Nutty fragrances have been all the rage in recent years but it might be time for pistachio to make room for a new star
I’m a fragrance expert with well over 150 perfumes in my personal collection. I’ve travelled to the perfume capital of the world, Grasse, to craft my own scent and even learned more about the art of perfumery in both Paris and Florence. I spend a lot of hours immersing myself in perfume so it doesn’t take me long to take stock of what notes are coming and which ones seem to be going.
Pistachio has very much been having it’s moment for a long time now. The nut itself isn’t very sweet but when it’s being paired with salted caramel, looking at you Cheirosa 62 (£38), or coconut like with Soleil Blanc (£145) it’s easy to see how it turns beachy.
One thing I’ve been talking about lately is if the reign of pistachio might be coming to an end. I’ve seen so many iterations of it and I do love Yum Pistachio Gelato (from £28) and D.S. & DURGA’s Pistachio (£155).
There are so many notes that could be the next big thing, @perfumerism on TikTok’s quest for the perfect milk fragrance has definitely made me more aware of creamy lactonic notes. In particular I’m a fan of Commodity Milk (£140), Phlur Heavy Cream (£25) and Kayali Freedom Matcha Musk (£28) which has an oat milk heart.
I don’t think milk as a note can dethrone pistachio though, it would have to be warm and nutty with a touch of earthiness – something like sesame. I didn’t expect sesame as a note to be something mind-blowing but when I first tried Zadig & Voltaire ZADIG, (currently reduced to £71.20 at LookFantastic), I was nearly floored.
My top sesame perfume pick
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Zadig & Voltaire ZADIG Eau de Parfum 50ml
I couldn’t stop smelling myself. It features ginger, white and black pepper in the top, a floral heart and a sweet base of Chantilly cream. I’m definitely a sweet gourmand lover when it comes to perfume so I was surprised to see how much I loved notes that would often come across more savoury.
Mind Games launched Sissa in 2023, at £270 it’s not the most accessible fragrance on the market, but it marries together sesame, milk and vanilla in a way I can’t help but be curious about. BORNTOSTANDOUT’s £173 Nuts does have pistachio and almond notes but they’re in the top which means they disappear first, sesame makes an appearance in the heart which gets hours more wear time.
It seems that sesame has been slowing but surely popping up everywhere. Croissant Café by Versatile Paris (£50.74 for 15ml) has coffee, vanilla and milk notes that would be expected but then again sesame is rearing its head alongside florals. I can’t help but wonder if it has what it takes to be the next big thing.
Part of me really hopes it will be. Right now a lot of the sesame fragrances I’m seeing are on the more expensive side and I’ve noticed when a note really blows up it typically becomes more accessible. Pistachio appears in a £10 M&S Discover perfume and is the main focus of Le Monde Gourmand Pistachio Brûlée (now £19.60 at LookFantastic).
I think it definitely has the potential to be the next big thing and I’m excited to see where it goes next. In the meantime I’ll be holding onto my bottle of Zadig.
