We found two very interesting articles about the most expensive perfumes in the world.

Here are the links to these articles and enjoy reviewing:

• 10 most expensive perfumes for women
• 10 most expensive perfumes for men

It surely must be very tempting to test these fragrances on your next visit to a perfumery.

Packaging / Glass / Natural Perfume

The presentation of some of these perfumes is literally amazing and they all seem to have in common:

• beautiful, elaborate packaging
• outlandish presentation
• priceless vials, glass and stoppers
• precious and rare natural perfume ingredients in a high concentration

It is sad that one actually has to use these perfumes ! Fragrance does have an expiry date and does not improve with age, unlike some fine wines or spirits.

At least the feeling when applying and wearing these perfumes will be very special and receiving one of them as a gift is a treat extraordinaire.

Welcome to the count down for the Top Ten best selling Men’s fragrances in France in 2014 or as we like to say “Top for the Pop’s”.

A new Best-Seller !

And the winner of the crown of the ‘best-selling male fragrance of 2014’ in France is … ‘Invictus’ by Paco Rabanne. Hermes, Chanel and Hugo Boss also enjoyed a successful year and achieved very good sales.

‘1 Million’ (Paco Rabanne) lost its place at the top to ‘Invictus’ by Paco Rabanne. It is surprising how quickly this fragrance entered the top 10 to become its best-seller, considering it was launched in 2013. Traditionally, the male fragrance market does not see such rapid changes.

[sliderpro id=”18″]

 

Stabilised Market

Overall, the sales value of male fragrances in France was roughly the same as the previous year, with a small decline of 0.6%. However, this was a much smaller decline than the male fragrance market by -1.7% in 2013. In terms of the quantity of perfume bottles sold, the decrease was more noticeable, i.e. –  4%. Essentially, this shows that loss in volume was offset for the majority through sales of higher value products or higher prices for existing fragrances.

In 2014, the crown for the most successful new launch went to ‘L’Homme Idéal’ (Guerlain), a woody, oriental and gourmand scent.

Top 10 Male Fragrances in France in 2014 (in terms of Value):

	2014	2013
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10	Paco Rabanne : Invictus Chanel : Bleu de Chanel Hermès : Terre d’Hermès Paco Rabanne : 1 Million Hugo Boss : Boss Bottled Jean Paul Gaultier : Le Mâle Dior : Eau Sauvage YSL : La Nuit de l’Homme Giorgio Armani : Acqua di Gio Guerlain : Habit Rouge	Paco Rabanne : 1 Million Jean Paul Gaultier : Le Mâle Dior : Eau Sauvage Hermès : Terre d’Hermès Chanel : Bleu de Chanel YSL : La Nuit de l’Homme Dior : Dior Homme Hugo Boss : Boss Bottled Chanel : Allure Homme Sport YSL : L’Homme

Please note,  these figures exclude all flankers and fresh/intense editions, which is not usually the case when ranking the top 10 . If one had included these, then ‘Only the Brave’ (Diesel) would have joined the Top 10 at number 10.

[sliderpro id=”19″]

 

Top 10 Men’s Perfumes in France in 2014 (in terms of Units Sold):

	2014
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10	Paco Rabanne : Invictus Hugo Boss : Boss Bottled Paco Rabanne : 1 Million Jean Paul Gaultier : Le Mâle Chanel : Bleu de Chanel Hermès : Terre d’Hermès Dior : Eau Sauvage YSL : La Nuit de l’Homme Azzaro : Azzaro pour Homme Azzaro : Chrome

Worthy of note is how Chanel and Hermes were able to achieve higher prices with their perfumes.

The sales of Dior Homme ‘Intense’ were nearly the equivalent of Dior ‘Homme’. Similarly, Hermes increased it sales thanks to the successful launch of ‘Terre d’Hermès Eau Très Fraîche’, a more citrussy version, presumably launched to compete with ‘Eau Sauvage’ (Dior), as both can be described as classic & fresh themes.

[sliderpro id=”20″]

 

Woods are dominant !

Of the top 10 perfumes sold based on the number of bottles, it can clearly be seen that the most popular olfactory group amongst consumers is woody, with half of those on the list being of that variety. ‘Woody-Spicy’ were 3 of these 5. ‘Oriental’ were 2 of these 10 fragrances. Fragrances directions traditionally associated with male fragrances in France, ‘citrus’ and ‘aquatic’, were only represented by one fragrance each.

All of the male fragrances in France contain ‘citrus’ in their top notes, with ‘grapefruit’ and ‘bergamot’ dominating. Worthy of note is also the inclusion of ‘peppermint’ in a 3 top notes !

In the heart of the accords, dominate ‘woody’ and ‘spicy’ ingredients, with ‘cinnamon’ being present in 4 perfumes.

In terms of base notes, ‘patchouli’ can be found in 6 out of 10 accords and ‘cedar’ in 7 out of them.

Very few ingredients associated with the ‘gourmand’ trend, can be found within the Top 10 Male fragrances.

Even though one has traditionally associated the colour ‘blue’ with male fragrances, 6 out of 10 perfumes were a yellow or golden colour, whilst only 3 out of the 10 were blue.

The top two fragrances were launched within the last 5 years and the 3rd & 4th placed fragrances were brought to the market in the middle of the last decade. The fragrances in 5th and 6th place were launched approx. 10 years before that. The oldest two fragrances are both from the mid sixties, 1966 and 1965.

What can be expected in 2015 ?

For 2015, ‘Invictus’ is in a strong position to maintain its leading position, simply because a large number of consumers have not yet discovered this fragrance, just as ‘Terre d’Hermès’ still has room for growth. ‘Bleu de Chanel’ increased its sales by over 18%, especially through the successful launch of its ‘eau de parfum’ version. Boss ‘Bottled’ expects that its new ‘Intense’ version will lead to success in 2015.

The above demonstrates that male fragrance market is nowadays more volatile and receptive to new product.

Couture Perfume for your home

If you like these couture fragrances and would like your home to be inspired by these trends in France, then the PAIRFUM Collection is for you. We are a boutique perfumery house that specialises in bringing your favourite fragrances into the home environment.

Here at PAIRFUM we create perfume trends by bringing the outstanding fragrance ingredients in your home.

To experience this for yourself, you should discover one of our luxury scented candles, natural reed diffuser fragrances or room perfume sprays.

For example, PAIRFUM’s ‘Rich Spices’ was created around the ‘woody-spicy’ accord that is so dominat in French men’s fragrances. Equally, ‘Cedar Noir’ is based on the woody and ambery notes you find in ‘Invictus’. Alternatively, our ‘SPA’ perfume shares elements with the accord you find in ‘Acqua di Gio’. We developed ‘Bergamot & White Tea’ to be a modern interpretation of ‘Eau Sauvage’.

[sliderpro id=”22″]

 

Product Details of the Top 10

Name: INVICTUS
By: Paco Rabanne
Year: 2013
Gender: Man
Olfactory group: Woody – Aquatic
Top Notes : Grapefruit, Marine
Heart Notes : Laurel, Gaiac Wood
Base Notes : Patchouli Note, Ambry Notes

Name: BLEU
By: Chanel
Year: 2010
Gender: Man
Olfactory group: Aromatic – Fresh
Top Notes : Nutmeg, Rose-bay, Peppermint, Lemon, Orange, Grapefruit
Heart Notes : Jasmine, Cedar, Vetiver, Ginger, Dry Notes
Base Notes : Labdanum Ciste, Patchouli, Sandalwood, Oliban

Name:TERRE D’HERMÈS
By: Hermès
Year: 2006
Gender: Man
Olfactory group: Woody – Spicy
Top Notes : Orange, Grapefruit, Flint
Heart Notes : Patchouli, Pepper, Rose-bay, Geranium Leaves
Base Notes : Benzoin, Vetiver, Atlas Cedar

Name: 1 MILLION
By: Paco Rabanne
Year: 2008
Gender: Man
Olfactory group: Woody – Spicy
Top Notes : Peppermint, Mandarin, Grapefruit
Heart Notes : Cinnamon, Rose Absolute, Spices
Base Notes : Patchouli, Amber, White Wood, Blond Leather

Name: BOSS Bottled
By: Hugo Boss
Year: 1998
Gender: Man
Olfactory group: Woody – Spicy
Top Notes : Apple, Plum, Bergamot, Lemon
Heart Notes : Carnation, Rosewood, Clove, Cinnamon
Base Notes : Vanilla, Cedar, Sandalwood, Vetiver

Name:LE MÂLE
By: Jean-Paul Gaultier
Year: 1995
Gender: Man
Olfactory group: Oriental (M) – Fougere
Top Notes : Lavender, Peppermint, Bergamot
Heart Notes : Orange Blossom, Cinnamon, Cumin
Base Notes : Vanilla, Cedar, Sandalwood, Tonka Bean

Name: EAU SAUVAGE
By: Dior
Year: 1966
Gender: Man
Olfactory group: Citrus (M) – Aromatic
Top Notes : Rosemary, Basil, Lemon, Petitgrain
Heart Notes : Jasmine, Carnation, Rose, Iris
Base Notes : Vetiver, Oakmoss, White Musks

Name: LA NUIT DE L’HOMME
By: Yves Saint Laurent
Year: 2009
Gender: Man
Olfactory group: Woody – Floral musk
Top Notes : Cardamom seed, Bergamot, Floral Notes
Heart Notes : Lavender, Virginia Cedar, Aromatic Notes
Base Notes : Vetiver, Coumarin

Name: ACQUA DI GIO POUR HOMME
By: Armani
Year: 1996
Gender: Man
Olfactory group: Aromatic – Aquatic
Top Notes : Bergamot, Lemon, Sweet Lime, Mandarin
Heart Notes : Cyclamen, Freesia, Coriander, Marine
Base Notes : Cedar, Patchouli, Oakmoss, White Musks

Name: HABIT ROUGE
By: Guerlain
Year: 1965
Gender: Man
Olfactory group: Oriental (M) – Woody
Top Notes : Rosewood, Bergamot, Lemon, Mandarin
Heart Notes : Carnation, Cedar, Patchouli, Cinnamon
Base Notes : Benzoin, Vanilla, Amber, Leather

Additional Fragrance Details

Name: ALLURE HOMME SPORT
By: Chanel
Year: 2004
Gender: MAN
Olfactory group: WOODY – SPICY
Top Notes : Mandarin, Orange, Aquatic Note, Aldehydic
Heart Notes : Cedar, Pepper, Neroli
Base Notes : Vetiver, White Musks, Tonka Bean, Amber

Name: L’HOMME
By: Yves Saint Laurent
Year: 2006
Gender: MAN
Olfactory group: WOODY – FLORAL MUSK
Top Notes : Ozone, Ginger, Citrus
Heart Notes : Violet Blossom, Basil
Base Notes : Cedar, Sandalwood, Vetiver, Tonka Bean

Name: AZZARO POUR HOMME
By: Azzaro
Year: 1978
Gender: Man
Olfactory group: Aromatic – Fougere
Top Notes : Fennel, Lavender, Anise, Basil
Heart Notes : Patchouli, Sandalwood, Vetiver, Cardamom seed
Base Notes : Oakmoss, White Musks, Amber, Leather

Name: CHROME
By: Azzaro
Year: 1996
Gender: Man
Olfactory group: Citrus (M) – Aromatic
Top Notes : Rosemary, Ginger, Pineapple, Lemon, Petitgrain
Heart Notes : Jasmine, Cyclamen, Coriander, Iris
Base Notes : Cedar, Oakmoss, White Musks, Tonka Bean

Name: ONLY THE BRAVE
By: Diesel
Year: 2009
Gender: Man
Olfactory group: Oriental (M) – Woody
Top Notes : Lemon, Mandarin
Heart Notes : VIOLET Blossom, Cedar, Coriander
Base Notes : Labdanum Ciste, Styrax, Amber

Name: DIOR HOMME
By: Dior
Year: 2005
Gender: Man
Olfactory group: Woody – Floral Musk
Top Notes : Lavender, Sage, Bergamot
Heart Notes : Cocoa, Amber, Iris Concrète
Base Notes : Patchouli, Vetiver, Leather

Name: L’HOMME IDÉAL
By: Guerlain
Year: 2014
Gender: Man
Olfactory group: Oriental (M) – Woody
Top Notes : Orange Blossom, Rosemary, Citrusy Notes
Heart Notes : Tonka Bean, Almond
Base Notes : Vanilla, Cedar, Vetiver, Leather Accord

Name: TERRE D’HERMÈS EAU TRÈS FRAÎCHE
By: Hermès
Year: 2014
Gender: Man
Olfactory group: Citrus (M) – Aromatic
Top Notes : Aldehydic, Seville Orange
Heart Notes : Spicy Notes, Mineral Notes
Base Notes : Oakmoss, Woody Notes

Name: DIOR HOMME INTENSE
By: Dior
Year: 2007
Gender: Man
Olfactory group: Oriental (M) – Woody
Top Notes : Bergamot, Lavander Note
Heart Notes : Ambergris, Cocoa, Ambrette Seeds, Iris Concrète
Base Notes : Cedar, Patchouli, Vetiver, Leather

As the first of the sales figures for 2014 are coming in, we can see already in France that it brought a few surprises but equally that some trends are not disappearing yet. The market intelligence presented in this article originates from the ‘NPD Group’ and it was published by ChallengeS, a French magazine.

Gourmand Notes dominate !

While in France the classic scents are suffering in the market, the Gourmand trend continues to charm female consumers and has not yet been overtaken by the ‘new woods’ and ‘chypres’, despite this being forecast.

The crown of the ‘best selling female fragrance’ in France goes to Lancôme’s ‘La Vie est Belle’, a sweet accord with caramel and cotton candy, with J’adore by Dior coming in second. And yet we also see a powdery floral note and a woody accords with hints of incense.

2014 was a better year for perfume than the previous ones. Indeed, after several years of decline, the market grew by 0.2%. Women’s fine fragrances fared the best, with a 0.6% rise in value. However, when analysing the volumes, the market shows a 3% decrease in the number of product units sold. Hence, the progress in the market can be attributed to higher prices.

Beyond the excellent results of La Vie est Belle (Guerlain), L’Oreal succeeded with the best launch of 2014 with Black Opium d’Yves Saint Laurent.

Top 10 Female Perfumes in France in 2014 (in terms of Value):

	2014	2013
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10	Lancôme : La vie est belle Dior : J’adore Guerlain : La petite Robe noire Chanel : Coco Mademoiselle Chanel : N°5 Yves Saint Laurent : Opium Thierry Mugler : Angel Dior : Miss Dior Guerlain : Shalimar Kenzo : Flower by Kenzo	Dior : J’adore Guerlain : La petite Robe noire Lancôme : La vie est belle Chanel : N°5 Thierry Mugler : Angel Chanel : Coco Mademoiselle Dior : Miss Dior Guerlain : Shalimar Kenzo : Kenzo : Flower by Kenzo YSL : Parisienne

In this list, the sales of Opium increased because the sales of Black Opium are included in the figure. La Petite Robe Noire by Guerlain retained its position in the top 3 thanks to the inclusion of La petite Robe Noire Couture in its figures  proved to be the second most successful launch of the year. Miss Dior maintained its position in the top 10 due to the success of Miss Dior Blooming Bouquet.

[sliderpro id=”15″]

 

Top 10 Women’s Perfumes in France in 2014 (in terms of Units Sold):

	2014
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10	Lancôme : La vie est belle Dior : J’adore Chanel : Coco Mademoiselle Guerlain : La petite Robe noire Chanel : N°5 Thierry Mugler : Angel Yves Saint Laurent : Black Opium Guerlain : Shalimar Kenzo : Flower by Kenzo Armani : Si

Black Opium made a remarkable entry into the top 10. This augurs well for an entry into the top 5, or even top 3 in 2015.  Si d’Armani achieved the biggest progressed compared to the previous year, with an increase of more than 75%. The fragrance Repetto saw a noteworthy increase of more than 30% !

[sliderpro id=”16″]

 

Trends

These figures confirm that the Gourmand fragrances are still of the greatest interest to consumers. Despite the claims by forecasting agencies last year, there are few signs that the gourmand trend is giving way to Woody and Chypre Accords.

Another observation is that the classics are struggling. For example, despite a new advertising campaign Angel’s place in the market declined. Chanel No. 5 has been overtaken by Coco Mademoiselle. The new advertising campaign with Gisele Bündchen and the relaunching of l’Eau Première therefore had no real effect on the declining sales of Chanel No. 5.

The market is dominated by Oriental scents (1 perfume in 2 in value terms), followed by Floral scents, closely followed in third by Chypre. Of the top 10, 6 were Oriental, 2 were Floral and 2 were Chypre. The rise of Chypre-Fruity is noticeable.

Delving a little deeper into the notes themselves, Bergamot is the most popular top note, as it is included in half of the top 10 French perfumes of 2014. Top notes containing Red Fruits (in various forms) are worthy of note. Rose & Jasmin combination are not surprisingly, still very popular in the heart of accords. Vanilla can be found in 9 out of the 10 perfumes as a base note, which demonstrates its continuing popularity with consumers. Patchouli, a woody note, features heavily, with its inclusion in 7 out of the top 10 fragrances – most commonly as a base note.

In tough economic times, consumers continue to prefer new products. Whilst the number of fragrances launched continues to increase, the market generally remains stagnant with little or no growth. In a saturated market, the perfume houses are reviving their products, either in terms of products/fragrance, presentation/image or the purchase experience itself.

[sliderpro id=”17″]

 

Couture Perfume for your home

If you love the latest couture fragrance trends in France, then you should definitely try the perfumes within the PAIRFUM Collection. It is the only boutique perfumery house that brings all of the fragrances trends into your home.

Here at PAIRFUM we interpret fine fragrance trends and adapt the outstanding perfume ingredients to work in your home. The expertise required is completely different to creating perfumes for your skin, which is one of the reasons why the couture perfume house do not offer room fragrances.

Try one of our luxury perfumes candles, natural reed diffusers or room perfume sprays and you will experience it for yourself.

One phrase we hear time and time again from our customers: “PAIRFUM’s perfumes do not smell like room fragrances , they smell like Couture Perfumes that you would love to wear”.

For example, PAIRFUM’s ‘Black Orchid’ shares a lot of ingredients with ‘La Vie Est Belle’. Equally, ‘Orangerie Blossoms’ has been created with the accord that ‘J’Adore’ is based on and our ‘White Sandalwood’ compares well with ‘Coco Mademoiselle’.

[sliderpro id=”21″]

 

Product Details

Name: LA VIE EST BELLE
By: Lancôme
Year: 2012
Gender: Woman
Olfactory Groups: Oriental – Floral
Top Notes: Pear, Blackcurrant, Aldehyde
Heart Notes: Orange Blossom, Jasmine, Iris
Base Notes: Vanilla, Praline, Patchouli, Tonka Bean

Name: J’ADORE
By: Dior
Year: 1999
Gender: Woman
Olfactory Groups: Floral – Fruity
Top Notes: Violet Blossom, Champaca
Heart Notes: Rose, Orchid, Plum
Base Notes: Vanilla, Blackberry, White Musks, Amarath Wood

Name: LA PETITE ROBE NOIRE
By: Guerlain
Year: 2012
Gender: Woman
Olfactory Groups: Oriental – Floral
Top Notes: Almond, Cherry, Bergamot, Red Fruits
Heart Notes: Rose, Licorice, Lapsang Leaves, Black Tea
Base Notes: Vanilla, Patchouli, Iris, Tonka Bean

Name: COCO MADEMOISELLE
By: Chanel
Year: 2001
Gender: Woman
Olfactory Groups: Chypre – Floral
Top Notes: Bergamot, Orange
Heart Notes: Jasmine, Rose
Base Notes: Vanilla, Patchouli, Vetiver, White Musks

Name: N°5
By: Chanel
Year: 1921
Gender: Woman
Olfactory Groups: Floral – Aldehyde
Top Notes: Bergamot, Lemon, Aldehyde Notes, Neroli
Heart Notes: Jasmine, Rose, Ylang Ylang, Lily-of-the-Valley, Iris
Base Notes: Vanilla, Sandalwood, Vetiver, Amber

Name: OPIUM
By: Yves Saint Laurent
Year: 1977
Gender: Woman
Olfactory Groups: Oriental – Spicy
Top Notes: Cinnamon, Pimento, Pepper, Orange
Heart Notes: Jasmine, Carnation, Rose, Ylang Ylang
Base Notes: Benzoin, Vanilla, Oppoponax, Patchouli

Name: ANGEL
By: Thierry Mugler
Year: 1992
Gender: Woman
Olfactory Groups: Oriental – Vanilla
Top Notes: Bergamot, Mandarin
Heart Notes: Passion Fruit, Peach, Apricot
Base Notes: Vanilla, Caramel, Patchouli, Chocolate

Name: MISS DIOR
By: Dior
Year: 2005
Gender: Woman
Olfactory Groups: Chypre – Fruity
Top Notes: Violet leaves, Strawberry Leaves, Green Mandarin
Heart Notes: Wild Strawberry, Pink Jasmine, Pop-corn
Base Notes: Patchouli, Crystalline Musk

Name: SHALIMAR
By: Guerlain
Year: 1925
Gender: Woman
Olfactory Groups: Oriental – Vanilla
Top Notes: Cedar, Bergamot, Lemon, Mandarin
Heart Notes: Jasmine, Rose, Patchouli, Iris
Base Notes: Peru Balsam, Benzoin, Vanilla, Leather

Name: FLOWER BY KENZO
By: Kenzo
Year: 2000
Gender: Woman
Olfactory Groups: Oriental – Floral
Top Notes: Hawthorn, Blackcurrant
Heart Notes: Violet Blossom, Jasmine, Rose
Base Notes: Vanilla, Oppoponax, White Musks

Additional Product Details

Name: BLACK OPIUM
By: Yves Saint Laurent
Year: 2014
Gender: Woman
Olfactory Groups: Oriental – Spicy
Top Notes: Pink Pepper, Orange Blossom, Pear
Heart Notes: Jasmine, Coffee
Base Notes: Vanilla, Patchouli, Cedar

Name: SÌ
By: Armani
Year: 2013
Gender: Woman
Olfactory groups: Chypre – Fruity
Top Notes : Freesia, Blackcurrant
Heart Notes : Rose, Patchouli
Base Notes : Vanilla, Blond Wood, Orcanox

Name: LA PETITE ROBE NOIRE COUTURE
By: Guerlain
Year: 2014
Gender: Woman
Olfactory Groups: Chypre – Fruity
Top Notes : Raspberry, Bergamot
Heart Notes : Rose, Floral Notes
Base Notes : Patchouli, Vetiver, Oakmoss, Tonka Bean

Name: MISS DIOR BLOOMING BOUQUET
By: Dior
Year: 2014
Gender: Woman
Olfactory Groups: Floral – Fruity
Top Notes : Mandarin
Heart Notes : Rose, Peony, Peach, Apricot
Base Notes : White Musks

Name: PARISIENNE
by: Yves Saint Laurent
Year: 2009
Gender: WOMAN
Olfactory groups: Floral – Woody Musk
Top Notes : Blackberry, Vinyl Accord, Cranberry
Heart Notes : Violet Blossom, Rose, Peony, Leather, Powdery
Base Notes : Patchouli, Sandalwood, Vetiver, White Musks

Name: REPETTO
by: Repetto
Year: 2013
Gender: WOMAN
Olfactory groups: Floral – Fruity
Top Notes : Pear, Cherry blossom
Heart Notes : Rose, Orange Blossom Absolute
Base Notes : Vanilla, Amberwood