top sellers: 21 posts

Niche Perfume for Autumn: Ambers, Vanillas, Woods, and the Art of Discovery

Нішеві парфуми для осені (українська версія)

As summer fades and September approaches, my perfume shelf tilts toward warmth, depth, and resonance. Autumn is the season when I crave perfumes with substance—scents that wrap like a shawl or glow like candlelight. It’s also the perfect time to discover something new, so I selected a variety of niche fragrances. Some perfumes mentioned are best-sellers in their category, others are less well-known outside the scent lover circle. They sit comfortably alongside classics and even layer well with them.

Ambers & Resins

Amber is a shape-shifter. It can glow like sunlight caught in silk, or it can brood like incense in a shadowed chapel. For autumn, I always think first of Serge Lutens Ambre Sultan, the quintessential amber. Its bold resinous profile set the modern standard, and it remains the point of reference when speaking about ambers. Around it, these newer ambers offer fresh interpretations:

Parfumerie Générale L’Ombre Fauve: the sensuality of warm fur and smoke, created out of incense, spices and patchouli.

Meo Fusciuni L’Oblio: a perfume that reads like a poem, ambered iris tinged with melancholy.

Maison Francis Kurkdjian Oud Satin Mood: a cashmere wrap of violet petals and amber, with just enough oud to make it dramatic.

What is amber in perfumery? Learn here.

Continue reading →

Popular Brands and Perfumes of 2020

For those who like lists and rankings, I have a little treat today courtesy of the Cosmetify Index, a service that ranks the most searched for and followed beauty brands around the world. The Cosmetify Index was created in 2019 to see how brands engage with social media and also how consumers respond to new launches. The newest index tracked searches and engagement in 2020, assessing the impact of the pandemic on beauty and fragrance sales.

The Cosmetify Index also tracks which brands are popular in which country, so you can glean fascinating information like Russia being a Jo Malone country, while China favors Estée Lauder. Yves Rocher rules in France, Italy, and Spain, while Rituals holds court in Germany, Scandinavian countries, and unexpectedly, Angola and Bhutan. The Indian subcontinent is united in its love for The Body Shop, although Nepal prefers Dove. And so on. Of course, these are the macrotrends and generalizations, but all trend reports are bird’s-eye-view snapshots.

Continue reading →

Top Selling Fragrances in France 2014

As the last of the Christmas sales are tallied up, consumer research groups are sending in their numbers and preparing their lists of top selling perfumes in 2014. In many ways, it was a year that brought some surprises and at the same time ensured that some trends won’t be going away. For instance, despite the breathless proclamations of forecasting agencies last year, there are no signs that the gourmand trend is giving way to woods and chypres. The best selling perfume of the year in France is an extra sweet blend of caramel and cotton candy. But at the same time, the list contains incense accented blend of woods and a powdery floral.

shalimar

The information comes from NPD Group and it was shared by ChallengeS, a French weekly. ChallengeS focuses on economic topics, so if you read French, please follow the link to learn what the new constellation of best sellers means for the French perfume market and L’Oréal in particular.

Top Selling Perfumes USA : Snapshot 2013

Top Selling Perfumes France 2012

Top Selling Perfumes USA : Popular Fragrances Spring 2012

Top Selling Feminine Fragrances 2011 USA

Top Selling Feminine Fragrances for 2010 USA

Top Selling Feminine Fragrances for 2010 France

Top Selling Masculine Fragrances 2010 USA

10. Flower by Kenzo (2000)

Soft and powdery, alternating between floral and musky notes, Flower is an intriguing perfume. It has a gentle personality, but its presence is distinctive and enveloping.

Continue reading →

Top Selling Perfumes USA : Snapshot 2013

As I recently sat through a fragrance forecasting presentation, I was busy jotting down notes to share with you. Who would have guessed that American men are getting more and more into perfume? Sales of men’s fragrance have increased by 6 percent in the first quarter of 2013 as compared to last year. Of course, it might also mean that more women are buying perfume for their friends and family. But on the other hand, 40% of males between the ages of 18-65 don’t use any fragrance at all (a higher fraction than in Europe).

perfume-store-diptyque

Top Selling Perfumes USA : Popular Fragrances Spring 2012

Top Selling Feminine Fragrances 2011 USA

Top Selling Feminine Fragrances for 2010 USA

Top Selling Feminine Fragrances for 2010 France

Top Selling Masculine Fragrances 2010 USA

When it comes to women’s shopping habits, the NDP Group reports that US perfume wearers are enamored with cologne. Sales of women’s colognes, particularly from niche brands, have increased by 4% in the first three months of 2013. Sales in the florals and floral orientals families were fairly flat, while marine and oriental genres appear more popular.

Continue reading →

Chanel Chance, Eau Fraiche and Eau Tendre : Fragrance Reviews

33333

Perfumer Jacques Polge has authored or co-authored so many of my favorite Chanel fragrances (Beige, Coromandel, Cristalle Eau de Parfum, Coco) that it always pains me to admit that he has also authored my least-favorite Chanel scent, Chance.  Chance always smells to me as if a brand of lesser and striving quality decided to make something “à la Chanel” in style and came up with Chance.

I understand where marketing was going with this scent—that extremely lucrative twenty-something market must be addressed and not with No. 5.  In its fruit, vanilla, and patchouli trope Chance has the ingredients to appeal to this younger market and from that marketing standpoint Chance was a smart idea indeed; the scent does sell and sell well. I smell it on young girls in the mall, their hair swinging and their limbs tanned, and it doesn’t smell any better to me on them than it does on me.

Continue reading →

As Seen On

Design by cre8d
© Copyright 2005-2026 Bois de Jasmin. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy