Help me appreciate sweet gourmands

Gourmand lovers, how do you do it? I read notes and descriptions of delicious sounding fragrances with combinations that sound absolutely fantastic, but every sweet gourmand I try is so overly sweet that it grosses me out.

I have a sensitive nose and tend to appreciate subtle fragrances. I don't know if fragrances turn very sweet on me or if my nose is just extremely sensitive.

I recently ordered a discovery set from Xerjoff. Yesterday I tested Naxos and it was disgustingly sweet and powdery to me. Today I tested Casamorati - Lira Eau de Parfum and again - way too much sweetness and way too strong! How are people spraying this stuff multiple times on themselves? I only did one spray today and it's so powerful. I held my wrist up to my partner (who doesn't have a sensitive nose) and he found it very pleasant.

I am really craving a nice, sweet gourmand, but this is such a challenge. Does anyone else have this struggle?

I can completely understand your struggle! I myself have a love-hate relationship with gourmands hahah. When the time is right, I absolutely adore them, but if I smell them on a wrong day, I can't stand them. Also I find many of them absolutely too strong. A few tips that help me that could possibly help you too... I never wear them when the weather is too hot. For me the right temperature for gourmands is about 12 degrees Celsius or less (with the strongest ones a lot less). During a hotter weather most of them are unbearable. With the strongest ones 1 spray is indeed enough. Try not to spray close your nose, for example avoid neck, chest and hair, spray lower on your body. Also you can try to decant the fragrance in a roll on or in a dabber, that way you get a smaller amount on your skin so it won't be so strong. Also don't wear them if you're either extremely hungry or extremely full. Then they might feel gross because some of them are very foody. You could also try brands like Demeter Fragrance, their concentration is cologne so their fragrances aren't too strong but they have some amazing gourmands, also they are designed for layering as majority of them are single note fragrances so you can create a gourmand of your own and balance sweetness for example with something fresh, spicy or woody. I hope this helps and that you could find enjoyment in gourmands too! 🤗

You're a different kind of "troubled gourmand lover" than me. I have a terrible relationship with most high-end designer perfumes. Synthetic musks give me headaches.So I was going to recommend Diptyque, but like me, Diptyque was in your lineup. LOL. Yeah, I know what you mean.

Well, Sabrina Carpenter's OG Sweet Tooth Eau de Parfum is super sweet, but it's weak and light. Don't expect a "natural scent" like Diptyque, though. It's full of sugar.

Also, Goddess Eau de Parfum . It's a very popular fragrance, but it's quite light. If you want a lavender vanilla with a subtly sweet scent, I recommend this one. It's more floral than Eau Duelle.

And, Vanille de Tahiti Eau de Parfum or Spiritueuse Double Vanille . Personally, I like Perris Monte Carlo.

Do you like almonds? This brand uses a lot of natural fragrances, making it easy for people with sensitive noses to use. Un Deux Trois Soleil

And lastly, this one, which may be surprising, but... This one was fine for someone like me who suffers from migraines. It's a little synthetic, but it's cheap and the bottle is cute. Pepe Jeans for Her

The only other one I can find is only available in my country, so this is my recommendation for now.

Edit: Oh! I recently reviewed this one, which I wouldn't recommend for vanilla lovers, but is recommended for those with sensitive noses. It might be hard to find in your country though... "Wasanbon | Parfum Satori"

Tbh you do not have to force yourself to enjoy gourmand scents. Most gourmand scents rely available on synthetic material, aromachemical or at least to my nose they smell more synthetic to my nose.

Like you, I have a sensitive nose and I do not like gourmand scents. I enjoy fragrances that are more subtle, more mature smelling and that do not smell highly synthetic.

The only gourmand I own are : Gourmand CoquinBaiser de Russie (Guerlain do know how to make gourmand that are mature and classy) ArabieJeux de peau

I had Shalimar Millésime Iris that has a gourmand vibe. But ultimately the gourmandy caramel like not (ethol maltol) was too sweet, too cloying, too sticky for me and I ended selling my bottle to someone else

Thank you for your suggestions! I also have a problem with musk. Maybe we are nose twins? I find most designer perfumes have a similar type of musky note that makes me feel nauseous. The Diptyque musks do not such as L'Eau Papier Eau de Toilette and Fleur de Peau Eau de Parfum .

At any rate, I'll check out your suggestions!

Yeah, I don't have to enjoy gourmand and I haven't really up until now. Yet I have this CRAVING. Sometimes I get a craving for a note or combination and it's hard to satisfy.

Sometimes I can satisfy myself with making my own perfume oil, but my gourmand one was a bit of a fail because I don't have any actual sweet fragrance oils. I have to draw the line at buying more fragrance or essential oils for my kit because sometimes it adds up to the same cost as a small perfume that someone with more skills than me has already made.

I will check out your suggestions minus the Shalimar, haha. Thank you!

Hey @climabro ! I understand what you mean about Casamorati - Lira Eau de Parfum - “gourmand” is part of my username (so I obviously enjoy them), but Lira was far too overbearing for my nose too.

I think the key would be to incorporate what you already love, since gourmands are such a spectrum. Based on what you mentioned in your “likes” on your profile (herbal, plants, spices and sometimes flowers, musks):

Angélique Noire : a vanilla that is both high quality (more realistic and not at all sticky sweet or overbearing), but also has equal parts refreshing greenery

Luna Rossa Sport : grounding, herbal lavender paired with a creamy cloud of vanilla (very fluffy, not heavy or dense)

My Happy. - Cookies & Kisses : lightly-spiced ambery musk + subtle vanilla + cedar chest + "wet forest" (wrote a review breaking it down more, since the name is a misnomer)

If you ever want to talk gourmands more, I am here and love to help - but these are just a few to start, based on your preferences!

This might be too lowbrow, but I think body sprays can be really nice actually. That way you can get a sweet fix without necessarily being engulfed in a morass of sugar and vanilla!

You could explore things Ulta, Sephora, Bath and Body Works or Victoria's Secret? Body sprays are often assumed to be junkier than designer perfumes, but I personally contest that and think the compositions are often quite comparable, the formulations are merely lighter. The packaging is also cheaper which cuts cost.

I do love gourmonds though naturally, which is odd because I truly don't have much of a sweet tooth except for maybe two days a month (PMS when it kicks in).

Do you have any experience with Tom Ford? I'm usually in the same boat as you when it comes to gourmand fragrances, but I really enjoy the way Tom Ford handles theirs. Tobacco Vanille Eau de Parfum has a very reserved sort of sweetness on my skin – creamy cocoa, fallen leaves, deliciously gooey dried fruits. But based on other people's reviews, experience may vary depending on your skin chemistry.

Bitter Peach Eau de Parfum is another personal favorite. It is very heady, alcoholic and sweet, with heavy sillage and a fuzzy texture, but artemisia gives it a very prominent bitter twist that works wonders on the way my nose feels about it.

In my opinion, a lot of gourmands just pile on thirty different sweet things on top of one another, so regardless of how interesting they could be on their own – they end up mixing into one giant saccharine mess that just smells like diabetes. A good dessert needs to have layers and a delicate balance between them! Add something light and sour, or alcoholic and bitter – and suddenly the sweetness has a proper playground to bounce off of.

So, Tom Ford or not, and as counterintuitive as it may sound, maybe look at gourmand perfumes that aren't all about sweetness? You may be able to discover something that feels just sweet enough for you ദ്ദി ( ᵔ ᗜ ᵔ )

I personally don't enjoy most gourmands either, but I've found a couple that I enjoy. The trick for me is to find ones that lean more "perfumey" rather than hyper realistically yet overly sugary gourmands. At least for the most part. And to also go for things like coffee, milk, honey, hazelnuts/chestnuts, carrot, rather than birthday cake and spun sugar. So like very slightly more odd gourmands?

Ones I like: Black Opium Nuit Blanche for a sweetened coffee latte

"Saint Honoré | Nicolaï / Parfums de Nicolaï" which is a milky hazelnut that is a little more bitter in the opening but really sweetens in cold weather. It always satisfies the gourmand craving for me. They also have "Pavlova | Nicolaï / Parfums de Nicolaï" which is slightly more fruity I assume (haven't tried it yet). Nicolai perfumes are usually quite complex and well done.

Then for a vanilla I've heard good things about "Angham / انغام | Lattafa / لطافة" but I personally have tried and like Orchidée Vanille because it's not so sweet.

Frida's Thorns is a nice chocolate option imo.

And for coconut cream/milk, which fits into the gourmand category for me, there are Fleur Éclair and Chérie je t'aime for a more straightforward coconut.

And then there's always bread Brioche has a nice honey accord, but the new Mooncake is more complex so it might be fun to sample. The d'annam one is also a bit more subtle in sillage, so might be better suited.

I hope that gave you some ideas and was kind of in the vein of what you're looking for. I hope you manage to find something that scratches that itch for you!!

The best "very" sweet gourmands I've tried so far are:

502 Iris Cartagena Extrait de Parfum, a woody, boozy cocoa iris blend.
Vicious Cacao a spicy, ambery cocoa blend.
Cacao Libertine rotates through cocoa, rose, patchouli and amber with a vanillic flair. A combination I couldn't picture, and it works well.
Comète Paradis/62 a creamy, woody cocoa and coconut blend.

Yes I do like cocoa apparently.

Thank you all for the suggestions!

@Gourmandgrl , thank you for the suggestions and the tip about Cookies & Kisses. I was immediately thinking the name sounded too sweet.

@Shadows444, I did try this with Sugar Pumpkin and it was a total fail! I can't explain what it is, maybe it's the powdery or muskiness.

@Ursaw, thanks for the suggestions. I am not familiar with any Tom Ford yet.

@mina909 Mooncake! I know a store I can try it at.

The funny thing is for years I only wore "Butterfly / Hanae Mori (1995) (Eau de Parfum) | Hanae Mori / ハナヱ モリ" and Omnia . I loved them both, they were not nauseating and both gourmands. I've recently ordered a small decant of Butterfly, to see if I still love it. Sadly, the Original Omnia is no longer made. I think part of me is trying to fill the Omnia spot in my collection.

Going to second ursaw’s suggestion of Tobacco Vanille Eau de Parfum. If you want something to warm you up once the temperature starts to drop, feel free to give Gris Charnel Eau de Parfum a try! It smells like a chai latte and a warm, fresh slice of apple cake, without being too heavy-handed.

Ahh! I haven't tried that one (is it new?)

For whatever reason I dislike inexpensive autumnal pumpkin type body sprays more often than I enjoy them. Marshmallow Pumpkin LatteSweet Cinnamon Pumpkin are too much for me.

Do you like a basic vanilla? Maybe something with lemon? I personally find that sometimes plain vanilla, or vanilla with some citrus is less cloying.

Yeah, Sugar Pumpkin is new, but supposedly similar to some older seasonal pumpkin spice scent they had.

I do likeEau Duelle Eau de Toilette and Bois Corsé for vanilla (former) and tonka (latter). Bois Corse is tempting, but the price is very unattractive. Also, 100ml is a ton of perfume and I don't like it THAT much. I mostly stick to Diptyque because I find they do subtle and balanced fragrances really well. I've never gotten a sickly feeling from the Diptyques I own. It would be nice to have more options, though.

Lately, I have been dreaming of something a little (very little) honey, maybe orange blossom and light vanilla with either cardamom, saffron or lavender. I thought I had found it with Naxos , but the sample blew my face off. I'll dilute it and give it another shot.

I have a sample of Gris Charnel Eau de Parfum coming and am looking forward to it. I made the mistake of spraying Gris Charnel Extrait on my arm at a shop and I could NOT get it off for 48 hours. Hopefully the EDP is much gentler because I have smelled it on paper and liked it.

@Gourmandgrl, I have a sample of Angélique Noire coming. I'll let you know how it goes!

@climabro ooh excited for you - would love to hear your thoughts (good or bad), if you care to share!

Also saw your mention of looking for a floral honey. One of the best I've tried is actually Honey Cologne - Ibroke it down in a review; but it's really well balanced, and more "wildflower" than anything sticky-sweet you'd expect!

Thanks everyone, for your suggestions! I've had some samples come my way now and tested 3 fragrances. I thought I'd share my thoughts with you.

1. Gris Charnel Eau de Parfum

2. Butterfly Eau de Parfum

3. Angélique Noire

1. Gris Charnel Eau de Parfum - It should have been everything I love (cardamom, tea), but it has incense notes or something very "heavy" in it that wasn't working for me. It could also be tainted by my previous experience of spraying the Extrait on myself in a shop and hating the next 24 hrs. I will try it again and also on my partner, it might work better on him.

2. Butterfly Eau de Parfum . I used to wear it over 20 years ago and I loved it then. I got a sample from a nice person on Parfumo and it was... way too strong for me! I'm sure I had the EDT back then, as I probably could not have afforded an EDP in those days. So, perhaps I just tested the wrong one. Unfortunately, I had to scrub it off. It was overwhelming and plastic-y. I could smell all the berries in the opening, which I couldn't as a young person. I'm still curious about the EDT, though.

3. Angélique Noire - The opening feels citrusy and sharp, it's wonderful! I don't feel overwhelmed. It seems to blend seamlessly into its dry down. It's really very nice, mmm... Why do I have to like the most expensive one?!

Have you considered Il Colore del Vento ? Sounds like something you could like.

I've added it to my watch list - it looks promising, thank you.

Ahhhh I'm so happy Angélique Noire worked out for you @climabro !! 🥰🙌 Given your preferences, it was the first thing that popped into my mind. Such a gorgeous green vanilla, nothing synthetic or cloying about it!

I've been really enjoying Angélique Noire and I asked my not so nose-sensitive partner what he thought of it on me. He said, "It's not you. It's sweet. You never smell sweet. It's almost too sweet."

He's right. I'm glad to have it in my collection now, though! It certainly isn't like anything I own. I was able to find a bottle via Parfumo at a good price. Thanks again for your help, everyone. I have 1 "gourmand" love now. hehe.

gourmands generally are Autumn/Winter fragrances , but I’m sure their are some exceptions