There is absolutely no need to pay $450 for a fragrance. But sometimes, just once in a while, the smell of a perfume and the way it captivates your senses makes you want to splurge…or at least, you’re willing to splurge. That’s the power of scent. Scents can transport you to beautiful places, bring back memories, stimulate emotions, and connect you with lovers and strangers.
Earlier this year, I was at the “Upper East Side luxury landmark” known as Pierre New York. This swanky Manhattan hotel was the idyllic setting for a secret meeting about a luxurious new $450 fragrance collection. As the elevator led me to a spacious suite with views of Central Park, my eyes were drawn to the gleaming Murano glass-inspired bottles (all by Verde Saint-Denis) scattered like objects on the coffee table. (placed individually on a marble pedestal).
I sprayed each of the fragrances in each of the six bottles of Bottega Veneta onto a strip of blotting paper and took my first sniff. Then, for 60 minutes straight, editors (myself included) went “ahh” and “aahh”. Memories were unleashed and instinctively shared as the scent of sunlight, sexy and elegant filled the air. Corpo di Sole (a warming blend with orange blossom, bergamot, and a touch of vanilla Bourbon extract) and Acqua Serre (with sea salt and musk) are personal favorites, and I love the blissful moments spent basking in the Tyrrhenian Sea. It teleported me from day to day.
The business meeting was held in May and was a veritable preview of the fragrance, which won’t be released until this fall. (I would have worn Corpo di Sole and Acqua Serre on repeat all summer long, but I digress.) But forgetting something that smells so good and makes you feel so great. There is no. It’s truly luxurious. It’s a joy, even if only for a moment.
Like scent, the word “luxury” is also subjective. According to Merriam-Webster, luxury is “something that adds to pleasure or comfort, but is not absolutely necessary.” It is no exaggeration to say that there are many things in the fragrance department that bring us great joy and peace of mind. (A warm, soothing vanilla scent, anyone? Best of Beauty winner Matiere Premiere Vanilla Powder is my current favorite.)
Emotions aside, everything comes at a price. Even if something is so close to a divine scent that you can’t see the ink on the price tag, those numbers still tell you what’s inside (that’s what really matters, right?). “The price of a fragrance is primarily determined by the quality and rarity of the scent,” says Givaudan perfumer Christine Hassan, who just created Tory Burch’s latest fragrance, Sublime. “While high-quality raw materials, especially natural extracts, are generally expensive due to complex sourcing and processing, synthetic materials can also be expensive depending on the cost of the starting materials and the number of steps in the synthesis process.”
Topping the list of expensive notes, according to Hassan, are orris or iris root (“because the rhizome (or stem of the plant) is stored for several years before being extracted,” says Hassan), rose oil ( It takes 1 million flowers to make 1 kilogram of oil), oud (“due to its rarity and complex harvesting process”). “We also take into account the concentration of the oil, the prestige of the brand, and the packaging,” Hassas added.
Spate said the word “luxury” is searched alongside “perfume” thousands of times a month on Google, an increase of nearly 10% since last year, and interest in the concept is growing. This shows that it is increasing. When I search for “luxury perfume” on my laptop, images of bottles from Dries Van Noten, Byredo, and Diptyque appear at the top of the screen. Coincidentally, these three brands are a big part of the massive wave of great fragrances coming to our desks.
After spraying, sniffing, and wearing the $27,325 new fragrance (a total of 80 were tested), Allure’s editors had a proper meeting to discuss which ones are really worth investing in right now. I did.
Dries Van Noten’s new Eau de Parfum collection was love at first sight. “I can’t stress enough how obsessed I am with this bottle,” Hunter Lacey, associate director of special projects, says of the Bitter Splash it houses. It comes in a bottle wrapped in a Chinoiserie design. This juice also makes similar claims: Pomelo is a real nose punch, but the leather is softer and more rounded,” explains Lacey. Chamomile Satin, a unique combination of vanilla bean and chamomile, is another favorite in the collection. “I love how sweet, warm and spicy this scent is. I can confidently say I’ve never smelled anything like it before,” says Annie Bray Tetti, Deputy Beauty Editor.
Diptyque’s Les Essences de Diptyque is also a feast for the eyes and, of course, the nose. All five scents have a nostalgic yet new scent. “The idea behind this collection was to delve into natural elements that are typically unscented, such as coral, mother-of-pearl, tree bark, water lilies and desert roses,” said Laurence Semichon, global CEO of Diptyque. I will tell you. The beauty of the sense of touch has been transformed into an artistic olfactory masterpiece. ” The Diptyque collection makes a strong first impression. The box, painted in watercolor by artist Nigel Peake, hints at what’s inside, and the shiny glass container is also engraved with a design that echoes Peake’s illustrations on the outside. A decadent blend of black coffee, sandalwood, and tonka bean, the bottle of Bois Corse is decorated with thin, organically sketched lines to resemble tree trunks. And that “bark” scent turns out to be…as Lacey describes it, “sexy.” Social media manager Bianca Richards agrees: “It reminds me of when I had an espresso martini or went out with my girlfriends.”
As a fan of Claude Monet’s “Water Lilies” (French: “Nymphae”) series of oil paintings, I was completely captivated by Lilyfair, which celebrates the water lily plant. A super fresh blend with cardamom, violet leaves and vanilla. The scent of this flower will help you concentrate, like when you visit Paris’ Musée de l’Orangerie, where Monet’s esteemed series is on display.
For long-lasting wear, there are 14 (!) different options, each infused with the brand’s technology to extend the perfume’s longevity from one day to several days, like Infiniment Coty Paris and Dior’s Espière de Parfum. (5 highly concentrated versions) is recommended. The brand’s best-selling products) will take you through the day, night, and beyond. “I tried Dior’s Rouge Trafalgar Esprit de Parfum and it lasted longer than 80% of the perfumes I own,” says features director Deanna Singh. “I got it on my clothes and hair…I like it, thank you.”
Commercial writer Jennifer Hussain had a similar experience with Byredo Desert Dawn. “My dirty laundry smells amazing because the scent hasn’t completely gone from my clothes yet,” she says. “This is one of my favorite fragrances so far.” That’s true for most of the Allure team as well. Passersby have praised Desert Dawn’s unique combination of rose, cedarwood, musk…and carrot, and Shin says she’s received compliments saying, “I wear this every day.” “It’s ‘different’ but not ‘different’ enough to be polarizing,” Singh added. “So it would be a great gift.”
