The 19 Best Gourmand Perfumes of 2023 That Smell Good Enough to Eat
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These scents are sweet, comforting, and may make you slightly hungry.
InStyle / Alli Waataja
Love them or hate them, gourmand fragrances are here to stay. While edible-inspired fragrances are perfectly commonplace these days, the category is fairly modern. “Most people mark the origin of gourmands in modern perfumery as 1992, with the release of Mugler’s Angel,” says fragrance content creator and brand consultant LC James. “Prior to that, the aroma chemicals that make up gourmand perfumes were around, but they were used more as accents or compliments, rather than the star of the scented show.”
Gourmands were often maligned by perfumers and fragrance fans alike, says perfumer David Moltz, because of their single-note composition, which was usually “strawberry shortcake” sweet.
Yet, in the 30 years since gourmands entered the perfume scene, their popularity has only grown. “It seems like there’s always been a group of people who want to smell like a snack,” says James, who adds that the ever-expanding, ever-evolving category has much more to offer now than just strawberry shortcake.
Related:The 11 Best Natural Perfumes of 2023 That’ll Make You Feel Good & Smell Gorgeous
D.S. & Durga Pistachio Perfume
Best Overall
What We Love: It’s an unusual yet cozy scent that shakes up traditional expectations of gourmand.
What We Don’t Love: This scent is so singular that it might be too unusual for some.
D.S. & Durga is the perfumer’s perfumer. The brand is known for its boundary-pushing with unexpected scents and hyper-specific backstories, not to mention the endlessly cool husband-and-wife co-founders. Self-taught perfumer David Moltz and architect Kavi Moltz, have been creating fragrances since 2000, and one of their newest and most interesting perfumes is the gourmand, Pistachio.
Think you hate gourmand scents? Try the enveloping Pistachio, which takes inspiration from, yep, pistachio, as well as a plethora of other gourmand notes, including cardamom, vanilla, and roasted almond. The blend also has a strong earthy base that hints at notes of patchouli for a cozy, sensual, reimagined look at gourmand.
Price at time of publish: $190
Size: 50 ml | Type: Eau de parfum | Top Notes: Pistachio, cardamom, vanilla cream
Outremer Vanille Perfume Extract
Best Budget
What We Love: With a price tag under $10, this bold extract offers plenty of bang for its buck.
What We Don’t Love: The extract is single-note, so it might lack the complexity some desire found in blended perfumes.
If you’ve ever meandered through any apothecary, you’ve probably laid eyes upon the French brand Outremer. The brand’s biggest seller is this small vial of potent extract, which has won over the hearts of vanilla fans.
“This is a powerhouse buttercream vanilla with a day-long staying power, particularly in the extract formulation,” says James. “No reason to spend a penny more if you’re a vanilla lover.”
To note: This is an extrait de perfume, the most potent form of perfume, so just a dab'll do you, even if you want to retain the scent all day long.
Price at time of publish: $9
Size: 12 ml | Type: Extrait de perfume | Top Notes: Vanilla
Tom Ford Lost Cherry Parfum
Best Fruity
What We Love: A blend of fruity sweetness, hints of cherry liquor, and smoky base notes make this perfume a playful and hypnotic divergence of scents.
What We Don’t Love: It disappears after about six hours of wear, so if you’re looking for longevity, opt for the travel size and carry it with you to reapply throughout the day.
If there’s one thing Tom Ford fragrances are known for, it’s sexiness. And the brand manages to twist gourmand into a sensual, insatiable experience with Lost Cherry. This perfume isn’t just a fruity gourmand, but rather the sweetness is mixed with florals, like Turkish rose and jasmine and a smoky base, thanks to tonka bean, sandalwood, vetiver, and cedar notes. All together, it’s a full-bodied perfume that beautifully dances between fruit, floral, sweet, and smoke for a complete experience.
Price at time of publish: $395
Size: 1.7 fl oz | Type: Eau de parfum | Top Notes: Bitter almond, cherry liquor, black cherry
Juliette Has a Gun Vanilla Vibes
Best Vanilla
What We Love: This fragrance is an updated, modern take on the traditional vanilla note.
What We Don’t Love: Maybe too updated of a vanilla scent — some may find that the fragrance smells more like sea salt and caramel without any striking vanilla notes.
“Vanilla Vibes is a must-smell,” says James. “Don’t let the notes fool you — this is ocean spray and salted caramel that’s light enough for a summer day but enticing enough for a winter evening.”
This blend isn’t full blown sweet vanilla, but rather a more nuanced twist on the beloved note, with hints of sea salt and sandalwood. It smells as though a traditional vanilla fragrance spent the day at the beach.
Founded by Romano Ricci, the great grandson of famed fashion designer Nina Ricci, Juliette Has a Gun centers around the creation of scents that tell stories and make statements — not just smell nice. (Although they do smell really great, too.)
Price at time of publish: $140
Size: 100 ml | Type: Eau de parfum | Top Notes: Sea salt, vanilla, sandalwood
Yves Saint Laurent Black Opium Eau de Parfum
Best Coffee
What We Love: It smells like a vanilla latte — in the best possible way.
What We Don’t Love: The fragrance has a strong ‘love it or hate it’ following, but most fans (and haters) can agree on one thing: It disappears after a few hours of wear.
If you are fueled by coffee, allow this caffeine-driven scent to start your engine. Strong notes of bold coffee are paired with sweet vanilla and hints of pink pepper, jasmine, patchouli, and cedar, culminating in a rich, sensual fragrance that has attracted many fans (and foes) since its 2014 launch.
Price at time of publish: $110
Size: 50 ml | Type: Eau de parfum | Top Notes: Coffee, white flowers, vanilla
Parfums de Marly Oriana
Best Sweet
What We Love: We reach for this perfume when we want a sweet — but not-too-sweet — treat.
What We Don’t Love: It’s not for anyone who doesn’t enjoy candy-forward scents.
Oriana is a vibrant, sweet shop-inspired fragrance, but the layered blend isn’t sickeningly sweet. Instead, the perfume’s sweet marshmallow and cream notes are balanced with a trio of citrus accords — mandarin, grapefruit, and orange blossom — grounded with ambrette and musk base notes to compose a scent the brand describes as a “mille-feuille of flaky sweetness, softness, and sensuality.”
Parfums de Marly is a fairly new French brand, created in 2009. Both the brand name as well as their collection of fragrances, are inspired by Louis the XV’s Château de Marly, which essentially served as the King’s party palace, as it hosted a number of raucous events. The palace was also dubbed the “perfumed court” because everything from the fans to the curtains were doused in heady fragrances.
Price at time of publish: $175
Size: 30 ml | Type: Eau de parfum | Top Notes: Mandarin, grapefruit, bergamot
Kilian Paris Angels’ Share
Best Spicy
What We Love: A sexy, sweet, spicy delicacy, this fragrance is housed in an equally bold, see-and-be-seen, bottle.
What We Don’t Love: It may lean too syrupy sweet for some.
This daring scent has strong notes of cognac, which is very intentional for Kilian Hennessy — emphasis on his last name, Hennessy. The perfumer is an heir to the renowned French cognac-making family, so it’s only natural that his fragrances would wink at his heritage.
Alongside the cognac accord are candied notes of cinnamon, tonka bean, vanilla, and creamy praline. With a dash of spicy sandalwood and mossy oak, you’ve got a woody, spicy, and sweet treat that wears all day — although it does its best work at night.
Price at time of publish: $230
Size: 1.7 fl oz | Type: Eau de parfum | Top Notes: Cognac, vanilla, oak wood
Thierry Mugler Angel
Best Classic
What We Love: Angel revolutionized the fragrance industry, introducing an entirely new scent genre.
What We Don’t Love: A divisive scent: You’ll either love it or you hate it; it can be overly sweet and patchouli heavy for some.
Respect where respect is due: Angel is widely recognized as the beginning of gourmand. What makes Angel so special (and especially revolutionary at the time of its creation) is that at first whiff, sugary sweet notes flood the nostrils, before giving way to hints of woody patchouli and leather — dampening the overt sweetness with these earthy, musky notes. 30 years later, the fragrance is still just as special — so special, in fact, that it entered the Fragrance Foundation Hall of Fame (basically the Oscars of perfumery) in 2007.
Price at time of publish: $87
Size: 25 ml | Type: Eau de parfum | Top Notes: Bergamot, praline, patchouli
Byredo Black Saffron Eau de Parfum
Best for Everyday
What We Love: Black Saffron is an updated, savory take on gourmands without a hint of sickening sweetness.
What We Don’t Love: It lacks the lasting power usually found with Byredo scents.
It feels impossible to think of modern fragrances today without including the instantly recognizable Byredo, even though it was only founded in 2006 by Ben Gorham. One of the Stockholm-based brand’s most interesting gourmand scents is Black Saffron. It’s a complex blend of smoke from the leather accord, along with grassy vetiver, musky blonde wood, peppery juniper berries, crisp and citrusy pomelo, and earthiness from Kashmiri saffron. Inspired by Gorham’s Indian upbringing, as saffron is holy to all Hindus, the fragrance pulls from the flower in elements of smell, taste, and color.
Price at time of publish: $200
Size: 50 ml | Type: Eau de parfum | Top Notes: Juniper berries, pomelo, saffron
Maison Francis Kurkdjian Baccarat Rouge 540
Best Luxury
What We Love: This perfume is instantly recognizable, due to both its ever-increasing popularity and entirely unique aroma.
What We Don’t Love: It’s a highly condensed perfume that is definitely not for the faint of heart.
You may have not personally smelled this fragrance, but you’ve most likely seen it described in the growing number of viral TikToks. Described as “money” or “rich mom-approved,” it certainly does smell both luxurious and extravagant.
Baccarat Rouge 540, which James describes as possessing a “cotton-candy-sweet top note,” is a collaboration between Kurkdjian and crystal manufacturer Baccarat, in honor of their 250th anniversary. The unisex scent defies categories, landing somewhere between a gourmand, a floral or a woody perfume, depending on who you ask. We put it squarely in the gourmand category, given its warm, sugary, almost cotton candy-like essence. You can join countless celebrities in the Baccarat Rouge 540 fanclub, which include Kacey Musgraves and Olivia Rodrigo.
Price at time of publish: $325
Size: 2.4 fl oz | Type: Eau de parfum | Top Notes: Jasmine, saffron, cedarwood
Vyrao Free 00
Best Citrus
What We Love: Designed to not only smell fantastic, Free 00 is also energy-enhanced to embolden you with a feeling of liberation.
What We Don’t Love: The responsibly-made scent doesn’t have as much longevity compared to other gourmand fragrances.
Citrus gourmand scents occupy a delicate dichotomy: Snappy citrus notes paired with sugary sweetness. Vyrao’s Free 00 flirts with that fine line with the zestiness of Sicilian lemon, mandarin, and orange, married with sweet vanilla.
The aromatic cocktail not only smells uplifting, but it’s also designed to evoke a feeling of liberation and sexuality. In fact, all of Vyrao’s fragrances are created to elicit a specific sensation and each perfume is supercharged by an energy healer. Even better, the blends are made of 80 percent organic ingredients and packaged in 100 percent recyclable materials.
Price at time of publish: $190
Size: 1.7 fl oz. | Type: Eau de parfum | Top Notes: Lemon, mandarin, orange flower
Krigler Good Fir 11
Best Splurge
What We Love: Krigler is a heritage brand with aromas in beautiful packaging that are meant to be displayed and treasured.
What We Don’t Love: It’s a demi-gourmand scent, meaning it may not be a true enough gourmand scent for some gourmand die-hards.
The Krigler perfume house has been innovating adventurous scents since the 19th century and now, the fifth-generation perfumer Ben Krigler is at the helm. Each scent tells a strong story and Good Fir 11 is no exception — the scent was created in 1910 as a homage to Colorado pines.
Although the name might imply a simply woodsy scent, Krigler says that this fresh, crisp perfume is one of his favorite gourmand fragrances. The unusual blend includes vetiver, pink pepper, ginger, nutmeg, tobacco, and musk, and when combined, make for an unexpected, but incredibly pleasant experience.
Price at time of publish: $455
Size: 50 ml | Type: Eau de parfum | Top Notes: Pink pepper, bitter orange, banana leaf
Frédéric Malle Musc Ravageur
Best for Date Night
What We Love: Described as “savage sex appeal” by Frédéric Malle, this fragrance is seductive and mysterious.
What We Don’t Love: Some might find the fragrance to be too intense or overpowering.
Groundbreaking French “perfume publisher” (as he describes himself), Frédéric Malle has a unique concept for his Editions de Parfums. Rather than creating the scents himself, he selects world-famous perfumers and allows them total freedom, with Malle acting as a sounding board and editor alongside the perfumer. This concept has allowed for some of the most celebrated — and unpredictable — perfumes today, including Musc Ravageur. This deliciously sexy combination of cinnamon, tonka, vanilla, patchouli, and musk was created in 2000 by legendary perfumer Maurice Roucel for Frederic Malle Editions de Parfums.
“A sugar cookie with sex appeal, Musc Ravageur is worth every cent of its hefty price tag,” says James, who describes it as one of her most complimented scents. After all, it’s rumored that George Clooney is a fan and Malle himself refers to the fragrance as “sex in a bottle.”
Price at time of publish: $220
Size: 50 ml | Type: Eau de parfum | Top Notes: Lavender, tangerine, bergamot
Lake & Skye Cote du Paradis
Best Rollerball
What We Love: Designed to transform and uplift, this scent is conveniently packaged as an on-the-go rollerball.
What We Don’t Love: It doesn’t offer as much longevity as other eau de parfums.
Côte du Paradis is a summery French Riviera vacation —so it makes sense that it’s bottled into a travel-friendly rollerball. The toasty, warm scent features a blend of woody and gourmand notes, including palo santo, almond, tonka bean, and vanilla.
Based in upstate New York, founder Courtney Somer is a holistic nutritionist and aromatherapist, who develops each scent in her brand’s portfolio to inspire positivity and calm.
Price at time of publish: $48
Size: 10 ml | Type: Eau de parfum | Top Notes: Palo santo, almond, tonka, vanilla bean
Maison Margiela Replica Matcha Meditation
Best Tea
What We Love: It smells exactly like a cup of strong green tea.
What We Don’t Love: Some may find the scent too sweet, noting it closer to the aroma of a matcha KitKat than a cup of green tea.
If your day starts or ends with a cup of tea, consider this matcha-inspired scent. The fragrance somehow smells precisely the way green tea tastes, with a lasting hint of white chocolate and musk, too. The fragrance is designed to create a peaceful sensation, wrapping you in the feeling and mindfulness of a warm cup of matcha.
I’ve personally been testing this perfume out for months, and wouldn’t traditionally identify myself as a gourmand fan, but I can’t stop spritzing this on. It’s so comforting that it truly puts me in a relaxed mindset, as if I was actually sipping hot tea on a chilly day.
Price at time of publish: $144
Size: 100 ml | Type: Eau de toilette | Top Notes: Bergamot, matcha, mandarin
Philosophy Fresh Cream Warm Cashmere
Best Warm
What We Love: With an accessible price point, it’s an easy entry to the world of gourmands, especially if you’re interested in classic scent profiles.
What We Don’t Love: It can make you smell like a walking cupcake shop — whether you view that as good or bad.
If you’re looking for a fragrance that smells exactly how a warm blanket feels, try this cozy variation of Philosophy’s Fresh Cream. With a foundation of cream and vanilla, peppered with notes of musk, tangerine, sandalwood, and orchid, it smells like a warm dessert.
Perhaps you were (or are) a fan of Bath and Body Works’ beloved Warm Vanilla Sugar? This eau de toilette takes on similar notes, but has less straightforward vanilla and more nuanced accents.
Price at time of publish: $22
Size: 0.5 fl oz | Type: Eau de toilette | Top Notes: Tangerine, vanilla bean, cashmere wood
Ellis Brooklyn Bee Eau de Parfum
Best Honey
What We Love: Notes of honey, vanilla, and amber offer a full-sensory experience.
What We Don’t Love: Some may find the honey fragrance too medicinal.
Ellis Brooklyn’s founder, Bee Shapiro, created Bee not so much as a namesake, but rather as a dedication to its most prominent note: Honey.
Beyond honey, the formulation features a mix of warming aromas, including dark rum, vanilla bean, sandalwood, and cocoa absolute. The fragrance smells comforting, and even perhaps nostalgic, as some have compared it to various childhood memories, from honey-flavored cereals to marshmallows.
Price at time of publish: $105
Size: 50 ml | Type: Eau de parfum | Top Notes: Honey, dark rum, vanilla
Maya Njie Tobak
Best Smoky
What We Love: Each bottle is filtered, filled, and labeled individually by hand.
What We Don’t Love: The London-based brand has a smaller stockist, making it more difficult to find retailers.
If you pride yourself in having a curated, story-rich fragrance collection, make this Maya Njie eau de parfum your next addition. Inspired by a decades-old family photo album, Njie designs each perfume to capture and enhance one of these photographic moments.
As a perfumer, Njie draws from her Swedish and West African culture, and the blends are made in small, fresh batches and bottled individually by hand. This Tobak eau de parfum is a wonderfully calming blend of sweet and smoky notes from tobacco leaf, vetiver, cinnamon, and tonka.
James is a big fan of the brand and she notes that the brand’s other well-known gourmand scent, Vanilj, is a long-standing favorite, too.
Price at time of publish: $102
Size: 50 ml | Type: Eau de parfum | Top Notes: Tobacco, vetiver, cinnamon
Aqua Allegoria Rosa Rossa Forte
Best Fruity Floral
What We Love: This intense mix of floral, fruity, and gourmand notes is made entirely from naturally-derived ingredients housed in a recycled and refillable bottle.
What We Don’t Love: Rose is one of the most dominating notes within this scent, so if you’re not a fan, this might not be for you.
Can’t decide between a floral, fruity, or gourmand perfume? Guerlain’s Rosa Rossa Forte marries all three for an utterly unique combination. It takes a hypnotic, velvety rose fragrance and turns it on its head with twists of juicy white peach, tasty almond, fruity blackcurrant, and grounding sandalwood.
This new fragrance is part of the Aqua Allegoria fragrance collection, which centers on sustainability and ingenuity. Made with organically farmed beetroot alcohol, the perfume is packaged within a recyclable bottle and is completely refillable.
Price at time of publish: $175
Size: 4.2 fl oz | Type: Eau de parfum | Top Notes: Rose, white peach, sandalwood
What to Keep in Mind
Fragrance Type
Fragrances are created by mixing perfume oil with alcohol. The higher the perfume concentration, the stronger the scent and the longer it will last. There are five main types of perfume on the market today.
Parfum: Also known as extrait de parfum, this category has the highest concentration of perfume and very little alcohol content to offer the longest staying power, anywhere from 10 to 24 hours.
Eau de Parfum: This popular type of fragrance has the second-highest perfume concentrate with a wear time of around 8 to 10 hours.
Eau de Toilette: Composed with about half as much perfume concentrate as an eau de parfum, a toilette is ideal for the office, given its lighter aroma that taps out after about five hours.
Eau de Cologne: With even less perfume concentrate and more alcohol than a toilette, an eau de cologne often comes in larger sizes labeled as a body spray. You can expect it to last for three hours max, and its high alcohol percentage can be harsh for sensitive skin.
Eau Fraiche: By mixing water and one to three percent fragrance (the lowest percentage of all), this is the most subtle perfume and best option for those with sensitive or reactive skin.
Fragrance Notes
Right beside every single fragrance, you’ll see the top, middle or heart, and base notes listed. These three note scales create a symphony of scent, with each level serving a specific purpose.
Top notes are usually listed first because they are what you will smell immediately after spraying. They’re the lightest of all three notes, and because of this, they’re also the first to fade. However, top notes are vital because they are what lure you into a fragrance and create a first impression.
Middle notes are the heart of the fragrance, which is why they’re often referenced as such. They linger longer than top notes and usually serve as a bridge between the top notes’ lightness and base notes’ darker tones.
Base notes are the lingering, final impression of the scent. They are typically heady notes, like sandalwood, amber, patchouli, and musk.
Proper Application
No matter which formula and scent you use, ensure you’re applying your perfume correctly for ultimate staying power.
Focus each spritz on prominent pulse points, so spots like the wrists, neck, elbow creases, and behind the knees, are common go-tos to maximize your perfume’s intensity and longevity. Pulse points are the warmest parts of the body and that warmth helps to emit the scent throughout the day. Resist rubbing your wrists (or any other pulse point) together after you apply — that alters the notes of the fragrance. Instead, allow it to dry down naturally.
Remember that although you may love your perfume, your fellow commuter or colleague may not, so be conservative. Don’t get too spritz-happy and let your fragrance announce your arrival before you enter the room. Parfums and eau de parfum need only a spritz or two. A toilette’s sweet spot is usually around three to four, while an eau de cologne and eau fraiche are usually within the four to six pump range.
Your Questions, Answered
What does gourmand mean in perfume?
“Anything that smells edible,” says Moltz. Most often, gourmand will mean dessert-inspired scents, but the category can include anything pertaining to food.
“It was called gourmand because of the notes so sweet that it would almost make you want to eat it,” says Krigler.
What scents can be described as gourmand?
The category can span both sweet and savory notes. Chocolate, vanilla, caramels, cotton candy, fruit, tea, and nuts are a few of the most commonly tapped sweet notes, while tomatoes, pumpkins, and other root vegetables are savory favorites.
In addition to strictly gourmand notes, there is an emerging trend of taking the edible sweetness of a gourmand note and drying it out or tempering it with other category notes to damper its sugariness. James refers to this trend as demi-gourmand. Another popular gourmand concept James sees trending is taking gourmand scents to the extreme opposite of the spectrum: making a fragrance as sweet as humanly possible.
Why Shop With Us
Kristin Limoges is a freelance editor for many publications, including Byrdie, Harper’s Bazaar, and WWD Shop, and has nearly a decade of beauty writing experience. To compile this list she considered the numerous gourmand fragrances she has tested over the years and consulted with three leading scent experts — perfumer David Moltz, fifth-generation perfumer Ben Krigler, and fragrance content creator and brand consultant LC James — to lend their expertise and share their favorite products.
Related:The 11 Best Spicy Perfumes That Will Add Excitement to Your Fragrance Wardrobe
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