I'm a Perfume Collector—21 Fragrances That Are Set to Define 2024 for Me
Photo:
@helenacuesta
Monday is not my usual gourmand, which is warm and cozy. Instead, this is bright and creamy with sassy florals. It’s perfectly named, as I’d want to start the week with this. I can’t get enough of the bottles—they’re like little pieces of art!
Perfumers Marissa Zappas of her eponymous fragrance brand and Courtney Rafuse of Universal Flowering joined forces on a new line called Gumamina with scents inspired by Swan Lake. Those swan toppers! Odette called to me and has notes of blood orange, dark chocolate, and rubber, but Odile (below!) intrigued me with notes of grapefruit soda, rhubarb, and rose.
The future is truly here, and it is wild. Future Society sequenced the DNA of extinct flowers and made perfumes out of them. It’s giving Jurassic Park. I’ve got my eye on Solar Canopy, which has notes of Turkish rose, lychee, pistachio, and pink sugar. It uses a DNA sample of hibiscadelphus wilderianus aka Maui hau kuahiwi, a species that was endemic to Hawaii in its past life but was last observed in 1912. Learning that made me want to cry. What a brilliant concept for a perfume brand.
I got my hands on the Libra scent many years ago and loved it (it’s described as a peach Bellini), so this fun set with all 12 astrological-themed perfumes is a must. The notes for each fragrance sample are laid out like constellations, making it easy to experiment with layering.
Who What Wear Beauty Director Erin Jahns, a fellow gourmand queen, is responsible for introducing me to Perfumehead and how you should layer these two particular perfumes together. The resulting scent does that thing where I’m reminded of something from my past that I can’t exactly pinpoint—some sort of limbo feeling in my olfactory memory. Canadian Tuxedo has notes of coriander, cumin, and tonka bean, and Cosmic Cowboy has tobacco leaf and black musk. Sometimes, the combination reminds me of being a baby witch in high school, and other times, it reminds me of the little ballerina jewelry box I had as a kid. It’s magical and maddening at the same time, and I love it.
This new-to-me indie fragrance house has an assortment of gourmand scents I’m dreaming about, but Winter Sanctuary, in particular, sounds divine. Notes include feuille de vanille, ginger mint, French lavender, and dried Somali rose. Heaven.
I missed out on Melanie Martinez’s first fragrance, Cry Baby Perfume Milk, years ago and never got to smell it. It’s still a hot commodity. (Bottles go for $2000 on reseller sites.) The response has been similar to her newest fragrance offering, a four-scent collection called Portals. The scents are named Water of Intuition, which has sandalwood, cedarwood, and amber musk; Air of Clarity, which has caramel coconut, and tonka bean; Fiery Passion, which uses strawberry, jasmine, and vanilla; and Earthy Abundance, which has green tea, turmeric leaf, and lavender absolute.
Eauso Vert became one of my favorite perfume brands last year, as I fell in love with Purple Noon. The brand’s newest scent is already a hit with me and my nose. It is literally a dark fruit, which is my favorite type of scent next to traditional gourmands. It has black pepper, Mexican black cherries, quince jam, and frankincense. Just gorgeous.
Before we do anything, let’s just take a peek at these delicious notes: brown sugar, cardamom, cinnamon, orange blossom, and frankincense. For some reason, it makes me want to go dancing in a dive bar and stay up all night. Sexy!
I’m a big fan of Phlur, and Mood Ring is totally up my alley. It’s a fruity floral with notes of fruit gummies, pitaya, orange flower, jasmine sambac, and musks.
The new Guilty Elixir is a warm floral scent. It has top notes of bergamot and violet accord, followed by heart notes of wisteria and rose, and ending with a dry-down of tonka beans, patchouli, and vanilla absolute. It’s definitely a new favorite of mine from the Gucci fragrance family.
This may be a lotion, but I had to throw Native’s Holiday Collection on this list! The scents are so dang good I’m crossing my fingers the brand comes out with some perfumes or body sprays someday.
When I came across this indie fragrance brand randomly one day, the old goth teen in me screamed. I can’t resist the antique-looking bottles, and the gourmands, like Victorian Mourning, sound too good to pass up. This scent has notes of black tea, clove, violet, and vanilla musk. I must try it ASAP.
This fruity floral features notes of black currant, sparkling lychee, red apple, rose, and candied violet, plus sugared amber and vanilla absolute. The brand suggests layering it with one of my favorite Kayali fragrances, Yum Pistachio Gelato. I can’t wait to try that too.
Le Labo’s take on a lavender perfume is interesting, to say the least. The presence of bergamot and neroli accompanies the lavender, allowing it to not come across grandma-like. Curious!
I’m still familiarizing myself with D.S. & Durga, believe it or not. This set of six fragrances is perfect for a newbie like me. I already know I’m gonna love Pistachio!