DELMA Parfums: Crème d'Ivoire, an artisanal ice cream turned into perfume
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Some houses begin with a perfumer, or with a material. DELMA Parfums begins with an idea: a scent can bring an emotion back to life before words do.
A French haute parfumerie house based in Paris, DELMA Parfums joins the PlanèteBeauty catalogue with its extrait Crème d'Ivoire, signed by Dominique Preyssas.
Delma, after “Alma”
The house’s name draws on alma, “soul” in Spanish. For DELMA, a perfume works like Proust’s madeleine: in a fraction of a second, it awakens a memory and rekindles a moment one thought was lost. The house says it creates fragrances “designed to touch the soul”, which seek not only to smell good but to tie perfume, emotion and memory together. Its motto takes four words in French: l’émotion avant les mots — emotion before words.
Crème d'Ivoire, an artisanal ice cream turned into perfume
Dominique Preyssas imagined it as an exceptional iced treat. The opening brings together sweet almond, pistachio and a note of ice cream. The heart settles Madagascar vanilla, almond blossom and ylang-ylang, lifted by a touch of Sri Lankan cinnamon leaf. The base, smooth and unctuous, pairs vanilla absolute, white chocolate shavings, tonka bean and Australian sandalwood. The house places it in the floral gourmand family.
“I imagined an exceptional iced treat, like an artisanal ice cream in which every note melts with precision and delicacy. An intimate, enveloping vanilla embraces the skin, while the pistachio cream brings a generous gourmandise, heightened by the sunlit radiance of Madagascar ylang.” — Dominique Preyssas
The name speaks of the texture sought: a delicate cream, “like a caress of cashmere on the skin”, and ivory for light and purity.
Materials whose origin is known
DELMA Parfums publishes precise commitments on three materials in Crème d'Ivoire. For the Australian sandalwood, at least ten seeds are replanted for every tree harvested. The Madagascar ylang-ylang comes from a Fair For Life certified supply chain that supports local producers. The Sri Lankan cinnamon leaf is grown without pesticides or synthetic fertilisers. The house states that a large share of its raw materials comes from organic farming, and the perfume is made in France.
The bottle
The faceted bottle wears a stepped gold cap set on a chiselled collar, and an ivory label stamped with the house monogram. It comes in a white box embossed with waves, bearing the same monogram.
Who is Crème d'Ivoire for?
For those who love creamy gourmands without crushing sweetness: almond and pistachio bring freshness, vanilla and tonka bean bring roundness, sandalwood a soft hold. It is a unisex perfume, made for autumn and winter. Our guide to olfactory families helps place a floral gourmand, and our article on what the percentages really say explains what the word “extrait” covers.
DELMA Parfums at PlanèteBeauty
- DELMA PARFUMS Crème d'Ivoire Extrait de Parfum 100 ml — floral gourmand, by Dominique Preyssas
Crème d'Ivoire exists as a Try Me 2 ml: an extrait is chosen on skin, and a sample costs less than the wrong bottle. The house is on the DELMA Parfums page.
Sources: DELMA Parfums official site — the “Notre histoire” and “Nos engagements” pages and the Crème d'Ivoire product page. The notes and the perfumer’s name are reproduced as they appear there; the quotation is translated from the French. No wear time is stated here, in line with our editorial rule.