MEET THE FUTURE
From Chanel No.5 to Le Labo Santal 33, the fragrance world is awash with cult favourites. But what’s next? We take a whiff of the up-and-coming scents that’ll soon be everywhere
Just scroll through #perfume on TikTok and you’ll notice a theme behind the videos that have amassed a staggering 3.3 billion views.
A longside titles like ‘the only perfume that made me literally gasp when
I first smelled it’ and even ‘perfumes that make his knees weak’, we’re seeing scents like Glossier’s You, Le Labo’s Santal 33 and Maison Francis Kurkdjian’s Baccarat Rouge crop up over and over again.
Nowadays, dominating a TikTok hashtag has become the cultural accolade fragrance brands need if they want a new perfume to cut through the competition and achieve bestseller buzz.
But what makes these perfumes appeal to the masses and become hashtagworthy? When we asked Francis Kurkdjian why Baccarat Rouge is so universally loved, he told us: ‘It’s contemporary, yet there’s a timeless feeling to it. The trail is very unique and remains recognisable among any other fragrance.’
Unique, but recognisable. It’s no new phenomenon in the fragrance industry – we’ve seen it with iconic perfumes of the past. Take Dior’s J’Adore for instance. Launched in 1999, it’s still the brand’s bestselling scent today, counting Charlize Theron and Kate Winslet as fans.
Meanwhile, Chanel recently celebrated No.5’s 100th birthday, collecting a pack of celebrity devotees along the way.
Marilyn Monroe once famously said she wore nothing but Chanel No.5 to bed, while Nicole Kidman, Lily-Rose Depp and even Brad Pitt all love it.
So, yes, while it seems obvious, the actual smell itself is an important factor (to quote our generation’s Socrates, Cher Horowitz: ‘duh’). But, interestingly, what we want from each spritz has changed, thanks to – you guessed it, the pandemic. ‘Post-pandemic, we’ve seen the emergence of dopamine beauty products,’ says Clare Varga, head of beauty at trend forecaster WGSN. ‘Brands are exploring the link between the olfactory and limbic (emotional response) systems, creating new scents that elevate mood or calm and reduce anxiety.’
We’ve always known that perfumes have the power to transport us back to certain memories and, with it come all of the emotions we felt at that specific time. When I entered a long-distance relationship, Diptyque’s Fleur de Peau was a staple during special holidays and airport reunions – and just one sniff is enough to fill me with the same happiness and comfort I felt back then. So, it makes sense that we’d rely on our olfactory experiences for a mood pick-me-up. ‘Floral fragrance notes that include ingredients such as lavender and jasmine will help to relax and reduce stress, whereas other flo
