With the arrival of the festive season, it’s time to update your olfactory wardrobe with these new fragrances. This year has seen a host of exciting new perfumes from some of the world’s top fragrance houses including D.S. & Durga, Louis Vuitton and Guerlain. Here’s our edit of the best new fragrances to spritz this winter.
New Fragrances for 2023
Louis Vuitton
Myriad
Extrait de Parfum. 100ml, £500
Myriad is the sixth fragrance to join the French maison’s Les Extraits collection. Like the previous five scents, this new fragrance was created by master perfumer Jacques Cavallier-Belletrud and comes in a sculptural bottle designed by Frank Gehry. Centring around oud, this new perfume’s notes masterfully combined with the lightness of Centifolia and Bulgaria Rose, and enhanced by white musk, saffron coco and a touch of moss, for a floral-spicy flourish.
Guerlain
Fève Gourmande
Eau de Parfum, 100ml, £290
Perfumer Delphine Jelk has taken cocoa and given it a rich and spicy spin for the latest addition to Guerlain’s L’art et L’Matiere collection, which is in fact a new version of their iconic and much-loved Gourmand Coquin fragrance. Chocolatey, delicately bitter notes lie at the heart of Fève Gourmande, elevated by the elegance of rose, while base notes of woody patchouli and the smokiness of tea bring a mystery and sensuality to this new fragrance.
Bastille
Paradis Nuit
Eau de Parfum, 100ml, £139
The French natural perfume house adds to its sustainable collection with Paradis Nuit. The amber-woodsy fragrance – created by perfumer Nicolas Beaulieu – opens with the clean, soothing notes of Marseille soap. Blended with the intoxicating Cassie flower and rounded off with warm, spicy notes of sandalwood, infused with bitter cocoa, the result is a fragrance that effortlessly captures the mystery and seduction of the night.
D.S. & Durga
Deep Dark Vanilla
Eau de Parfum, 50ml, £155
The cult New York-based brand showcases a whole new side to vanilla with its latest fragrance. Self-taught perfumer David Seth Moltz eschews the sugary-sweet, cloying scent of synthetic vanilla, instead creating a smoky-rich amalgamation of vanilla (both leaves and absolute) with cabreuva, pink pepper, cypress root, hay and patchouli to deliver a toasted, smoky aroma that becomes fresh and green when on skin.
Materie Premiere
Vanilla Powder
Eau de Parfum, 50ml, £145
Materie Premiere places one key natural ingredient at the centre of all its scents – and for new fragrance Vanilla Powder, the Grasse-born founder Aurélien Guichard turns to Madagascar vanilla, sourced from the Fair For Life agricultural certification programme. Cutting through the rich creaminess with the powdery tones of coconut powder, he has added a final layer of white musks – with beguiling results.
Carine Roitfeld
Forgive Me
Eau de Parfum, 90ml, £190
The style icon and former editor-in-chief of Vogue France has added to her fragrance line ‘The 7 Lovers’ with Forgive Me. Developed in conjunction with leading perfumer Dominique Ropion, the new perfume beautifully balances the delicate bouquet of white flowers, tangerine and pink pepper with signature notes of patchouli and ylang ylang for an alluring scent that Roitfeld describes as both “very feminine and classic French”.
Frederic Malle
Heaven Can Wait
Editions de Parfums, 50ml, £185
Jean-Claude Ellena has long married atypical scents in his modern, minimalist creations and the warm, spicy Heaven Can Wait is no exception. The French nose, who is from a revered family of perfumers in Grasse, looks to the intimacy of private worlds as inspiration for this new fragrance. Blending clove pimento, ambrette and carrot seed with iris and vibrant vetiver results in a scent that’s at once exotic but also comforting.
Byredo
Animalique
Eau de Parfum, 50ml, £140
Created to speak to the primal instinct and the spiritual animal that lies within us all beneath our complex layers, Animalique is the new fragrance from Byredo. The Swedish perfume house takes fresh zingy top notes of lemon and bergamot, tempering them with a warm floral heart of mimosa and violet with suede. These give way to a base of amber, sandalwood and tobacco leaves for a fragrance that beautifully encapsulates the sensuality of nature.
Celine
Cologne Céleste
Eau de Cologne, 8.5 fl oz, £240
Celine’s artistic and creative director Hedi Slimane dreamed up Colonge Céleste – and its haute parfumerie line – for the comforting ritual of bathing. Neroli provides the backdrop, against which notes of orange blossom, angelica, sweet lemon essence, petitgrain, ambrette and orris butter all come into play, resulting in a soft, elegant scent that Slimane says takes him back into the gentle and soothing atmosphere of childhood.
SUN.DAY of London
Afar
Extrait de Parfum, 50ml, £120
The Hackney-based home fragrance apothecary debuts its first perfume, which tells the story of founder Natasha Garbawi’s heritage and sense of belonging. The all-natural composition has been created to transport its wearer to distant lands, a central creamy accord of cedar married with jasmine and Turkish rose. Vetiver, oakmoss and sandalwood add a warm, spicy undertone, while cardamom and bergamot bring it to a delicate finish.
BDK
Pas ce Soir
Extrait de Parfum, 100ml, £220
Just like the original, this extrait evokes all the mystery of a night out in a Paris cabaret club – but in a more concentrated and intoxicating way. Perfumer Violaine Collas opens with a punch, blending cocoa with the spicy freshness of black pepper and ginger. A heart of quince chutney, orange blossom and jasmine bring a juicy-sweetness, while patchouli and vanilla add power and depth to this liquorice-fruity incarnation.
Maison Margiela Replica
From The Garden
Eau de Toilette, 100ml, £112.70
Taking inspiration from sun-drenched afternoons spent in the garden when he was a child, perfumer Olivier Crisp has created From The Garden, a storied scent that speaks of citrusy-woody delights. Zesty notes of mandarin, grapefruit and blackcurrant set the tone, while a tomato leaf accord brings a crispness that’s balanced out by the cool earthiness of geranium and patchouli to complete this fresh-green composition.
Trudon
Vixi
Eau de Parfum, 100ml, £195
Maison Trudon, which has been making candles since 1643, continues its foray into fragrance with the launch of its latest, Vixi. The name means ‘who is living’ in Latin and has been created by experienced nose Emilie Bouge as an exploration of inner light. With Nepalese sandalwood and sage at its heart, intertwined with cardamom, petitgrain, cedarwood and jasmine, this is a scent that is woody, flowery and a breath of fresh air.
Bentley
Magnetic Amber
Eau de Parfum, 100ml, £165
Bentley Fragrances has added to its Beyond The Collection with an ambery-woody scent that invokes a sensory journey across South America. For the latest offering from the perfume brand, Magnetic Amber – which draws its inspiration from the elegant luxury of the Bentley motorcar and the romance of travel – master perfumer Karine Dubreuil-Sereni opens with a heady mix of bergamot, rosemary and cardamom, before revealing a heart of smoky vanilla and tonka bean.
Maison Francis Kurkdjian
Aqua Media Cologne Forte
Eau de Parfum, 70ml, £175
Francis Kurkdjian adds to his cologne forte collection with Aqua Media, which comes in a bottle that’s an iridescent green, designed to recall both water and light. The star of the show here is the master perfumer’s new verbena accord which captures the effervescent, citrusy facets of the verbena leaf. Calabrian bergamot, sweet fennel and a hedione-woody musk base complete this energising, lively scent.
Vyrao
Sun Rae
Eau de Parfum, 50ml, £135
The latest fragrance from London wellbeing brand Vyrao, which fuses master perfumery with energetic healing, is boldly joyful – literally, sunshine in a bottle. While uplifting turmeric root and leaf, lemon, bergamot and ginger have been chosen to bring positivity and zest, they’re mellowed by amber, sandalwood and vetiver for calmness and tranquillity. As with all Vyrao scents, Sun Rae contains a supercharged diamond crystal for a further boost of vitality and vim.
Le Labo
Lavande 31
Eau de Parfum, 100ml, £230
Known for its cult, hand-crafted scents, Le Labo looks to lavender for its new fragrance. Launching on 1 October, Lavande 31 turns the traditional perception of the plant on its head, giving it a fresh, modern spin with the addition of bergamot and neroli. The perfume’s base – the brand’s signature combination of amber and musk, intertwined with tonka – brings a further olfactory surprise.
Diptyque
Ilio
Eau de Toilette, 100ml, £125
In Greek, the word ilio evokes the sun, and this floral-fruity fragrance speaks of summertime in the Mediterranean, a place that the perfume house’s founders considered the ‘landscape of the soul’. At the heart of the composition is the prickly pear, bringing a juicy freshness to the scent, layered with lively bergamot and delicate jasmine and rounded out by the velvety softness of iris, instantly transporting its wearer to warmer climes.
Phlur
Father Figure
Eau de Parfum, 50ml, £96
Created by Phlur perfumer Frank Voelkl, Father Figure is a cool, green scent inspired by hidden gardens. Aquatic, juicy notes of water lily, fig and cassis are enhanced with orris root, iris and jasmine, bringing a lush, blooming quality to this new fragrance, with vanilla Madagascar, creamy sandalwood and musk (renewably sourced as a by-product of the paper manufacturing industry) adding a contrasting layer of warmth and sensuality.
Escentric Molecules
H01
Eau de Toilette, 100ml, £180
The perfume disruptor Geza Scheon, founder of Escentric Molecules and its nose, is at it again, this time with H01, a Harrods-exclusive genderless fragrance. The rich scent is intriguing and reassuringly unpredictable, at once blending the earthy scents of wood, leather and musk with the fruity-sweet softness of plum, peach, rose and jasmine, while orange flower, bergamot and pink pepper add a sparkling finish.
Vilhelm Parfumerie
Faces of Francis
Eau de Parfum, 100ml, £185
The Parisian fragrance house, the brainchild of former model Jan Ahlgren, looks to Francis Bacon for new fragrance, Faces of Francis. Specifically, the triptychs he created between 1944 and 1986, which blur the boundaries of reality and surrealism. Tapping into the inspiration the artist sought from sun-kissed lands, notably the Mediterranean and Tangier, it draws on top notes of saffron and toasted pistachio, tempered by oud wood, ambergris and vetiver for gourmand-sweet results.
Boy Smells
Les
Eau de Parfum, 65ml, £102
Les is the latest iteration from Boy Smells’ Genderful Fine Fragrances collection, which mixes traditionally masculine and feminine scent notes to create definition-defying perfumes. The fruity-floral eau de parfum is a balance of “ripe” and “raw” – the former comes through in the sweet scent of pomelo and the budding peony blossom, the latter in a base of cedarwood, warm vanilla absolute and earthy moss. Top notes of cardamom and pink peppercorn add a final flourish.
Gallivant
Accra
Eau de Parfum, 100ml, £150
The London-based perfumery Gallivant spotlights the African city of Accra for the 13th fragrance in its travel-inspired collection. Opening with passion berries, mango, papaya and hot peppers, the juiciness is met with a heart of coffee, cocoa and saffron and grounded by a musky base of a leather skin accord, cedarwood and patchouli. Fruity, spicy, woody, this is the sensual heat of the tropics-meets-afro jazz energy-meets bygone glamour in a bottle.
Byredo
Rogue Chaotique
Extrait de Parfum, 50ml, £250
The Swedish fragrance brand adds to its Night Veils family with this oud-gourmand perfume that pays homage to the nocturnal. At the top, saffron, bergamot and cassis – alongside a twist of smooth, spiced leather – set the tone, while the syrupy plum and toasted praline add a sweet, irresistible note, with oud and patchouli bringing the fragrance to its alluring finale.
D.S. & Durga
Steamed Rainbow
Eau de Parfum, 50ml, £158
Inspired by composer Terry Riley’s A Rainbow in Curved Air, self-taught perfumer David Seth Moltz (aka D.S.) has added to the D.S. & Durga line-up with Steamed Rainbow, a fresh scent that celebrates glorious technicolour. Opening with red mandarin, orange and yellow elemi resin, a combination of green cedar, blue almond flower and indigo grass is at the scent’s heart, rounded off with violet and vetyver, so you can literally wear the rainbow.
