Let them smell cake

Gourmand Scents are trending. We're spritzing on sugary, nutty, fruity fragrances. Even men are sweet on candy. Deep breaths...

- Riddhi Doshi

It started, as so many things did, in the pandemic. People started posting about fragrances that smelled like food, the videos went viral, they spilled on to Instagram and then the real world got a whiff.

At cafés, parties, restaurants and malls, there are trails of delicious aromas - caramel chocolate, pista gelato, mango mousse. You may think you're following your nose to a new bakery or pastry counter. You'll end up realising, more than once, that it was merely somebody's perfume.

Fragrance-manufacturers call the category Gourmand Scents. And it's the big trend in perfumes. Kayali's Yum Pistachio Gelato | 33 advertises notes of pistachio, whipped cream, roasted hazelnut, sweet rum, fluffy marshmallow and fizzy cotton candy. Snif's Crumb Couture seems like it was picked from a hotel breakfast buffet - it's got croissant, berry jam, blackcurrant and toasted vanilla notes.

Late last year, Cirque du Soleil (Yes, the circus) debuted their fragrance. It aimed to evoke the smells of the big tent: Cotton candy, candy apple, buttery popcorn, caramelised amber. How did Smell But Don't Bite become a sudden winner in the perfume aisle?

Let us spray