YSL Black Opium EDP launched five years ago this month and since then it has become one of the best-selling women’s fragrances of the decade. Originally launched in 1977 and created by Jean Amic and Jean-Louis Sieuzac, YSL Opium will always be a 20th-century classic. But after more than three decades on the market, the French luxury...
Slick marketing campaigns will have you believe that you need to spend a small fortune on the latest designer fragrance to smell fabulous. We disagree and that's why we've compiled this list of best cheap and budget fragrances that your wallet will thank you for. We've included a mix of classic and current cheapies, which...
When Frédéric Malle launched his niche fragrance company, Editions de Parfums Frédéric Malle, in 2 000, it was a novel idea for the perfumer’s name to be featured on the bottle. Since then the Paris-based niche fragrance company has built its sought-after reputation on a succession of high-quality, classic releases created by the world’s top...
Growing up in Norway, Geir Ness spend weekends in the pristine mountains outside Oslo, hiking, skiing, kayaking in the fjords, and picking wildflowers. Decades later, after working with some of the biggest fragrance houses in the world, he returned to those mountains on a mission to develop a fragrance of his own, inspired by his...
When Shyamala Maisondieu was awarded the 2019 Prix François Coty in recognition of her career and creations, it was confirmation of what we had known for a while. A snapshot of her diverse creations/co-creations across the designer and niche categories will tell you that the Malaysian-born, London-educated perfumer is one of the brightest talents of...
Chanel has been in the fragrance biz since 1921 and what an auspicious debut Chanel No 5 proved to be. With an impressive mix of classics and new launches, Chanel offers discerning fragrance consumers the ideal selection of options for every situation. We've rounded up some of the best in a variety of categories,...
When Jean Paul Gaultier Le Mâle was launched in 1995, its creator, Francis Kurkdjian, became a perfume star. That auspicious debut was followed by a succession of high-profile releases that have made the 50-year-old one of the most respected perfumers of his generation. Chances are you’ve worn one of his scents without knowing he created...
What is a classic perfume? Is it a fragrance that offered something distinctive and unique when it was launched? Is it a fragrance that has influenced many others? Or is it a fragrance that has stood the test of time, despite changes in trends and tastes? Perhaps a classic fragrance is all of these things...
Celebrity fragrance sales are nowhere near the heights of the noughties when it almost became de rigueur for a star to have a range of scents. According to marketing and research firm NPD Group, total revenue from this category in US department stores declined from $150 million to $50.6 million in three years alone between 2011...
The first fragrance Sonia Constant created was the little-known s.Oliver Sports 1 Female in 2006. Since then the versatile French perfumer has notched up an impressive list of creations for designer, niche and celebrity brands, including: In 2018, she took a bold risk to launch her own fragrance range, Ella K Parfums, to provide an...
Women are generally more adventurous when it comes to wearing fragrances, so don't need much persuasion to cross the gender divide. Whether buying gifts for the men in their lives or sneaking a spray of their partner's favorite fragrance, women have long known that certain fragrances are too good to be thought of as men's...
Florals are a staple of most women's fragrances, with tuberose, jasmine, peony, honeysuckle, ylang-ylang, and aldehyde being particularly popular ingredients. Other florals that are less-used but make for beautiful floral fragrances include iris, orange blossom, narcissus, and magnolia. There's a huge and often intimidating variety of floral fragrances on the market. So to make your...
It’s one of the all-time greats of 20th-century perfumery and is still the benchmark for oriental fragrances - hence our Shalimar perfume review. Founded by perfumer Pierre-François Pascal Guerlain in 1828 in Paris, Guerlain is one of the iconic houses of French perfumery and is revered for its numerous ground-breaking classics, including Jicky (1889), L’Heure...