Beauty / news
Dessert Finds a New Place: On the Skin
As GLP-1 medications curb appetites, fragrance brands are leaning into dessert-inspired scents for fall. A new wave of gourmand perfumes spans ultra-rich confections and fruit-forward compositions.
The fall fragrance landscape is dominated by gourmands, with perfumers interpreting sweets from towering sundaes to ripe stone fruit. The launch wave targets consumers who want the experience of dessert without the calories, a niche sharpened by the rise of appetite-suppressing drugs.
The collection runs the spectrum from indulgent to subtle. On one side, scents evoke ice cream sundaes and lavish dessert spreads; on the other, fruit-forward formulas bring notes like pear and plum to the fore after recent cherry and strawberry perfume booms.
Among the standouts are fruity compositions such as Lancôme's Very Cherry and Byredo's new decadent offering, along with the latest entry in the Black Gold Project line. The new addition blends vanilla and praline with a woody base of cedar and sandalwood.
Perfumer Quentin Bisch is behind Future Memories, a fragrance that layers three vanilla accords—one boozy—with blackcurrant, aldehydes and orris butter.
Another newcomer pivots to a milky vanilla profile, incorporating butterscotch, rosemary and Japanese toasted sesame for a nutty twist.