Here’s to smelling like the most sophisticated gelato flavour — elegant, refined and delicately nutty.
Date July 25, 2023
Quick: What’s the chicest gelato flavour? Don’t overthink it.
Next question: Why is it pistachio?
As far as frozen dessert flavours go, pistachio is simultaneously elegant, warm and refined (think of childhood trips to the ice cream shop where you were baffled yet enchanted by your mom’s go-to, very sophisticated green order), while still bursting with excitement and energy. Who could forget that first girls’ trip to Italy in your early twenties when you finally came to understand pistachio gelato’s allure after a long day spent in the sand and sun?
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And the earthy, understated nut is currently having a major moment. It may be the summer of dressing like a tomato girl, but it’s definitely the summer of smelling like a pistachio.
Back in 2021, the husband and wife duo-founded boutique fragrance brand D.S. & Durga launched their simply titled eau de parfum, Pistachio. It was a limited edition launch (like, very limited — only 100 bottles were produced) as part of the brand’s Studio Juice collection. It sold out in just a few hours. “I think pistachio is an elegant nut. Also a fun nut,” writes D.S. & Durga perfumer and cofounder, David Seth Moltz, on the brand’s site. “It’s around good climes and everyone seems to dig it. We made this on a whim; a fragrance with no story that just evokes the fun of pistachio (especially as a dessert flavour).”
Indeed, if you’ve ever had baklava or kulfi, two other pistachio-centric desserts, then you’re familiar with its nutty, sweet-but-not-too-sweet flavour profile. And snacking on pistachios themselves? Forget about just having one. As a snack, pistachios are creamy and addictive. The nut has lightheartedness and breezy summer days basically written into its DNA. Pistachio perfumes, as many fragrances are wont to do, also evoke memories of travel. The culinary nut is cultivated in, and a staple of, countries like Iran, Greece, Italy and Afghanistan. And just like the traditional dishes it frequents, pistachio fragrances are delicate, thoughtful and graceful — foregoing the in-your-face sweetness of many other gourmand perfumes that lean heavily into sugary, confectionary territory.
Striking a perfect balance between familiarity and novelty, pistachio’s magic lies in its ability to transcend time and space, transporting us back to cherished moments of our past with ease. As is often the case with fragrances, nostalgia reveals itself as the cupid’s arrow behind yet another dizzying, intoxicating love story about the scents we fall for.
So: Tomato, tom-ah-to. Pistachio, pis-tah-chio. Finding your summer aesthetic or your summer scent involves little more than surrendering to sticky heat, carefree afternoons and youthful indulgence.
Shop our favourite pistachio perfumes below.
D.S. & Durga
“Pistachio. More pistachio. Even more pistachio,” read the site’s fragrance notes.
Kayali
Kayali (the fragrance line from Huda Beauty founder, Huda Kattan) launched its Pistachio Gelato perfume this past March. It sweetens the nutty scent with cotton candy and whipped cream base notes for an end result that is perfectly balanced.
Sol de Janeiro
Did you know that the classic Sol de Janeiro scent that started it all features pistachio notes? Combined with vanilla, almond, and salted caramel, the brand’s eau de parfum is its most concentrated and long-lasting iteration of the scent that put the brand on the map.
Hermès
Combining notes of olive wood, grass and fresh pistachio, the latest from Hermès was inspired by “an olfactory quest through Greece.”
Boy Smells
Described as “an Amalfi escapade of bright citrus and herbaceous cypress,” Italian Kush is a blend of basil, cannabis leaves, pistachio, pomelo and limoncello.
Elie Saab
Combining notes of pistachio, pear, almond, mandarin orange and patchouli, Girl of Now is a warm, nutty, sensual pick that can take you from warm summer days into crisp fall evenings.
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