Happy New Year 2026 and best perfumes of 2025

 It is always a validation counting yet another year piling in one's life; not everyone manages to do so, alas. It is also a pleasure counting successes and work relations with the very best people. It's something earned, not just happening. In light of aromatic escapades and collaborations in the realm of perfumery, 2025 has been satisfactorily full, and I wish for 2026 to be just as successful and more so!

In the meantime, here is what I chose for the best in 2025 and hope you share with me your own choices and discoveries in the comments.

Dependable best 2025 fragrances

Shalimar L’Essence, released by Guerlain to mark the 100th anniversary of the iconic original, is truly a cause for celebration. Guerlain’s dedication to its heritage is well-documented and rightly praised; this edition achieves the rare feat of modernizing a legend without betraying its soul. It acts as a sort of "training bra" for new acolytes—a welcoming entry point into the mythos; no rubbery notes like the current eau de parfum edition, just suede but not limp-wristed at all. 

 Ysayo is the latest offering from the Dutch niche house Puredistance, and it is a compelling fragrance to savor. Perfumer Antoine Lie masterfully explores European and Japanese themes, resulting in a deeply satisfying composition. Animalic, green, acrid, rich, very satisfyingly old school but done in a contemporary way by perfumer Antoine Lie whose work we follow with rapt attention. 

 Very Worth Your While Fragrances 2025

Vetiveria by Ormonde Jayne is a freshie that merits noting for the warmer months ahead. While the market is saturated with hundreds of vetiver fragrances, the finest among them are truly magnificent. In my view, Ormonde Jayne’s 2025 release, Vetiveria, is superior to the brand’s earlier Zizan—a more traditional masculine vetiver from the house's early years. The addition of tonka bean, with its subtle almond-like impression, is a particularly inspired choice that creates a compelling tension within the composition. A case of upgrading a pillar fragrance through a new concentration or flanker. Not unheard of, but worth noticing always. 

Barénia Eau de Parfum Intense by Hermès smooths the rough edges of the original Barénia while heightening the boldness. It is an intellectual chypre with a leathery veneer—a masterful example of how to reassert a brand's status in the luxury sector. I vastly prefer it to last year’s pillar. 

 With Tonka Latte, the French house Dusita Parfums reimagines the milky-almond gourmand genre with exceptional refinement. It allows one to indulge in a gourmand profile without being overwhelmed by the "diabetic" excesses found in many contemporary scents. It's part of the easy-to-wear, creamy aroma of toasted almonds and posh body lotions, yummy but Parisian-chic too. 

Manos Gerakis and his team possess the technical finesse and balance required to create impeccable, upscale compositions. These scents behave with a social grace befitting an adult, rather than a hungry kindergartner. This year’s Amandus is a gourmand executed with perfection. 

You can read more details on my Fragrantica end of the year article. 

Unexpected discoveries of 2025 

 Olymra, a new niche brand from Switzerland, headed by a Greek scientist. Moving away from tired tourist clichés and grounded in a solid scientific foundation, this Swiss-Greek was my introduction to the wider perfume discussion online. My latest discovery, then, the brand was founded by Dr. Frederiki (Frida) Mihailidou, an award-winning Organic Chemistry lecturer and researcher in Biochemistry based in Zurich. I was immediately struck by her dedication to the chemistry of the rare flora found on Mount Olympus—the brand's namesake—which culminated in a scientific expedition of botanists and chemists in situ. The 6 fragrances have a high load of natural extracts in their formula and smell alive. 

Amphore Athenes is a Greek niche brand, which explores the realm of Hellenistic influences in perfume, through the lens of cultural associations. The website is where the action goes, I hope they upgrade the infrastructure to be fully functioning with the cart soon. 

 On the other end of the spectrum, Lidl supermarkets have updated their inexpensive line of small bottles of fragrant eaux. The one called Salted Breeze is the best, in my humble opinion, being quite close to Jo Malone's Wood Sage & Sea Salt at a tiny fraction of the price. You do need to spray a lot of this one, as no matter its eau de parfum concentration it is rather thin, but the payoff is good. 

photo borrowed via Pinterest

The MEMO Paris line of leather fragrances has been tampered with. The scents smell less leathery, the oomph has gone done. French Leather however remains very good still. 

The persistence of lactonic fragrances as a major trend.Whether expressed through notes of peach, sandalwood, or coconut milk, lactones were a defining trend this year. Even consumers who are not technically versed in the meaning of the adjective "lactonic" have embraced this creamy aesthetic. The movement was ignited by the social media virality that catapulted fragrances like Blanche Bête and Bianco Latte into the spotlight, and the industry has followed suit. This trajectory is far from over; expect a continued wave of creamy, peachy compositions, often accented by nut accords—the other major obsession of the year (as seen in the frenzy surrounding pistachio and the so called "Dubai chocolate" notes).

Interviews I took from inside the industry

With perfumer Christina Koutsoudaki part 1 and part 2

With perfumer Ioanna Tanionou part 1 and part 2

Interviews the media took from me

Perfume as an industry and cultural signposts for the meta-niche scene Part 1

and  Ancient and Byzantine history insights on scent and perfumery Part 2

LIFO.gr: Arabian perfumes -copies and dupes or not?  (a top 10 info-portal/webzine in Greece)

The New York Times, interview by Joanna Cassidy

Happy New Year everybody!

Almond, marzipan and Tonka Latte by Dusita

 

Marzipan, the almond paste soft enough to mold into shapes, on the other hand, has known commercial success long before hazelnut became a household name. 

via

There is Hypnotic Poison of course to thank for that. a staggering success across all age brackets, to the point that for many this is the archetypal Poison (especially millennials who did not recall the original Poison from the 1980s). Pi (Givenchy) was also strong, especially in the years following since its launch in 1998, opening the vista for masculine fragrances into something unapologetically sweet. Jour de Fête, again from L’Artisan Parfumeur, took the almond note into a special preparation in 2004: sugared almonds (also called Jordan almonds for some). And then Tonka Impériale from Guerlain folded the almondy paste into the glorious effect of a baroque serving table in 2010. 

photo borrowed via 

 Dusita Tonka Latte is the latest offering on the edible deliciousness of almond, launched in 2025. Soft marzipan is an understatement. As I had written, back when picking the best launches I had tried until the first weeks of summer, "The gourmand genre is overshadowing everything in its stride, commercially dominating the market, especially in the 17-40 age group. It's not something to cry about, of course, people need the jolt of newness to respark their interest in perfumery. The French brand Dusita recreates the milk-almondy genre with their newest creation Tonka Latte in a refined way. It therefore makes it possible to indulge in a gourmand fragrance without being overwhelmed by the diabetic proclivities of so many other scents. If you're searching for that easy-to-wear milky-creamy scent of toasted almonds and posh body lotions, the scent to wear after a bath and on silken sheets beside a loved one, you've arrived. Look no further."

Elena Vosnaki: I am being interviewed on Skai.gr

Journalist Myriam Kiassou and radio-tv media group Skai.gr proposed an interview which we conducted in two parts. Below the direct links (in Greek) 

Mου παίρνουν συνέντευξη στο Skai.gr, η δημοσιογράφος Μύριαμ Κιάσσου, σε δύο μέρη (στα ελληνικά), κάτωθι οι απευθείας σύνδεσμοι. 

Roman alabastra 

This is the first part, where I talk about the Business side of perfume and perfumery in Greece and abroad (mainstream and niche). And this is the second part, where I talk about the largely unknown archaeology and history of perfumery and offer insights on how memory, culture and fragrance interweave throughout the ages. 

Εδώ το πρώτο μέρος για την πλευρά Business του αρώματος στην Ελλάδα και διεθνώς (κλάδος πολυτελείας και κλάδος niche, με εμπορικές πληροφορίες για την αγορά). Κι εδώ το δεύτερο μέρος όπου μιλώ για την άγνωστη αρχαιολογία κι ιστορία του αρώματος και πώς ο πολιτισμός συνδέεται άρρηκτα μαζί του. 

Thanks for reading and more to come soon! Ευχαριστώ για την ανάγνωση και περισσότερα σύντομα!

Annick Goutal Nuit et Confidences: fragrance review

Nuit et Confidences is the most typically sensual, sweet, and stereotypically "evening" of the series originally named Oiseaux de Nuit and later renamed Les Parfums de Géraldine, after the moniker Annick Goutal took in her 1970s modelling years. Nevertheless it is not the darkest one -that is rightfully Tenue de Soirée which I reviewed here.

via pinterest

Drunk (as in intoxicating, for lovers) vanilla forms the heart of the fragrance, soaked in rum and with a slightly almondy marzipan texture at the edges of this fragrance's spectrum. It is set with white jasmine, more innocent than carnal. I'd call Goutal's Nuit et Confidences a cross between rich, multifaceted vanillas like Spiritueuse Double Vanille (Guerlain) and the darkness of Eau Duelle (Diptyque). It is intended for occasions when a lack of imagination is required. This trait almost promises a best seller, and yet it was not meant to be. However, it is like a topaz in gold-bronze tones, suggesting the diamond qualities of a diamond in cognac tones: even if it does not approach the mentioned examples in strength of character, it exerts its own attraction. 

 Like the moniker "nightwear" in the series, the fragrances do not betray the quality of Goutal perfumes, even if the perfumer-stamp of the first and middle releases, which established the "small brand for exquisite perfume lovers," has since changed from Isabelle Doyen to Mathieu Nardin of Robertet.

 

 Les Parfums de Géraldine, of which Nuit et Confidences is part, are available in 30ml (1 fl.oz), 50ml (1.7 fl.oz.), and 100 ml (3.3 fl.oz.) bottles of Eau de Parfum concentration at select stockists

Annick Goutal Etoile d' une nuit: fragrance review

 Étoile d'Une Nuit is the delicate "boudoir fragrance" that the viewer of period TV series fantasizes about - fragile, nostalgic, sometimes stuffy. However, Goutal does not plan to join the banality and convenience of ready-made "cosmetic powder" perfume bases, which are precisely the ones that risk anesthetizing the noses of the unfortunate males who will come into contact with them. Instead, the brand looks back to her older lacy fragrance La Violette, creating the most delicate of the "night birds" quartet. Here, she retransmits that ethereal atmosphere of La Violette together with the frambinone molecule to "cut" the excessive old-fashionedness. Light musk, of superior aesthetics, subtle, clear, not at all like harsh detergent, fills the composition, imparting cleanliness and a clear powdery and light skin scent sensation. It is closely related to Kenzo Flower and its powdery-violet aura.

pic via pinterest

Goutal perfumes possess that je ne sais quoi that we admire about femininity in older paintings, movies, poems, literature... and this is no exception. It is subtle, but discernible, and in an era when the gender borders have expanded, it is rather retro, but not in an obsolete way. It is pearlescent and ethereal. It has its own charm. And charm has always been at the very heart of the Annick Goutal brand. Dainty, delicate, beautiful, and with the innocent love of a budding young woman opening her wings to the world. 

 Like the moniker "nightwear" in the series, the fragrance does not betray the quality of Goutal perfumes, even if the perfumer-stamp of the first and middle releases, which established the "small brand for exquisite perfume lovers," has since changed from Isabelle Doyen to Mathieu Nardin of Robertet. Les Parfums de Géraldine Etoile d' une Nuit is available in 30ml (1 fl.oz), 50ml (1.7 fl.oz.), and 100 ml (3.3 fl.oz.) bottles of Eau de Parfum concentration at select stockists. More info on the official Goutal Paris website.