Top perfume trends spotted at TFWA 2024 (on and off show)

Fruit still extremely trendy

The wave of fruity notes we observed at the Esxence show last March is still on, six months later. No doubt this craze is related to their cheerful, colourful spirit: a welcome dose of optimism in times of crisis! But it is also due to the innovations developed by perfume companies (headspace, dsm-firmenich’s Firgood extractions, Symrise’s Symtrap, upcycling), which give fruit a more natural feel, just like the AromaSpaces (mango, strawberry, guava, Williams pear), which CPL Aromas showcased aside the show.

Cultivating new taste possibilities

Creators keep exploring gourmand flavours with savoury, roasted or cereal nuances...

Also in vogue for some years now, coffee offers interesting taste facets. In Caron’s Oud Excelsa, it adds a creamy touch to oud wood. Its dark, intense notes contrast with the vibrant freshness of cardamom, chiselling out effects of light and shadow in Kawa Karda by Ateliers des Ors, one of the two extracts from the new Collection Abstraction. The other opus, Cocoa Kimiya, contrasts the fiery notes of cardamom with the richness of cocoa, another trendy taste note. It is found in the latest creation by Maison Violet, Pour Rêver, where its bitterness balances the roundness of vanilla, outlined with rum, iris, and wood. The structure is topped with a marron glacé chord, in keeping with the nut trend.

Cocoa also found its place in the 502 Iris Cartagena composition, the latest creation by Bon Parfumeur, where it marries iris and rum in a dry, sweet chord.

Liqueur notes are not to be outdone either. Other than rum, whisky was used in a number of post-summer launches, such as Dandy by Penhaligon’s, or Old Fashioned (By Kilian), where it is combined with wheat bran absolute, another trendy ingredient allowing cereal facets to be explored. Rum and davana beautify the brioche-orange blossom chord in Story of Your Life, État Libre d’Orange’s latest launch. This launch is in line with the wave of neo-gourmands (bread, brioche, madeleine, etc.), as it plays with bitter cocoa and wood to soften its roundness. Lastly, Versatile took the discovery of new taste territories a step further with La Foncedalle. This creation by Margaux Le Paih-Guérin (Flair) offers notes of “beer, weed, and roast chicken”.

The renewal of oud wood

If agarwood has been a staple since the 2010s wave, it has been replaced by creamy, comforting chords since the health crisis. This year, though, I felt that oud wood was widely present at the show. It revealed itself in a lighter, airier light. Brands and perfumers now select less animal-like essences, topped with fresh or fruity notes, to chisel out “white” oud. I am thinking in particular of Oud in White, a creation by Julien Rasquinet for Laboratorio Olfattivo, which blends agarwood with floral and fruity nuances. Then, there is also Air Oud by Oh Top, which enhances the famous wood with a “clean” facet and orange blossom. And when it does not marry fresher notes, oud becomes more velvety, like in Oud Ghazal by Edeniste, a delicate oud with dark, syrupy, fruity accents. Caron’s Aquilaria Crassna oud, a less animal-like variety than others, embraces the creamy texture of a CO2 coffee extract.

And when talking about oud, one cannot but mention the Middle East. This market is fond of perfume and fine materials, and it remains highly attractive to brands. For example, 100 Bon unveiled L’Atelier, a new collection with oriental influences. And the creators of the Alexandre J brand have announced the launch of an Arabic brand, Hajine. There were more brands from the Arabian peninsula at this year’s show.

Ranges enriched with extracts

In contrast to the recently trendy creamy skin perfumes, the public is also looking for opulent, long-lasting fragrances. This quest for intensity is prompting brands to develop perfume extracts, whether they be new or more powerful version of best-sellers.

Beyond higher concentrations, the launch of an extract also unveils a perfume’s new facets. Recent examples include the collection of extracts by Matière Première, and the “Perle” versions of Gardénia, Le Lys Noir, and La Route d’Emeraude by (Isabey). Ormaie now offers two extracts, Yvonne and Toï Toï Toï, which revisit the original perfume’s DNA. Une Nuit Nomade unveiled a pretty range of Extraits de Voyage, where a review of Jardins de Misfah sits alongside two new fragrances in their own right. The same approach was used by Bon Parfumeur (502, 107 and 602), Essential Parfums, with the Bois Impérial extract, and D’Orsay (Flower Lust, Tonka Hysteria, and Incense Crush). Other brands are expected to follow this trend next year.

In the same logic of range extension, some perfume companies have been turning their best-sellers into hair mists, body creams, and hand creams.

These strong trends are reflected in the launches that punctuated the post-summer season in Paris. However, many brands present at the Cannes show preferred to wait a few months before introducing new products. Indeed, the Esxence show was brought forward to February 2025, shortening the interval between the two events. To be continued...