I love Ladurée, I love macarons and I most certainly love perfume. So it will come as no surprise that I am quite keen on the above picture, which very quickly become my perfume pic of the week when I stumbled across it, whilst preparing for my upcoming review (due to be up next week) of the latest Nina Ricci fragrance – the macaron inspired ‘Le Tentation de Nina‘.

Nina Ricci (the brand, obv), perfumer Olivier Cresp and Vincent Lemains (the Head Pastry Chef at Ladurée) have teamed up to create a macaron “inspired by a perfume” and a perfume “inspired by a macaron”. The macarons, which are winking at you in the above picture, are a devilishly delicious-sounding blend of lemon, raspberry, Bulgarian rose absolute and almond, all of which is topped off with a dash of gold leaf. The perfume is very much in the same spirit and lists similar notes. Does it perfectly capture the spirit of the most darling of pastries? Well, you’ll have to wait until my review for that little nugget of information…

This pairing of perfume and food has got me thinking about the collision of these two very similar worlds. It is of course, not a new thing, we notably had Thierry Mugler’s Le Goût du Parfum series in 2011, where the likes of Angel, Alien, A*Men and Womanity were blended with delicious dark chocolate powder, salted caramel, chilli and fig chutney (respectively) to make heartbreakingly awesome gourmands.

They’re not the only brand though, Penhaligon’s (who do love a good cocktail, I have it on good authority) went one step further and brought the world of gin into perfumery with their excellent Juniper Sling (again in 2011). Guerlain, who are well known for their olfactive love of all things delicious have even branched out to make honey and a number of amazing-sounding teas for some of their most classic of scents, including Shalimar, Habit Rouge and La Petite Robe Noire.

It’s clear that food and perfume (gosh, I love both so much) mix very well indeed, so what other combinations do we think we could see in the future? I’d personally love to see Ladurée make a perfume interpretation of their famous Ispahan (raspberries, litchi and rose cream housed within a big macaron shell) or even a wearable version of their Marie Antoinette tea. What could be more beautiful than a black tea scent with citrus, rose and honey? Nothing, I tell you. Nothing.

Join the Discussion

What are your favourite food and perfume combinations?
Are you a macaron addict?
What food and perfume combinations would you like to see in the future?

Let me know your thoughts in the comments box below!

Disclaimer
Image via zoemacaron.fr. Quotes via ninaricci.com.