What’s Next in Fragrance?

There’s no denying that TikTok is an increasingly important marketing platform for fragrance brands. Perfume experts and fragrance enthusiasts alike flock to the app to discover new scents that inspire their next purchasing decisions. According to Vogue Business, TikTok’s perfume enthusiasts drive 13% of fragrance sales in the United States. The popular hashtag #PerfumeTok is a billion-view trend, with fragrance influencers becoming ever more relevant to the online beauty sphere.

It seems AI has left no industry untouched, and fragrance is no exception. But fear not: AI isn’t replacing the perfumers we’ve come to know and love but rather helping them concoct even more delightful dainties for our senses. AI is streamlining the creative process, meaning that the discovery process is quicker, more efficient and guaranteed to leave us in an olfactive daze. By utilising AI, fragrance houses can take the guesswork out of creation, prevent wastage (and subsequently save money), introduce customers to fragrances they’ll love and make informed decisions about production using customer data. It’s a win-win for everyone.

While dupe culture isn’t exactly ‘new,’ it is clear that the trend isn’t going anywhere. From Parfums de Marly’s Delina to Maison Margiela’s Replica Sailing Day, no brand nor bottle is safe from watered-down ‘dupe’ culture. While perfume influencers used to give their audience the low-down on Zara smell-a-likes and Bath & Body Work replicas, dupe culture has since moved into an industry of its own, with the likes of The Essence Vault and Divain Parfums creating entire business models built around creating perfume dupes at a fraction of the cost.

The rise of unisex fragrances sees men, women and everyone in-between opting for genderless compositions. Since they first started gaining popularity in the early 2010s, unisex fragrances have continued to take the industry by storm. From the likes of Calvin Klein’s popular 90s fragrance CK One to Jo Malone’s tantalisingly playful Ginger Biscuit Cologne and beyond, gender-neutral fragrance marketing is in.

The consumer market is becoming a little more sceptical of the ingredients in their fragrance compositions. ‘Fragrance’ on a label indicates the presence of several pesky and potentially skin-irritating things like alcohol, additives and ingredients including isopropyl myristate and mono propylene glycol. As a result, there’s a slight, yet noticeable, shift toward oils. But even if allergies aren’t a concern, oils can be marketed as handy little portable scents to be applied on the go.

Milk notes

Milk or ‘milky’ notes are gaining popularity for their creamy comfort. An enveloping scent that captivates, milky notes are velvety and pair particularly well with sandalwood and musks, as well as sweet florals. A little opulent and ever dreamy, milky notes are thought to evoke nostalgia by adding a cosy, familiar feel to decadent accords.