There has been a huge surge in people opting for dessert-scented perfumes as the rise of gourmand perfumes is on the up – but is it a harmless trend or is there something a little deeper at play
We’re programmed to gravitate towards scents of food – so it’s no wonder people are dousing themselves in vanilla, caramel and sugary scents.
The rise in food-scented sprays, also known as gourmand perfume, has surged by 77% last year alone according to Perfumer & Flavorist and it’s now known as ‘scent snacking’. But is it a worrying new diet trend where people are no longer eating the cake – but smelling like one instead?
Dessert smelling perfumes will sure make heads turn, as it’s something we naturally do anyway – and gourmand fragrances initiate those senses. We find comfort in food, and we use desserts such as cakes and sweet treats for every emotion, however with so many diet-led trends, scent snacking may be feeding into a toxic diet culture.
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What is scent snacking?
People claim perfume has gotten sweeter since weight-loss jabs took over and TikToker Amy Nose Scent noted: “Whenever society doubles down on being thin, dessert-centred perfumes spike. Why? Because they offer the illusion of indulgence without breaking any of the rules.”
Edible-smelling scents are sold as a “guilt free pleasure,” Amy added, as the term ‘scent snacking’ rises on social media. People are hailing the use of gourmand perfumes to curb their indulgent sweet treats, as one user penned: “Well, I tend to grab gourmands when I’m on a diet and it helps!”
What do people think?
One Reddit user noted: “I have noticed that since I started being more into perfumes and actually buying more, and therefore, smelling more… I started noticing I was snacking way less. I thought it could be the dopamine hit you know, since it is pleasurable to sniff a fragrance you like, maybe that was doing the trick.
“But I also realised that specially sweet perfumes, vanilla perfumes, which I love, stopped me from even thinking about sweets. Smelling the vanilla perfumes was as good as “eating” them.”
A third chimed in: “It’s like you are snacking on the scents!!” But according to experts, we can’t technically sniff ourselves thin if we’re on a diet.
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How it can turn toxic
Smelling food before eating it impacts our senses, and smells are processed in the same part of our brain that controls emotions. Dr Lara Zibarras, a psychologist and food freedom coach, worries about the dangerous precedent this idea of replacing food with fragrance sets. She told Glamour: “It reinforces the message that hunger is something we should suppress, and that pleasure from food is something to avoid or feel guilty about,”
Fragrance is one of the most powerful ways to stand out, make an impact and also boost our mood – and it’s important to remember perfume doesn’t care whay size you are. So spritzing yourself in almond, vanilla, cherry or even bubblegum is one way to bring a sense of happiness to your day.
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