One of my favourite stores ever, has paired up with Edingburge chocolatiers Edward and Irwin, and have been hosting a stall at this years Islington Chocolate Festival. Six chocolates have been created exclusively for Gorilla Perfumes and are being used in the multi-sensory experience of chocolate and perfume pairing. These have been dreamed up using such ingredients to either taste like or complement six of the Gorilla Perfumes fragrances.

While on our London weekend, we were lucky enough to be invited along to the Chocolate Festival, to experience a pairing session. As you can imagine, with chocolate and perfume, I couldn't possibly miss it. We had already planned to visit the store while we were in London, and this invite was like a surprise cherry on the top. I was beyond delighted and couldn't wait for this experience.

The pop up Gorilla Perfumes Stall looked striking as we entered, a large background, sporting their logo and colours, set the atmosphere and instantly drew attention. We had a little look around their stall, which stocked a variety of exclusive fragrances, only available in their stand alone shop in Islington and the Lush stores in Oxford Street and in Poole. There were also other Lush products such as bath oils, massage bars, shower gels etc, which share the fragrances of certain Gorilla Perfumes scents.

We were welcomed by the ever lovely staff and directed to a quaint little table ready for our session to begin. We were presented with a slate of six unique looking chocolates and instructed on how the session would work. We were to smell the fragrance, take a bite of the chocolate and then smell the fragrance again and see how the ingredients had altered how we perceived the taste.

The first chocolate we tried was created for 'Dear John'. The scent itself is a warm, earthy scent, with hints of citrus, tobacco and coffee. The chocolate in appearance is a flat almost woody looking piece with grooved detailing. It is made with Raspberry Oil, Dark Chocolate and a tiny pinch of Salt. The bitterness of the chocolate brings out the sweetness of the perfume, making the Vetivert Oil and Lime Oil stand out. This heightens the soothing and restoring ingredients in this fragrance.

Next we tried the chocolate crafted for 'Love'. This Perfume is a fruity fragrance created with a blend of Lemongrass, Red Apple and Cinnamon.  The chocolate in appearance is a small dome with gold dusting and the centre is full of apple jelly. It is Dark Chocolate and as well as the Apple Jelly includes a Honey core. The sweetness from the chocolate levels out the perfume, making it crisper. This allows the apple to stand out and works together to engulfs you in a feeling of bliss.

The 'Furze' fragrance, reminds me of a tropical Island, it is sweet, uplifting and smells of coconuts. The chocolate looks raw and earthy, it appears natural and embodies how I would associate the scent. It is created with Dark Chocolate, Coconut Oil, Almond Flakes and a Coco Powder dusting. The dusty feel to the chocolate and the raw taste of the coconut makes the fragrance fresher and sweeter. The combination works together creating a refreshing and comforting state.

This was my first opportunity to smell the 'Staying Alive' perfume. It is a sugar-coated woody fragrance, containing such ingredients as Sandalwood Oil,Vetivert Oil and Vanilla Absolute. The chocolate is flat with a layer of pink floral decoration. It is a Dark Chocolate, mixed with White Chocolate and dyed with natural Beetroot. The different layers to the chocolate act as a boost for the perfume, lifting the base notes higher and telling a swooping story of highs and lows.

Kerbside Voilet is one of my favourite perfumes, it is a wild, Violet scent with a natural grassy background. The chocolate is a circular shape with a almost flower imprint. It is made from Milk Chocolate with a Soya Milk Chocolate and Violet centre. The smooth and sweet chocolate, makes the perfume seem less wild and green and brings out more of the floral smoothness. This combination invokes a refreshing and lifting feeling.

Lastly we are presented with the 'Sikkim Girls'. This is a warm and sensual fragrance, created from a blend of Jasmine and Frangipani Absolute. The chocolate reminds me of an exotic mountain, it is created with Dark Chocolate and White Chocolate. It has a Caramel and Cream core, and tiny coconut flakes. After the chocolate, the fragrance is less floral and emanates more of a smoky, incense scent. This exotic creation could almost leave you feeling as beautiful and seductive like a Sikkim Girl.

I don't think anything I could write could fully explain how incredible this experience was. I would love to be able to enjoy perfumes this way all the time, to feel it with all of my senses. Again I am so impressed with the hard work and detail the team has put into this. The fragrance and chocolates worked well together, the introductions and process of consuming them was perfectly done and the order they were presented was like a well timed production. This wasn't just trying some nice perfume and chocolates, this was a full theatrical performance, where the audience could not help but obey when asked to participate.
Thank you so much to Gorilla Perfumes for inviting me to this beautiful day. It was amazing getting to fall in love with perfumes all over again, and in a completely different way. If you ever get to attend one of Gorilla Perfumes Chocolate And Perfume Pairing events, I highly recommend you go. If you love perfume, and you need to be able to feel it right from your head to your toes, then Gorilla Perfumes and these magical Chocolatiers have found the way.


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