More than 2,000 new perfumes were launched all around the world in 2016, a high figure that mirrors the progress observed over the past few years. Among them, 41% come from niche perfumery, and 34% from the selective network – a significant shift since 2015. It should also be highlighted that the share of women and men’s perfumes is declining, to the advantage of the “mixed” or “non-positioned” types typical of niche perfumery, which has become the prevailing genre: it now represents 43% of the offering, compared to 17% in 2006.
Fern and floral women’s perfumes are back
Isabelle Ferrand observes that men’s fragrance trails “are reaching new power heights.” “Along with the family of Woody fragrances, which prevails, the Fern family is making a strong comeback, but more like a sub-family. Without being dominant, it appears like a hint behind woody or oriental bases. The Hesperides family is losing ground, but citrus fruit still remain easily perceptible as top notes.”
Women’s fragrances are mainly classified in the Floral family, for 72% of perfumes, followed by the Oriental family, 13%. There is even a tendency to make hybrid fragrances with the Oriental family: the term “Floriental” is now increasingly used. As for “non-positioned” perfumes, which should now be considered a determining category on the market, the families ranked at the top are Floral (36%) and Woody perfumes (31%). “In the future, I bet Woody fragrances will boom among women’s perfumes,” explains Isabelle Ferrand, always on the look-out for weak signals.
Rose, Iris and Patchouli
The rose remains the queen, as it is claimed by many brands. Iris is also used regularly in olfactory compositions, and more surprisingly, in the new Cartier fragrance for men: L’Envol. Isabelle Ferrand also emphasizes the fact that patchouli is settling as the new flagship ingredient of the year.
Sweet and savoury
Isabelle Ferrand has noticed more and more savoury bases in perfumery, which has opened to exclusive influences with cannabis, caviar, buckwheat, algae, rain, chestnut, champagne, or wasabi notes… As for the sweet flavours, pear notes are gaining ground, and sweet notes like honey, coffee, or crème brûlée remain well-positioned.
Couples in perfumery
“This year, the phenomenon to pay attention to is that of perfume couples. Think about Zadig et Voltaire, who have launched their men-women duo at the same time, or about the simultaneous launch of One Million and Lady Million as a Privé version, or how Jean-Paul Gaultier has put Mâle and Classique closer together. Given all these recent daring campaigns, we can imagine heterosexual couples will soon no longer be a reference to launch a perfume couple,” Isabelle Ferrand anticipates. To be continued in 2017.
