As the 'should you, shouldn't you' sugar debate continues it appears chocolate, cakes and candy aren't the only sweet treats you're sacrificing. Even the world of fragrance is shunning syrupy scents in favour of more savoury, salt-based bouquets.
What's unusual is that it's actually salt that's become the star of the show, winning over new audiences with its well-seasoned notes. Not the most traditional ingredient in the gourmand fragrance family, it offers wearers a more mellow and palatable perfume choice that doesn't divide opinion quite so much as other savoury options – black pepper and spices are often seen as masculine and heavy, while the saccharine alternatives can be overly sickly and 'young'.
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The proof is in the pudding (or not, as the case may be). With over a hundred different scents to choose from, The Library of Fragrance range might be new to the UK but it's been tickling the olfactory tastebuds of US consumers since 1996. However, according to creator, Mark Crames, the past year has seen an obvious shift in demands.
"We're a small company and are driven and influenced a lot by our customers and their requests have definitely started to change and become more savoury. We launched a 'pizza' scent inspired by Pizza Hut's pepperoni crust in January which has been incredibly popular and would you believe that one of our three most requested perfumes is bacon, although so far we've had trouble getting that right!"
Granted, not everyone wants to smell of fry-ups and fromage but salt is cropping up in its natural state too. Briny, fresh fragrances inspired by the sea are on the up and paired with marine or woody ingredients that draw on the outdoors, there's nothing not to like about these cobweb-clearing, coast-inspired essences. Even the big perfume players are sitting up and taking note with Jo Malone and Calvin Klein the latest to ride the salt-encrusted wave. Our advice? Follow suit and dip your toe into the trend now with one of our top five salty perfume picks above.