All eyes on Chinese Perfume

Hello, Fragrant Friend 👋,

This week, I spoke with an executive from one of France’s leading aroma houses. What stood out: the entire industry is currently trying to figure out how to secure its place in China, through brand investments, stronger local presence, and a renewed focus on perfumers. That’s also why events like Notes Shanghai are becoming increasingly important.

But more interesting is what’s happening beneath the surface. China is no longer following Western fragrance logic. A distinct identity is emerging — with different rules, different channels, and a different pace. There is no clear blueprint yet.

🗓️ Contents of this Issue

1. Note Worthy: Digital Fragrance’s Frontiers, Paris Perfume Week, American Perfumery’s Identity
2. Niche Newcomers: Mother’s Milk, Come, Borderline
3. Quiz: Hottest Chinese Lifestyle + Perfume Brand?
4. Scent MythBusters: The biggest misconception about Chinese perfume trends

Note-Worthy 🔎🌸

#DIGITALFRAGRANCE: The way people discover scent has shifted from department-store testers to algorithms and TikTok clips. More than half of US fragrance sales now occur online. Short-form video and social media let consumers build “fragrance wardrobes” and experiment with layering. The challenge is to harness this storytelling power without reducing perfume to disposable content.

#SCENTDIFFUSION: Paris Perfume Week (April 2026) isn’t just another trade fair. Under director Romain Raimbault, the event places perfume within a cultural ecosystem, balancing business with craft and education. Its programme favours depth over spectacle, giving meaningful visibility to emerging perfumers and established maisons.

#AMERICANPERFUMER: Tammy Kraemer of Blocki notes that American perfumery still grapples with Eurocentric expectations. Early brands imitated French names to gain credibility. Today’s indie scene draws on local botanicals and DIY culture, aiming to democratise fragrance and forge authentic stories rather than copy Paris.

Niche Newcomers 🎨 🌟

Mother’s Milk — A Cream-Laced Reverie. Eris Parfums’ Mother’s Milk explores the fantasy of the “Good” and “Bad” mother through scent. This milky floral-animalic perfume pairs creamy vanilla with a whisper of rose and buttery orris; a suede accord adds animalic darkness. Perfumer: Antoine Lie. Notes: Damascena rose, milk accord, suede accord, orris butter, vanilla, cacao, musk accord, sandalwood.

Come — Smoky Forest Hymn. Bogue Profumo’s Come is a dark ode to green. It opens with fig leaf and roots alongside helichrysum and bergamot, then plunges into tea leaves and civet framed by smoke and labdanum. Perfumer: Antonio Gardoni. Notes: fig, bergamot, olibanum, cade, benzoin, black tea, labdanum, oud, helichrysum, tonka bean, jasmine, vanilla, civet, patchouli, honey, musk, ylang-ylang.

Borderline — Verdant Edge. Cépages’ Borderline reimagines the vintage chypre as a perfumer-winemaker’s blend. Its explosive opening of citrus, blackcurrant bud and pink pepper recalls the nose of Syrah grapes, while dark, earthy patchouli balances the modern chypre. Perfumer: Lauriane Guignon. Notes: blackcurrant bud, pink pepper, patchouli, oakmoss.

A brief disclosure

Scently Speaking runs without ads and without paid placements. It exists because New Niche exists. New Niche is the fragrance publishing house we’re building in parallel. Obtaining one of its perfumes is not merchandise. It’s how this work stays independent.

Quiz 🎲

What’s one of the hottest current lifestyle and perfume brands from China?
To Spring · To Summer · To Autumn · To Winter

Scent MythBusters 🎭️

“Chinese perfume is all nostalgia — tea, flowers and cultural heritage.”
Myth of the week

TL;DR

A common Western narrative reduces Chinese perfumery to bamboo, tea and lotus. In reality, more than 81 percent of Chinese consumers consider perfume a daily essential and over 40 percent choose their scent based on mood or occasion. Perfume isn’t a signature here; it’s an emotional tool. Male shoppers are a rising segment, their market share rose from 37.1 percent in 2023 to 40.1 percent in 2024, and 86.1 percent of users extend fragrance to their homes.

Misconception

If “new” is defined by never-before-identified molecules, China can seem conservative. But the real shift is behavioural. Younger consumers build scent wardrobes rather than adopt a single signature, and they favour portability and personalisation. Gender is becoming irrelevant: Gen Z chooses fragrance to match mood and personality rather than traditional codes. Local adaptations pair regional botanicals (pandan, jasmine rice, pomelo blossom) with contemporary extraction.

What’s actually happening

China is a leapfrog market with low fragrance penetration. Without entrenched scent habits, Gen Z is building a fragrance culture from scratch. Tech-enabled discovery and AI-powered platforms help consumers personalise, while mood-based and genderless profiles take precedence. The result is not a nostalgic museum but a dynamic interface for emotion and identity.

Final judgement

The biggest misconception about Chinese perfume trends is that they are traditional. In truth, China is redefining perfume as an emotional interface. The question for Western markets is whether they will follow — will the “signature scent” era give way to Spotify-like scent playlists?