Latest news with #PerfumeTok
Mint
11-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Mint
TikTok is changing the perfume business
TO SMELL LIKE 'generational wealth", wear Louis Vuitton. One of Glossier's perfumes will stop a runner in his tracks. A bottle by Phlur will give you chills and make you cry. These endorsements come not from starlets in tv adverts, but from social-media users. 'This actually made me go buy it," reads a typical comment, this one with 19,000 likes. Fragrance may be the smallest category in the beauty sector, but it is growing fast. McKinsey, a consultancy, reckons that global sales will reach $106bn by 2028, an increase of $30bn from 2023. Fragrance's growth is projected to outpace that of makeup, haircare and skincare. Social media are driving this boom. TikTok is particularly influential: in 2023 two-thirds of Gen-Z Americans told Circana, a research firm, that the short-video app had influenced their fragrance-buying habits more than any other platform. Beauty is by far the bestselling segment on TikTok Shop, the platform's e-commerce feature. Bottles that go viral on #PerfumeTok are quickly snatched off shelves. Fragrance aficionados are driving trends as well as sales. Many point their followers not to luxury offerings from major fashion houses, but mid-range perfumes that 'smell expensive". Others recommend 'niche" scents made by small, independent brands. How you smell, these videos imply, should require as much thought as how you look. Interest is growing in unexpected quarters. More than half of teenage boys in America surveyed by Piper Sandler, a bank, said they spritzed themselves every day, an increase of ten percentage points in two years. On average boys spent $110 annually on fragrance in 2024—up from $75 the year before—and compared with $93 spent by girls. This is due to 'smellmaxxing", a social-media trend whereby boys trade tips on how to smell fresh, seductive or musky. For a time, the industry had a stale whiff about it. Some 15 years ago Jean-Claude Ellena, then the perfumer for Hermès and a celebrated 'nose", bemoaned that concentration in the industry—which is dominated by four firms—had resulted in bland uniformity: 'Forms have become similar, and the unique is rare." He felt that artisanal products were the key to perfumes' future as 'objects of desire". That was prescient. What Mr Ellena could not have anticipated was the role social media would play in encouraging consumers to experiment. Aficionados assemble 'scent wardrobes" rather than pledge fealty to one product. Influencers show off shelves artfully arranged with dozens of bottles. Subscription services, which deliver samples monthly, are also taking off. 'Gen Z wants variety, they want collections," observes Jake Levy, a co-founder of Stéle, a perfume shop which has two sites in New York. Mr Levy says that the average spend in the Manhattan branch is around $500, as customers scoop up several bottles in a visit. 'The only people who want signature fragrances are over 60," he sniffs. That perfume resonates on a noseblind internet may seem puzzling. But the digital realm has long been a place for collectors to discover, discuss and compare wares. Before TikTok, perfume-lovers uploaded videos to YouTube; some wrote about their favourite bottles in newsletters. Many still use a creaky website called Fragrantica, seemingly unchanged since its launch in 2007, to rate perfumes. In their attempts to describe specific smells, users have fun with floral language. (A review of Pure Poison by Dior, for instance, conjures the image of 'Snow White's long-decayed deceased body laying in a wooden casket in the forest at her forgotten-about funeral".) Today an 80,000-strong group of 'Fragrantica Warriors" on X discuss how to smell like everything from cookies to credit cards. Perfume is intoxicating because smells are highly evocative. A scent can be aspirational: Mr Levy says young women in their 20s ask to smell like an 'opulent old lady". Smells bring back memories, too. Buyers seek out the scent of freshly cut grass, for instance. Some simply marvel at perfumers' ability to recreate particular odours. Mr Levy offers a scent reminiscent of cat urine. 'Believe it or not," he says, 'we sell the hell out of that one." For more on the latest books, films, TV shows, albums and controversies, sign up to Plot Twist, our weekly subscriber-only newsletter
The Guardian
01-07-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
‘Smellmaxxing' and ‘frag heads': how the gen Z perfume boom came up roses for indie brands
'Will the girl who I just met at the perfume store please comment the perfume you recommended,' wrote Chappell Roan on Instagram last month. 'You said it smelled like lipstick.' The post went viral and the scent – Girl of the Year by the Los Angeles perfume house Thin Wild Mercury – instantly sold out. It's hard to think of a more appropriate perfume for the performer. The house describes it as having 'top notes of lipstick and incense; middle notes of 'smoker's leather jacket' and a base of sandalwood, orris root and vintage fur'. The brand – whose name is culled from a Bob Dylan quote – is one of a growing set of perfumers reinventing scent for new fragrance fans. Like bedroom DJs or T-shirt screen-printers before them, they're changing the culture of an established industry. The global fragrance market is the biggest it has ever been and still growing; it is set to generate revenue of about £45bn in 2025, according to Statista. The UK market alone reached £1.74bn in 2024 and, if growth continues apace, will top £2bn by 2029 according to a 2024 Mintel report. This growth is driven by gen Z and millennials, who have formed a unique relationship with fragrance due to social media and Covid isolation – PerfumeTok drove 45% of social media scent sales in the US by 2023. Instead of a dab behind the ear, they prefer scent layering – wearing two or more perfumes at the same time – and scent wardrobing (matching fragrances to different occasions). Eighty-three per cent of gen Z wear fragrance as often as three times a week, according to a recent report by Circana. Perfume took off, somewhat unexpectedly, during lockdown, says Suzy Nightingale of the podcast On the Scent. 'It was expected the fragrance market would fall, but it boomed,' says Nightingale, an award-winning perfume blogger. 'People discovered they could punctuate their day with moments of difference – travel with their noses, revel in nostalgia or excite their senses with novelty. I think that was when people realised it's not about 'attracting a partner' or having a signature scent – if it ever was. It's donning an invisible cloak of protection, empowering yourself.' Successful perfume influencers play a key role in the storytelling side of these products. Theatrical and charismatic TikTokkers such as @professorperfume and @jeremyfragrance explain new scents so vividly that their followers sometimes buy without smelling the perfume first. They spin tales of the weird girls and confident boys who wear these scents; PerfumeTok influences 66% of gen Z purchases. Teenage boys have become surprising cognoscenti when it comes to luxury aftershave. The TikTok term for scent layering in this age group is 'smellmaxxing', a buzzword that became so prevalent that the New York Times defined it last year as a 'term for enhancing one's musk'. According to a 2025 US trend report by Piper Sandler, teenagers are spending more money across beauty categories in general, but fragrance has grown the most – up 22% year on year. On a recent visit to Bloom Perfumery, a boutique selling independent and niche fragrances in the UK, I watched a boy who couldn't have been older than 16 chat about cologne with an assistant twice his age with a genuinely inspiring level of passion and sophistication, beaming through his braces as he discussed smoky notes. 'There's been a lot of pearl-clutching commentary worrying about how much [teenagers] spend,' says Nightingale. 'But if you actually bother to talk to the younger generations thronging the halls of perfumeries from Boots to the Black Hall of Harrods, you discover they're saving their pocket money – sometimes for years – and taking on part-time jobs to explore scent.' While previous generations were satisfied with scent juggernauts such as CK One, Le Male, Poison or Opium, an emerging group of 'frag heads' wants more. The idea of personalising your scent – smellmaxxing or scent layering – is key for them. Still, what 16-year-old can afford to layer a £90 Loewe scent with something marginally cheaper from Armani – and to that end, how did such expensive scents become the norm? As luxury scents boomed post-pandemic, so too did dupes – replicas of designer products. Offering luxury style at low prices, dupes feel more Robin Hood than guilty secret. Some new brands got their start providing vegan or cruelty-free alternatives to blockbuster fragrances, notably Eden Perfumes, a family-run business in Brighton now lauded for its own scents as much as its knockoffs. Meanwhile, the high street stepped up to do what it does best: producing designer style at affordable prices. The Zara perfume counter is currently the place to go if you want to smell like a million dollars for less than £20. While logos and bottle designs are easy to trademark, you cannot trademark a scent nor patent a perfume recipe under UK law. Some dupes can be poorer quality than luxury brands, but they're safe as long as you use common sense. A trusted retailer will follow safety standards; an unknown one may not be as stringent. Sign up to Fashion Statement Style, with substance: what's really trending this week, a roundup of the best fashion journalism and your wardrobe dilemmas solved after newsletter promotion As well as dupes, 'niche perfumes' gained traction. While cosmetics giants such as Coty, Guerlain and Estée Lauder have dominated since the early 20th century, independent pioneers appeared who followed their instincts and taste rather than market research. Brands such as Le Labo, Sol de Janeiro and Byredo changed the game – Le Labo's Santal 33 was the fashion circle's signature scent and a Santal 26 candle appeared in Beyoncé's Lemonade film in 2016. Victoria Beckham and Sienna Miller namechecked Byredo as their favourite perfumer. It is no wonder these brands have now been snapped up by LVMH and other conglomerates. More indie scents launched after lockdown, including complicated and counterintuitive fragrances. The idea of perfume as confrontational, confusing art grew. The Canadian brand Zoologist found fame for its award-winning Bee scent (notes of ginger syrup, royal jelly and broom) in 2020, as did Inexcusable Evil by the Romanian perfumer Toskovat, with its bouquet of bandages, blood and burnt flowers. This year brings Silver Haze from Alloy Studio, which evokes 'a backseat smoke session' and has notes of cannabis, chocolate powder and strawberries. Food-inspired fragrances are the latest perfume craze with scents like pretzels and cherries finding favour. Some fans went deep, obsessing over process, rarity or a unique note in a scent, discussing them like oenophiles on Reddit and dedicated scent chatrooms. Some turned to DIY, using Sam Macer's YouTube channel and forums such as Basenotes to swap tips on sourcing ingredients and aroma combinations. For a few, the hobby became a side hustle and finally a career. Indie companies looked to creators who had taught themselves to blend new scents. As the industry traditionally requires a chemistry degree, a spell at a (preferably French) perfume school – such as ISIPCA in Versailles – then an apprenticeship at a fragrance house, this influx of new blood has been a huge shakeup. You can buy perfume ingredients such as fixatives, solvents and scent compounds online, so, like microbrewers and bakers before them, self-taught perfumers simply got stuck in. 'There's a definite sense of punk-rock impresarios to some indie brands,' says Nightingale. 'Not tied up in shareholders' opinions and having to panel-test everything so that it's acceptable rather than exciting.' At a time when beauty conglomerates are turning to AI and science for new scents, it's refreshing to find gatecrashers at the party. The Spanish company Puig used 45m brain readings from men aged 18-35 to finesse the ingredients of the cologne Phantom by Paco Rabanne before its 2021launch – the result was a commercial bestseller. Independent perfumers can bring a bit more imagination to the process. The British scent company Earl of East recently collaborated with the musician Bon Iver, who they asked to do a blind smell test, then used his answers to create a custom scent inspired by his latest album. The resulting range of mood mists and candles instantly sold out. The creation process for the two products couldn't be more different, but the world smells better because both of them exist. Paul Firmin, a co-founder of Earl of East, thinks the lack of formal education behind the brand is a strength. It started as a hobby and a market stall but is now stocked globally. It holds workshops for customers who want to make their own perfumes. 'We've worked hard to demystify scent, encouraging people to engage with it in a way that feels personal rather than intimidating,' says Firmin. 'Removing outdated boundaries – like the idea that scent should be tied to gender – has also opened up the space. That distinction was a ridiculous concept in the first place.' Another autodidact is Maya Njie, a Swedish-born, UK-based perfumer, who started her fragrance house in 2016. While studying surface design at the University of Arts London, Njie got sidetracked. 'I was exploring storytelling through photography, print and pattern and I began incorporating scent.' She was inspired by family photo albums; holiday snaps of Gambian beaches led to her perfume Tropica, which combines sea salt, pineapple and coconut. 'Being self-taught has given me the freedom to approach perfumery from an artistic and instinctive place,' she says. 'I can do this as the brand owner as I'm only working to my own brief.' Nightingale wishes the new indies of perfume received more support from the industry. 'I see so many tiny brands fall by the wayside. I'd love to see retailers celebrate them more – giving them shelf room among the big corporate-owned names.' Cathleen Cardinali, co-founder of Thin Wild Mercury, found that nothing beats word of mouth. As she posted on social media after Roan's viral message: '[Our] customers went crazy tagging us in an international pop superstar's Instagram because they were so excited by the notion that she might like their favourite little indie perfume brand.' If you're looking for the smell of lipstick, sun cream from a day at the beach, smoking in a car, or have some other olfactory fantasy, this new generation of self-taught perfumers are waiting to play it out for you.
Forbes
30-06-2025
- Business
- Forbes
How Phlur Is Reshaping The World Of Modern Fragrance
Phlur's "Missing Person", one of the brand's first scents that went viral on social media. Phlur isn't just having a moment, it's rewriting the rules of modern fragrance. Under the new leadership of CEO Elizabeth Ashmun, appointed last year by Chriselle Lim who took over the brand in 2022, Phlur has experienced explosive growth: its year-on-year sales doubled between 2024 and 2025. The brand's success comes as the global fragrance industry itself is booming, with sales projected to grow 7% annually through 2028, according to a McKinsey study. Yet Phlur isn't merely capitalizing on market dynamics—it's shaping a new era of modern fragrance defined by playfulness, quality, accessibility, and emotional storytelling. Writing A New Chapter In The Fragrance Category Traditional and legacy fragrance brands, with their lavish marketing campaigns and celebrity-backed endorsements, no longer resonate like they once did. Minimalist, niche brands such as Byredo or Le Labo have captured consumers' attention with understated branding that marks a new era of luxury, while TikTok's 'PerfumeTok' community has become a significant engine of brand discovery for younger audiences. The way people engage with fragrance has also evolved dramatically: rather than sticking to a signature scent, individuals are looking for various scents to match their moods and occasions. And Phlur noticed. 'We did extensive research that showed that our consumer has 5+ fragrances in their wardrobe. We are finding that they are engaging in that concept of fragrance wardrobing. We see it with every product launch, whether it's new or existing clients, they love to mix and match,' shares Ashmun, Phlur's CEO. This trend towards 'fragrance wardrobing' reflects a behavioral shift that is redefining how we interact with fragrance and adjacent categories. As Amy Rueckl, North America Fine Fragrance marketing director at IFF (International Fine Fragrance), reaffirms this shift in an interview: 'This leads to a wider interest in mood-boosting scents, where consumers can choose their fragrance based on their specific emotional needs each day'. Phlur is not only capitalizing on this shift, it's reinventing how a modern fragrance develops, launches and positions products. Phlur's modern, minimal and playful approach to fragrance branding 'Designer brands, celebrity brands, and even value brands are very traditional in their approach, launching one SKU a year and focusing on a precious, aspirational product", says Ashmun. 'The category is going through an interesting time. It's clear Phlur was doing something different and it was the opportunity to democratize the fragrance category and disrupt the market,' she adds. Designed as one of the first clean fragrance brands, Phlur stands out as a brand that offers high quality scents at reasonable prices. They are developed by leading perfumers, including Frank Voelkl (who developed many of Le Labo's iconic scents) and Jérôme Epinette (with collaborations involving Byredo and Van Cleef & Arpels) and ingredients are mindfully chosen with intention. Yet Phlur's price positioning is significantly more accessible than the brands just mentioned. 'We felt like we could come in and pioneer the concept of accessible luxury', Ashmun shares with us. The difference in price positioning is striking: Phlur's 50mL perfumes retail for $99, compared to $280 for a Byredo fragrance or $235 for Le Labo's Santal 33. This allows consumers to buy more into Phlur's line and experiment with different scents and categories based on moods and occasions, democratizing not just fine fragrance but its usage too. In doing so, Phlur gives consumers permission to play and interact with scents more often and more authentically. According to her, 'consumers are coming into the brand both through fragrance and body mist. They are coming in through multiple ways - deodorant,body oils - depending on the usage occasion. They may start their day with a perfume and will later add-on or use body mist throughout the day - often used on-the go or before bed.' Speaking of which, body mists have become a significant segment for Phlur. Designed to be lighter and more casual than its fragrances, the body mists are formulated with a high enough fragrance load to keep the scent long-lasting and sophisticated for all-day use. Scent is at the core of the Phlur experience, but functionality is equally as important, which has allowed the brand to venture into adjacent categories. 'Deodorants have been a runaway success, just as body oil. We really make sure we are being innovative and disruptive with our formulas: for our deodorant, we knew we had to use the best technology, free of irritants and baking soda, to provide not just scent, but real function,' Ashmun explains. High-quality scents and standards of production are inherent to the brand, as each and every scent seems to be cherished with open arms by customers. PerfumeTok, cuustomer reviews, beauty publication awards and editors are all unanimous: Phlur's scents are addictive, captivating, unique but approachable. A beauty director for online publication WhoWhatWear said it best: 'What's shocking is that, after snagging all of Phlur's fragrances, I want to keep all nine of them, and I actually want to wear every single one.' In fact, Phlur customers more often than not own multiple scents - possibly encouraged thanks to an attractive price point and value proposition - which is quite unique for a fragrance brand. Phlur releases more SKUs than most fragrance brands, each time appealing to both new and existing ... More customers. A Brand Reborn With Emotional Storytelling Every cult brand has something that elevates them from a casual favorite to an absolute must-have. In the case of Phlur, it's not just its value proposition, variety of scents or chic, timeless packaging. It's really about emotional resonance. When Chriselle Lim relaunched Phlur, her first release, Missing Person, went viral and sold out almost instantly. Inspired by the sense of longing she felt during her divorce, the scent captured a universal feeling of missing someone. As Lim shareed on Instagram: 'Missing Person was inspired by my own personal story- the longing of a person, memory, a moment in time. Incredibly nostalgic and familiar. It's a delicate yet addictive fragrance that evokes the lingering scent on your lover's skin.' The storytelling behind each fragrance really sets the brand apart. Each scent resonates with customers for different reasons, but they all link back to an emotional connection. Phlur has managed to blend modernity and nostalgia, creating scents that trigger memories while being meant for the present moment. The description of each scent is so evocative that it helps consumers buy online despite not smelling the product, which is no small task for a fragrance brand. 'Our brand is mainly sold online…blind buying is so interesting: storytelling helps build an emotional connection with our consumers, who know our juices are never what you expect exactly but they always fall in love with that they are. It's a combination of trust to deliver what you would love and of proper storytelling,' says Ashmun. Less than three years since its relaunch, Phlur is redefining the fragrance category. By making high-end scents both accessible and playful, the brand is democratizing luxury fragrance for a new wave of consumers. TikTok may have amplified its reach, but Phlur's success is rooted in intention: a clear value proposition, emotional storytelling, and timeless packaging. While viral moments have helped spark growth, CEO Elizabeth Ashmun's pace for the brand is measured: 'We are focused on building a solid foundation and really winning with our customers before expanding our distribution.' A deliberate approach that positions Phlur to lead the next era of modern fragrance.
The Guardian
30-06-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
‘Smellmaxxing' and ‘frag heads': how the gen Z perfume boom came up roses for indie brands
'Will the girl who I just met at the perfume store please comment the perfume you recommended,' wrote Chappell Roan on Instagram last month. 'You said it smelled like lipstick.' The post went viral and the scent – Girl of the Year by the Los Angeles perfume house Thin Wild Mercury – instantly sold out. It's hard to think of a more appropriate perfume for the performer. The house describes it as having 'top notes of lipstick and incense; middle notes of 'smoker's leather jacket' and a base of sandalwood, orris root and vintage fur'. The brand – whose name is culled from a Bob Dylan quote – is one of a growing set of perfumers reinventing scent for new fragrance fans. Like bedroom DJs or T-shirt screen-printers before them, they're changing the culture of an established industry. The global fragrance market is the biggest it has ever been and still growing; it is set to generate revenue of about £45bn in 2025, according to Statista. The UK market alone reached £1.74bn in 2024 and, if growth continues apace, will top £2bn by 2029 according to a 2024 Mintel report. This growth is driven by gen Z and millennials, who have formed a unique relationship with fragrance due to social media and Covid isolation – PerfumeTok drove 45% of social media scent sales in the US by 2023. Instead of a dab behind the ear, they prefer scent layering – wearing two or more perfumes at the same time – and scent wardrobing (matching fragrances to different occasions). Eighty-three per cent of gen Z wear fragrance as often as three times a week, according to a recent report by Circana. Perfume took off, somewhat unexpectedly, during lockdown, says Suzy Nightingale of the podcast On the Scent. 'It was expected the fragrance market would fall, but it boomed,' says Nightingale, an award-winning perfume blogger. 'People discovered they could punctuate their day with moments of difference – travel with their noses, revel in nostalgia or excite their senses with novelty. I think that was when people realised it's not about 'attracting a partner' or having a signature scent – if it ever was. It's donning an invisible cloak of protection, empowering yourself.' Successful perfume influencers play a key role in the storytelling side of these products. Theatrical and charismatic TikTokkers such as @professorperfume and @jeremyfragrance explain new scents so vividly that their followers sometimes buy without smelling the perfume first. They spin tales of the weird girls and confident boys who wear these scents; PerfumeTok influences 66% of gen Z purchases. Teenage boys have become surprising cognoscenti when it comes to luxury aftershave. The TikTok term for scent layering in this age group is 'smellmaxxing', a buzzword that became so prevalent that the New York Times defined it last year as a 'term for enhancing one's musk'. According to a 2025 US trend report by Piper Sandler, teenagers are spending more money across beauty categories in general, but fragrance has grown the most – up 22% year on year. On a recent visit to Bloom Perfumery, a boutique selling independent and niche fragrances in the UK, I watched a boy who couldn't have been older than 16 chat about cologne with an assistant twice his age with a genuinely inspiring level of passion and sophistication, beaming through his braces as he discussed smoky notes. 'There's been a lot of pearl-clutching commentary worrying about how much [teenagers] spend,' says Nightingale. 'But if you actually bother to talk to the younger generations thronging the halls of perfumeries from Boots to the Black Hall of Harrods, you discover they're saving their pocket money – sometimes for years – and taking on part-time jobs to explore scent.' While previous generations were satisfied with scent juggernauts such as CK One, Le Male, Poison or Opium, an emerging group of 'frag heads' wants more. The idea of personalising your scent – smellmaxxing or scent layering – is key for them. Still, what 16-year-old can afford to layer a £90 Loewe scent with something marginally cheaper from Armani – and to that end, how did such expensive scents become the norm? As luxury scents boomed post-pandemic, so too did dupes – replicas of designer products. Offering luxury style at low prices, dupes feel more Robin Hood than guilty secret. Some new brands got their start providing vegan or cruelty-free alternatives to blockbuster fragrances, notably Eden Perfumes, a family-run business in Brighton now lauded for its own scents as much as its knockoffs. Meanwhile, the high street stepped up to do what it does best: producing designer style at affordable prices. The Zara perfume counter is currently the place to go if you want to smell like a million dollars for less than £20. While logos and bottle designs are easy to trademark, you cannot trademark a scent nor patent a perfume recipe under UK law. Some dupes can be poorer quality than luxury brands, but they're safe as long as you use common sense. A trusted retailer will follow safety standards; an unknown one may not be as stringent. Sign up to Fashion Statement Style, with substance: what's really trending this week, a roundup of the best fashion journalism and your wardrobe dilemmas solved after newsletter promotion As well as dupes, 'niche perfumes' gained traction. While cosmetics giants such as Coty, Guerlain and Estée Lauder have dominated since the early 20th century, independent pioneers appeared who followed their instincts and taste rather than market research. Brands such as Le Labo, Sol de Janeiro and Byredo changed the game – Le Labo's Santal 33 was the fashion circle's signature scent and a Santal 26 candle appeared in Beyoncé's Lemonade film in 2016. Victoria Beckham and Sienna Miller namechecked Byredo as their favourite perfumer. It is no wonder these brands have now been snapped up by LVMH and other conglomerates. More indie scents launched after lockdown, including complicated and counterintuitive fragrances. The idea of perfume as confrontational, confusing art grew. The Canadian brand Zoologist found fame for its award-winning Bee scent (notes of ginger syrup, royal jelly and broom) in 2020, as did Inexcusable Evil by the Romanian perfumer Toskovat, with its bouquet of bandages, blood and burnt flowers. This year brings Silver Haze from Alloy Studio, which evokes 'a backseat smoke session' and has notes of cannabis, chocolate powder and strawberries. Food-inspired fragrances are the latest perfume craze with scents like pretzels and cherries finding favour. Some fans went deep, obsessing over process, rarity or a unique note in a scent, discussing them like oenophiles on Reddit and dedicated scent chatrooms. Some turned to DIY, using Sam Macer's YouTube channel and forums such as Basenotes to swap tips on sourcing ingredients and aroma combinations. For a few, the hobby became a side hustle and finally a career. Indie companies looked to creators who had taught themselves to blend new scents. As the industry traditionally requires a chemistry degree, a spell at a (preferably French) perfume school – such as ISIPCA in Versailles – then an apprenticeship at a fragrance house, this influx of new blood has been a huge shakeup. You can buy perfume ingredients such as fixatives, solvents and scent compounds online, so, like microbrewers and bakers before them, self-taught perfumers simply got stuck in. 'There's a definite sense of punk-rock impresarios to some indie brands,' says Nightingale. 'Not tied up in shareholders' opinions and having to panel-test everything so that it's acceptable rather than exciting.' At a time when beauty conglomerates are turning to AI and science for new scents, it's refreshing to find gatecrashers at the party. The Spanish company Puig used 45m brain readings from men aged 18-35 to finesse the ingredients of the cologne Phantom by Paco Rabanne before its 2021launch – the result was a commercial bestseller. Independent perfumers can bring a bit more imagination to the process. The British scent company Earl of East recently collaborated with the musician Bon Iver, who they asked to do a blind smell test, then used his answers to create a custom scent inspired by his latest album. The resulting range of mood mists and candles instantly sold out. The creation process for the two products couldn't be more different, but the world smells better because both of them exist. Paul Firmin, a co-founder of Earl of East, thinks the lack of formal education behind the brand is a strength. It started as a hobby and a market stall but is now stocked globally. It holds workshops for customers who want to make their own perfumes. 'We've worked hard to demystify scent, encouraging people to engage with it in a way that feels personal rather than intimidating,' says Firmin. 'Removing outdated boundaries – like the idea that scent should be tied to gender – has also opened up the space. That distinction was a ridiculous concept in the first place.' Another autodidact is Maya Njie, a Swedish-born, UK-based perfumer, who started her fragrance house in 2016. While studying surface design at the University of Arts London, Njie got sidetracked. 'I was exploring storytelling through photography, print and pattern and I began incorporating scent.' She was inspired by family photo albums; holiday snaps of Gambian beaches led to her perfume Tropica, which combines sea salt, pineapple and coconut. 'Being self-taught has given me the freedom to approach perfumery from an artistic and instinctive place,' she says. 'I can do this as the brand owner as I'm only working to my own brief.' Nightingale wishes the new indies of perfume received more support from the industry. 'I see so many tiny brands fall by the wayside. I'd love to see retailers celebrate them more – giving them shelf room among the big corporate-owned names.' Cathleen Cardinali, co-founder of Thin Wild Mercury, found that nothing beats word of mouth. As she posted on social media after Roan's viral message: '[Our] customers went crazy tagging us in an international pop superstar's Instagram because they were so excited by the notion that she might like their favourite little indie perfume brand.' If you're looking for the smell of lipstick, sun cream from a day at the beach, smoking in a car, or have some other olfactory fantasy, this new generation of self-taught perfumers are waiting to play it out for you.
Cosmopolitan
10-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Cosmopolitan
12 Best Phlur Perfumes of All Time, Tested and Reviewed for 2025
If you spend as much time scrolling #PerfumeTok as I do, there's a good chance you've heard of Phlur. Ever since the astronomical success of its Missing Person perfume in 2022, the brand has released over a dozen buzzy new scents. That's why our editors have embarked on a near-impossible task: narrowing the brand's extensive collection down to just the 12 best Phlur fragrances (so far). With each launch, Phlur seems to spark a flurry of conversation: from Strawberry Letter, which helped reignite our obsession with fruity perfumes, to Vanilla Skin, which seems to be the internet's favorite body mist. The brand's fragrances span nearly every category, including delicate florals, sunny citruses, smokey woods, and beyond—so there's something to please every perfume palate. Best of all, every single scent is under $100, with body mists starting at $25 (our wallets are shaking). Not sure where to start? Don't sweat: our editors smell-tested Phlur's entire scent collection. After many spritzes, these are the 12 Phlur perfumes that are worth the hype.
