Imagine one perfume appealing to two of your senses at once? That’s gourmand perfumes for you.
What is a gourmand scent?
Gourmand perfumes are perfumes inspired by foods. They are also known as foodie fragrances. Some people even call them edibles. This is because ‘gourmand‘ itself means a person who is excessively fond of eating or food. This family of scents has you thinking of your favorite foods or spices once you smell them.
Gourmand scents took inspiration from the oriental family which is now usually referred to as ambery notes. Gourmands are inspired by pastries, desserts, sugared fruits, liqueurs and hot drinks. Currently, bolder notes like pizza and lobster are now in the market.
Gourmand notes may remind us of fruits and simple foods but that is not all it takes to create them. It takes a host of ingredients and skills to create the perfect gourmand fragrance. The edible notes are usually supported by other notes like woody, spicy and resinous notes.
Neil Chapman, the author of ‘Perfume; In Search of Your Signature Scent’ said, “With the obvious symbiosis of our senses of taste and smell, it is hardly surprising that perfumers turn to the delicious world of food for their inspiration…” Gourmand scents are the perfect harmony of our senses of taste and smell.
When did gourmand scents become popular?
Although gourmand scents are as old as perfumery, the first modern commercial gourmand scent is Guerlain’s Shalimar which was created in 1925; it featured a wholesome and dominating vanilla note. This category was further popularized in the early 1990s with Mugler’s Angel which was the first gourmand fragrance to appear on a runway.
Who can wear a gourmand fragrance and when can it be worn?
Gourmand scents are usually gender neutral and range from rich to sheer. The increasing popularity may be due to their impressions of simplicity. In addition, they are relatable, familiar and are perfect teases.
After blending with other ingredients, gourmand perfumes tend to smell warm and are usually more suited to warmer seasons. They can be worn at any time of the day depending on the particular scent. The darker scents like coffee and cinnamon are better at night while lighter scents like citrus and vanilla do better in the daytime or evenings.
Do gourmand perfumes always feature natural foods?
Gourmand scents feature both natural and synthetic ingredients. For instance, vanilla is quite popular in gourmand scents but it is also one of the most expensive spices in the world. Hence, the need to develop synthetic and more affordable alternatives. For vanilla, synthetic forms such as vanillin and ethyl vanillin are more popularly used in perfumery. Vanillin was first isolated from vanilla in 1958 by French biochemist, Nicolas-Theodore.
Caramel is usually used in synthetic forms too. Caramel is made up of maltol and ethyl maltol compounds. These compounds are naturally occurring in malt. But in the perfume industry, the synthetic form is used. The good thing is that a little goes a long way when using caramel in a perfume formulation.
Natural ingredients may also be used in their natural forms. For instance, honey notes used as accords in fragrances may be obtained in the form of beeswax or honeycomb absolute. Roasted coffee is also often gotten by heating roasted seeds of the coffee beans to get the perfect coffee notes.
So, if you want to smell delicious, you now know exactly what kind of fragrance you need.
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