If you’re not a fan of gourmand perfumes, you may have overlooked chocolate perfumes in the past, but hopefully not for much longer. A surprisingly versatile and complex note that’s often derided for being too sweet and saccharine, the best chocolate perfumes often combine their signature creamy note with elegant spices, woods, resins and even florals. The result is often unexpected, but always (of course) completely delicious.
Read on to discover some of the best chocolate perfumes as approved by Vogue.
Vogue’s pick of the best chocolate perfumes to try now:
Best true gourmand chocolate perfume: BORNTOSTANDOUT Choco Loco Eau de Parfum
- Why it’s Vogue-approved: If you like your perfumes on the sweet side, you’ll love the vanilla-tinged sugariness of this fragrance. Like an overloaded cup of hot chocolate with all the trimmings, this blends notes of marshmallow, brown sugar and cookie dough for a decadent finish.
- Notes: Cocoa powder, cocoa butter, cocoa liquor, cacao absolute, condensed milk, caramel fudge, burnt sugar, ginger liqueur, whipped cream, cookie dough, vanilla absolute, brown sugar, marshmallow, musk, ambrette
- Size: 50ml
Best evening chocolate perfume: Discothèque Lola at Coat Check Eau de Parfum
- Why it’s Vogue-approved: You might not think of chocolate as being a smoky note but here, when combined with sandalwood, amber and vetiver, the rich, deep facets of chocolate take on a velvety quality that’s incredibly seductive. Hardly surprising when you consider the inspiration is a night out on New York’s iconic disco scene.
- Notes: Baise roses, cardamom, grapefruit, white chocolate, jasmine, lily, orris, caramel sandalwood, cedarwood, amber, vetiver
- Size: 50ml
Best floral chocolate perfume: Aerin Cocoa Rose
- Why it’s Vogue-approved: Exploring the delicate natural perfume of chocolate, this pretty fragrance combines the sweetness of cocoa with powdery roses for an elegant warmth. As they settle into the skin, earthy oud reveals itself to help anchor the scent and create a luxurious, lingering trail of fragrance.
- Notes: Rose Centifolia, cocoa, oud
- Size: 50ml
Best amber chocolate perfume: Clinique My Happy Cocoa & Cashmere Eau de Parfum
- Why it’s Vogue-approved: Just the perfume to wear on a cold, blustery day, this uses amber as a central note, which works beautifully with the cosiness of cocoa and vanilla and the headiness of jasmine and honeysuckle. Think of it like a big hug in fragrance form.
- Notes: Cocoa, vanilla, golden amber, musks, pink pepper, jasmine, honeysuckle, solar salicylates
- Size: 15ml
Best spicy chocolate perfume: Maison Tahité Cacao Eau de Parfum
- Why it’s Vogue-approved: For those who like their chocolate dark and slightly spicy, this rich fragrance is a great find. Combining the dusty warmth of cinnamon with dry, woody cedar, smoky vetiver and resinous benzoin, it’s a chocolate fragrance with a kick.
- Notes: Cinnamon, Labdanum, Cocoa, Vanilla, Cedar, Vetiver, Benzoin, Amber
- Size: 100ml
Best everyday chocolate perfume: Zara Cocoa Sunset Eau de Parfum
- Why it’s Vogue-approved: A comforting confectionery of decadent dessert-like notes including melted chocolate, vanilla and cream. To lift everything up and stop it from feeling too saccharine, there are notes of passion fruit and peach, which cut through the milkiness with a gentle brightness.
- Notes: Whipped cream, milk chocolate, vanilla
- Size: 100ml
Best comforting chocolate perfume: Maison Margiela REPLICA Matcha Meditation
- Why it’s Vogue-approved: This is a beautifully delicate floral fragrance that draws on the luminosity of matcha and citrus notes and combines it with the creaminess of white chocolate. The result is to create a captivating olfactory experience, enveloping the wearer in comforting warmth.
- Notes: Bergamot essence, mandarin essence, green tea accord, orange flower absolute, jasmine accord, matcha accord, benzoin absolute, moss accord, white chocolate accord
- Size: 100ml
FAQs
What does chocolate smell like in perfumes?
You might think you know what chocolate smells like, but when used in perfume, it’s a surprisingly versatile note. While many chocolate-based perfumes lean heavily on the natural sweet, creamy and vanilla notes of chocolate, plenty more reveal more of its complex notes like nuttiness, coffee and even patchouli-type undertones.
How do you create a chocolate note in perfume?
While plenty of perfumers create fragrances using natural extracts like cocoa absolute, others use synthetic molecules to get the same rich, creamy aroma. For a more complex take on a chocolate perfume, you’ll often find cocoa extract blended with other notes like vanilla, tonka bean, coffee and cinnamon to add extra depth and robustness.
What other notes does chocolate work well with?
Classic pairings for chocolate notes in perfumes are other gourmand notes like vanilla, tonka bean, caramel and coconut, but it’s worth noting that chocolate can also work well with contrasting floral or citrus notes, helping to give those a creamy depth that may be otherwise missing. For a rich, velvety fragrance, many perfumers combine chocolate with spicy, balsamic notes like certain woods, spices and resins.