Best Of
7 Perfumes That Smell Like Marshmallows
Marshmallow is a soft, fluffy kind of sweet: vanilla and sugar with the edges sanded off, and a powdery, almost cloud-like texture. These seven range from a bag of marshmallows to marshmallow wrapped in orange blossom. Start with Demeter Marshmallow for the straight sweet, Kilian Love, Don’t Be Shy for the luxury classic, and Dossier Floral Marshmallow for the same idea at a fraction of the price.
How Do Perfumers Make a Marshmallow?
From scratch. The marshmallow plant, Althaea officinalis, gave the sweet its name but has no useful smell, so a marshmallow note is an accord built from three sweet molecules:
- Vanillin for the vanilla base.
- Ethyl maltol, the smell of cotton candy and caramelised sugar. It’s the same molecule behind Baccarat Rouge 540’s burnt-sugar glow.
- Heliotropin, which smells powdery and almondy, and gives the marshmallow its pillowy texture.
A little musk makes it airy. Too much ethyl maltol and it turns into candyfloss; too much heliotropin and it turns into baby powder. Every marshmallow perfume sits somewhere between the two.
| Perfume | The marshmallow | What’s with it |
|---|---|---|
| Demeter Marshmallow | Straight from the bag | Nothing else |
| Kilian Love, Don’t Be Shy | Floral and sugared | Orange blossom, neroli, rose, honeysuckle |
| Dossier Floral Marshmallow | The same idea, cheaper | Orange blossom, neroli, jasmine, vanilla |
| Dolce&Gabbana Pour Femme Intense | Creamy | Neroli, orange blossom, tuberose, sandalwood |
| Bond No. 9 Liberty Island | Summery | Bergamot, blackcurrant, orange blossom, musk |
| Paco Rabanne Ultrared | Candy | Red currant, strawberry, licorice, star anise |
| Ariana Grande Sweet Like Candy | Fruity | Blackberry, pear, vanilla |
7 Marshmallow Perfumes
Demeter Marshmallow
Demeter’s Marshmallow aims at a freshly opened bag of marshmallows, with no flowers or fruit in the way. It’s the clearest way to find out whether you like the note itself. On Demeter’s own page, one reviewer thought it closer to maple syrup, which makes sense: maple syrup’s caramel smell comes from close relatives of the same caramelised-sugar molecules.
Kilian Love, Don’t Be Shy
Kilian’s Love, Don’t Be Shy (2007) puts orange blossom and neroli alongside rose, honeysuckle and a marshmallow-sugar accord, over warm amber. Orange blossom is the clever pairing: it’s heady and slightly indolic, and it stops the sugar from going childish. This is the luxury marshmallow perfume.
The Extrême and Eau Fraîche are separate versions.
Dossier Floral Marshmallow
Dossier says openly that Floral Marshmallow is inspired by Love, Don’t Be Shy. It opens with marshmallow, neroli and bergamot, moves into orange blossom, honeysuckle, jasmine and orris, and finishes on amber, vanilla and musk. The structure is close to Kilian’s, and the price is a fraction of it. In a Reddit thread, one person who owns both enjoys the fluffy marshmallow and orange blossom in the Dossier. If you’re curious about the Kilian, start here.
Dolce&Gabbana Pour Femme Intense
Pour Femme Intense combines neroli and green mandarin with orange blossom and tuberose, over sandalwood, musk and marshmallow. The marshmallow is in the base, so it comes through as a creamy sweetness under the white flowers rather than candy on top. It’s the most grown-up marshmallow here, closer to a floral perfume with a soft heart.
Bond No. 9 Liberty Island
Bond No. 9’s 2016 summer scent lists bergamot, mandarin and blackcurrant, then orange blossom and jasmine, over marshmallow and musk. It’s marshmallow for warm weather: the citrus and blackcurrant keep it fresh, and the musk makes the sweetness airy instead of sticky. It’s an expensive bottle for a light idea.
Paco Rabanne Ultrared
Ultrared (2008) puts red currant and strawberry over jasmine, licorice, marshmallow and star anise, with cedarwood and vanilla. Licorice sweets are usually flavoured with anise, and anethole, the molecule in star anise, gives both their dark, slightly medicinal sweetness. It makes this the most unusual marshmallow on the list: a bag of mixed sweets more than a single flavour.
Ariana Grande Sweet Like Candy
Sweet Like Candy combines blackberry, pear and bergamot with a floral heart, then crème de cassis, marshmallow, vanilla and cashmere woods. The pear and berries make it the fruitiest pick, and one bottle owner likens it to whipped cream and pear dessert. It’s the easy, inexpensive marshmallow for everyday.
Which Marshmallow Should You Pick?
- Just the marshmallow: Demeter.
- The luxury classic: Love, Don’t Be Shy.
- The same idea for less: Dossier Floral Marshmallow.
- Creamy and floral: Pour Femme Intense.
- Summer: Liberty Island.
- Candy shop: Ultrared.
- Fruity everyday: Sweet Like Candy.
For toasted marshmallow by a fire, By the Fireplace in our vanilla perfumes is the nearest thing. The cotton candy list leans into ethyl maltol, and the candy perfume list covers caramel and fruit.
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