A polyamorous approach to perfume

Modern definitions of luxury have less to do with expense and elitism and more to do with craftsmanship and pleasure. That’s according to Cyril Chapuy, who knows a thing or two about such things — he is president of L’Oréal’s luxury division and oversees brands such as Prada Beauty and Kiehl’s, plus fragrances by Armani, Lancôme and Maison Margiela.
Chapuy knows that a great product cannot be merely an item, it has to have another component: a unique connection to its user or wearer. “It’s an experience, a one-to-one relationship,” he says.
A treasured big-label handbag can, of course, feel luxurious. But then, under the right circumstances, so can the perfect cup of tea. And it’s for this reason that fragrances are often the most luxurious items many of us own. The little bottles are cherished and deeply personal — joyfully unnecessary essentials for millions of us. “Fragrance is the epitome of a luxury item because it is not purely objective, it’s not purely functional,” Chapuy says. “Fragrance is very emotional and very personal; it has all the facets you need for it to be luxurious. It is very linked to the dream world.”
Sometimes these relationships last a lifetime. Who doesn’t stay in love with their first proper fragrance, even if they move on to others over the decades? I will always have a profound affection for Anaïs Anaïs, the girlish floral that was my teenage first love. The unromantic industry jargon for this experience is “consumer lifetime value” — and it’s what all luxury brands strive for in 2024.
In recent years, luxury fragrances have flown off the shelves. This is partly because we craved the sensual experience of excellent perfume after Covid, but also because younger generations are becoming more sophisticated about scent. “It’s not like the previous generation, where you would find one and you would stick to it,” Chapuy says. “The new generation love having four, five, six different fragrances; they love layering and mixing them.”
You may remember the literally heady days of Dior Poison and Giorgio Beverly Hills towards the end of the last century, when your audience knew exactly which scent you were wearing — and that was the idea. Times have changed. Now younger consumers are looking for something that feels individual. Everyone wants to be niche.
If you are not convinced that younger generations are becoming fragrance sophisticates, look no further than #PerfumeTok, which has had five billion views (don’t, though — I looked so you don’t have to). Is it a challenge that consumers are becoming experts? “We love the fact that this market is getting more and more quality-obsessed,” Chapuy says. The “couture” fragrance brands under his watch — such as the wildly successful Armani Privé, and Replica by Maison Margiela (a personal favourite) — have benefited from this.
L’Oréal Luxe is busily investing in new brands, including the somewhat niche To Summer, a Chinese fragrance firm set up by two young entrepreneurs, Huipu Liu and Shen Li. “They created the brand because they want to celebrate eastern culture in the olfactory world,” Chapuy says. “This is a different aspect of luxury. The way they see fragrance is very different from the way YSL or Armani sees fragrance.”
L’Oréal is also focused on improving the sustainability of its products, Chapuy says, moving towards not only refillable bottles but new technology that requires fewer flowers for the extraction of scent. These things matter because of a customer’s relationship with their fragrances. “That relationship has to be a lasting one, then they will remain loyal to your brand,” he says.