Absolutely Magazine: Foodie Fragrances by Lawrence Roullier White

Foodie fragrances, or gourmand scents, are those moreish perfumes that bridge the gap between taste and aroma, the smells you can almost taste. Interestingly, smell makes up around 90% of what we perceive as taste through a process known as retronasal olfaction; the reason you have the primal urge to pinch your nose when you take your medicine.  A word for this dual-sense sensation does not exist in the English language, but the French word arôme describes exactly that - the taste-smell combination.

Gourmand scents are widely recognised as sweet and sugary, which is commonly due to what is mistakenly believed to be vanilla. What we now think of as the scent of vanilla is more often the presence of the single molecule vanillin; the chemically manufactured smell and taste of cream soda and commercially produced confectionery and cakes. Vanillin is only 2% of the smell of actual cured vanilla, which - comprised of over 200 molecules - is much more intense; spicier with wafts of incense and swathes of green.

It is strange to me, one even might say ‘Alien’, that Thierry Mugler’s 1992 scent of that name is credited with being the first gourmand fragrance when way back in 1889 Aimé Guerlain created the ground breaking ‘Jicky’ with synthetic vanillin in its base. Continuing the theme in 1925 Guerlain's nephew, Jacques, used the stronger-smelling ethyl vanillin, which does not occur naturally, and gave the world the iconic and still much loved ‘Shalimar’. These are complex multi-layered creations - not the candy concoctions we now think of as gourmand.

By recalling this original tradition there is a new wave of complicated food fragrances, unlike the saccharine-sweet scents of recent years this new breed is masterful, multifarious and rich.

Rightly considered by many to be the best vanilla scent of recent years, Josh Meyer’s Memoirs of a Trespasser’ from his spearheading perfume house Imaginary Authors, resonates with resinous notes and smoky myrrh beneath a cloud of sensual Madagascan vanilla. One to own.

‘The Dark Heart of Old Havana’ from 4160 Tuesdays is described by its creator Sarah McCartney as the smell of a walk through old Havana in the evening; wafts of coffee and tobacco and sweet, sugary desserts. Sassy, sexy and sublime.

Shifting continents and concept; Smell Bent’s best-selling scent Tok’yo Mama Fizzzzz by Brent Leonesio is a sparkling citrus vanilla fragrance with juicy yuzu, crisp hinoki, charged ozone and green cedar. Uplifting, bright, modern, fun and fashionable.

New Italian brand Sammarco’s Bond T’ is Giovanni Sammarco’s olfactorial memory of a visit to a chocolate factory in Pisa, cocoa absolute with patchouli and a touch of osmanthus. Gorgeously powerful and dark, it is a fragrance guaranteed to turn heads.

Claiming the name Maison des Rêves’ Gourmandise opens with a burst of sweet coconut and fruity, wet blackberry. The floral centre is a heady mix of orchid, hibiscus and ylang-ylang. The base is a sophisticated concoction of leather, white musk, vanilla and aromatic cinnamon. From the same perfume house, and as any gourmet experience should be concluded, we finish with a shot of steaming espresso stirred into creamy, frothy milk. A nutty heart of almond and coconut is cocooned in sweet, sticky caramel. A complimentary base of vanilla is perfectly contrasted with slightly spicy sandalwood.  Maison des Rêves’ Mousse au Café is quite simply foodie and fragrance heaven. Delicious.