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Nose candy: Why everyone wants to smell like dessert
Gourmand Scents are trending. We’re spritzing on sugary, nutty, fruity fragrances. Even men are sweet on candy. Deep breaths...
It started, as so many things did, in the pandemic. People started posting about fragrances that smelled like food, the videos went viral, they spilled on to Instagram and then the real world got a whiff. At cafés, parties, restaurants and malls, there are trails of delicious aromas – caramel chocolate, pista gelato, mango mousse. You may think you’re following your nose to a new bakery or pastry counter. You’ll end up realising, more than once, that it was merely somebody’s perfume.
Fragrance-manufacturers call the category Gourmand Scents. And it’s the big trend in perfumes. Kayali’s Yum Pistachio Gelato | 33 advertises notes of pistachio, whipped cream, roasted hazelnut, sweet rum, fluffy marshmallow and fizzy cotton candy. It’s part of a series that includes Vanilla Candy Rock Sugar and Yum Boujee Marshmallow. Snif’s Crumb Couture seems like it was picked from a hotel breakfast buffet – it’s got croissant, berry jam, blackcurrant and toasted vanilla notes.
Late last year, Cirque du Soleil (Yes, the circus) debuted their fragrance. It aimed to evoke the smells of the big tent: Cotton candy, candy apple, buttery popcorn, caramelised amber. Meanwhile, Angels’ Share by Kilian (one of Beyonce’s favourites) has vanilla and cinnamon notes and is said to smell like cognac. How did Smell But Don’t Bite become a sudden winner in the perfume aisle?
Let us spray
“There’s something about warm, edible notes such as vanilla, caramel and chocolate that feel familiar, like a cosy blanket,” says perfumer Ankita Thadani, co-founder of homegrown fragrance company, Secret Alchemist. “They are like little dopamine shots. They instantly make you feel good,”
At least one fragrance note has a clear origin story. Our obsession with pistachio scents comes right in the wake of the global craze for Dubai Chocolate. Henry Rose (actor Michelle Pfeiffer’s fragrance brand, a surprise hit among wealthy GenZs) released a scent called Dave this year. It’s got vanilla, cocoa shell and tonka bean, with a slight touch of tangerine. Dave, as in her husband, 69-year-old TV producer David E Kelley. Sabrina Carpenter’s perfume is called Me Espresso (No surprise, and no prize for guessing its dominant note). Fruity scents are now sweeter too. The it brand on American shelves is Phlur. Their Golden Rule perfume contains the notes of mandarin, pear, pink pepper, coconut milk and vanilla cream.
“Sweet, strong scents are trending because they take you back to happy times,” says Shehzad Mulla, business development manager at fragrance and flavour creators Symrise. He’s the brains (and nose) behind Ossa Perfumes’ new range, which smells like gelato pista, crème vanilla, mango, berry and caramel éclair. The brand makes the most of its food connection. Each bottle comes in a box that features pictures of macarons rather than the conventional images we associate with perfumes.
The sniff test
Most of these are what perfumers call sugary smells. The idea is to deliver the sugar rush without the calories and the addiction. Mulla says that has Indian customers get more indulgent with their purchases, and spend more on themselves, a fragrance must do more than have a mild, pleasant smell. “It’s not just a finishing touch anymore, it’s the mood, the vibe, the statement.”
And for many young people the statement is to be noticed IRL, says Amal Jain, co-founder of Sol Fragrance. “They want heads to turn when they walk into a space. Gourmand scents do just that.” So, like maximalism trumps minimalism, loud smells are taking over from lighter ones. Noyz, a celebrity favourite brand, has a bestselling scent called Unmute. Key notes: Ceylon cinnamon, plum, pistachio, clary sage, cassia, incense, vanilla, amber. “Strong scents also give Indian consumers value for money, which influences everything they buy,” adds Jain. He’ll soon be launching a fragrance inspired by another GenZ obsession: Matcha.
Another advantage with delicious-smelling perfumes: They’re largely unisex. No one associates vanilla, pistachio, citrus and sugar with men or women. Kartik Modi, 32, is a businessman from Mumbai. He wears pistachio and chocolate fragrances for business and networking events. “They steer the conversation towards childhood memories, which makes most people happy.”
Old spice
Every generation, it seems, has had a sugar-dusted moment. Thierry Mugler’s Angel (Star-shaped blue bottle, almost cloying caramel-vanilla smell) was the defining, game-changing smell of the 1990s. Curious, Britney Spears’s first perfume, smelled like a bakery store. When she launched it in 2004, it broke manufacturer Elizabeth Arden’s first-week gross for a perfume. Indian campuses smelled like Axe’s Dark Temptation, a chocolate-scented deodorant launched in 2013.
The current trend is all that, but more sugary. “They’re playful, a little flirty and super addictive, and they’re not going anywhere anytime soon,” says Thadani. She plans to launch one too, perhaps, a vanilla. “I’ve had so many requests in my DMs for it that I am considering it.” Hers will have more depth. “Vanilla with tomato, or a coffee with a spice. Because that’s where gourmand scents are headed.”
As you read this, Selena Gomez’s brand Rare Beauty’s first perfume is all but sold out a week into its release. Rare Eau de Parfum describes itself as a warm, spicy gourmand. It’s got caramel, pistachio, pink pepper, vanilla and sandalwood – the right ingredients for a hit.
From HT Brunch, Aug 16, 2025
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