2024 Fragrance Releases That Wowed Me
The year of more of the same
Obvious disclaimer: I have not smelled every single perfume released in 2024 and the list below is my subjective responsive to fragrances. So feel free to feel differently about these perfumes and let me know in the comments if you do!
2024 was a year of more of the same.
Most of the perfumes felt like rinse-repeat versions of things we have smelled before. Don’t get me wrong — I liked some of the popular repeats. But it felt like every other perfume house was trying to come up with a gourmand fragrance that can capture some of the virality of Bianco Latte. So 2024 was the year in which not that many perfumes “wowed” me. I liked many of them, loved a few even, but my “wow” list was far shorter than I hoped it would be.
From that master wow list, I have narrowed down my top four perfumes and an additional four on the shortlist. I’ll be honest — when I was done, this list surprised me. Some obvious perfume likes were missing and some others were surprise entrants into this “best of” post especially amongst the semi-finalist perfumes.
The criteria for evaluating fragrances were the following:
Did the perfume excite my nose or change something about the way I understood fragrance
Did the construction of the fragrance keep me excited either at an academic level or in the joy of just wearing it
Did I go “Wow” or “Hmm” or “Ha” or “Aww” when I sampled the perfume
So now without further adieu, here are the 2024 perfume releases that WOWED me.
Almond Suede by Arquiste
Perfumer: Calice Becker
Scent Pyramid:
Top: Pink peppercorn, Italian bergamot oil, Honeycomb absolute, Bitter almond oil
Heart: Cistus concrete from Spain ORPUR, North African neroli oil ORPUR, Saffron accord, Orange flower accord
Base: Candied sugar, Vanilla absolute, Pine tar from France ORPUR, Suede accord
Why is it a “Wow” for me:
Inspired by medieval Andalusia and its culinary culture, Almond Suede is categorically one of the most unique gourmand perfumes I have gotten my nose on. This perfume wowed me because of its intense personality and its ability to recreate a spatial reference for me. The perfume feels like: you reach the end of a narrow alleyway bounded by exposed brick walls made of uneven, textured, old world bricks joined by rough mortar. Beyond this wall you can smell a souk, a local market. And in that souk, leather goods makers sell their wares next to shops selling yeasty bread and bakeries with baskets of almond paste marzipans. You can feel the texture of the walls, hear the hawkers and vendors from the other side, and you can smell from a distance the burnt smell of wood.
Don’t come to this perfume expecting sickly sweet vanilla caramel cake lotion potion of a fragrance experience—this is artistry in the truse sense of the word.
Vanille Camouflage by Dries Van Noten
Perfumer: Alexandra Monet
Scent Pyramid:
Top: Galbanum, Cypress, Fig Accord
Heart: Lentisque Absolute, Ylang Ylang, Sandalwood
Base:Vanilla Bourbon Absolute, Vanilla Tahitensis, Benzoin, Ambery Woods
Why is it a “Wow” for me:
This is the most perfectly named perfume. Vanille Camouflage—the camouflage accord in this perfume is an intense green, waxy galbanum that drapes over, and almost overpowers but not quite, the delicious vanilla. It feels like discovering a vanilla pod in the middle of wild-grass wilderness.
I had to get a travel size of this fragrance and it is now the greenest vanilla perfume in my collection.
Tilia by Marc Antoine Barrois
Perfumer: Quentin Bisch
Scent Notes:
Lime, Broom, Jasmine Sambac, Vetiver, Heliotrope, Georgywood, Ambrofix
Why is it a “Wow” for me:
The inspiration for Tilia is this idea of a never-ending vacation filled with sun and warmth. And Barrois takes as the starting point the linden tree with its beautiful powdery floral blooms. Quentin Bisch then floats with that idea to create, I think, what is the best linden blossom fragrance ever. I smelled it for the first time and literally went “WOW” — intensely and happily solar but also intoxicating. I felt like a bee that had just had a buffet of the best floral nectars. It was so deeply satisfying as a sunny floral fragrance and I was so satiated from the experience that I wanted to take a nap after!
PS. I saw this picture below on the MAB website of Barrois and Bisch under (what I assume is) a linden tree and I want to imagine that this is the moment they came to fully render the idea of this fragrance.
Blue Madeleine by Atelier Des Ors
Perfumer: Marie Salamagne
Scent Pyramid:
Top: Bergamot, Pink Pepper, Cinnamon
Heart: Rose Centifolia «infusion pays», Black Tea, Milky Note
Base: Cade, Peruvian Balsam, Praline, Sandalwood
Why is it a “Wow” for me:
I love it when perfumes can translate a real life gourmand experience into a fragrance experience. Blue Madeleine evokes a rained out Parisian afternoon, of cloud-like madeleines and earl grey tea at a cafe that has been at the corner of Rue something or the other for a 120 years. Bringing together that gourmand experience with a place-based experience is why this perfume wowed me. This is a gourmand perfume that still smells like a perfume, which is my favorite kind of gourmand.
This is also a top of the wishlist perfume for me, personally.
Honorable Mentions
Casablanca by House of Bo
Spice d’Arno by Electimuss
Peach’s Revenge by Sarah Baker
Maui in a Bottle Banana 37 by Kayali
Parfum d’Empire’s Un bel amour d’été. Makes me think of that scene in the Sicilian White Lotus where Daphne convinces Ethan to “check out the island” with her. 🔥 🏝️ 💦
In love with Almond Suede!