourmand perfumes.

They are not easy to wear! Why? Sweet notes can be annoying and loud. Not everyone wants a fragrance that screams:” I smell like caramel cookies!”

So should we abandon our gourmand fragrance for fear? Absolutely not. Keep reading to find out how to tame your unruly gourmand scent. [1]

What Does It Mean To Be a Gourmand

To be a bon vivant is not a mere concept but a delightful sensory adventure.

Contemplating today’s trends, it becomes clear that our food, much like our perfume, commingles symbols and sensations. Our meals highlight our cultural zest, as do our scents, laying bare not just our culinary but olfactory traditions or innovations.

JJ Boutaud, in his book Le Sens Gourmand, describes the gourmand experience as a grand performance. Our culinary and aromatic exploits are sheathed in signs and mise-en-scènes, radiating humanity in all its richness and contrast, independent of actual wealth or status.

Just like them, one doesn’t need deep pockets to appreciate a good scent, but a fine-tuned nose that savors every note like you’re enjoying an edible scent.. And don’t we all, members of this bustling society, contribute to the grand narrative of taste, broadcasting our diverse practices and taste-based imagination?

A gourmand life, my friends, is like being a perpetual ‘nose,’ always sniffing out the beautiful, bold, and flavorful natural perfume in all life has to offer.

How To Wear A Sweet Scent 

“I dislike sweet fragrances.” This is a common complaint. It is a valid argument. Sweet is better in small amounts, both when we eat it and when we smell it.

This is hard. Who hasn’t overstuffed themselves with chocolate cake? Guilty. The same is true for our gourmand fragrance. We spray too much of it.

We become walking vanilla milkshakes only less appealing. You already know where I’m going. Yes. The secret is in the amount of fragrance.

Sweet fragrances are loud. You wouldn’t laugh at a funeral, right? Guilty again.

1 or 2 light sprays are all we need to enjoy a sweet scent. Ideally, wear one spray behind your neck. This way, it won’t suffocate you.

My tropical summers were filled with sweet fragrances used in moderation. 

I Still Don’t Want to Wear a Gourmand Fragrance

That is totally fine, we all have our tastes, but I would challenge you to give it a shot. Many of our favorite things didn’t appeal to us at first.

The gourmand trend with tempting edible notes is here to stay. Our sense of smell is heavily attracted to sweet things. It makes sense, considering that the sensory experience of eating is mostly olfaction.

Don’t take my word, though. I will recommend you a few of my favorite sweet fragrances to try. 

I am convinced you will find at least one perfume that will make you hungry.

The Best Gourmand Perfumes

Let’s explore a few remarkable gourmand scents.

Rochas Man

This will be biased, considering I have worn this fragrance for the last 10 years. To me, it smells like a cappuccino with whipped cream. 

I could wear it every day but I won’t. Not cloying at all, and gathers many compliments.

Stronger With You Intensely

The name is excellent, what can I say. It’s an in-your-face sweet vanilla scent for men.

Its gourmand aroma reminds me of clubbing and having fun without taking life seriously. This caramel beast will gather many compliments if you wear it responsibly.

Kenneth Cole Mankind Hero

A perfect everyday woody vanilla scent for men. Nothing earth-shattering, but that’s the whole point.

Sometimes you want to smell fresh and clean, not like a caramel macchiato. If you like compliments, this is good for that purpose.

Prada Candy Kiss

Vanilla is the most popular ice cream flavor in the United States. I agree.

A feminine fragrance with musk and tamed sweetness. This fragrance smells like fresh vanilla, if that’s even possible. It’s great.

If you are afraid of sweet scents, try this. 

DKNY Nectar Love

Oh, honey. This perfume is excellent. The bottle is golden with bees on it. Guess what?

It does smell like honey and beeswax. And floral notes. It’s not as intense as it looks, though. 

A perfect fragrance for a cold summer night. Or any night where you want to smell like gold.

Because It’s You 

Another corny perfume name from Emporio Armani that I dig.

This one is a different type of gourmand. It’s fruity. Almost bubblegum fruity. But good. Mixed with creamy vanilla and perfect for loud or quiet women.

Easy to wear year-round if you’re a wise lady who sprays appropriately according to the seasons.

Chanel Coromandel

Another classic Eau de Parfum from Chanel. This perfume is too complex to be called a gourmand, but it is.

Enchanting aroma. It’s mostly patchouli, cacao, and vanilla. Sounds brutal, and it is. It reminds me of folk tales I don’t know why.

Guerlain Spiritueuse Double Vanille

Rich vanilla with enough spice to start a campfire. The perfumer, Jean-Paul Guerlain, is one of the best.

I smell tonka bean and some other non edible base notes. To me, this is the perfect vanilla perfume.

A woody treasure. Try first. It costs an eye and a nose. A decant will do for most of you.

Montale Starry Nights

Montale makes super-powerful fragrances that last a whole presidential term. But be careful because it is almost sickly potent.

Not your typical olfactory dessert. I smell mostly chocolate and citrus. A sweet, bright monstrous perfume. Only for the brave.