Macarons make for sweet scented treats

By Deborah Fulsang

“Here comes La Tentation de Nina. It is a macaron-like fragrance; or a perfume-like macaron,” declare the scribes at the Parisian house of Nina Ricci on launching the latest scent in the Nina franchise, a brand which debuted back in 2006.
How charming. How flirty. How cute.

It would be even more apropos for our sweet-scent loving times if the sugary spritz—due out next month—was on shelf today, given that today is the first annual Macaron Day in Toronto. And the first day of Spring no less.
No worries: We got a sneak sniff of the sassy toilette and we liked it.

La Tentation de Nina opens with a fresh burst of grapefruit followed which moves to a plush heart of raspberry, lemon, rose and almond, and then lingers, leaving us with a lickable vanilla-musk-and-sandalwood base. Sweet but intoxicating; like a second helping of dessert. Because you must.
Just like a Ladurée confection. But then that was the point. For this launch, Nina perfumer Olivier Cresp collaborated with Vincent Lemains, the New Creation Pastry Chef at the 152-year-old Parisian institution of Ladurée—the iconic destination renowned the world over for its pastel-hued and brilliantly flavoured macarons. Those double-decker meringue cookies filled with creamy ganache were in fact invented in 1930 and now come in an endless assortment of flavours from classic pistachio to salted caramel and rose.

Sounds like a fragrance formula to us too.

Sweet with attitude and originality: It’s a wonder we haven’t seen this particular confectionary note more often.

In fact, Bourjois whipped up a macaron top note in its recent Glamour Fantasy toilette last year. Apropos to the dessert theme, the fruity chypre mixed that sweet greeting with notes of cherry, strawberry, jasmine and patchouli.

Next to tempt you will be Thierry Mugler Angel Eau Sucrée, a sexy sugary limited-edition toilette with a carmelized meringue macaron note at its heart surrounded by juicy red-fruit sorbet, vanilla and patchouli.

If anyone would be doing macaron, it is Mugler, non? His scent is slated to breeze onto store shelves in June (in Canada exclusively at Hudson’s Bay).

So let’s all just close our eyes and imagine we are in that charming and iconically Parisian Ladurée shop, sipping tea and nibbling rose- or lavender-infused macarons during a little respite from perfume shopping.

Très bien.