It’s a good time to be shopping for fragrance. The category is exploding — it’s partly due to TikTok, but also the current financial climate and a phenomenon known as ‘the lipstick effect’ which is quickly becoming ‘the perfume effect’.
The lipstick effect has historically shown that women turn to smaller luxuries, such as lipstick, to treat themselves in times of economic downturn. But instead of makeup, people are buying up perfume. It lets us tap into a luxury brand experience, while also leaning into self expression. The way we smell in the world says a lot about our taste and stylistic preferences. It can also be wonderfully comforting.
Because of this growth, brands are also getting really creative when it comes to new launches. Whether it’s an old classic that’s been made modern, a new collection, an edgy note profile or a brand you’ve never heard of, there’s so many ways to smell good right now, it’s almost overwhelming. But I’ve done the research, and curated the best new scent-related news for you here.
A new kind of Rose from Tom Ford
Tom Ford doesn’t do fragrance in halves, and Rose Exposed is an evolution of Rose Prick. Gender neutral and more smoky than floral, it tempers leather with rose water and rose absolute. Imagine a real rose, wrapped in a bouquet of leather.
More roses, this time from Jo Malone
If you prefer the classics, you’ll love Taif Rose Cologne Intense from Jo Malone London. This scent is new but limited edition, so if it sounds like your thing, don’t sleep on it. Its first and foremost a rose scent, but with jammy sweetness. It’s sensual, rich and feminine.
A meditative scent from Vyrao that’s based on neuroscience
Vyrao is set for big things in 2025 — I think it will lift the entire ‘functional’ fragrance category. Mamajuju is based in neuroscience, an energising fragrance with the power to shift your frequency. Scent-wise, it marries the warmth of saffron, cumin, nutmeg with wet clay and rum — it’s sweet and Earthy, like the soil after summer rain. It’s charged with a crystal, and claims to help with grounding and awareness.
A CHANEL No. 5 you can wear as jewellery
Just before Christmas, CHANEL made all our dreams come true with this limited purse-sized No. 5 atomiser that doubles as a bag charm. I have a feeling that fragrance as a visible accessory will gain traction as the year progresses.
The beginning (and end?) of Mathieu Blazy’s Bottega
On that note, we now know that Blazy is leaving Bottega Veneta for CHANEL. We also know that not long ago, he released his debut scented collection for the Italian house. Sometimes, creative and artistic directors take their fragrance portfolio with them. Things might also shift when Louise Trotter moves in. Nothing is confirmed, but I assume this collection will be the first and last under his creative direction (and it’s just beautiful, I love Déjà Minuit). On another note, I can’t wait to see what he does at CHANEL…
A Diptyque collection inspired by coral, water lily and mother of pearl…
Diptyque rarely moves from its signature oval bottle, but Les Essences de Diptyque serves up a new look and a new collection of fragrances. There’s five in the lineup, all inspired by natural materials: coral, pearl, bark, water lily and desert rose. My pick is Rose Roche, a woody, mineral rose that smells more like the desert than it does a garden. Also, notice the oval in the centre of the rectangular flacon… a special nod to its original shape.
Byredo’s first and only new fragrance all year…
Byredo don’t launch new scents very often, so Desert Dawn is a big deal. It’s not inspired by the desert in a literal sense, instead it’s about an internal landscape one can tap into to inspire creativity or special ideas (a thoughtful nod to the idea of ‘dawn’, sunrise or breakthrough). It’s dry, spicy and boyish, made up of sandalwood, cedarwood, cardamom, rose, vetiver and papyrus.
The original Maison Francis Kurkdjian fragrance is back and it smells like skin…
When people think of Maison Francis Kurkdjian, they think of Baccarat Rouge, but A Part Of Me, or APOM, was one of his earliest blockbusters. Originally launched back in 2009 as a male female duo, the new scent is a merger of the two. It’s an ambery, flowery, fougère kind of perfume — one that feels familiar when you wear it, even if you’re only trying it for the first time. It’s a Baccarat Rouge antithesis in the best possible way; one for the minimalists among us.
Estée Lauder’s Legacy fragrance line has been updated by the man who gave us Portrait of a Lady…
Estée Lauder’s work in fragrance changed the industry and consumer behaviour — she pioneered some of the best-selling scents of all time and encouraged women to buy perfume for themselves (and not receive it as a gift). You’ll know the names that make up her Legacy collection: White Linen, Knowing, Estée… but what you might not know is that they’ve recently been reimagined by Frederic Malle. Known as a ‘perfume editor’, Malle recently departed his eponymous brand to work on other projects, namely the reinvention of these Lauder classics. Malle is the name behind modern masterpieces like Carnal Flower and Portrait of a Lady, so you know this update is going to be good. My pick is Azurée, a refined, sexy interpretation of warm skin under the Mediterranean sun.
The niche French brand everyone is about to be wearing…
If you haven’t heard of Maison Louis Marie, put it on your radar. The brand story starts with Louis Marie Aubert du Petit Thouars, a French botanist and Académie des Sciences member who pioneered the study of plant specimens. Some 200 years on, Marie du Petit Thouars took her family history and intricate knowledge of plants and turned it into a luxury niche perfume house. Pre perfume, Marie also worked as the style editor at the London Sunday Times, and a fine art photographer, so the brand has a chicness about it that’s hard to ignore. While each scent is really beautiful I love Bois de Ballencourt. It’s inspired by the Petit Thouars family home, and the surrounding forest (one walk in particular, affectionately referred to as ‘lover’s lane’). It’s Earthy and woody: cinnamon, cedar and vetiver.
A boutique Australian fragrance that smells like Aurora Australis…
Australian fragrance brands often fall into the beachy category but Goldfield & Banks couldn’t be cooler. Mystic Bliss is the olfactive interpretation of a starry night sky in Tasmania: powdery, incense, a little bit witchy. It’s made using 25% botanical essences (fun fact, the brand formulate in a way to withstand Australian humidity), including notes like native kunzea, mint, clary sage, caramel and orris. It’s really, really delicious.
Images: Le Labo, Byredo
