Miu Miu excels at transforming everyday clothing into something exceptional—and highly desirable. In designerMiuccia Prada’sHands, a rugby shirt evolves into a sophisticated wardrobe essential. Ballet flats take on a punk edge with buckles and studs, while miniskirts become even shorter, sparking conversations about female sexuality and debates on ageism. This month, the brand tries the same approach with its new fragrance, Miu Miu Beauty Miutine eau de parfum—the first scent from the fashion house since it partnered with the L’Oréal Group in 2024 and officially returned to the beauty market. An unusual take on theyummy gourmandwith hints of strawberry and brown sugar, Miutine aims to capture all the same codes of the fashion house:age agnosticbold, thoughtful, and unconventional, energetic in essence but enduring in its form and style.
$172.00
Shop Now
If you’re familiar with the beauty industry, it’s no shock that Miu Miu is reviving its perfume line with a sweet-scented fragrance. Anolfactive categoryCharacterized by food-related notes, typically associated with desserts, gourmand fragrances are among the most approachable scents available and are certainly the most sought after, particularly among a new wave of perfume enthusiasts. The evidence can be found in the numbers—specifically, data gathered by Spate, a data analytics firm focused on the beauty industry. As of May this year, Google searches for “gourmand fragrances” increased by 85.9 percent compared to 2024, while TikTok experienced a rise of 179.1 percent year-over-year, averaging 17.9 million weekly views.
Beyond commercial potential, gourmands—like the schoolgirl skirts and bag charms Miu Miu has showcased on the runway—provide the brand with a chance to transform a category typically viewed as cute and trivial into something daring and fashionable. To achieve this, they partnered with Dominique Ropion, the renowned French perfumer known for crafting olfactory masterpieces such asFrederic Malle Carnal Flower, Viktor & Rolf Flowerbomb, and Thierry Mugler Alien.
Ropion’s task was to develop a fragrance that embodied the Miu Miu world and its spirit of playfulness, carefree nature, andjoyful femininity, yet do so while maintaining a sense of sophistication. “When we think of something youthful and cheerful, fruit and indulgent fragrances immediately come to mind,” Ropion says.Bazaar.His favorite edible notes for Miutine? At the top, Mara des Bois strawberry, a French type of berry known for its intense taste and scent; in the base, warm brown sugar and enticing amber-like notes. “The challenge, however, was to develop a scent that had this cheerful effect but still felt sophisticated, as fruit notes like banana andstrawberryare enjoyable, but they aren’t always refined,” he adds.
The perfumer addressed this problem in two different approaches. Firstly, he incorporated gardenia into the heart of Miutine, a component that shares a comparable molecular structure with the Mara des Bois strawberry and amplifies its green characteristics. “That marked the start of my work,” explains Ropion, “to merge the two worlds—the freshness of the flower and the juicy, jammy nature of the fruit.” His following action was to create a classic fragrance framework around the berry note, including jasmine absolute, Turkish rose oil, moss, and patchouli, resulting in what is known in the perfume industry as a chypre.
It’s this chypre structure that transforms Miutine from an average gourmand fragrance into a scent that fits perfectly within the Miu Miu world. Recognized for introducing conflict into a fragrance, thanks to its mix of fresh, vibrant top notes and deep, earthy base notes, chypre is considered the most stylish and enigmatic of the olfactory families, as per perfumers—and that’s precisely what it contributes to Miutine. “It adds power, contrast, and tension to the blend,” says Ropion. It serves as a stable and serious balance to the fruity, sweet notes.
What does Miutine smell like? Upon first application, it resembles warm homemade strawberry jam. (Ropion incorporated an extract of black currant into the synthetic strawberry accord to achieve an authentic scent.) The floral and woody elements introduce an earthy aspect that prevents the fragrance from feeling purely like a baked treat, even with its base infused with brown sugar. Eventually, the patchouli and amber notes become dominant, wrapping your skin in a captivating warmth that shines like the light reflecting off the perfume’s toffee-hued bottle.
Actor Emma CorrinThe face of the fragrance, Miutine, says it reminds them of summer: “It has those floral and fruity notes, like strawberry and gardenia, but also this vanilla-like warmth, so it’s something you can wear all year round.” After collaborating with Miu Miu for almost ten years, Corrin says they are proud to be selected for the brand’s new beauty initiative. “The core values of Miu Miu are very much about self-expression and uniqueness, which really connects with me,” they mention. “This fragrance, along with the campaign created around it, truly captures that, which is wonderful.”
Although Ropion claims he didn’t draw inspiration from a particular runway show or garment while designing Miutine, he successfully captured the elements that have contributed to Miu Miu’s success on the runway and transformed them into a fragrance. You experience the delight, the sophistication, and the mysterious historical allusions. It is as versatile as the brand’s practical jackets and as distinctive as its unusual patterns—and it is certain to become the perfect accent for any outfit, whether you identify as a “Miu Miu girl” or not.
In French, miutinemeans “rebel.” We would refer to it as a tremendous achievement. And considering that the brand is only just beginning again.
