I hope everyone had a great Christmas! And if you don’t celebrate, hopefully, you’re enjoying some much-needed end-of-year downtime. Like every year, the months have ticked by quickly, and it’s time to take stock of the year in fragrance. I always approach these “best of year” lists with some trepidation, pondering whether I’ll even like enough perfumes in the year (it’s quantity over quality these days) to compile a substantial or worthwhile review. Indeed, there’s no point putting together a post to discuss 1 or 2 perfumes.
But, sure enough, when I sit down to think about wrapping up the year in perfume come mid-December, I usually have about 20-25 perfumes that could feasibly make my favourites list. Undeniably, this is a consequence of my increased sampling due to my blog. There’s no doubt for every half-decent perfume, there are many, many more derivative or simply awful fragrances that cause my lips to curl, nostrils to flair, and body to contort in pain.
This year, I’ve sampled hundreds of perfumes. For the first part of this post, I wanted to summarise a few collections and brands I think are worth trying before I get to the list proper.
The first brand is Astier de Villatte, a French ceramics house that’s been doing good things for a while now. I only sampled their scents for the first time late last year. But this year, I’ve delved further into their collection and uncovered some true treasures. One of the better linden scents I’ve tried is their 2016 scent, Grand Chalet First Impressions – Astier de Villatte – Grand Chalet. This year, they gave us the fiery myrrh scent, Dehli, and Mantes La Jolie, a fragrant saunter through a European herb garden. Commune de Paris, Artaban, and Tucson are other perfumes from their line worth checking out.
The second brand is Eau de Boujee, a British house that started as a candle company. The brand’s been garnering some good reviews in Fragcomm, so I had to check them out. I haven’t tried this year’s scent, Infleurno, but I tried their first four fragrances, and I can only say get some samples and give them a try; you won’t be disappointed.
All four perfumes are very good, but the 2023 composition Gilded stood out. And yes, as teased in the note pyramid, it has a golden glimmering quality. It’s undeniably an incense perfume. However, somehow, the brand creates an impression of a church where the walls shimmer with a golden hue. The lemon fizz of frankincense and myrrh bubbles as the smell of a snuffed-out candle lingers. There’s a slight sweetness from a honey note, but only a drop. Spicy, leathery facets appear in the form of saffron and carnation. Gilded remains a wearable perfume, even with the slightly unnerving but judicious use of musky civet to tie things together in the base.
My third brand worth a sample is Marie Jeanne from the perfume hub of the world, Grasse. Here’s my write-up. First Impressions – Marie Jeanne In Marcel, the brand gives the traditional eau de cologne style an interesting twist in the form of a leathery facet.
Fourth on my list is the Aussie brand Metascent. From what I understand, they’re a perfume studio in Melbourne that offers workshops allowing consumers to create bespoke scents. The store’s founders also compose original scents that they sell. This year at Esxence, they unveiled their Australian Botanicals collection. Moreton Bay Fig and Wildflower & Acacia are my picks.
Finally, Mont Blanc, of all brands, impressed me with its “Mont Blanc Collection.” The series of four scents pays tribute to Mont Blanc’s history of craftsmanship, so expect perfumes with inky and leathery accords. The bottles look luxurious, come in 125ml sizes, and aren’t too expensive when pitted against other upscale designer lines. The Dior Homme-like Extreme Leather is well worth checking out, as is Patchouli Ink, which smells like it should be the quintessential scent for the brand.
And now to the list. As I mulled over what to include and exclude, I realised that many of the things I sampled weren’t that original, at least to my nose. However, though they may have lacked originality, all the perfumes on the list had some common traits. For one, they all had me returning to wear them multiple times at different times of the year. And secondly, quite a few were highly evocative, producing pleasant scent memories that took me back in time. My list is in alphabetical order by brand name.
Akro – Infuse (Olivier Cresp)
Akro’s Infuse is among my favourites from the house, just behind the brand’s Ink. Like Ink, it might be challenging for those familiar with radio-friendly mainstream fare. Cresp combines bitter tea and its smoky, musty facets with floral/fruity elements. The fruity osmanthus element smells more like apricot than leather on my skin. The dry down goes in a woody, herbal direction, but Infuse never loses its fruity tea-like properties. I enjoy the contrasts between the lighter and darker elements.
Bastille Paris – 14 Juillet (Meabh McCurtin)
Bastille changed ownership in the last couple of years, and with it has come a change in their perfumes. Suddenly, the brand’s been pumping out much more interesting compositions. 14 Juillet, composed by up-and-coming Irish perfumer Meabh McCurtin, juxtaposes a smoky, acrid, blistering fireworks accord against an ozonic, watery violet leaf. As the fireworks subside, the base becomes powdery and sweet as vanilla, and a lovely warm, rounded ambery accord comes into view. Everything smells wispy and light, and the layers smell balanced from top to bottom. Indeed, McCurtin conveys the sense that you’re watching a fireworks display by a river while eating brioche. Bonne fête!
Chanel – Comète (Olivier Polge)
Chanel’s Les Exclusifs keep soaring in price; sometimes, it seems more than once a year. But Olivier Polge keeps on delivering quality perfumes. He does it again with Comète. Its aldehydic opening flickers and flashes in the air and on the skin. The floral puffs of iris, heliotrope, and perhaps even violet add a cosmetic touch but never become too oppressive. The base almost turns edible, transforming into a chewy, musky vanilla marshmallow that smells more like something from Guerlain than typical Chanel. Still, there are nods to other Chanel scents such as No.5, La Pausa, 1957, Rue Cambon and Misia. Perhaps Comète doesn’t rise to the heights of all these perfumes, but it’s undoubtedly a splendid addition to the Les Exclusifs.
Dusita – Pelagos (Pissara Umavijani)
Pissara Umavijani’s olfactory impression of a marine landscape takes an atypical form. There’s no sea-sick-inducing stomach-churning screechy Calone. Instead, the “sea breeze accord” smells aromatic, comprising cypress, pine, and clary sage notes. It’s green but not a tropical beach. Instead, the creamy orris that dominates the composition creates the impression of a cold, pebble-filled beach on a cloudy autumn day, with windswept trees blowing along the shoreline. If you’re a fan of her Issara, you may enjoy Pelagos.
Fragonard – Lilas (Aurélien Guichard)
Lilas is the most budget-friendly scent on the list. Lilas recalls the onset of spring. There’s life and freshness in the air. The lilac note in Lilas smells slightly powdery and creamy. It’s reminiscent of one of my favourite lilac scents, En Passant from Malle. However, Lilas doesn’t quite have that dewy, watery, translucent feel of the Malle. Guichard uses linden blossom, hawthorn, and heliotrope to extend the almond-like character of Lilas. The vanilla and musk in the base give it some modest sweetness. At 22 Euros on the Fragonard website, it’s a steal.
Frassaï – Dormir al Sol (Irina Burlakova)
Frassaï is an interesting brand; I’ve tried most of their fragrances and thought they were nice, quality compositions, but then I forgot about them and moved on. Dormir al Sol hits a little differently. It smells like something I want to wear and lives up to the name and marketing concept.
The name translates to “asleep in the sun,” and the perfume is equal parts floral (mimosa) and woody (vetiver and guaiac). The mimosa doesn’t smell powdery or like almonds but is somewhat airy, and the perfume has a prominent woody theme that becomes evident immediately. It’s straw-like, grassy, fresh, and sunbaked. I can almost picture someone on a hay bale, soaking up the late afternoon sun among yellow flowers. In the background of the perfume, I pick up something leathery, maybe from the saffron, and some slight boozy hints of brandy. It is the perfect accompaniment to a late afternoon sunset.
Hiram Green – Philtre (Hiram Green)
Hiram Green’s Philtre blooms beautifully on application. He always does a skillful job of combining old and new elements into his perfumes. However, Philtre pulls no punches, proudly wearing its vintage heart on its sleeve. Carnation and clove are on full display, and both notes, especially carnation, have undoubtedly gone out of fashion. Indeed, if you blindfolded me and asked me to smell Philtre, I might guess I was trying a decades-old Caron or Estee Lauder. If you don’t like carnation or clove, you’ll hate this. They dominate. With spices, resins, stemmy greens, rose, jasmine, and a fabulous balmy creamy vanilla note, this all-natural perfume smells bold and, ironically, in a world dominated by sweet fruity gourmands like a breath of fresh air.
Marc-Antoine Barrois – Tilia – (Quentin Bisch)
Configured around linden blossom, Tilia radiates golden light and recalls carefree summer days. Barrois and Bisch deliver their most delicate perfume yet. Though it’s no shrinking violet, Tilia comes across as more of a tender ballad than perfumes such as Ganymede and Encelade. Broom aids in amping up its honeyed sweetness, and the green background notes give Tilia an offbeat tennis ball green fuzziness not unlike Costume National’s Cyber Garden. Through the savvy use of synthetics, Bisch again transports us to another place that isn’t of this earth.
Papillon – Epona (Liz Moores)
I reviewed Epona a couple of weeks ago. So, I’ll link to the review here. Papillon Artisan Perfumes – Epona – “Memories Light The Corners Of My Mind.” Needless to say, if a perfume has me quoting Streisand, it must be good. With its balanced fusion of florals, aromatics, and animalics, Epona brought back a flood of childhood memories. The leather perfume of the year.
Parfum d’Empire – Un Bel Amour D’été (Marc-Antoine Corticchiato)
Another one that takes me to a beach, Un Bel Amour D’été, smells like a solar perfume with bite. The bite comes from the subtle use of sweaty cumin over the sultry florals of ylang-ylang, magnolia, gardenia, and champaca. The notes combine to produce a vision of a sun-drenched tropical landscape. The creamy base of sandalwood and vanilla closes things out on an appropriately provocative note.
Tom Ford – Black Lacquer (Guillaume Flavigny)
Interestingly, Black Lacquer is composed by the same perfumer who produced Comme des Garçons Black. The parallels are obvious; both scents are smoky, resinous, and woody. Black Lacquer is an appropriate name, as the Tom Ford smells like a glossed-up version of the CDG. As I noted in my writeup in October for Black Lacquer, it’s far too early to proclaim the Tom Ford brand is back. But, undoubtedly, the brand is at its best when it’s divisive. Black Lacquer may not be novel, but inky, smoky, resinous, darker scents (Tuscan Leather, Amber Absolute, Black Orchid, Oud Wood) form the brand’s foundation. They must return to their roots and drop their prices a notch or two.
So there we have it, another year in perfume. I only bought two new bottles in 2024 but sampled more fragrances than usual. As always, there are too many perfume releases to keep up with, so these lists can never be as comprehensive as I’d like. What were your favourite 2024 releases? Are there any brands you discovered in 2024 that should be on more radars? I wish you all the best for the end of this year and into 2025, and once again, thanks for all your support throughout the year.
Finally, I hinted I might wear Chanel’s Édimbourg in my previous post, Top 10 Festive Fragrances, and while I’ve worn it a lot this December, I ended up choosing Sycomore by Chanel as my Christmas scent. The champagne fizz of Remarkable People will accompany me into the new year.
All photos are mine. I’m not sponsored by any brands featured in this blog post.
Here are a few more festive photos to round out the year.
