Ah, the best part of
Valentine's Day isn't receiving flowers and cards, or seeing shmoopy couples everywhere you look: it's the chocolate and candy that comes in all of those cute packages! If you're anything like us, you could go crazy with choco-lust just eating heart-shaped truffles and candy bars. However, all of that candy has the unwanted side effects of sugar crashes, potential cavities, and ruining your fitness resolutions.
Here's where fragrance comes to save the day!
Gourmand fragrances (fragrances that smell edible, a style of perfumery made famous by Thierry Mugler Angel back in the 1990s) give all of the sweet, yummy feel of some of your favorite foods or drinks but with none of the guilt. So if you want to give yourself or a loved one a delicious
Valentine's gift that'll last longer than five minutes - because really, does anyone not finish an entire box of chocolate in one shot? - here's a list of some of our favorite gourmand scents at Osswald NYC!
Phaedon Tabac Rouge and Atelier des Ors Rose Omeyyade - Tea Time:
Tabac Rouge and
Rose Omeyyade strike us as interpretations of tea scents, without actually having tea notes.
Tabac Rouge, with its creamy vanilla, swirls of honey, and dustings of allspice give a feel of a very black tea with all of the proper accouterments. Yes, the tobacco is there, but it really lends a dryness that creates the tea illusion.
Rose Omeyyade, on the other hand, is a perfect cup of chai that has been sprinkled with rose petals. Warm, spicy, and creamy - when you spray it on, you can almost taste it!
Montale Intense Cafe and Chocolate Greedy - Hot Drinks to Really Get You Going:
Intense Cafe is widely regarded as one of the best coffee scents on the market, because it really is one remarkably accurate coffee scent. If you've ever been the kind of person to, upon opening a new can of Maxwell House or Folgers, stick your face in the grounds and inhale, then this perfume is for you. And if you're more of a hot chocolate kind of person, then
Chocolate Greedy is your fragrance. It truly smells like thick, melted milk chocolate. Spray it on, and all you're missing is a marshmallow! Speaking of marshmallows...
By Coolife Le Deuxieme Parfum and Profumum Roma Dulcis in Fundo - Creamy Dreamy:
How fitting -
Le Deuxieme Parfum's inspiration is the Heart Chakra, making it doubly perfect for
Valentine's Day! The combination of Madagascar Ylang, Tunisian Orange Flower, and peru balsam creates an olfactory artisan marshmallow. It's delectable! Now, if your idea of a perfect dessert is a Good Humor Orange Creamsicle, then Profumum Roma's
Dulcis in Fundo is for you. Orange and vanilla in large concentrations - what more could you ask for?! Don't be surprised if you get nibbled while wearing this.
Chabaud Lait Concentree and Lait de Biscuit - Childhood Yummies:
One of our favorite childhood pleasures was warmed sweetened condensed milk. You can find it sold in squeeze bottles for topping fruit, or in cans (which we recommend heating in a bot of boiling water to make instant dulce de leche!).
Lait Concentree really, really smells like condensed milk! Milky, rich, and custard-y. If you were a cookie kind of a kid, and were lucky enough to grow up with Speculoos cookies, then you'd immediately recognize the scent of
Lait de Biscuit. For the rest of us,
Lait de Biscuit smells of delicious, cinnamon-spicy shortbread cookies!
Parfums de Marly Oajan and Profumum Roma Meringa - National Desserts:
What's more American than apple pie (and on the flip side, what's more Swiss than a dairy-based dessert?)?
Parfums de Marly Oajan smells like the most expensive slice of apple pie you'd ever eat. You have all of the ingredients right in the notes list: cinnamon, vanilla, honey, apple, tonka bean. This one is shockingly sexy on men. If you're a fan of lighter desserts, like lemon meringue, then
Profumum Roma Meringa is for you. Tonka bean, ylang, lemon, orange blossom, and musk combine to create the perfect citrus cream.
If we missed any of your favorite gourmands, let us know!