“The trend now is to talk about neuroscience more than olfactory notes. It’s about what ingredients to use in perfumery to change the mood. I think the future is there,” says Nuria Cruelles, Loewe perfumer and member of the Perfume Academy. “Fragrance ingredient houses are launching products in which the evocation of a positive mood and the contribution to well-being are as important as the final result in olfactory terms,” she points out from the Academy.
The starting point is emotions, something that also awakens the indefinable smell of the pages of a book in readers. Perfume is increasingly used as a self-care tool, as a connector for language, memory and memories, with all that that implies. There are already olfactory books that, with a creative scratch and sniff method, explore their educational possibilities by helping people learn new words by associating them with an aroma. New paths to explore.
Another clear trend has been detected in the nominations for the 2024 annual awards of the Perfume Academy: sustainability. “From raw materials and packaging to manufacturing processes and support for the communities where the crops originate,” the institution points out. Pay attention to the ingredients obtained by biotechnology from yeasts, bacteria and plants to come.
The gender border tends to be more fluid, in step with fashion and society. Flowers such as rose and iris sneak undisguisedly into a priori masculine perfumes; Just like wood, lavender or vetiver gain prominence in theirs. The freedom to recognize yourself in a scent converted into an expression of identity or simple self-enjoyment. With spring on the horizon, the freshness, now more complex, less light and with more substance, is ready to take over. Even vanilla, queen of gourmand, is unexpectedly rediscovered, with fresh and smoky notes.
Only Vulcan, from Loewe, 50 ml, 125 euros. With the brand accord based on the aromatic oil extracted from rock rose, a wild flower that grows in rocky terrain in Spain. Illustration of rockrose from Curtis’s Botanical Magazine.
L’Eau d’Issey Pour Homme Solar Lavender, by Issey Miyake, 100ml, 110 euros. The 15 stories of Days of Winter, by Kajii Motojirò (Gallo Nero, 18 euros), take us to Japan
Bibliothèque, by Byredo, 50 ml, 155 euros, invites you to read. Chandler Burr’s perfect perfume (Superflua, 22.90 euros) helps you understand the ins and outs of the industry
Philips Series 9000 shaver with AI, from Philips, 329.99 euros. Gaining time in the mornings widens the margin for reading. Meters per second, by Stine Pilgaaard (Nordic books, 19.50 euros)
Force Supreme antiaging cream, from Biotherm Homme, 55.99 euros. The passage of time, passion and relationships experienced are reflected in The Farewells, by Jacobo Bergareche (Books of the Asteroid, 18.95 euros)
Ha densimatrix moisturizing serum, from Mesoestetic, 83.10 euros. Long-lasting hydration for a crime novel that is actually three. Freddie Montgomery Trilogy, by John Banville (Alfaguara, 27.45 euros)
Flamenco, from the Spanish Collection line by perfume academic Ramón Monegal, 50 ml, 190 euros. Perfect for reading El enigma Paco de Lucía, by César Suárez (Lumen, 18.90 euros)
Born in Roma Uomo Green, by Valentino, 100 ml, 120 euros. Combines with Our Ancestors, by Italo Calvino (Siruela, 26.50 euros), commemorative edition of the writer’s centenary.
In The Call, by Leila Guerrero (Anagrama, 19.85 euros), Leila Guerrero reconstructs the story of Silvia Labayrú, a survivor of the ESMA during the Argentine dictatorship, where she was raped and tortured. MYSLF, by YSL Beauty, 100 ml, 130 euros, invites you to explore your own identity as the human condition is portrayed in
Isdinceutics K-Ox Eyes anti-bags and anti-dark circles eye contour, from Isdin, 59.95 euros. Time, by Stefan Klein (Península, 18.90 euros) is a delicious essay on its relativity.
