Two gourmands and two maybe gourmands, this September’s Blotter Notes brought about a brief discussion about gourmands and what constitutes a Neo-gourmand.
While there are exceptions, most gourmands in the market focus on scents like amber, sugar, tonka, and vanilla—notes that make the wearer and anyone around them feel snug. The Double Date fits snugly in that category.
And this this where Cola Addict and Tokiwa breaks the pattern. They are what some perfume influencers in Tiktok call Neo-Gourmands because they don’t exactly fit in popular gourmand notes like vanilla, brown sugar, and tonka bean. But their scents reference food, so they should technically qualify as gourmands. Cola Addict is obviously inspired by the soda so it’s an excellent example of a Neo-Gourmand. One can make a case that Tokiwa is not a Neo-Gourmand because it leans more green like grass, but when the scent it’s trying to replicate is that of quality Sencha tea and it does it very well, then it’s going to be a long discussion back and forth—one of which this post is not written for.
And to add to the conversation of what qualifies as a Neo-Gourmand, a recent floral release from Liis was examined. The scent notes listed officially don’t market itself as a gourmand, but this is where it’s important to step away from the marketing copy and smell the scent for yourself. The style of florals in this scent is reminiscent of jasmine milk tea and that is most certainly a gourmand.
Double Date from Skylar Beauty
Double Date is a 2025 release accompanying Skylar Beauty’s 2026 summer release, True Love’s Cake. The scent follows the brand’s modus operandi of gourmand scents and as the name infers, the scent is built upon the sticky sweet dried fruit and is accompanied by notes of brown sugar, bates, and toffee. The combination, paint the date as incredibly sticky with a sweetness that warms the cheeks and melts in the mouth. This scent it is definitely not photo-realistic by any means, the brown sugar note makes it feel more like a gooey date paste.
For fans of a certain kitchen to bathroom beauty brand, this scent is a dead ringer for Sticky Date in a stronger concentration. Similar to Sticky Date, this scent might be a bit too decadent for the hot, sweaty months but will certainly be warmly welcomed once the colder weather settles in.
Cola Addict from BTSO
BTSO’s newest offering hitting the Sephora shelves is inspired by the bubbly cola drink and by all accounts, it’s a definite must sniff for entry level perfume lovers and gourmand connoisseurs. It’s not totally crisp bubbly like the kind you would get when cracking open a cold bottle but instead, something more akin to the gummy colas with tuberose lingering in the background. The citrus is another notable note but even in the original cola recipe this was an ingredient so it makes sense that in order to recreate the scent the citrus note was used. It’s a fun day time scent for the most part, but there’s something fun about wearing this to a Halloween party.
Flower Glyph from Liis
The newest release from the brand that is so effortlessly elegant, Flower Glyph is “inspired by a typographer’s mark and the detailed study of a blossom, shimmering with pollen” according to the description on the website. It’s one of the stronger releases with a definitive lean towards white florals. It opens with crumpled honeysuckle, powdery pollen, and squished blueberries. After a few moments of airing out the scent, the honeysuckle completely takes over. There’s something milky about the honeysuckle that’s reminiscent of jasmine milk tea that leans more on the milk. The glyph in this scent is supposed to be perceived through an ink note but it comes off more like ashes after burning incense, charming anyway.
Tokiwa from Strangers Parfumerie
Tea has certainly taken off in terms of popularity in the recent years, and the market has certainly taken notice and responded by releasing their own interpretations to what a perfect cup of tea smells like. From indie to designer, the market has been plagued with matcha scents that lean heavy towards a matcha latte or green teas that captures the idea of green but doesn’t exactly last. Tokiwa from Stranger Parfumerie stays far from the milk and floral, and stays true to the umami of the seaweed and general freshness of grass aspect of high quality Sencha, the very scent it’s trying to emulate. And that green aspect lasts longer than most green teas too! Unlike the previous two gourmands, this scent is most certainly a scent for the hot summer months because of the fresh aspect.
The scents in this post brought about much needed rumination about how scent categories evolve and if categorization should follow solely on marketing copy or if customer input should also be included.
