No plant on earth produces praline. In pastry it is sugar caramelised with hazelnuts or almonds. In perfume it is an accord, a nutty caramel effect that perfumers build molecule by molecule, because there is nothing to extract and no oil to buy.
The engine of the accord is usually ethyl maltol, a molecule that smells of candy floss and caramelised sugar. Around it a perfumer adds toasted, nutty facets, some vanilla, sometimes coffee or cacao, until plain sweetness starts reading as confectionery. Get the balance right and the sugar smells expensive rather than sticky.
One perfume built this whole category. Angel by Mugler, released in 1992 and composed by Olivier Cresp with Yves de Chirin, carried roughly 0.5% ethyl maltol, a dose fine perfumery had never tried, set against a huge patchouli. Angel is the first modern gourmand, the family of perfumes that smell of food on purpose. Every praline, caramel and candy floss note on a shelf today walks through the door Angel kicked open.
Thirty-four years on, praline has moved from provocation to comfort. It anchors boozy ambers, coffee scents and most of the "sweet but grown up" releases aimed at autumn and winter.
One practical tip. Praline is a base-heavy effect. It blooms in the drydown and then stays, which is why a praline scent can seem quiet for the first twenty minutes and hum for hours afterwards. Judge one at hour three, not at the first spray.
Our sweetest pair leans on it. Aged Gold, our take on Angel's Share by Kilian, lands cognac and cinnamon on a praline, vanilla and sandalwood base at 35% Extrait. Valencia, our take on Lancome's Oud Bouquet, folds praline into saffron, rose and oud. More gourmands in the best vanilla perfume dupes in the UK.
