PERFUME & SOCIETY: I WANT CANDY!

You want candy? We want candy too! Just in time for Halloween, we’re serving up a confectionery twist on our Food & Fragrance class with an exploration of sweetness in perfumery. Hard candies, fruit bombs, cotton candy, caramel, chocolate, ice cream, marshmallows, and cupcakes are just some of the treats that have inspired the most recognizable and best-selling perfumes of the past few decades.

But this class is more than an olfactory field trip down the candy aisle. Together, we will discuss why candy-like scents remain irresistible across age, gender, and culture. We’ll also consider how Western viewpoints have often coded sugary perfumes as “childish,” “feminine,” or “frivolous.” At the same time, we’ll compare how Eastern and Western cultures diverge in their relationship to sweetness. Whereas Western markets embrace indulgence and “trick-or-treat” excess, newer Eastern perfume brands are experimenting with “not too sweet” approaches that reflect their own dessert politics and cultural aesthetics. Through the lens of candy, we reveal how representations of sweetness open up larger cultural conversations around pleasure, identity, and desire.