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Afternoon Delight 2024

6.5 / 10 169 Ratings
A new perfume by Maison Margiela for women and men, released in 2024. The scent is gourmand-sweet. It is being marketed by L'Oréal.
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Main accords

Gourmand
Sweet
Creamy
Powdery
Synthetic

Fragrance Pyramid

Top Notes Top Notes
Bitter almondBitter almond Angelica rootAngelica root
Heart Notes Heart Notes
MadeleineMadeleine Ambrette seed absoluteAmbrette seed absolute CarrotCarrot
Base Notes Base Notes
Bourbon vanillaBourbon vanilla New Caledonian sandalwoodNew Caledonian sandalwood MuskMusk

Perfumer

Videos
Ratings
Scent
6.5169 Ratings
Longevity
6.5109 Ratings
Sillage
6.0106 Ratings
Bottle
7.5113 Ratings
Value for money
5.893 Ratings
Submitted by Telekinec, last update on 11/23/2025.
Interesting Facts
This fragrance was awarded the "Fragrance of the Year – Universal Prestige" prize by the Fragrance Foundation in 2025.
The fragrance is part of the Replica collection.

Smells similar

What the fragrance is similar to
Vanilla Sex / Vanilla by Tom Ford
Vanilla Sex
Milk by Commodity
Milk
Fresh Cream (Eau de Toilette) by Philosophy
Fresh Cream Eau de Toilette
Brioche Vanille by Lattafa Pride
Brioche Vanille
Vanilla Milk by Ellis Brooklyn
Vanilla Milk
Blanche Bête by Liquides Imaginaires
Blanche Bête

Reviews

16 in-depth fragrance descriptions
FinnNose

1 Review
FinnNose
FinnNose
Helpful Review 2  
Light and happy vanilla
It's a lovely gentle gourmand'y vanilla. A bit synthetic but by no means in offensive way - just in a kind of girly light happy way. It is not a loud one, so if you would like a delicious vanilla that is not in-your-face-smell-me-miles-away-I-am-thousand-cupcakes kinda way I think you will adore this. Also, Afternoon Delight would be a lovely present for a feminine leaning teenager, imo. And saying that, I have to add that I'm in my 50's and love this, too!

For reference: I am 50ish-year-old woman, living in a colder climate, and my favorite parfums are Goutal's Rose Absolue, Tom Ford's Tobacco Vanille, Armani's Cuir Amethyste, Dior's Gris Dior and Matiere Premiere's Encens Suave.
0 Comments
6Scent
Telekinec

505 Reviews
Telekinec
Telekinec
2  
Not madeleine; more like a powdery, musky, vanilla, sandalwood fragrance
If there's one perfume that has been (over?)hyped recently, it's this one for sure. As soon as influencers got their hands on it, there were so many comparisons made. Some say it smells like Vanilla Milk, others mention Bianco Latte, Fresh Cream Eau de Toilette and even Vanilla Sex. I'm part of the crowd that thinks it smells like Vanilla Sex and one who won't get a full bottle. Here's why.

When I first heard about it, I thought it'd be a sweet, gourmand, pastry scent, in the same vein as "Casamorati - Lira (Eau de Parfum) | XerJoff" or Love & Crime just without the fruity note. When I saw the notes, I did hesitate. I had a feeling the marketing was wrong and the scent would turn out way different.

I was right.

On my skin, bitter almond comes out strong. Strong powdery note, a sprinkle of nuttiness. I can't attest for the angelica root note as I do not know what that smells like, but a research on internet says this note smells green / herbal / spicy and is warm, mapley, and slightly sweet. I do get the spiciness, the warmth and the slight sweetness. I have to say, the powderiness is almost overpowering and too much for me. When I bring it up to my nose, I get this in-your-face powderiness with a kick of spices (almost bitter spices). From farther away, I still get powderiness and spices, but that's when I can smell an evanescent note of carrot (quite fleeting) and some sweet pastry, like the one I can smell in XerJoff or Ex Idolo's interpretation. After a while, I get the sandalwood: woodiness and some sort of creamy aspect. Musk also rises up and vanilla ends up taking its place. I wouldn't say it's a lactonic fragrance, which is why comparisons with Bianco Latte and Vanilla Milk were strange to me, but it does have that bitterness, that powdery nuttiness that's quite similar to Vanilla Sex, while also having that powdery, sweet pastry note I've smelled in XerJoff or Ex Idolo. I've got to say, after a while, the drydown reminded me of Rabbit with that powderiness and slight sweetness mixed with the musk, the sandalwood and the vanilla. Unfortunately, wasn't really my thing because of the strong powdery aspect.

It's not a safe blind-buy for gourmand lovers. If I hadn't fallen to the FOMO and had taken the time to smell it in-store before, it probably wouldn't have made it past this step. I don't hate it, but it wasn't what I was expecting it to be from the marketing. I wanted a sweet, gourmand, delicious, mouth-watering pastry scent (madeleines are so lovely), but instead I got a strong powdery, musky vanilla and sandalwood-forward perfume that's quite far from the madeleine picture I had in mind. Buyers beware.
0 Comments
Ursaw

167 Reviews
Ursaw
Ursaw
2  
An ode to buttercream
The initial blast was pure powdery vanilla, but it quickly settled and opened into what I can only hope madeleines taste like (never tried them, but now I do kind of want to). Delicious! Then again, it was mostly butter, of course it was gonna be delicious.

The butter smell was very fun and realistic. Deep, slick and creamy. Super sweet and just slightly spicy, as if you whipped it with powdered sugar, vanilla essence and a splash of rum. Lovable!

But after about ~2 hours, as it settled closer to the skin and got softer, something else started peeking though the mix. Since ambrette was pretty prominent from the very beginning, I assume it was the carrot? A weird little note that slowly turned the butter more pungent, as if it was nearing its expiry date and going sour. Granted, I do like my butter that way, so it wasn't a problem for me, but I can see why it might put other people off.

A few more hours and the butter flavor evaporated completely. I was left with a gentle musky sweetness. In the next ~4 hours it too mellowed out and disappeared.

I tested it on both myself and my partner and found no tangible difference neither in flavor profile nor in sillage/longevity. Throughout the day I couldn't help comparing it to 001 Man Eau de Parfum. Both are musky, creamy and pastry-like, but where 001 was mild and rounded out, like cardamom bread, this one was sugary-sweet. Too sweet.

Perhaps I'm just a more savory kind of person, but at the end of the day I found Afternoon Delight lacking despite having some interesting ideas. Like with experimental pastries from a local bakery – it was a "one and done" kind of experience. Fun to try, sure, but when I'll come back tomorrow, I'll be asking for their delicious classic cardamom bread again.
2 Comments
5.5Scent
DogiCoco

637 Reviews
DogiCoco
DogiCoco
2  
Weird milky vanilla
Some of the negative reviews for this I read around the web scared me. People saying this smells like sour milk or baby puke made me prepare for the worst.
Luckily it's not that bad for me, but I can't say that I particularly like this either. There are so many better gourmands out there.

Especially the opening is a bit rough and I can see where the negative associations are coming from. It's milky, sweet and warm, and it does have a slightly soured undertone to it. Not full on spoilt, but a little unpleasant.
I have to admit I never eat madeleines and don't know about their specific scent, but I don't think that this is reminiscent of baked goods in general. To me, this is more of a weirdly plasticy vanilla milk scent than an ultrarealistic gourmand.

The drydown feels even less edible, but generally better than the opening. It feels calmer, not sour anymore, and the musk and sandalwood add a pleasant, smooth base. Definitely one of those scent that get better the longer they're on.

I rate this slightly more positive for the drydown, but all in all it's completely skippable in my opinion.
0 Comments
6.5Scent
lucekingg

158 Reviews
lucekingg
lucekingg
2  
Fitting Name
This is something I would wear to go get a little treat. It reminds me a lot of Vanilla Sex but there's something in this that ties it all together and I like this a lot more. It's warm and sweet and I found a saltiness that I really enjoy, most of my vanillas tend to run sweet so this adds a little variety to my collection. It does make me feel like I'm eating a pastry outside on a sunny day. This came in a Sephora sampler and I might redeem the voucher for a travel-size version of this.
0 Comments
More reviews

Statements

67 short views on the fragrance
1 year ago
4
Smells like a buttery vanilla cookie, like the ones that come in the sewing kit (iykyk). At the 10 hour mark it's still detectable on my skin.
0 Comments
4
Finally a gourmand that's a bit out of the box!
Soft sweetness. Milky. Raw batter.
I like it a lot!
0 Comments
3
Smells like a plasticky candle with a very faint almond scent. Thankfully, for me, this doesn't stick around for long - abyssmal performance
0 Comments
3
Powdered sugar-dusted Madeleines, or powdery almond + vanilla teacakes. Soft, fluffy, airy. Quiet, but pleasant.
0 Comments
3
wispy, cottony, whipped cream. buttery, slightly sour vanilla.
0 Comments
3
Powdery, milky, baked sandalwood. Smells like eating madeline cookies in the sunshine. This has gone from my least favorite to most worn.
0 Comments
1 year ago
3
Marketed as a pastry scent, it's more of a sweet, powdery, musky, sandalwood perfume. Not bad, but I've already smelled that somewhere.
0 Comments
2
1
Pure play-doh @ initial spray, but dries down to a vanilla baked good. Not freshly baked, but the kind that comes wrapped in plastic.
1 Comment
6 months ago
2
While the scent may be gentle for beginners, it will eventually become tiresome for discerning gourmet lovers.
0 Comments
12 months ago
2
raw pancake batter
0 Comments
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