Today's subject is Anya, who is in her late 20s and happily married. Anya is looking for a new comforting perfume. She loves good food: pudding, gelato, desserts, cooking and baking (especially the smell of freshly baked goodies), and she likewise enjoys gourmand perfumes: airy, creamy, softly sweet, delicious fragrances, with notes of vanilla, cereals grains, coconut, cream, vanilla frosting, marshmallow, lemon, cookies or pudding. However, she suffers from frequent allergies & mild headaches and has a hard time finding scents that aren't overly cloying and perfume-y. She'd also like her new scent to cost no more than $50, although she'd go as high as $80 for the perfect fragrance. Anya lives in Indonesia, and has access to major department store brands and online stores.
Anya's favorite fragrances include Lostmarc'h Lann-Ael, L'Occitane Honey & Lemon, L de Lolita Lempicka and L'Artisan Jour de Fete. She also liked Indult Tihota, but it was outside of her budget.
She did not like Serge Luten Un Bois Vanille, Serge Lutens Louve, L'Artisan Bois Farine, Thierry Mugler Angel, Lolita Lempicka, Burberry Brit or Aquolina Pink Sugar, all of which she found too cloying and/or headache-inducing. She doesn't like florals, spices, patchouli, anise, amber, nutmeg, heavy citrus, maple, vetiver or tobacco.
What say you?
Note: image is ei, seu carteiro! by .mands. at flickr; some rights reserved.
I highly recommend Comfort from CJScents (www.cjscents.com). It's a wonderful creamy rice pudding-y scent and CJ makes it in an oil, which wears close to the skin and would probably be good for someone who can be sensitive to fragrance. Anya would have to order a sample online.
How about Kenzo Amour Indian Holi? It's one of my top rice pudding scents.
Fendi Theorema is gorgeous chocolaty orange cream and can be found on ebay since it's discontinued.
Christian Lacroix's Tumulte is strawberries and cream but might be a tad too sweet…not sure, but this can be found at rock bottom prices on line and discount shops.
Dawn Spencer Hurwitz's stunning Cimabue is spicy and comforting with notes of cardamom, clementine, neroli, lemon, nutmeg, carnation, cinnamon, jasmine, honey beeswax, rose, sandalwood, vanilla. I know there's nutmeg in there but it is not wildly detectable.
too bad Tan Gianducelli's Annam is impossible to locate…maybe easier in Asia though?
Good luck!
Anya- Dawn Spencer Hurwitz's Mahjoun may be what you are looking for. ..or her lush honey!!!! If you have access to , Crazylillbelule & the poppies, their vanille sucre is delish, cheap, portable . Memoire liquide makes fabulous inexpensive gourmands and that is on beautyhabit. All are just as nice imho as any $$$$$$ gourmand
Not the most high-end recommendations, but I immediately thought of “M” by Mariah Carey (for the marshmallow note, and it's not a particularly heavy fragrance to my nose) and “G” from the Harajuku Lovers line (a lot of coconut and a fairly unbeatable price). Don't know why my brain immediately wen to one-letter fragrance names…
How about Casmir by Chopard. This has fruity notes of citrus, melons and peaches. With sandalwood and patchouli in the base. Great for casual wear.
Or my second suggestion is The Exact Friction of Stars, by Pilar & Lucy, with vanilla, coconut etc.
Both can be found for under 60 dollars, Casmir is the cheaper of the two, I saw the 3.4 oz on sale for 41 at online discounters. Good luck!
If it's not too far out of the budget, Costume National 21 has a great gourmand feel, and is quite unique.
I forgot to add some from Ava Luxe that you might enjoy:
True Bluish Light,
Milk,
Honey
Have fun!
It's priced right around Anya's upper limit, but Diptyque's Philosykos might be worth a try. It's a lovely, creamy, green fig with a lot of the same comforting qualities as Bois Farine (which I was going to recommend until I saw that it makes you ill!) but without being cloying.
DSH Cimabue is gorgeous…would have to recommend 'regular' Kenzo Amour as the “holi” version is a bit stronger. I like Amour as a comfort scent that lingers without being too sweet or cloying. It's quite reasonable on line.
not really my cup of tea and maybe too expensive, but gourmand without being too cloying: Keiko Mecheri (peau de pèche, loukhoum)
Mariah Carey is the first scent I thought of, too. Both that and G are good, reasonably priced choices.
Big second to this! Comfort makes me want to keep sniffing my arm and sometimes even eat my arm!
I read marshmellow and think of Love, by Kilian.… but it’s outside the price range (actually many others from that line are “gourmands”)…
However, pumping up the lemon-vanilla combo I might suggest you try Shalimar by Guerlain (or its lighter variations)… it is mainly lemon/vanilla/caramel and has a kind of “just baked” feeling…. the bottle is beautiful and the juice has huge history and following, if that may intrigue you…I won't try to praise the juice because, well…
I don't like vanilla or sweet.
Sorry, I am not of much help Anya, the perfume notes you list are far outside my commfort zone I fear…but do try Shalimar!
Good luck!
I second Casmir by Chopard! Also , Hypnotic Poison, Betsy Johnson very affordable at disc. You seem to enjoy the fragrance I do and I have many suggestions…I also love Must De Cartier , Cristobal which is also available online at disc. Good Luck!
hi there!
this is my first post here and since I love this feature it only makes sense that it is here I step in.
I am a newbie perfumista and I don't yet know lots of scents but I would like to recommend Philosykos by Diptyque,Vanilia by L'Artisan Parfumeur and even Datura Noir by Mr.Lutens I know it is a floral but the apricot and coconut makes it really nice and sexy for warm nights….I am sorry I don't know about the current prices but assume they are on the expensive side.
I hope you find a wonderful scent,good luck
Lol.
Oh Datura Noir is absolutely fantastic! Maybe Anya could find a decant?
What about the Laura Mercier scents? They are light and I think are around $50.
these are all great recs! I will add Keiko Mercheri Loukhoum- maybe a bit over budget but decant worthy…also, I bet Anya would love Bond No. 9 Chinatown…and i think you can get the 1 oz. bottle for $45? If not, also decant-worthy….
'Hypnotic Poison' (Dior) might hit the spot and was my immediate first thought.
ChocoLovers by Aquolina. is inexpensive and worth a try. I find it a deliciously comforting chocolate/orange scent that is warm without being cloying. It's a pretty nice mellow scent.
For a few bucks more, Fresh Fleur de Chocolate Orange does a nice chocolate orange that is simultaneously uplifting and relaxing. Chocolovers is under $50 (and less at discounters), Fresh is probably about $75. They are both among my very favorite gourmande scents.
I do love peau de peche, grenats and sanguine. Keiko Mecheri does some nice uplifting scents.
Oh, I agree! It's one of the coziest scents of all time. For me it's like wearing a heavy alpaca sweater.
Hey Anya, I was going to recommend Jour de Fête, which I *adore*, but I see you already love that. Good girl 😉 I agree with most of your examples of “cloying” scents as well, so I gather we have the same tastes.
One scent you may love but which is unfortunately well out of budget is Profumum Confetto. A little goes a long, long way though, so maybe you can get your hands on a partial bottle or decant if you love it.
Adding to the series of Ava Luxe: Loukhoum. It's a rich hazelnutty confection type scent, highly unusual and very gourmand. Also try No. 23, which while not necessarily gourmand is deliciously creamy and mildly sweet – not floral at all despite the published notes. Like all Ava Luxes, very affordable (and gods be praised, she lowered the international shipping costs! I feel a splurge coming on. Ahem. Back to topic.)
Sinfonia di Note has two scents you may like: Coeur de Noisette (hazelnut/vanilla) and Amande Sucrée (almond/vanilla) – of which I've only tried CdN, though. Unsure of prices as I got a sample in a swap, sorry.
The already mentioned Hypnotic Poison and Keiko Mecheri Loukhoum may hit the spot, but they tend to go cloying for me, and especially HP induces headaches.
Hope you find your perfect scent!
MY Insolence by Guerlain is a gourmand fragrance that is geared to youth. It has raspberry, vanilla, tonka bean, jasmine, almond blossom and patchouli. It costs $75 for 50 ml EDT.
Since expanding my sampling to include gourmands, I'm finding that I'm not much of a gourmand fan. But I did try Mahjoun and found it interesting. It reminds me of brandied fruitcake (which I love) — very rich but not sugary. DSH has several highly-praised gourmand fragrances, and does offer samples and international shipping.
Anya might like Pleasures Delight from Estee Lauder, with a light, fresh strawberry note and a bit of vanilla cupcake. It's less sweet and more grown-up than some of the other contenders. Another one my nieces around Anya's age really love is Vera Wang Princess, so I must mention that one, too. Good luck, Anya! Let us know how it goes.
I was thinking Chocolovers, too, as well as Annick Goutal's Eau de Charlotte, which you can find on perfume sites for a very affordable price.
Good luck, Anya!
An enthusiastic second to the Ava Luxe fragrances here – they're available from her website at etsy, ava-luxe.com. KenzoAmour would also be good, and I thought immediately of Philosophy's Amazing Grace when I read the words “comfort scent. Amazing Grace is a lovely, light scent that many non-perfume people also like. It's available online as well, through Philosophy's website or at qvc.com
I would immediately say Chinatown, and a decant is enough… Also Allure and L'Instant de Guerlain, and Love by Kilian, but I guess this one is expensive.
Shamlimar and Hypnotic Poison are definitely classics and worth a try (but they give ME a really bad headache, both!).
Let us know what you found! 🙂
Perhaps Elixir de Merveilles by Hermes? It's definitely a gourmand, with notes of cocoa, orange, caramel, vanilla and so on, with a light woody base… I like it a lot.
Yes, the Kenzo Amour is lightly vanilla, lightly sweet — not too strong.
Hi, try Malayan Coco by Voluspa. It is a lovely coconut scent wtih a hinoki base. It is an oil in a rollon and tends to stay close to the skin and is not too overwhelming.
If you like marshmallow, try Mors' Marshmallow. I find it a little too sweet but it is very popular in Australia and is definitely in the price range you want to spend. I am not sure where to buy it on line but googling it should bring up results.
Look on the Post Peasant for Keiko Mecheri as they are clearing their old bottle designs out for $59.
Maybe Meriers' Marron Glaces?
I second the above mention of EL Pleasures Delight.
I would also suggest looking through the Demeter fragrances:
Angel Food Cake, Creamsicle, Irish Cream, Bananas Flambée, Cinnamon Bun, Condensed Milk, Creme Brulee, Brownie, Sugar Cookie, Scottish Shortbread… you get the drift 😉
The 1/2 oz. minis are only $6.
Jessica Simpson Fancy might be another option. I only smelled it once, but I think it has many of the notes Anya is looking for.
I would say Kama by Farmacia Annunziata, only a full bottle would blow the budget, I fear. Which is why me and lovethescents have put ourselves down for a scent split!
Oops, it has amber and patchouli in, sorry! But I think you could like it and not notice… : – )