Gourmand

This succulent group of scent notes has really established itself and multiplied henceforth with the advent of “gourmand” fragrances, a sub-division of the Oriental fragrance group, in the 1990s and 2000s. These fragrances, largely built on vanilla, are reminiscent of foody smells, specifically sweets and desserts; ranging from the simpler chocolate, fresh cream and caramel smells to complex or more exotic recipes such as macaroons, crème brulée, the ever popular cupcakes and chewy nougat.

The first successful “gourmand” fragrance was Angel, launching in 1992, which produced a caramel and chocolate effect through the use of ethyl maltol (the scent of cotton candy/sugar caramel), natural patchouli (which has a cocoa facet) alongside industry standard ethyl vanillin. From then on, given Angel’s commercial success, dessert smells flourished and this group of notes is among the most important in contemporary perfumery. Although some natural materials do present facets that are sweet or foody, the vast majority of these notes are reproduced via clever intermingling of naturals and synthetics.

Although mostly used in feminine fragrances, which can more easily encompass sweeter notes, gourmand notes are not excluded from masculine or shared scents.