The dessert course has never been among my many vices. I can track a fresh bowl of heavily buttered popcorn from several blocks away, but the Triple Brownie Blackout cake has never called my name. Of course, I like chocolate — those people who claim not to like it always make me suspicious — but it must be very dark, and in fact, I will happily eat that 98% cocoa solids stuff with the consistency of chalk. Unfortunately, I do still drink pop, although I blame the carbonation there: I choose mineral water when it’s available. I love traveling in the U.S. because of the wide availability of brewed, unsweetened iced tea. (In Canada, if you are foolish enough to ask for an ice tea, you will likely get a syrup-based product out of a drink gun. If you can finish it, you are a better person than I am.) When I am cajoled into a dessert, ice cream or coffee bar by one of the many sugar-addicted members of my family, my first question to the server is always: “Which option would you say is the least sweet?”
This is usually my first question to a perfume sales assistant, too. I self-identify as a lover of bitter, salty, herbal and spicy smells. Looking over my fragrance collection, however, I am forced to contemplate the possibility I have been deluding myself. I love vanilla. I love heliotropin. I love, heaven help me, custard-like smells. Looking over the fragrances I wear most regularly gives me another clue into my psyche. I like gourmands that camouflage their intentions. It helps if a fragrance does not come in a bottle featuring something that can be attached to your charm bracelet. There should be some green, fresh, medicinal, or big floral notes to give the thing an air of respectability. Most importantly, a great gourmand should wear its sweetness lightly, charming and surprising the nose straight through to the end. If you’ve been wary of gourmands because they all seem to dry down to cotton candy or waxy chocolate, here are five to try.
Bond No. 9 Chinatown: Released in 2005, Chinatown was created by Aurelien Guichard, whose Nina Ricci Love in Paris is another sneaky, quirky gourmand. In an interview with Osmoz, Guichard cites Guerlain L’Heure Bleue and Dior Diorissimo as the female fragrances he most wishes to have created, and in a way, this is no surprise. Chinatown radiates with classical confidence, its sillage insinuating itself everywhere, relentlessly peachy-sweet and cheerful. The patchouli, amber and cardamom beautifully temper the vanilla, giving a dark and self-contained gloss to the dry down: all in all, a fragrance pearl.
Slatkin Persian Lime Blossom & Mimosa: A Christophe Laudamiel creation, this very interesting twist on the traditional mimosa fragrance is sadly discontinued. Instead of playing up the almond-vanilla character of mimosa, Laudamiel chose to emphasize the fresh, milky character of the flower, accenting it with a tropical fruitiness (mandarin, coconut, banana-like ylang-ylang) and a smoothly varnished woody dry down.
Thierry Mugler Miroir des Envies: At first, though I liked the sandy, solar dry down that marks the participation of Christine Nagel, I was turned off by the intense chocolate-hazelnut note at the heart of this “Mirror of Desires”. With each sampling, though, the mellow, sun-freckled, long-limbed wholesomeness of the fragrance has grown on me. I guess all those years of watching ridiculous commercials that insist Nutella is good for you (it contains milk!) finally worked.
Kenzo Ça Sent Beau: Created in 1987 by Françoise Caron, this is the fragrance that finally captures the smell of my Platonic ideal of candy. As a child, I read all sorts of British stories with people mooning over Turkish delight — Edmund Pevensie, from the Narnia books, was one such character, but there were others — and I therefore imagined it was ambrosial stuff. The real confection had to come as a bit of a disappointment, then, even when I had some freshly imported by a Turkish friend. Ça Sent Beau smells more like my dream tasted: slightly, indigestibly floral, dusted with weightless powdered sugar and full of citrus zest and cream, like melted sunlight.
Serge Lutens Douce Amere: Douce Amere contains cinnamon, absinthe, anise, lily, jasmine, tiare, marigold, cedar, vanilla and musk — which sounds like one fine mess, if you ask me. But this fragrance works remarkably well: it is carefully crafted and yet unpretentious, sweetly soothing, but also refreshing. Robin describes it as “a milky pudding laced with black licorice” and my husband says it smells like any number of other fragrances I`ve made him smell recently — “only better.”
Note: image via Parfum de Pub.
Dear Erin,
A woman after my own heart! I'd rather have two lovely crabcake appetisers and skip the molten lava chocolate thing for dessert.
I'm with you on the sweetness denial register, though!! And your recommendations are right up — down? — my alley. I'm wearing Jil Sander Style right now, and it's got this amazing, fresh mango thing going along with some helio, perhaps, and some excellent blond woods to anchor the whole thing. For the same reason, I'm one of the few who adore the new Un Jardin Apres la Mousson. Bring on that cantaloupe, as long as it's got some cool spices and nifty base notes!!!
Great piece!! I look forward to hearing other responses. . .
Oooo crab cakes! Have a sinus and ear infection right now, and yet that still makes me oddly hungry. Thank you very much for your kind comments. That Style sounds wonderful – how did I miss it? Sounds a little like my Kenzo Jungle Tigre, although perhaps less of a rough ride (that Tigre is *sweet*.)
Hi, E. Faux-gourmand is the way to go, yeah baby yeah! 🙂 While I don't like being vanillad to death by a perfume, my collection features quite a few potentially cavity-inducing gems. Wrapped in woods or camouflaged by spices, they all at one point or another smell like they've been served fresh out of the oven, dipped in custard, sprinkled with chococrumbs or double-filled with jam. Does this description seem over the top? Ah, but let us not forget what monstrosities my pathetic sweet-enhancing skin can do to the likes of Gaultier2, Arpège PH, Héritage and yes, sadly, sometimes even to M7.
You know, I just reported to Robin on my discovery of Ultrared for men – a brill all-out gourmand that I fear I won't be able to pull off. S-bomb anyone?
And how come I haven't tried anything from your list? Tsk tsk.
Great post Erin! I love vanilla based fragrances and enjoy a few gourmand scents but I prefer those that aren't straight up foody or sickly sweet. This is great help, now I know what others to try.. =)
yes, yes, YES! Love your descriptions, Dusan. It's all about balance, ain't it? If something sweet has woods or spices or resins or greenery, that can be just the VERY best! I think it's much like the principle behind Thai cuisine: they're all about a balance of all the elements in every mouthful: hot, sour, sweet, spicy, tangy.
Thanks for the recommendations and, for making me feel marginally less ashamed of my gourmand tastes.
I just purchased bottles of Theorema, Asja, and Bulgari Black online; I love Omnia; and Magical Moon is a guilty pleasure. It's time for me stop the denial, step up to the microphone and say, “Hello, my name is Oeditrix, and I like gourmands, damn it.”
why is everybody so apologetic about Magical Moon? I've not sniffed it but it seems that nearly every perfumista on this and other boards apologizes for liking it!
Exactly like Thai cuisine, Robin – a bit of everything thrown together but with good measure, with nothing screaming out of the plate/bowl (unlike my skin). And now you've made me all hungry 🙂
Thanks for this, Erin: I'm glad to find other 'serious' perfumistas share my guilty secret! I was horrified to find myself a gourmand lover (but why?) much in your mold – on the eating front, too.
Douce Amère is entirely my husband's scent; and golly, does he wear it well.
Is Ultrared by Paco Rabanne? I was so scarred by Ultraviolet, I'm not sure I'm up to something so similarly named. But I trust you! I will seek it out.
You sweetify M7? That's incredible. You know, I get a really weird peanut note at the beginning of Gaultier 2 – like canned sundae peanuts. It's the sort of thing I wish would hang around longer – only with the the number of people allergic to peanuts, you wouldn't want to wear it out, and freak everybody out. (By the way, thanks so much for the brithday wishes last week. You sweet! I'm going to get back to you once I'm better, I promise…)
Interesting, Robin. That's what I like about Thai cuisine – very balanced and clean-tasting. I have a particular fear of anything with an overwhelming, gloopy sauce on it.
Thank you! Looks like there's a fair few of us out here. What gourmands have you already found that you enjoy?
Well, Theorema and Black are perfectly respectable, I think. And Omnia – which I believe Angela just described a little while ago as a nutmeg cookie, without all the weight of butter, etc. Asja reminds me of my mom's homemade pineapple fritters. Mmmmm. (Maybe I *do* have a sweet tooth!) I don't think I've even tried Magical Moon, but I haved enjoyed with embarrassment HM “Butterfly”. So I guess… We're loud! We're proud! We like ethyl-maltol!
I haven't tried it either, Mamabear, but maybe it is because the HM packaging is so resolutely downmarket and the fragrances so full of sugar and red berries. I do like HM original (or “Butterfly”) but the opening so *strident* that the opening kind of makes me feel like I'm wearing a blouse I might bust out of any second.
No need to be ashamed. Come over here, we'll eat some chocolate truffles and spray some Serge. 🙂
And, boy, I would love it if my husband wore Douce Amere. So far, we have only got to him noticing it on me and spontaneously saying something nice. Which is about as far as we ever get. *sigh*
I think these scents fit your description too:
Declaration Intense – Cartier (chocolate and wood)
Animale Animale – Animale (lavender and chocolate)
Rochas Man – Rochas (coffee top with warm, woody dry-down)
Body Kouros – YSL (anise and petrol!)
l'Instant de Guerlain Pour Homme (the EDP version is bitter chocolate wrapped in a weird blanket)
Rousse – Serge Lutens (arid cinnamon)
These are all gourmand, but their sweetness is restrained. They are also all aimed at men, but I think they'd smell absolutely terrific (and sexy!) on a woman…
OK, Robin, that makes two of us–I love the new Jardin, and I don't like melon. The combination of the melon and spices in Mousson is irresistible to me. You can have my crabcakes if I can have your Tarte Tatin!
I love Lea, Guerlain SDV, LLVanille 44, Vanille Exquise, Eclix, Vanille Noire du Mexique, Zenzero and POTL L&E – do those count?
Certainly! I really need to try that Le Labo (note to self)…
Hey E, yes, Ultrared is by PR though not to worry, it is a huge departure from Ultraviolet (both f & m) — what *did* the beastly Ultraviolet do to you anyway? Was it the pepper overdose? Er, we are talking about the women's version, right? I'm fond of that one, but not nearly as much of the men's. Do try the Ultrared when you can, just for the fun of it.
Funny how we perceive our nuts in Gaultier2 differently, if you'll pardon the pun. 🙂 To me the opening is bitter almond rather than peanut although like you, I wish it stuck around a bit longer.
And yes, it does happen sometimes that I sweetify (love the word!) M7 to strawberry jam – chalk it up to weird skin chem, weather or whatever (say that fast, ha!). Not that that's necessarily a bad thing, just weird, you know?
(And don't sweat over the email, just get better!) xoxo
While I don't consider myself a fan of sweet/gourmand frags, occasionally, I'll mix L' Artisan Parfumeur Patchouli Patch, with Comptoir Sud Pacifique Vanille Coco. It's a nice combo.
Done, quinn! That's a sweet deal. ;-D
Another delicious possibility: Missoni, with hazelnut, chocolate, melon and orange, and lots of dry woods or something to keep it in balance. It's not sticky-sweet, just damn intriguing!
And, of course, while we're on the subject of soothing our inner gourmand, loukhoum scents can be wonderful!!! If anyone likes Douce Amere (and I know you do!!) I think Louve might be worth trying. It's a bit like Rahat Loukhoum (and a bit like DA), but somehow I like it better; it's just more cherry-rose-ish and frisky!!
Also, the original Mazmara is like lemon meringue pie — much like La Perla Eclix, but with a zestier lemon note and a grating of fresh ginger! Nice.
Ah, another, quirky, old one: Caron's Colony, a pineapple chypre!!! Crazy, but true. I think it was created back in 1944 or something; it was definitely ahead of its time, whenever it was released. Wear it, and think of being on a steamship bound for some tropical French colony, wearing clunky pumps and a great hat.
Hey, big topic… I feel with you completely, above all regarding sweet drinks. This so-called 'ice tea' is toxic. Didn't know about this American thing of serving real, cooled tea as ice tea. That's so cool! Wish the British had a bit more refined drinking (& eating) culture…!
Some years ago I would have sworn I'd NEVER get into something as sticky as Arpège pH, thought only sugarfree scents, mostly resinous orientals and hesperides, let me really feel comfortable. But it was just a matter of time to get used to gourmands. For a while now I'm swinging, according to my dayly mood, between modernist elegance and contemporary Anime-love-philtres like B*men or tonka-shockers as J'S EXTÉ MAN, which I herewith most warmly recommend to all you woody vanilla lovers. It's also got Mediterranean notes with oregano (NO, it does NOT recall pizza!). The smell lets you expect white powder coming out of the atomizer.
For me foody goes well when its powdery. I can't deal with sweet fruityness. Maybe it's different for women.
And don't forget the red lipstick! 🙂
Dusan, your description sounds to me like the cottage that Hansel and Gretal found in the middle of the forest… sweets wrapped in woods.
… and I am completely wierded out by this iced tea problem. Iced tea is so easy to make – we make pitchers of it at home a few times a week. The worst substitute you can get in the States is powdered iced tea mix, which is not great, but sounds better than the syrup Erin mentioned, and that apparently you're familiar with.
Well, of course i'm talking about having something in a street café… you'd be surprised, it is actually quite difficult to get even a decent cup of normal tea in England… even in some “tea rooms” they only serve quite low quality tea bags. Most English who heard I'm buying loose darjeeling shreaked “loose tea! how posh!!”. If you mention green tea they think you're a freak.
Brewed ICE tea is not very common in Europe generally, you just get those cans everywhere – basically like lemonade. That's very popular. Also the instant powder. On this blogg I'm bit by bit loosing my anti-American prejudices… ; ) See? NST is applied Völkerverständigung!
…'shrieked' of course…
Tried Ultrared Man recently and it actually made me laugh in front of the sales person, so foody was it! You're right… “for the fun of it”. I always thought Ultraviolet Man is really original and I love to smell it on paper, but each time I had it on my skin it made me feel sick.
Makes sense. I guess iced tea is just one of those things that we take for granted here. It's harder to buy loose tea, but we're graced with a superfluity of good and just plain bizarre types of tea bags. We have lots of bottled tea (Snapple brand is quite popular) as well. I'm glad to hear you're loosing some of your anti-American bias. Have you been to the States? You should come visit if you can. We have all kinds of posh things, as well as Posh Spice, who lives in California, so I'm told. 🙂
😀 !!
Been once, to Mmi/FL at Xmas… rather unrepresentative for “the” US. I'll never forget driving the keys highway in a rented car!
You know, Rousse has always smelled very buttery to me, like a booze-spiked apple pie. Me likes. I also enjoy Body Kouros. You're right – the petrol tempers the gourmand angle!
I used to be able to stomach the powdered mix, but I can't do it anymore – and the syrup stuff is even worse. I don't understand it either. Proper iced brewed tea is very cheap and takes just a little time.
Along the loukhoum line, Givenchy Oblique Rewind is wonderful, if you can find it (discontinued). Delicious and very unpretentious.