The Secret Fragrance Award You Missed

Hello, Fragrant Friend 👋,

Did you know? The human nose can distinguish at least 1 trillion different scents — far surpassing the old belief of just 10,000.

🗓️ Contents of this Issue

1. Note Worthy: Man-repelling, investments, and water fragrances
2. Scent Picks: Most famous ‘overseas fragrances’ in China
3. Scent MythBusters: Smelling coffee beans to reset your sense of smell
4. Quiz: Undetectable fragrance
5. Material Spotlight: Osmanthus

Note-Worthy 🔎🌸

#MAN-REPELLING: Dazed explores the rise of “man-repelling” perfumes on #PerfumeTok — from leathery animalics to unsettling concoctions like Toskovat's Inexcusable Evil and État Libre d'Orange's Sécrétions Magnifiques.

#INVESTMENT: Matière Première (founded 2019 by Aurélien Guichard, 85–92% natural ingredients) gains a minority investment from Kering Beauté, boosting its international presence while staying committed to quality.

#WATERFRAGRANCES: Cosmo International Fragrances introduced AquaElixir, a 100% natural-origin, water-based technology for alcohol-free fragrances with moisturising properties and advanced diffusion.

Scent Picks: China's Golden Osmanthus Award 🇨🇳 🏆

Established in 2023, the Golden Osmanthus Award is China's top fragrance honour. In 2024, 782 works and 227 brands were celebrated. Nominees for “Best Overseas Fragrance”:

Une Nuit Nomade — Rose America 🇫🇷. A fresh marine rose: salty sea notes and raspberry into Bulgarian rose and carnation, with ambrette and heliotrope.

Rasei Fort — Silk Lantern 🇦🇺. Creamy florals with deep amber and oud, jasmine and ylang-ylang brightening warm spices and resins.

Majda Bekkali — Mon Nom est Rouge 🇫🇷. Spicy pink pepper, cumin and cardamom around Turkish rose, with amber, sandalwood and tobacco.

Also nominated: Oman Luxury Royal Incense 🇴🇲, Histoire de Parfums 1740 🇫🇷, and Tsu Lange Yor Pool 🇦🇺.

Scent MythBusters 🎭️

“Smelling coffee beans can reset your sense of smell.”
Myth of the week

TL;DR

Sniffing coffee beans between fragrances doesn't cleanse your olfactory receptors — it introduces another strong scent that can further saturate your nose. A more effective method is to take a break, breathe fresh air, or smell something neutral like your own skin.

The science

Olfactory fatigue (nose blindness) occurs when receptors desensitise after continuous exposure. Coffee has no special neutralising properties; it's simply another strong scent competing for attention, and can further saturate the receptors. Better resets: smell your own skin, step into fresh air, stay hydrated, and allow time between scents. The coffee ritual mostly offers a placebo effect.

Material Spotlight: Osmanthus 🌼

Osmanthus (Osmanthus fragrans) is an evergreen shrub native to Eastern Asia, with tiny intensely fragrant flowers. Its scent combines sweet floral notes with fruity nuances of apricot, peach and plum and a subtle leathery undertone. Cultivated in China for over 2,500 years; absolute yield is ~0.02–0.03%. Iconic: Hermès Osmanthe Yunnan, The Different Company Osmanthus, Papillon Angélique, Ormonde Jayne Osmanthus Elixir.