10 perfumes that will have you smelling like luxury

Chanel Les Exclusifs de Chanel Comete Eau de Parfum, $375 for 75ml, $670 for 200ml

Credit: Chanel

1/10

It smells like: Stardust made flesh. The new Comete perfume is the 19th entrant to the maison’s premium Les Exclusifs range and the maison’s in-house perfumer Olivier Polge wanted to create a concoction that nodded to the maison’s cult Comete necklace from Gabrielle Chanel’s first high jewellery collection in 1932. Cue the Comete, a skin scent that’s said to be intensely floral, powdery and like “an aura of light”. Consider us intrigued.

Notes: Cherry blossom, heliotrope, iris, and musk

Miss Dior Parfum, $172 for 35ml, $219 for 50ml and $294 for 80ml

Credit: Dior

2/10

It smells like: Jasmine that’s extra fruity and candied – you might expect to sniff whiffs of strawberry, peach and apricot. Dior perfume creative director Francis Kurkdjian wanted to return to Miss Dior’s roots (it was created in 1947), and invoke the heady version of jasmine extract used then – hence his gourmand jasmine in the 2024 parfum version, created using a proprietary method that involves picking the flower in July and at the break of day, when it’s more green.

Notes: Jasmine, strawberry, peach, and apricot

Celine Zouzou, $390 for two x 15ml spray vials (sold as a pair), $425 for 100ml, $625 for 200ml

Credit: Celine

3/10

It smells like: A ambery and musky love letter to the youthquake of the ’60s. Celine creative director Hedi Slimane picked the title Zouzou for the maison’s 12th fragrance; a 20th century nickname that describes a young woman with short hair. Think the singular icons of ‘60s pop culture such as Jean Seberg, Twiggy, Edie Sedgwick – all women known for their magnetic, idiosyncratic personalities and who all sported cool short crops during the decade.

Notes: Benzoin, tonka bean, patchouli, labdanum, vanilline, and musk

Gucci The Heart of Leo Eau de Parfum, $575 for 100ml

Credit: Gucci

4/10

It smells like: An assertive fruit bomb, thanks to the hero ingredient of blackcurrant (it’s known to be sweet and acidic), with a touch of warm, spicy amber. The perfume, part of Gucci’s top-end The Alchemist’s Garden range – is after all meant to conjure images of the king of felines and those born under this star is said to encapsulate all those qualities.

Notes: Blackcurrant, olibanum, and myrrh

L'Artisan Parfumeur Il Etait Un Bois Eau de Parfum, $275 for 100ml

Credit: L'Artisan Parfumeur

5/10

It smells like: Like a walk through a rich vetiver forest that’s bordered by a field of buckwheat. Perfumer Caroline Dumur brought out vetiver’s naturally nutty facets through buckwheat’s grainy nuances, and in doing so, put her own signature on the French label’s familiar theme of reworking woody notes with a sprig of originality.

Notes: Vetiver, buckwheat, and cedarwood

 

Guerlain Muguet Millesime 2024 Eau de Parfum, $1,240 for 125ml

Credit: Guerlain

6/10

It smells like: Lily of the valley bottled up, tempered with a mild, honey-like tone. The French maison’s Muguet perfume dates back to 1908, when Jacques Guerlain tried to come as close as possible to capturing the essence to the lily of the valley, a flower which is typically described smelling as delicate and green. Each year, Guerlain taps on special collaborators to interpret the Muguet bottle in limited numbers – the striking mint-green one this year is by artist Anne Lopez – and there are only 20 such bottles in Singapore.

Notes: Lily of the valley, sambac jasmine absolute, rose essence and absolute

Cartier Les Epures de Parfum Pur Lilas EDT, $385 for 75ml

Credit: Cartier

7/10

It smells like: For those who want to imagine gamboling in nature without actually being there, Cartier’s Les Epures de Parfum collection might be the answer. Created by Cartier’s in-house nose Mathilde Laurent to be a series of unisex, ultra-realistic scents that “capture the fresh spontaneity of life and nothing else”, the scents in this collection each reference the flower or fruit that inspired them – think citrus fruits, magnolia, lily of the valley and rose. The latest to join the family is the Les Epures de Parfum Pur Lilas EDT – a floral number with a delicate musky undertone that focuses on presenting a very young, fresh and radiant lilac, a flower that typically only blooms at the start of spring.

Notes: Lilac

Henry Jacques Collection de l'Atelier Rose Soleil, Rose Tregs Rose, and Rose Azur, $14,220 for 30ml each

Credit: Henry Jacques

8/10

It smells like: Ultra rarefied and painterly depictions of rose. For the uninitiated, Paris-based Henry Jacques is one of the most highly regarded bespoke perfume houses in the industry today (commissioning one such concoction can cost six-figures, reportedly).  The hero ingredient of its new range, Collection de l’Atelier, is 2023 HJ Rose de Mai absolute, a harvest that was grown on the land of the brand’s atelier in the south of France. This harvest (said to be honey-like and herbaceous) inspired a limited-edition group of three rose-based scents: Rose Soleil (delicate, warm, and spicy), Rose Tregs Rose (an earthy rose), and Rose Azur (woody), with only 500 bottles of this collection available worldwide.

Notes: Rose, clove, sandalwood, patchouli and ylang-ylang.

Creed Queen of Silk Eau de Parfum, $315 for 30ml, $485 for 75ml

Credit: Creed

9/10

It smells like: A skin scent designed to be an ambery, floral ode to the lustrous fabric that is silk, with the top notes of osmanthus lending a mild softness, before giving away to the creamy tones of tuberose and vanilla.

Notes: Osmanthus, magnolia, saffron, tuberose, passion fruit, agarwood, Javanese patchouli, vanilla, incense, myrhh, ambroxan, cedarwood, and musk

Kilian Imperial Tea Eau de Parfum, price pending

Credit: Kilian

10/10

It smells like: A contemporary interpretation of jasmine green tea, inspired by the beverage’s ties to and place in Chinese culture since ancient times. But there’s also a edge of aquatic-ness to this modern tea take – the French perfumer has added a rare ingredient that’s not commonly used in perfumery – laminaria seaweed, which adds a certain mineral vibe to the blend.

Notes: Green tea, jasmine sambac absolute, bergamot, laminaria seaweed, vetiver, and musk

This article was originally published in Female.