So 2024 is behind us.
Any door that closes leaves me with mixed feelings. If, like me, you are smitten with all things perfume-related, I hope it was a year full of intriguing scent discoveries, as well as a year of personal happiness. Looking forward, for anyone who follows the news, 2025 is likely to be quite an unpredictable year. But let’s try to stay positive, cross our fingers and focus on what we can enjoy. If I have one resolution for 2025, apart from my usual promises to self to exercise more and adopt a series of healthier habits, it would be to enjoy each moment and live in the present.
All new beginnings start with an assessment of what has happened before.
In terms of perfume buying, 2024 was a pretty slow year for me. I can count on one hand the perfumes I have bought. Believe me, that’s unusual for me. I think it is the year when perfume price hikes finally caught up with me. Nowadays, any commercial perfume sold at Sephora is around the 130 eur mark for 100ml. They seem cheaper at first glance because there has been a multiplication of smaller “travel” formats (10 or 30 ml bottles) that cost in the range of 30 to 60 eur. So you feel like you are buying a bottle of perfume at a reasonable price but it means that those formats cost, if you look at the price per ml ratio, 300 eur for 100ml. And this for commercial or designer brands like Kayali, YSL, Lancôme, etc.!
So, if this is the situation for designer brands, you can image what happens in the designer’s exclusive lines or niche brands. Exclusivity requires them to increase their prices to mark the difference between them and more “affordable” offerings. For instance, Dior’s “La Collection Privée” changed all of its bottle formats a few days ago and the smallest size is now 50 ml and costs 175 eur, (it was, until last month, 40 ml for 130 eur!), the 100 ml (instead of 125 ml) costs 265 eur and the biggest format is 200 ml (instead of 250 ml) and sets you back 400 eur. Chanel’s “Les Exclusifs” range is similarly priced and will (according to industry sources) also introduce shortly smaller 30 ml travel size bottles. So increased prices and smaller bottles which allows brands to still target “middle class income” customers.
Another trend that I have seen, also linked to packaging, is the change to refillable bottles. Niche and “all natural” perfume brands such a “Voyages Imaginaires” and “Floratropia” have been offering refills since their inception a few years ago while the trailblazer Thierry Mugler has been for decades offering in-store perfume fountains to refill bottles at Sephora stores. But this was, until recently, still a marginal trend in the perfume world. Things are starting to change though. I was at the exclusive retail store “La Rinascente” in Rome two days ago and Hermes was having a sale of their Exclusive Line Hermenessence. Hermes is NEVER on sale! I asked why and the sales associate told me all their bottles from that line will be replaced by refillable formats. No doubt at a higher price point. So anyway, prices will increase again in 2025 and I may have stick to buying samples!
Let’s look at my perfume purchases in 2024.
Towards the end of the year, I bought a sample set of the new brand “Bienaimé”, a historic brand that was recently revived and features exquisite packaging. I found their perfumes a bit underwhelming though. (by the way, as per the previous comment about trends, they also offer refill options). I think that for any historic brand, it’s a delicate balance between preserving their heritage and making perfumes people want to buy and wear. Unfortunately, Bienaimé’s entire line has an undercurrent of talcum powder and violet notes that feel, at least to my nose, cheap. The only perfume I liked was their masculine-marketed cologne, Monsieur Bienaimé. So not a brand for me.
In terms of new releases, let’s see first what I tried but did not buy:
I smelled the new Balmain perfume collection called “Les Éternels” inspired by the brand’s historic fragrances. To be fair, I only sampled them in passing but they did not impress me much (the new version of the iconic perfume Vent Vert was a bit disappointing in my humble opinion. Instead of the original bitter green scent it is now a pleasant crunchy fruity experience. Not bad but wholly unremarkable). I also tried the new Hermes scent, Barenia. It was pleasant and had a distinct chypre feel which I am partial to. But it didn’t really make a strong impression I am afraid. I have to give it a proper try and report back with a more in-depth review. I obviously also tried the new Chanel scent, Comète, but let’s say I was not tempted to part with 230 eur for a small bottle. I tried the new Celine release, Zouzou, which was far too cotton candy-like and sweet for me..
In the Guerlain “l’Art et la Matière” Collection, I sampled the new Patchouli Paris. (What a daft name may I say?). I found it unexpectedly brutal. By the way, I think Patchouli is really having a bit of moment, which I am very happy about. So, well done for not going the obvious route, but it did not seduce me in the least. Again, to be fair, I should give it a proper testing. I did though add a Guerlain from that line to my collection: For my 50th birthday, I received as a present Guerlain’s Bois d’Armenie, a lovely benzoin, incense and iris scent, which has since then been discontinued. It’s beautiful but possibly not incredibly original.
So what did I buy? I guess FOMO (fear of missing out) is really what motivated my purchases in 2024:
At Esxence in March I bought Fath’s Iris de Fath (the eau de parfum version), as I managed to snap it at a reasonable price. It’s beautiful although not so easy to wear but if you are interested in iris scents you need to smell it, if only for its historic significance. A rich, rooty, woody iris wrapped in a cocoon of peach cream. In May I bought the “cheapy” mimosa scent Belle de Grasse by Fragonard. I think if you want a straight forward mimosa you could do far worse.
The brand “Edition de Parfum Frederic Malle” had quite a complicated year in 2024 with its founder leaving and I have to say I have my doubts as to where the brand is going. Anyway, given the sleuth of perfume name changes and reformulations, as well as threats of discontinuations, I insisted on being gifted Une Fleur de Cassie, which is brilliant but hard to wear.. I could not bear the idea of this scent just disappearing. I also got small travel size bottles of Synthetic Jungle and Rose et Cuir to scratch my itch for green/bitter scents.
Finally I bought Diptyque’s Eau Plurielle, a simple but lovely rose water scent which will be discontinued soon.
What perfume discoveries would I like to make in 2025? In terms of visits, I would like to go the Lorenzo Villoresi Perfume Museum in Florence, which includes what they call an Osmorama, a scent library with a large collection of modern and ancient perfume ingredients. I would also like to visit in Venice to explore the connection between the Serenissima and perfume, which, as a bridge between the Orient and the West seems like a fundamental place to explore. Finally, I would like to attend the Paris Perfume Week in March and possibly take the opportunity to visit the Osmothèque in Versailles, a very old dream of mine.
In terms of brands, I have my eyes on individual brands such as House of Puente, Astier de Vilatte’s historic perfumes, and the “recently revived brand “Maison Violet”. I would very much like to explore some of the Chinese perfume brands that you don’t get in Europe, but don’t really know how to get my hands on them.. Will report back when I can.
I might go to the UK in which case I would like to explore local artisanal brands such as Perfumer H and Jorum Studium. Again, will report back if this happens!
So lots to smell and explore in 2025. Can’t wait to hear what your planned scent discoveries are…
Happy 2025!
