How did you smell today?
Specially Eve from Valencia
Although the history of perfume dates back thousands of years, it is already clear that the 21st century
a. interest in smells and smelling are more important than ever and become a natural part of
an understandable part of the image. Perfume is no longer associated only with luxury or famous names,
on the contrary - the less tried and rarer the scents, the more they attract the current
consumer. And the mystery surrounding the aroma, which has been used in advertising for decades, is changing
greater interest and understanding of scent matching. So how is scent matching changing?
world?
New trend or necessity?
That the topic of scents has been one of the biggest in the last few years trending topic , as can be clearly seen from the trends on social networks. Under the hashtag perfume alone Instagram There are over 22 million posts and videos about perfume on the platform. Let's supplement the rich content with more accurate hashtags, like perfumelovers whether perfumecollection and the number of publications combined approaches 30 million.
On teens' favorite social platform TikTok videos about perfume recommendations, reviews, testing and more. The result of this trend is a new hobby for European teenagers - perfume. In recent years, the amount of money teenagers spend on perfume has increased by 26 percent. Generation Z is changing the way they approach perfume -
they don't want just any scent and want to choose their own perfume and understand the meaning of the chosen fragrance
fragrance notes.
According to a 2023 fragrance usage analysis, Generation Z chooses fragrances based on TikTok the trends that gave rise to smellmaxxing a term that describes the choice of perfume as a personality trait and a boost to self-confidence. Incidentally, the latter trend is more popular among boys, while girls focus mainly on skin
care routines – such children are called Sephora kids.
Is Spain's future in the perfume industry?
In the last few years, the beauty sector has been growing stronger and more profitable, and Spain perfectly illustrates this phenomenon. According to Stanpa , the National Association of Perfumes and Cosmetics, in 2023, the beauty sector's exports reached 7.7 billion euros, surpassing such important sectors for Spain as wine or olive oil. Spain is among the top 10 exporters of beauty products in the world, leading the way
globally and is firmly established in second place among perfume suppliers.
Although every year, especially in the summer, Spanish portals that write about fashion and beauty pay a lot of attention to fragrances: their recommendations, testing of new scents, In the summer of 2024, extremely telling headlines began to appear regarding information leaks about what the Queen of Spain or Penelope Cruz smells like. Eau de toilette that Spanish women buy by the liter whether A scent that makes you want to swim in the summer − article headlines,
which, given the growth of the sector, do not seem very exaggerated.
Perfume Museum in Barcelona, worth visiting
Before continuing the story of the rise of perfume, let's take a brief stop in Barcelona. In 1961, on one of the most visited streets in central Barcelona, Paseo de Gracia, Perfume Museum (in Catalan) Museu del Perfum ). The small museum is easy to miss, as you have to look for it in a cosmetics store Regia , at Paseo de Gracia 39. The museum, where the lights are only turned on when visitors arrive, features more than 5,000 perfume bottles, from the first containers used to store oils and scented ointments to the current packaging of the most famous perfume manufacturers. The opportunity to see the original Guerlain , Dior or the packaging designed by Salvador Dali himself will captivate those with a weakness for perfume. A nice detail - a ticket to the museum costs less than a cup of coffee in Lithuania.
The message in perfume advertisements
It's interesting to watch how perfume commercials change. Although some of them have had a similar plot for decades, for example, Dior still maintains the Charlize Theron-created I love The legend of the fragrance about a femme fatale, bathing in luxury, subtly radiating sexuality, the latest perfume advertising campaigns are full of a woman's resistance to society. Dua Lipa YSL Libre The fragrance commercial talks about freedom, accompanied by the elements of water, fire and air. A song that became a hit for Miley Cyrus a few years ago Flowers turned into Gucci Flora a perfume anthem about a woman who is uninhibited and defies societal standards. And, of course, Julia Roberts in her latest Life is belle l'Elixir in the ad, she swaps a party and a breathtaking outfit for a black tuxedo and the freedom to climb onto a rooftop to enjoy a moment admiring the views of Paris. The perfume is designed for a modern woman who clearly knows what she wants, and the ads themselves have acquired a more significant subtext than just the attractiveness of the woman.
Men's fragrance advertisements are also changing. Antonio Banderas, whose perfumes have been released since 1997 (a total of 92 fragrances have been released by 2024), although he continues to not abandon the theme of seduction either in the advertisements themselves or in the names of the fragrances, in recent years he has been talking about the art of seduction in a significantly different way. From a hot-blooded Spanish seducer, he has become a seducer who accepts innovations. From a man who holds a charming woman in his arms and that was enough a decade ago, he is now becoming a personality who speaks about the power of a man and a woman to create a story of seduction together. Or in another advertisement, he is initially depicted competing with a more sensitive man, but in the end both recognize each other's strength and choose an equal friendship instead of competition. Legends have long been circulating about the popularity of A. Banderas' perfume line in Spain. Devil recognized as the most popular perfume of all time, and their sales are impressive, and this has always been related to the actor's own unwavering charisma.
Niche perfumes are another hot topic
Recently, niche perfumes have been receiving more and more attention, becoming synonymous with exclusivity and individuality. Evelina Šulčienė, fragrance connoisseur, stores Fragrant divisions founder and perfume tasting organizer, identifies the idea, content, and not the packaging as the most important characteristic of niche perfumes. “Mass-marketed brands spend the majority of their budget on advertising, while niche brands invest the most in composition. Creative freedom is undoubtedly a huge advantage of niche perfumes,” emphasizes Evelina.
Because niche perfumes are made only from high-quality ingredients, they last longer, but
They can also be more pretentious in their aroma, it is recommended to try them
in small quantities. And so that the scents bring pleasure to both the one who smells and the
Evelina reminds those around her of the rules of perfume etiquette:
● Don't wear perfume in public places - there may be people with allergies around.
● Breathe moderately.
● Do not confuse daytime perfumes, which are lighter and fresher, with evening perfumes −
with richer and heavier aromas.
● Match your perfume to the occasion. Choose clean and fresh scents for your work environment,
Scents can be tempting for parties, but for a job interview, a scent will suffice.
hints.
"Perfume is like an invisible accessory that must match the outfit, time, and occasion," summarizes Evelina, who herself has over 1,000 bottles in her collection.
Fragrances, like style, are an expression of individuality and… have no expiration date. However, just as every stylish person wants to renew themselves, try something new, and not stick to the same choices year after year, perfumes should not stagnate. Over time, the aroma changes, so it is recommended to use perfumes within three years. So it is better not to give in to nostalgia and save perfumes for only a few occasions a year (which is also the fault of the author of the article, who has not finished one very special perfume for her for eight years), but to try. Never before have perfumes and the subtleties of the world of fragrances been so easily accessible to everyone.