Nigella Lawson covered in salted caramel sauce for Stylist Magazine
In a recent article for Stylist Magazine, Nigella Lawson, surely one of the most sensual and hedonistic cooks of our time, wrote:‘I’m in the middle of a love affair with salted caramel. It’s heady, it’s passionate, it may – like the stalker’s obsessive focus – not be entirely healthy, but I take the view that few in this world have the luxury to be blasé about pleasure…. For me, a “more is more” kind of person, I don’t want merely to experience pleasure; I want to wallow in it – gloriously and gratefully – while it lasts.’
Photo: The Silver Fox
The same could be said of Salt Caramel, the latest release by London-based fragrance house, Shay & Blue. On the skin it is golden, brazen sweet heaven, dusted with salty addiction. The licky-licky salt effect radiates through layers of caramelized musks, beguiling startled senses. You are prepared for sweetness, but the dry, blueness of the saline rub is just fabulously bizarre. It increases one’s craving for the sugar. The contradiction lies in the skin itself; do I go salt or sweet? Yet as with food, we often smell them together, side-by-side. It’s a disconcerting sensation in Salt Caramel; on the cusp of what Nigella refers to in her article as the ‘bliss point’, the moment when the mouth-feel of something is sheer perfection.
Often the honeyed, aurous caramel note is “dissed” by perfumistas as a frivolous effect; a note for neon scents, lattes and Angel clones. But increasingly, more and more niche houses are using this warm enveloping note and weaving it into sophisticated, adult fragrances that enhance and sensualize the skin whilst avoiding the more garish glow and heady residues associated with mainstream foodie fragrances.
Photo: Will Cotton
Toffee, caramel, cocoa, milk chocolate, popcorn, coconut, candyfloss, muscovado, milk, coffee, loukhoum, marshmallow, dulce de leche, nougat, praline, marzipan, vanilla, crème caramel and honey – all of these things sweeten our lives and delight our palates. (Just reading that list makes me giddy). I rarely indulge in desserts and apart from chocolate and (very good) Turkish delight I rarely go on sugar rampages, but when these things are woven into scent for me to lavish on my skin… oh lordy… I become wild and sweetly out of control.
Photo: Will Cotton
For me, the key to a successful gourmand fragrance lies in a smooth and accomplished golden confection, a tawny sense of allure that speaks of honeyed skin and aurous, blissful pour. Rather than the sickly jarring augmentation of sugar and tooth in the over the top cloying perfumes of gaudy celebrity. Ultimately, wearing a gourmand is the act of transforming one’s skin into a gustatory playground.
Shay & Blue’s cultured gourmand is one of the finest I’ve worn for a while. Skin smells seriously halcyon and lickable. In the talented hands of perfumer Julie Massé, the thoughtful alliance of caramel and salt has been raised to the olfactive equivalent of classic French patisserie. Vanilla, sandalwood and tonka bean further enhance the ambrosial lacquer the scent lays down on skin. The tonka in particular has a smoky resonance that works beautifully with the aridity of the salt. In gastronomy, salt has the unusual effect of counteracting any potential bitterness that caramel can sometimes impart to flavour.
It’s still tremendous fun too, after the dazzling rush of salt and sweet it becomes naughty, fulgent and quietly sensual. A scent to indulge in, drown in, over and over again. Do yourselves a scented favour, get some Salt Caramel and get candied this summer.
"The Silver Fox" Contributor, and Editor in Chief of The Silver Fox
Art Direction: Michelyn Camen Editor in Chief
Thanks to Creative Director Dom De Vetta of Shay & Blue we have a worldwide draw for 30 ml of Salt Caramel. To be eligible please leave a comment indicating what appeals to you about Salt Caramel and an unusual flavor pairing you enjoy. Please tell us where you live and if you have a favorite Shay & Blue Perfume. Draw closes June 12, 2014