The Scents of Thanksgiving 2024

Hello, Fragrant Friend 👋,

Did you know? In Europe, fine-fragrance buyers spend on average over 100 euros annually — over an 80-year lifespan, that's more than 8,000 euros devoted to their passion.

🗓️ Contents of this Issue

1. Note Worthy: Perfumers' spotlight, Solar accords, and DOS
2. Scent Picks: Five Scents to Savour This Thanksgiving
3. Scent MythBusters: Big brands produce in-house?
4. Quiz: High altitude fragrances
5. Accord Spotlight: Leather Accords

Note-Worthy 🔎🌸

#BEHINDTHEBOTTLE: A Business of Fashion piece highlights perfumers driving the industry — Quentin Bisch (Givaudan), Frank Voelkl (DSM-Firmenich), Anne Flipo (IFF), Jérôme Epinette (Robertet) and Dominique Ropion (IFF).

#TREND: After milk and modern gourmands, the next autumn trend is solar-accord fragrances — blended from amber, musk and tropical florals like ylang-ylang to evoke late-summer warmth.

#DIGITAL: The Digital Olfaction Society is pioneering scent digitisation to preserve the aromas of cities worldwide, with applications in healthcare, retail and virtual reality.

Scent Picks: Five Scents to Savour This Thanksgiving 🍂🦃

The Toast Before the Feast — By Kilian Angels' Share. Warm cinnamon, oak and praline with ambered sweetness, vanilla and toasted woods.

The Fireside Nostalgia — Maison Violet Un air d'apogée. Smoky Balkan tobacco, honey and sage with leather and resins — a cozy evening by the fire.

Cranberry Kisses — Maison Crivelli Bois Datchai. Tart berries and black tea leaves mellowing into a warm, woody embrace.

Herb Garden Feast — Anatole Lebreton Grimoire. Sage, thyme and aromatic woods with an earthy, resinous drydown.

The Quiet After the Feast — Naomi Goodsir Bois d'Ascese. Smoky vetiver, incense and oak — a meditative forest walk.

Scent MythBusters 🎭️

“Major brands always create their own perfumes in-house.”
Myth of the week — credit to Simon French (ex-IFF)

TL;DR

While it's a common belief that major brands develop all perfumes internally, the reality is more nuanced. Many collaborate with specialised fragrance houses. External partnerships are the norm, not the exception.

The tiers

Champions League: the six giants (Givaudan, DSM-Firmenich, IFF, Symrise, Takasago, Mane) control about a third of the market — not the 80% often assumed. Europa League: innovators like Robertet, Iberchem, CPL Aromas and Luzi ($100–400M revenue). Conference League: 1,000+ companies holding about half the global business.

Reality of in-house perfumery

Some brands (P&G, Chanel, Hermès) do have in-house perfumers, yet even they frequently collaborate with external houses — sometimes competing with the very houses they partner with. Brands collaborate for expertise, global resources, regulatory compliance and cost efficiency.

Accord Spotlight: Leather 👜

Leather is a crafted accord evoking leather goods without animal materials — it can't be distilled, so perfumers recreate it. The “Cuir” family dates to 16th-century glove makers perfuming leather to mask tanning odours. Built from birch tar, castoreum, labdanum, styrax, saffron and isobutyl quinoline. Styles: classic leather, suede, black leather, Russian leather, white leather. Iconic: Tom Ford Tuscan Leather, Chanel Cuir de Russie, Serge Lutens Daim Blond, Tom Ford Ombré Leather, Parfum d'Empire Cuir Ottoman.