The Scent of a Chocolate

There is nothing more personal than the perfume you wear due to the uniqueness of individual skin types. A perfume can indicate your mood, elevate it, simply raise your charisma up a notch or give you confidence throughout the day. There are people out there that use perfume as a sexual weapon, as a status enforcer or as a display of their personality. We are all created equal until we spray a perfume on.

Chocolate has been always associated with sensuality, guilt, pleasure but chocolate flavor on its own does not elicit more than an accelerated salivation process. However, chocolate started being used more and more as a note in the perfume industry in the last ten years and I tried to uncover the various reactions its use elicited from my senses. Ayala Sender, an artisanal perfumer, told me that in the last decade "the gourmand scents have been gaining a lot of popularity probably because people have felt a pressure to cut down on treats such as chocolate, but the desire still remains within them. The use of sweet and foody scents is a way to compensate for the desire and also those particular notes are associated with pleasurable and fulfilling experiences of eating and nourishment." While people may enjoy the comforting smell of chocolate, they would not find it particularly attractive on their skin all day long. That is why "more sophisticated consumers will appreciate a foody note only in conjunction with other notes that will turn it from a novelty item to a wearable, chic perfume," Ayala explained to me when I seemed puzzled by the whole foody smells on your skin concept. People who love that fragrance can also buy scented candles instead.

Chocolate absolute, that is used a base note, is a solvent essence extracted from raw cocoa beans. It is surprisingly sweet, almost caramel-scented, with a distinct aroma of chocolate and it mixes well together with vanilla essences, coffee notes, and particular spices and floral notes that will tilt the balance in favor of the parfumey as opposed to gourmety. As is constitutes the base, it sometimes acts as a fixative between the other fragrances, but it is not as strong as other fixatives, therefore it is more used to add a familiar feeling in perfumes. Sometimes synthetic molecules whose lifespan is shorter are used as a nuance, or sometimes they are used in the opening for a few moments in order to elicit interest from the client. No matter how it is used, here are some perfumes that boast chocolate notes, which range from explicitly so to barely there.

Aquolina’s Chocolovers is an ode to the unmistakable flavor of chocolate, yet strangely enough it only includes notes of Bergamot, Orange, Lemon, Lily of the Valley, Coriander, Hazelnut, Vanilla, Malt, and Musks. My skin eradiated steadily a strong citrusy scent with a distinct hint of cocoa extract. The cocoa probably came from the mixture of vanilla, whose warmth always adds a chocolaty feel with the unnamed musks, as it smelled pretty synthetic. After a few minutes the perfume leaves the chocolate theme behind, veering towards a lemon cake sort of fragrance.

Created in 1992 and one of the first perfumes to contain chocolate notes Comptoir de Sud Pacifique’s Amour de Cacao is already a legend. With a slight orange zest top note that dissolves immediately, the fragrance that stays for a long time is a velvety deep bittersweet cacao helped by the sensual base note of vanilla pod. The very concentrated cocoa flavor is more aromatic and less foody. For lovers everywhere.

Another member of the First-to-have-a-chocolate-note-in-the-early-90s Society and much more famous is Thierry Mugler’s Angel that came to the throne in 1992. It launched a new category of fragrances named "oriental gourmands" as it mixed oriental spices with foody scents to evoke "tender childhood memories." Its components include Bergamot, Hedione (synthetic jasmine molecule), Helional (molecule that adds a green, floral note), Honey, Dewberry, Red Berries, Vanilla, Caramel, Patchouli, Chocolate, Coumarin. In the drydown, the perfume smells like a mélange of sweet kitchen odors, the chocolate overpowered by the vanilla and caramel that are stronger in stability.

Bvlgari also seems to take an active interest in the alluring scent of chocolate, and its perfumes are deep, oriental and woody. For example Omnia uses as one of the basenotes White Chocolate that is very subdued (it smells like cocoa butter which is mostly oily combined with sugar, vanilla and milk) and it gives a gourmand feel for a very short time. It dries down to a soft sandalwood with dusty spices masala tea, saffron and cardamom. Created by nose Alberto Morillas and released in 2003, the fragrance was said to have been inspired by the spices discovered by Marco Polo on his famous voyages, and was also described by Bvlgari as "a tribute to the tradition of the great oriental perfumes, re-interpreted for the world of today". Blv Notte starts with a bittersweet chocolate note and evolves into very chilled vodka plus a hint of a very deep subtle floral.

Ayala Moriel offers a sparkling example of chocolate notes gone right. Guilt mixes chocolate with orange blossoms and orange oil for contrast, while smoky, leathery notes and animalic notes of wild mushroom add depth and interest to this scent. The Jasmin, Rose and Mimosa float around, appeasing the intense feelings of human emotions. Her Film Noir uses almost exclusively a mixture of chocolate and patchouli, resulting in a dark, earthy and sweet scent.

Princess from Vera Wang is one of the latest additions to the chocolate-happy family. Dark chocolate is one of the heart notes of this light yet, strangely exotic perfume. It is gently enrobed in a bouquet of Water Lily, Lady Apple, Mandarin Meringue, Golden Apricot Skin, Ripe Pink Guava, Tahitian Flower, Wild Tuberose but it is not overwhelmed by the base notes of amber, warm woods, musk, and vanilla tempered by the handful of shining flowers. This soft oriental hits the right notes despite its multitude of ingredients.

Moreover, Stacked Style’s Rococo Rouge puts forth a bold blend of orange and cocoa (apparently a favorite combination among creators/ noses) stabilized by a floral musk base of Violet, Rose, Marigold, Coriander and a cheerful range of top notes of Citron, Melon, Jasmine. The cocoa is barely perceptible but the final result is worth the try.

Finally, for those who love intense chocolate scents and can’t get enough of it, Green Dragon Herbals offers an edible roll-on perfume made from synthetic essences that intersect somewhere between coffee, vanilla and bittersweet chocolate. Lovers unite.

Whether a base note, a single note or lost in a greater bouquet of flavors, chocolate always makes a powerful statement one way or the other. You choose what it will be.