.jpg)
For the first half of 2016 the situation is without great ripples, cementing the thought that the mainstream division is going ahead on what is essentially the cajoling of a sweet tooth and of a steady, somewhat sterile, notion of masculinity. Without further ado, here are the results.
For women:
La Vie Est Belle by Lancome is the top best-selling perfume in Europe, as well as the third best-selling globally, behind Coco Mademoiselle by Chanel and J'Adore by Christian Dior. [Compare and contrast with perfume best-sellers in France for 2015 on this link].
It's interesting to note that according to the social media barometer NetBase the French are especially responsive to the brands of Christian Dior, Adidas and Chanel, so this result accounts for more than bargained for.
For men:
Bleu de Chanel is the best-selling global performer in masculine fragrances, behind Acqua di Gio by Armani (surely a case study for its sheer duration) and One Million by Paco Rabanne. [For French results of previous years, please see this list]
Still the big conglomerate companies are the first to admit that without the spectacular rise in niche fragrances, many of which they're acquiring, the perfume sector would be doomed to a decline that mainstream sales wouldn't quite make up for it.
.jpg)
Hi Elena
ReplyDeleteThis is very sad for me to see. No sign of Chanel No .5 in the top 10 ? Everyone wants sweet sweet sweet. Except me. LOL
You can count two of use in the "not in the sugar" camp. ;) :D
DeleteChanel is there, but I think No.5 is too much of a French totem to be actually worn by the actual French. Unless one wants to smell like their nana or something.
Hi Elena,
ReplyDeleteI guess everyone just wants to smell like everyone else :) There must be something comforting in all this familiarity.
Azar
True, Azar, very true. Safety in numbers, elevate a notch to include perfume choices! ;)
DeleteI wonder, holding in mind that the French can be more traditional than some other markets, whether also scent being so intimate, that people can be less adventurous. It's one thing be interesting in your hair or clothes, but if you smell what others may view as odd, it's somehow weirder - the so-called old lady thing or smelling what others might receive as more sweaty or skanky or something - we dont want people to think us unclean. (Says someone wearing ELdO's Rein today, which smells like the most amazingly beautiful burnt rubber - but I dont get out much).
ReplyDeleteDefinitely! They're a conservative market and a very traditionalist one. (We are too in our own way)
DeleteI also think that they want to exude a bourgeois, upscale, "polished" facade, evident on what one sees in the everyday style one sees on the streets.
I cringe every time a SA says, "THIS one is our most popular!" UGH...I do NOT want to smell like everyone else!! Today I am wearing a bright yellow and red flowered dress and Andy Tauer's "Orange Star". No one looks like me and definitely NO ONE smells as divinely wonderful as I do either! 😇
ReplyDeleteCan't quite get my head wrapped around that line either. Possibly catering to generic people looking for generic stuff to wear so as not to stand out at all.
DeleteOrange Star is lovely. So sad Tauer stopped shipping to my country due to Swiss mail regulations.
I see your Sherlock poster, and think of my favourite film, Gigi. The scene with Louis Jourdan and Maurice Chevalier, "It's a Bore".
ReplyDeleteLove the whole movie! Here is a clip from youtube of the scene: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hbE9N6LRpG0
:) jean
Yup, that's a classic and so very well made! (Chevalier made everything seem so nonchalant, no?)
DeleteI love the whole movie myself as well. Especially the eating those tiny birdies scene, so hilarious, as well as the applying neck cream with those tap-tap-tap motions as shown by her nana.
So the French are influenced by Huge advertising too and not by their chic noses !
ReplyDeleteI notice all of those scents are advertised in papers, magazines etc. ad nauseam !!!
Of course they are!! Why would anyone think otherwise. They also wear a lot of drugstore stuff (and they do have lovely drugstore stuff too)
Delete