My gift for you - Thanks for 2024!

Hello, Fragrant Friend 👋,

Scently Speaking has been sharing stories, insights and fascinating facts about independent and niche perfumery since May. Across 32 issues (without missing a single week!), we’ve explored everything from rare ingredients to emerging trends. Now, after a whirlwind of a year, I need a break to recharge — but I’ll be back on January 9th with even greater content in 2025.

Scently’s first year in the rear-view mirror 🪞

The community’s favourite brand: 🥇 Tom Ford · 🥈 Marc Antoine Barrois · 🥉 Naomi Goodsir

The community’s favourite topic: 🥇 Fragrance ingredients and facts · 🥈 Niche perfumery insights · 🥉 Perfumer interviews and stories

The community’s favourite issue: 🥇 The Best Dutch Fragrance Secret · 🥈 The Art of Niche vs. Faux Niche · 🥉 Perfume Ban Threatens the EU?

Well-known readers from the community (among others): individuals from Givaudan, MANE, DSM-Firmenich, IFF, Robertet, L’Oréal, LVMH, Coty, Harrods, Sephora.

A Fragrant Christmas Manifesto

’Twas the season of scents, with snow in the air,
But perfumery’s ghosts whispered despair.
“Where is the artistry?” cried Laudamiel bold,
“Lost in a fog of bling and scents sold.”

For too long, it seems, in glitter they trust,
While perfumers stay hidden, their brilliance unjust.
Brands claim jasmine, oud, and pure vetiver,
Yet it’s Ambroxan that scents the cashier.

No perfumer’s name graces the gilded flacon,
No royalties flow where credit is gone.
Let’s reclaim the art, and with noses unite,
For Scently Speaking stands for what’s right.

Flashes of Genius

A tribute to the perfumers featured this year — Cláudia Camacho in Portugal’s mists; Giovanni Sammarco’s vetiver; Indonesia’s Riyal Noor; Chad from Seattle; Wasim bridging Damascus and London; Jan Barba’s literary tales; Shawn Maher, the most transparent of all; Marie-Pierre’s minimalist MISKEO in Berlin; Chester Gibs in Amsterdam; Sy Truong’s Vietnamese rebellion; and Anjali’s Himalayan roots.

A Christmas Wish

So here’s to you, perfumers with flair,
For whom Scently Speaking shows we care.
Raise a glass to the craft, its stories and lore,
And let fragrance reclaim its art once more.

Merry Christmas from Scently Speaking!