Dessert, café and kitchen scents · in stock in Sydney
Gourmand perfumes美食调香水
Mango sticky rice, matcha latte, red bean popsicle, taro, pineapple cake, double vanilla and tonka: the edible side of niche perfumery, from $47, most of it available as 2 ml samples.
38 fragrances in stock in Sydneyfrom $47.00$8 flat-rate shipping Australia-wide
See them allTry 2 ml samplesA gourmand perfume smells like something you could eat. The French houses invented the category with vanilla, tonka and praline; the Asian houses we specialise in have taken it somewhere new, with rice, beans, milk tea and tropical fruit rendered so accurately that strangers ask what you are eating. This page is every gourmand we stock, grouped by what it tastes like, with the bottle to try first in each group. 美食调香水，悉尼现货，$8 全澳平邮。
Rice, beans and the Asian dessert counter
The scents nobody else in Australia sells. Betmay Mango Sticky Rice ($59) is our best-selling gourmand of any kind: ripe mango, coconut milk, warm rice, sweet without being syrupy. Mith One Fine Day: Mango Sticky Rice (from $47) is the photoreal version with pandan and a starchier rice note, and Butterfly Thai Mango Sticky Rice ($135) is the elegant one, coconut over agarwood in an oil base. We compare all three on the Thai niche page. Beyond mango: Mith Golden Rice is a bowl of jasmine rice and toasted sesame; Betmay Red Bean Popsicle and Green Bean Slush are two Shanghai summer desserts most Australians have never tasted; Soulvent Ong Lai is a buttery Taiwanese pineapple cake and Taro Whispers a warm, musky taro paste.
Milk tea, matcha and the café
Tea gourmands are where the shop is deepest; the full list is in our tea perfume guide. The three to know: Betmay Matcha Latte ($59), bitter matcha folded into steamed milk; Chasense Chinese Milk Tea, black tea, condensed milk and a little brown sugar, the most grown-up milk tea we know; and Mith One Fine Day: Thai Tea, the orange iced tea of Bangkok street stalls and the most searched bottle in the shop. Chasense Confidence Black Tea ($74) and J-Scent Roasted Green Tea (hojicha, caramel-edged) sit at the drier end.
Fruit, cream and ice cream
Betmay’s Realistic Compound line, all $59 for 50 ml, is the cheapest way into the category and the most fun: Strawberry Ice Cream (exactly that), Raspberry Vanilla, Cream Preserved Plum (sour-sweet Chinese plum in cream) and Pineapple Sparkling Water, the one to wear in summer. Every Betmay bottle ships with a free 2 ml sample of your choice. Higher up the shelf, Van Cleef & Arpels Moonlight Cherry is black cherry and vanilla with a woody finish, and Betmay Tipsy Heaven ($85, extrait strength) is lychee and rum, the boozy one. Mith’s 10 ml Strawberry and Cream and Mystery of Wild Berry are discontinued and sold while stock lasts.
Vanilla, tonka and chocolate: the classics
For the French school at its best, Guerlain Spiritueuse Double Vanille is the benchmark boozy vanilla, Fève Gourmande tonka bean with rose and pink pepper, and Tonka Impériale (discontinued, last bottles) tonka with tobacco and almond. Van Cleef & Arpels Bois d’Amande is marzipan and sandalwood; Betmay Chocolate Vanilla does dark chocolate for $59; Mith Mellow Musks is a milky vanilla musk that reads as skin after an hour; Soulvent Autumn ($79) is roasted chestnut and amber. For evening, Maison Margiela Replica Jazz Club (rum, tobacco, vanilla) and Armani Privé Magenta Tanzanite (spiced plum and tobacco) are gourmands that men wear without a second thought. Most of the Guerlain and Van Cleef bottles here are testers: full-size, authentic, in a plain box, which is why the prices are what they are.
Every gourmand perfume in stock
How to choose
- Your first gourmand: Betmay Mango Sticky Rice or Matcha Latte, $59, with a free sample of a second scent.
- You want people to ask what it is: Mith One Fine Day: Thai Tea, Soulvent Ong Lai, Betmay Red Bean Popsicle.
- You want elegant, not literal: Butterfly Thai Mango Sticky Rice, Chasense Chinese Milk Tea, Mith Mellow Musks.
- You want a classic vanilla: Spiritueuse Double Vanille, then Bois d’Amande if you prefer almond.
- For men, or for evening: Jazz Club, Magenta Tanzanite, Tonka Impériale, Tipsy Heaven.
- Not sure: order three 2 ml samples from the samples page; nearly every Betmay, Mith and Chasense scent is poured.
Questions
What is a gourmand perfume?
A fragrance built around edible notes: vanilla, tonka, caramel, chocolate, coffee, fruit, milk, rice or tea. The term started with Thierry Mugler’s Angel in 1992; today the Asian niche houses make the most realistic ones, from mango sticky rice to matcha latte.
Are gourmand perfumes only for women?
No. Tobacco, rum, coffee and tonka gourmands such as Replica Jazz Club, Armani Privé Magenta Tanzanite and Guerlain Tonka Impériale are mostly bought by men, and rice and tea scents such as Mith Golden Rice or Thai Tea are worn by everyone.
Which gourmand perfume lasts longest?
The extraits and the heavier vanillas: Betmay Tipsy Heaven (extrait strength), Guerlain Spiritueuse Double Vanille and Butterfly Thai’s oil-based Mango Sticky Rice all last a full day. The Betmay $59 line is lighter, around five to six hours, which suits the fresh fruit and tea scents.
What is the best cheap gourmand perfume in Australia?
Betmay, at $59 for 50 ml with a free 2 ml sample in every order, or any Mith One Fine Day scent at $47 for 10 ml. Both are held in Sydney and ship Australia-wide for $8.
Can I try before I buy?
Yes. Most Mith, Chasense, Betmay and To Summer scents are available as 2 ml samples from $5.99 on our samples page, poured in Sydney from our own bottles.