Gourmand Perfume: 7 Mouth-Watering Fragrances for Autumn and Winter
It's getting cold outside, so it's allowed to smell like dessert inside. Gourmand perfumes smell of vanilla, caramel, tonka bean, coffee or freshly baked cake. They warm you up, they comfort you and they get you compliments. In this guide we show you our seven favourite gourmands for autumn and winter. With the stories behind them, a few fun facts you almost certainly don't know yet, and tips on wearing sweet scents so they seduce rather than overwhelm.
The essentials at a glance
- Gourmand perfumes are fragrances with edible notes such as vanilla, tonka bean, caramel, coffee, chocolate or pastry.
- Angel by Thierry Mugler (1992) is considered the first modern gourmand.
- In autumn and winter gourmands are at their best, because they radiate warmth and don't turn cloying as quickly in cold air.
- Our 7 picks: Candyva, Velvet Tonka Extrait, Jany, Trastevere, What about Pop, This is Not Caffeine and Lost in Paris.
- At 4D OUTFITTERS you get a sample with every fragrance plus up to 4 further free samples. So you can test at your leisure before you open the bottle.
What is a gourmand perfume?
"Gourmand" is French for someone who loves good food. A gourmand perfume is a fragrance that smells of something edible: vanilla, tonka bean, caramel, praline, honey, coffee, chocolate, almond, popcorn or pastry. These notes usually sit in the heart and base of the fragrance and make it warm, creamy and cosy.
The fragrance family is younger than many people think. The breakthrough came in 1992 with Angel by Thierry Mugler. Its secret was ethyl maltol, a molecule that smells like candy floss. Since then perfume has been allowed to smell like a funfair, a patisserie and a coffee house. Today gourmands are among the most popular fragrance families of all, especially in the colder months.
Our 7 gourmand perfumes for autumn and winter at a glance
| Fragrance | Brand | Smells of | Perfect for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Candyva | Epico Parfum | strawberry, raspberry, coconut, vanilla | Sweet tooths in a good mood |
| Velvet Tonka Extrait | BDK Parfums | roasted pistachio, tonka bean, vanilla | Compliments and evenings out |
| Jany | Sora Dora | baked apple, cinnamon, puff pastry, caramel | Cosy winter days |
| Trastevere | Pantheon Roma | vanilla, liquorice, chestnut cream | Vanilla lovers |
| What about Pop | The House of Oud | salted caramel popcorn, milk | Sofa, cinema, series night |
| This is Not Caffeine | Hormone Paris | coffee, caramel, peppermint | Anyone who prefers it less sweet |
| Lost in Paris | Roja Parfums | blood orange, rum, caramelised sugar | Making a grand entrance |
1. Candyva by Epico Parfum: good enough to eat
Candyva is the sweet shop in a bottle. Strawberry and raspberry meet coconut, vanilla and a creamy milk accord. Playful, loud and a little bit cheeky. Exactly the fragrance you need on grey November days.
Behind it is Epico Parfum, founded in 2018 by Bologna-born artist Federico Gucciardi. Pitti Fragranze in Florence calls him "the poet of fragrances". And you can smell it: Candyva is sweet, but never cheap.
For you if you'd rather smell desserts than count them.
Discover Candyva (100 ml EdP)
2. Velvet Tonka Extrait by BDK Parfums: the forbidden bean
Velvet Tonka is one of the great compliment-getters of recent years. Now it comes as an Extrait with 30% concentration, composed by perfumer Alexandra Carlin. It is denser and bolder than the original, with cinnamon and orange blossom up top and leather and tobacco in the base.
The star is the roasted, creamy pistachio. It bridges Paris and Morocco, because the original was already born of a childhood memory of BDK founder David Benedek: the gazelle horns, Moroccan almond pastries, that his grandmother baked on Sundays.
Fun fact: this bean is banned from food in the US. On your skin, it's fine.
The tonka bean smells of vanilla, almond and fresh hay. The reason is coumarin. In 1820 the substance was first isolated from the bean, and in 1868 William Perkin managed to recreate it in the lab. In 1882 Houbigant launched Fougère Royale, one of the first great fragrances with synthetic coumarin, founding an entire fragrance family. In the US, coumarin is still banned as a food additive today. In perfume, however, the tonka bean is one of the most popular raw materials of all.
For you if you want a fragrance people stop you to ask about.
Discover Velvet Tonka Extrait (100 ml)
3. Jany by Sora Dora: tarte Tatin to wear
Jany was the grandmother of Sora Dora founder Quentin Dorado. She baked the best tarte Tatin at home. The Parisian house searched for this bakery scent for a whole year, until perfumer Margaux Le Paih-Guérin found it: baked apple and cinnamon, puff pastry and nuts, with caramel and vanilla underneath. Warm, buttery, sweet, but not sticky.
France's most delicious mistake
Legend has it that the tarte Tatin comes from the Hôtel Tatin in Lamotte-Beuvron, south of Orléans. In the 1880s, Stéphanie Tatin is said to have left the apples in the pan too long. To save the cake, she simply put the pastry on top, baked it and turned it upside down. Whether it was an accident or an old local tradition, the upside-down tart later became famous in Paris. And today it's in a bottle.
For you if you always find the apple strudel stand first at the Christmas market. Jany is also available from us as a 2 ml sample.
Discover Jany (50 ml or sample)
4. Trastevere by Pantheon Roma: a bath in Baileys
If you're looking for a vanilla perfume for winter, start here. Trastevere combines vanilla and liquorice, caramel and jasmine, carried by davana and chestnut cream. The result is like a sip of Baileys in front of the fireplace: creamy, soft and very seductive.
The story behind it is a love story. Pantheon Roma tells of the painter Raphael and the great love of his life, Margherita, a baker's daughter from the Roman neighbourhood of Trastevere. Rome as it smells when the bakeries open in the morning. Raphael, by the way, is buried in the Pantheon, which gave Pantheon Roma its name.
For you if there's no such thing as too much vanilla.
Discover Trastevere (Extrait, 50 or 100 ml)
5. What about Pop by The House of Oud: Netflix & chill, in luxury
What about Pop is salted caramel popcorn with lunar flower, a creamy milk accord and soft amber. It was composed by Italian perfumer Cristian Calabrò for The House of Oud. And the bottle? A work of art you'll never want to put away.
Fun fact: The typical smell of fresh popcorn comes mainly from a molecule called 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline. It forms during roasting and is also found in fresh bread and basmati rice. No wonder this scent feels so cosy.
For you if your perfect evening means a blanket, the sofa and your favourite film.
Discover What about Pop (75 ml EdP)
6. This is Not Caffeine by Hormone Paris: coffee, the bitter gourmand
Not every gourmand has to be sweet. Coffee is the bitter sibling in the fragrance family: roasted, dark, a little bitter. Perfect for anyone who finds vanilla on its own too tame.
This is Not Caffeine by Hormone Paris combines coffee, caramel and tonka with peppermint and sage, which keep it fresh and awake. Not a heavy coffee dessert, more of a double espresso with attitude. Hormone Paris, founded in 2020, builds every fragrance around a mood. Here it's focus and energy.
Myth or fact? Three classics about fragrance and coffee
"Coffee beans clear your nose." Myth. A 2011 study showed that coffee works no better than lemon or simply fresh air. Our tip at the perfume counter: briefly smell your own skin, for example on your forearm. That's your neutral "reset point".
"After a while you can't smell your own fragrance anymore." Fact. It's called olfactory fatigue. The people around you can still smell you. So don't re-spray just because you can't notice it any more.
"An Extrait always lasts longer than an Eau de Parfum." Partly true. An Extrait usually contains 20 to 40% perfume oil, an EdP about 15 to 20%. But how long a fragrance lasts also depends heavily on its raw materials. Gourmand notes like vanilla and tonka are among the longest-lasting.
For you if your day only starts with the first espresso.
Discover This is Not Caffeine (100 ml)
7. Lost in Paris by Roja Parfums: Paris at midnight
An ice-cold Parisian night, at a party at Le Meurice one moment, at a little crêpe stand on the street the next. Roja Dove turned that into Lost in Paris: blood orange, bitter orange and rum, caramelised sugar and butter, with vanilla and amber underneath. Some call it the gourmand of all gourmands.
Roja Dove spent decades at Guerlain, as the house's first global ambassador from outside the family. Today he is regarded as one of London's great perfumers. And the crêpe with orange and fire has its own legend: in 1895, at the Café de Paris in Monte Carlo, a waiter is said to have accidentally set a crêpe alight for the Prince of Wales. Crêpe Suzette was born.
For you if treating yourself to a fragrance isn't a splurge, but simply a matter of course.
Discover Lost in Paris (100 ml Parfum)
A short history of gourmand fragrances
- 1820: Coumarin is isolated from the tonka bean.
- 1868: William Perkin recreates coumarin in the lab.
- 1882: Houbigant launches Fougère Royale. The tonka note enters perfumery, sweet, but not yet a dessert.
- 1895: According to legend, a crêpe catches fire in Monte Carlo. Crêpe Suzette is born.
- 1992: Mugler Angel makes candy floss wearable and is considered the first modern gourmand.
- Today: Niche houses such as Roja Parfums, BDK and Sora Dora tell whole stories with gourmands, from grandma's tarte Tatin to a crêpe at midnight.
Vanilla perfume in winter: how to wear gourmands
- Less is more. Gourmands are intense. Two or three sprays are enough, especially with an Extrait.
- On warm spots. Wrists, base of the neck, inside of the elbows. That's where vanilla unfolds most beautifully.
- On your scarf, too. Fabric often holds fragrance molecules longer than skin. Be careful with silk and light-coloured fabrics, though, as they may stain.
- Day and night. Fresher gourmands like This is Not Caffeine also work at the office. We save opulent ones like Lost in Paris or Velvet Tonka Extrait for the evening.
- Don't re-spray just because you can't smell yourself any more. Everyone else still can.
More on this: 10 tips on how to apply perfume and 20 tips for perfume layering. A little trick: a touch of vanilla beneath a fresh citrus scent quickly turns a summer fragrance into a winter companion.
Which gourmand suits you?
Three quick questions, one fragrance:
- Salty or sweet? Salty and nutty: What about Pop or Velvet Tonka Extrait. Sweet: Candyva or Trastevere.
- Cinema or sofa? Grand entrance: Lost in Paris. Blanket and tea: Jany or What about Pop.
- Espresso or dessert? Espresso: This is Not Caffeine. Dessert: Jany, Candyva or Lost in Paris.
Still can't decide? Then simply take several as samples. Here's how.
Buying gourmand perfume online, risk-free
Buying perfume online without smelling it first? We get it. That's why we make it as easy as possible for you:
- A sample with every fragrance: We add a sample of the fragrance you ordered to every bottle. Try the sample first, then decide.
- Up to 4 further free samples: Write up to four fragrances you're curious about in the order note in your cart. We'll add them as samples.
- Free shipping from € 200.
- 14-day right of return.
- Collect stars in the 4D Insider Club: Every order earns you stars in our loyalty programme.
- Personal, from Bregenz: Come by and smell your way through our boutique at Kornmarktstraße 7, Bregenz, Austria. Questions? Write to service@4doutfitters.com.
Discover all gourmand fragrances at 4D OUTFITTERS
Frequently asked questions about gourmand perfumes
What is a gourmand perfume?
A gourmand perfume is a fragrance with edible notes such as vanilla, tonka bean, caramel, coffee, chocolate, praline or pastry. Angel by Thierry Mugler from 1992 is considered the first modern gourmand.
Which vanilla perfume is good for winter?
For creamy vanilla we recommend Trastevere by Pantheon Roma (vanilla, liquorice, chestnut cream). If you like vanilla with more depth, go for Velvet Tonka Extrait by BDK Parfums. For vanilla with fruit, Candyva by Epico Parfum is a great fit.
Aren't gourmand fragrances too sweet?
Not necessarily. Good niche gourmands balance the sweetness, for example with salt (What about Pop), roasted pistachio (Velvet Tonka Extrait), mint and sage (This is Not Caffeine) or citrus (Lost in Paris). And: apply sparingly.
How long do gourmand perfumes last?
Gourmands are among the longest-lasting fragrance families, because vanilla, tonka and amber are heavy base notes. An Extrait usually lasts longer than an Eau de Parfum, but the raw materials and your skin also make a big difference.
Can I try the fragrances first?
Yes. At 4D OUTFITTERS you get a sample with every fragrance, and you can add up to four extra samples of your choice for free. Just write the names in the order note in your cart. Or visit us at our boutique in Bregenz.
Is a coffee perfume a gourmand too?
Yes. Coffee is one of the classic gourmand notes, but it's more bitter and less sweet than vanilla or caramel. A good example is This is Not Caffeine by Hormone Paris.
Your turn
Which of the seven is your favourite? Tell us on Instagram at @4doutfitters_com, where we also introduce all seven fragrances one by one. And if you don't know where to start: write to service@4doutfitters.com, we're happy to help.
Your 4D OUTFITTERS team, Bregenz
Discovery Everyday Luxury
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