Hi friends, it’s Nadia! Happy September! Today’s letter covers upcoming events to get you excited for a fun Fall season, and a spotlight on a brand I’ve been dying to share: Glass Candies. Homegrown in NYC by a perfumer and food artist—it’s a fun new way to imagine gourmand scents.
perfume intel~
Arquiste is unveiling something dark, daring, and very New York this Fall. Think nightlife, leather, night-blooming florals, underground energy, and a scent built for after-hours allure. 🖤
FRIDAY 9/5 — SUNDAY 9/7:
Lattafa Bite Me Bakery Pop-up, 9/6–9/7
The Maker Hotel presents Sophie’s Table with chef & curator Sophie Dalah, 9/1–9/8 (book via Resy)
Maison d’Etto September pop-up at 140 Wooster St., SoHo—living gallery of scent + preview of Rodrigo Flores-Roux’s Fall/Winter release
Stéle September celebration on Mott St., 9/6 3-6PM
Emma of Perfumism at Commodity Soho for Milk Orchid, 9/6, 11AM-2PM
D.S. & Durga launch Cognac Reign: caramelized bergamot, cognac & limousine oak. In-store celebrations at their Williamsburg shop—with cognac cocktails & complimentary engravings, 9/6, 3-7PM
Lush Diwali 2025 Collection is now live: featuring Mango Lassi shower gel, Mango Kulfi body conditioner & festive treats
BEYOND NYC~
Huff Smells Meetup in Richmond, VA, 9/6
Bon Parfumeur Event at Ministry of Scent in SF, 9/6
UPCOMING!
Phlur Cherry Stem Pop-up at Sephora Soho, 9/10–9/11
NOYZ Pop-up in Chelsea, 9/12
Blueme Fragrances opens flagship at 259 Elizabeth St. — Grand Opening RSVP, 9/27
Spray It Loud & Proud — Travaulya Wallace + L’Oréal at Macy’s, 9/27
Sniffapalooza Greneda Trip, 10/24—10/28
This interview is part of a new Perfumeverse NYC series called Beyond the Bottle. In these interviews, we explore the notes, noses, and narratives of the fragrance world for your scented pleasure.
On a humid Friday the 13th in Brooklyn this past June, I found myself sipping a honeydew melon and jasmine tea float, surrounded by mini perfume vials wrapped in crinkled cellophane, like the Laffy Taffy candies I used to hoard as a kid. I didn’t reach for paper blotters or scent bells. Instead, I picked up porcelain swirls shaped like whipped Chantilly cream, so realistic they looked good enough to eat —a clever nod to a gourmand lover’s fantasy. This wasn’t your average fragrance launch—it was a pop-up portal into the whimsical world of Glass Candies, a passion project in ‘liquid gourmands,’ dreamed up by NYC-based designer and food artist Andy Chan and perfumer Bryson Ammons of The Alloy Studio.
Their debut line of five cream soda-inspired scents come in 2ml candy-like vessels, each fizzing with seltzer bubbles, creamy vanilla, and a touch of baking-soda bite—layered with fruits and florals like melon, jasmine, and strawberry matcha. Created in collaboration with Brooklyn’s Lazy Sundaes (known for childhood-inspired drinks from Korea and Taiwan) and Very Cool Ice Cream (a plant-based brand reimagining Asian flavors through rich, nostalgic scoops), the launch paired three floats with matching fragrances, blurring the line between what we wear and what we consume.
Each scent came with an illustrated character card, half art print, half trading card, and a flash of color stamped on the vial’s base. They felt less like samples and more like pocket-sized collectibles: playful, low-key, yet still strangely luxe. But don’t let the playful packaging fool you: Glass Candies is less about sweetness and more about flavor—less about luxury, and more about delight.
For this edition of Beyond the Bottle, Andy and Bryson join us to talk scent as flavor, the rewrite of gourmand, and why even the tiniest vials can hold big, joyful ideas.
What Even Is a Gourmand in 2025?
Traditionally, a gourmand is someone who delights in good food and drink—often to a hearty extent. While the word can sometimes hint at overindulgence, at its core it’s about savoring: the deep appreciation of flavor and the pleasures of the table.
In 2025, the obsession with gourmand fragrances is everywhere. From Perfumetok to think pieces and reddit threads linking the trend to Ozempic culture, and endless debates over who did it first—this category is having a moment. But Glass Candies isn’t joining the wave, its expanding the flavor map. This isn’t the usual vanilla–cake–sugar axis. It’s multi-sensory, culturally expansive, and deeply personal—a challenge to the Eurocentric idea of what a gourmand “should” be.
For Andy Chan, the brand’s visual and conceptual force, the goal is a world built on “delightful moments with every presence.” The name Glass Candies itself came from a simple realization: 2ml vials looked like tiny, precious candies. And if you grew up anywhere near a bodega, the impulse to grab a handful of treats just to try them all will feel instantly familiar.
"Accessibility with collectability," Andy says. "Like a buffet or a patisserie, I want to be able to taste everything."
How do you define a gourmand in 2025? What makes a good gourmand modern?
AC: Gourmand shouldn’t be confined to cake and cream. It can be herbal, savory, floral, even fermented. We’re not chasing “modern” gourmands—that word already feels like a timestamp. Instead, we’re reminding people that gourmand has always been global, timeless, and delicious.
For me, it’s about edible delights from all cultures. As a Vietnamese person, I grew up with edible aromatics: jasmine coconut pandan sticky rice in banana leaves, floral and green yet absolutely gourmand. I once smelled an “herbaceous” Jo Malone and thought, this is basically a Chinese steamed bun! Osmanthus, wheat, barley—delicious. When a friend and I visited Lucky Scent, we realized there were no gourmands that spoke to us as Asians. I told the team (who were thankfully open to it) that gourmand shouldn’t just be sugar, cake, and vanilla. It’s any edible delight, a memory of flavors that connect us. It should reflect the full spectrum of edible experiences.
You come from a world of flavor. What’s your favorite part about the dance between scent and taste?
AC: This is the ethos of Glass Candies. France may have industrialized perfume, but scent has ancient roots in South and Southeast Asia—Vietnam, India, and beyond—the true mothers of incense. When you look, taste, and learn from these cultures, it’s a phantasmagorical sensation: herbs, florals, spices, aromatics that blur taste and smell.
How do you want people to interact with these? Is it more like a perfume, a treat, or a collectible?
AC: All three! One friend displays the character card next to their shiny Charizard Pokémon card, which melted my heart. Others say the scents are playful, wearable, and not too sweet. Whether you wear them, collect them, or just smile while sniffing, the point is joy.
What was the collaboration like between you and Bryson—how did you divide creative roles?
AC: We started brainstorming together, but over time, I became the creative director—developing the characters, world-building, and vision. Bryson brought those stories to life through scent.
BA: Andy has such a vivid inner world and sharp sense of taste. I really just followed his lead on visuals and the whole vibe of Glass Candies. I brought the scent, he brought the world.
How did the idea of ‘liquid gourmand’ evolve into actual scent formulas?
BA: We wanted to stretch what a gourmand could be. Once we landed on cream sodas as the theme, I built a base of vanilla ice cream and fizzy soda, then topped it with different fruits and florals to create flavor-inspired “floats.”
For Strawberry Matcha Cream Soda, I layered in nutty notes to capture matcha’s true umami. Most “matcha” scents miss that nuance—it can go flat or earthy really fast. Getting the balance right was tricky, but essential. (And yes, big difference between brewed green tea and matcha powder!)
Scent and taste both rely on aroma molecules. Were actual drink ingredients part of the olfactory brief?
AC: Half and half. Strawberry Matcha is Lazy Sundae’s top-selling drink, so we made a scent to honor that. Melon Cream Soda also mimics a real-life favorite. Others, like the jasmine and cherry blossom floats, are just my personal fantasies—I wish I could drink them!
These aren’t just drinks, but full-sensory events. What mood or emotion did you want people to feel as they sip and sniff?
AC: Too many products rely on just one sense, and that flattens the experience. I wanted Glass Candies to be multi-sensory. Sight, smell, taste, touch, and soon… sound. My goal is for people to feel engaged, delighted, and fully present in the moment.
What can fans of The Alloy Studio expect from this new line that feels different—or familiar?
BA: Glass Candies shows a different side of my perfumery. Alloy Studio fragrances tend to be bold, complex, even a little weird. These are much more lighthearted, playful, easy to love, and built for pure enjoyment.
Will Glass Candies stay mini, or could we see full-size bottles in the future?
AC: For us, mini is full-size. But we do offer 10ml customs for anyone who wants a little more. One day, when we can move on to custom glass packaging, I already know exactly what it’ll look like. Until then, every bit of support counts.
How do you want people to feel when they wear one of these—cute? chaotic? edible?
AC: Represented. Educated. Expanded. Fun. And always—tasteful.
While the summer floats have melted (but still available to sniff), the brand isn’t stopping there. Their Halloween collection drops this October. Expect the same playful twist on gourmands, but with darker, spookier flavors perfect for the season. Stay tuned, because we’ll be sniffing. 👻
That’s all for today, friends! Have a lovely weekend :)
Thank you for reading, sharing, sniffing, and staying nosey. :) If you enjoyed this, share this with someone who loves ice cream floats. <3