Perfume for women

It is a well-known cliché, women are sentimental! So, before being a cosmetic product, perfumes for women are above all vectors of emotion. They evoke a story and often bring back memories: the first one worn, that of a loved one, the one that makes one feel beautiful, the fragrance that feels like a second skin… Thus, as if to convey the power of these emotions, perfumery for women is akin to Haute Couture. The greatest houses strive to offer mythical and unique fragrances. Some perfumes for women have become legendary and timeless. Others, by contrast, are fragrances more attuned to the spirit of the times, suited to a particular moment and a particular desire. While purists will say that every woman has one single perfume, 62% of French women say they follow their desires and alternate daily between two or three perfumes.

Whatever the reason, women are sometimes loyal but often drawn to the latest trends. Choosing a new perfume for women is almost like undertaking a self-analysis. Perfume reveals a character, an emotion, an intention… It adapts differently depending on skin type and dresses each person in a different way. Perfumes for women are sometimes gourmand, floral, fresh, tempting, sensual or romantic. They can also be all of that at once and are always contained in bottles resembling true jewels. Feminine perfumery always draws us into a world at the border between reality and dream. It is a pure olfactory and visual pleasure capable of carrying us, in a snap, to a distant and unreal world.

Perfume for men

Men, for their part, often favor perfumes that are truly masculine, virile and powerful. Fragrances belonging to the fougère family are notably very popular. These are sometimes classic or modernized, most often smelling of shaving foam. Nevertheless, the range of perfumes for men keeps expanding. Indeed, men also particularly appreciate freshness. This is a symbol of dynamism and gives them extreme vitality in daily life. Moreover, it is very frequently found in the sport versions of favorite fragrances. Thus, perfumes for men are often vectors of an ideal to be achieved. Men see in them a kind of embodiment of a powerful, athletic masculinity. What is more, let us not forget that perfume is a weapon of seduction. Thus, essences for men also serve to seduce women and are a kind of allegory of the absolute fantasy. Yet this has not always been the case.

Indeed, men took a very long time to take an interest in perfumery. Until the interwar period, they turned instead to Eau de Cologne. Today, it seems they have nonetheless made up for lost time. The men's perfumery section is becoming almost as impressive as the women's. However, it is not just a matter of choosing a good perfume, one must also know how to wear it. Indeed, fragrances are often revealing of a personality. It is essential that a perfume for men be in keeping with the identity of the one who wears it. To that end, the keys will be given here to avoid making a mistake. Finally, do not hesitate to be seduced by the carefully designed bottles now found in abundance. These are certainly made to catch the eye, but they are often revealing of the fragrance they contain. What is more, a highly crafted case is also a sign of a quality luxury house. Every aspect of a perfume for men is essential and should therefore be examined with care.

Perfume for children

While fragrances for men and women are very often discussed, it is too often forgotten that children are also entitled to their own perfumes. Are they dangerous? Are they reserved for girls? Is there a minimum age for their use? For anyone wondering about these perfumes for children, this section is for them! First, know that a child can be given perfume from three months of age, and that perfumes designed for this purpose are tested and completely safe. They comply with European regulation No. 1223/2009. Before three months, it is not recommended, for the simple reason that it is better to let the baby become familiar with the scents of their environment. It is nevertheless important to distinguish between an Eau de Senteur, alcohol-free and intended for babies, and an Eau de Toilette for older children (though still less concentrated in alcohol than perfumes for adults). Just as with men and women, it is then necessary to find a perfume suited to the child's taste. There is often a tendency to think that children prefer sweet fragrances. However, this is not an absolute truth. Each child develops their own tastes based on their own memories. Some will thus turn to essences reminiscent of those of their parents or similar to the scent of flowers in their grandmother's garden. Finally, do not forget that perfume, including for children, is not intended only for girls. Boys too have the right to wear perfume. Indeed, this often brings them great pleasure and contributes to their game of mimicry, consisting in performing the same gestures as their parents.

Around perfumes

As has been mentioned several times above, perfumes would be nothing without their sublime bottles and their avant-garde advertisements. Today it is a real delight to discover the jewel-like cases of new fragrances as well as the magical world of their advertising campaigns. Perfumery is becoming an increasingly complex art, bringing several fields into symbiosis, combining unrivaled expertise in composition with the art of bottle design and advanced marketing skills.

Perfume advertising

Today, an increasing number of houses are creating fragrances. As proof, more than 1000 olfactory releases are counted each year! Faced with such a multiplicity of offerings, manufacturers must therefore stand out, hence the importance of advertising. These campaigns are then particularly tailored to the targeted consumer segment. Indeed, perfume advertising is a genuine purchase trigger. This is why it occupies a leading role when a new essence is brought to market. Moreover, the advertising budget for a perfume is among the largest. Perfumery then draws us into a particularly artistic world. It must be acknowledged that perfume advertisements often resemble no others. They are thus immediately recognizable and all the more effective.

Perfume bottle

Just like advertisements, perfume bottles serve to target a specific clientele. As Rozenn Mainguené, a renowned designer who has worked for Lancôme, Nina Ricci and Armani, explains, the idea is to capture the sensibility of a house while taking surrounding trends into account. Numerous mock-ups in plexiglass or resin are then developed and go back and forth between the creative team and the marketing department. Everything is analyzed: the bottle's decoration, the color of the glass, the tint of the juice, the overall weight, the shape of the cap, the feel to the touch… Producing the glass perfume bottle is then the crucial stage. Indeed, it is a particularly technical phase requiring unrivaled expertise. Moreover, bottle design can be credited with having strongly advanced the craft of glasswork and having led to numerous innovations. Today, perfume bottles are ever more innovative, and some fragrances are even sold in collector's cases distributed at exorbitant prices.

Composition of perfumes

The composition of perfumes is an art that few people in the world master. Essences are made up of various raw materials. These can be ingredients of plant, animal or synthetic origin. Indeed, some ingredients found in nature cannot be distilled, and their scent is reproduced directly in the laboratory. Likewise, perfume contains alcohol, in varying concentrations. It is this element that gives more or less longevity to a fragrance and determines its quality. In some cases, a fixative is also added to the base notes to increase the strength of the composition. Moreover, the composition of a perfume determines whether it is an alcohol-based, oil-based or solid perfume. Every element is studied with great precision so as to deliver exceptional fragrances in terms of scent, while also being gentle on the skin. In other words, perfumery is, in reality, a perfect balance between artistic creativity and chemistry.

Perfume reviews

Finally, even though perfumery is a highly subjective field in which everyone finds what suits them, an effort will be made to guide readers as best as possible with an expert eye (or rather, an expert nose). The keys will be given to decrypt the composition of perfumes, and an effort will be made to highlight the world intended by the various houses. Indeed, not all perfumes are exceptional fragrances, and each one immerses us in a world of its own, though one not always easy to discover at first glance or with a single sniff. An effort will therefore be made to open the way to understanding the main fragrances of modern perfumery.

When speaking of perfume, there is most often a tendency to think first of its scent. After all, what could be more logical? Yet perfumery is a far more complex art that combines different areas of expertise. A perfume is not simply a scent. It is also a bottle, an advertisement, a technical achievement… So many things, each more sublime and elaborate than the last, that will be revealed here.