Is there any point attempting a summary of 2020? Wouldn’t it be wiser to just put the year behind us and start the process of focussing on the future, in the hope that it will be better than the twelve months we’re leaving behind? Maybe. But I always do my best to combat denial, and although this will certainly go down as one of the most difficult years of modern times, it did happen, and there’s no use pretending otherwise. So, rightly or wrongly, here I am, keeping a tradition going, and presenting my list of the best perfumes of 2020.
It goes without saying that the current situation has had a detrimental effect on the fragrance industry. Sales have plummeted. Release plans have been altered or scrapped altogether. And launches that had been scheduled for the next 9+ months are in jeopardy. At this stage, because we don’t yet know when the globe is going to find a solution to its woes, it’s impossible to say what 2021 will bring. But it seems reasonable to predict that, at least for the first few months, brands and retailers will continue to play it very safe indeed, and will remain wary of pushing new releases unless they can be confident of their success.
Having said that, 2020 has seen the perfume world enjoying a few highlights. Indeed, some brands turned their problems into opportunities, either by embracing online channels of retail and communication or by taking stock of their portfolios, ditching dead weight and focussing on their strengths. What’s even more interesting is that the relatively low-profile of mainstream heavy-hitters made space for smaller independent brands to reach out to potential customers. Those who exploited the opening reaped the rewards.
In terms of tastes, I’d say that the insulating effects of the year caused people to turn inwards. As cities and countries around the world shut down, many used the time to revisit old favourites and enjoy some of the scents that got us into this delightfully fragrant universe in the first place. An unsurprising consequence of this was renewed interest in the extrait: arguably the most personal form of perfume. When a strong sillage becomes both unnecessary and undesirable, the more intimate allure of the extrait becomes an attractive proposition; it’ll be fascinating to observe if this particular development makes its effects felt in future releases from brands.
As for my ‘best of’ list, as ever, it’s a reflection purely of what I’ve been able to try since the start of the year. Even with the pandemic, the number of new releases was too high for a single person to keep up with, and I suspect a few gems never made it onto my radar.
Keeping the scents to 10 was perhaps easier than it has been in other years. Of those that nearly made the final cut, I’d like to mention Histoires De Parfums This Is Not A Blue Bottle 1.6, with its bright, irresistible, smile-inducing orange note. Serge Lutens appeared to be in equally mirthful mode with Des Clous Pour Une Pelure, the clove-heavy cousin of Lush Karma. Hiram Green gave us another retro beauty in the form of the violet-and-iris-centred Vivacious. Nancy Meiland presented a tender essay on woods in Sous Bois. And all things delightfully honeyed came to the fore in Zoologist Bee.
Although it first appeared in 2019, I only recently discovered Dominique Ropion’s excellent Violet Shot for Olfactive Studio: a skin-cuddling, warm presentation of the winning combo of violet and leather. Alienor Massenet’s minimalist style was effectively employed in the only-just-slightly-surreal, tomato-infused garden of Jack Perfume Richmond. Mackenzie Reilly created a superb, modern reimagining of the classic Estée Lauder Beautiful in Beautiful Absolu. Nathalie Lorson went back to her own Dolce & Gabbana Sicily to produce what is, by most accounts, a convincing new version of the floral-powdery vintage composition. And, brace yourselves, I finally found a Kilian that I think I could love: the rich, spicy, boozy Angel’s Share.
All of the above are worth checking out. But they’re not on the final list.
Before I leave you with the rundown, I want to express heartfelt thanks to each and every one of you – including those within the perfume industry – for your cheerful, optimistic, erudite support in this most trying of years. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: I wouldn’t be able to do what I do if it weren’t for you, and I deeply appreciate every single message, every single comment and every single ‘like’ and thumbs up. You’re the best audience anyone could hope for.
Let us hope that 2021 is a time of peace, understanding and good health for us all.
I’ll see you again in January. Until then, here are the best perfumes of 2020, as picked by yours truly,
Persolaise.
The Best Perfumes Of 2020
Links are to the original reviews, where available. To watch me present this list in a special episode of Love At First Scent over on YouTube, please click on this link: Top 10 best perfumes of 2020.
Serge Lutens Fils De Joie (Christopher Sheldrake; 2020)
Perhaps it was too much to hope for another great jasmine from a brand that had already given us A La Nuit and Sarrasins. But Fils De Joie defied all expectations and delivered a superb, spicy, honeyed, distinctly north-African take on the flower, in the vein of Tauer’s Le Maroc Pour Elle. Joyful indeed.
Les Indemodables Vanille Havane (Antoine Lie; 2020)
Sometimes the most innovative thing you can do is go back to basics, as long as you’re working with excellent materials and you know when to stop embellishing them. That seems to be the line followed by Lie in Vanille Havane, which sees a high-quality vanilla framed within a classic blend of cocoa, tobacco and booze notes that brings out all its most enticing facets.
Aesop Rozu (Barnabe Fillion; 2020)
One of the more unusual roses of recent years, this Barnabe Fillion composition embeds the crimson petals straight into a dark trunk of woods, vetiver and patchouli. Haunting work.
Francesca Bianchi Sticky Fingers (Francesca Bianchi; 2020)
Bianchi’s aptly-named presentation of patchouli (with tobacco, leather and spices) is all sass and swagger, complete with tight jeans and come-hither directness.
Comme Des Garcons Rouge (perfumer unknown; 2020)
Incense and resins are no strangers to CdG, which is perhaps why the brand’s creative forces were best placed to give us one of the most striking twists on the age-old structure. Namely: beetroot. Ridiculous though it may sound, it works a treat from start to finish, with ginger forming a clever bridge between the two poles.
Moschino Toy Boy (Yann Vasnier; 2019)
Spicy-woody roses aimed at men are always welcome, but this one was especially attention-worthy, and not just because of the kooky bottle. With its peppery-pear opening and its well-judged dosage of musks, Toy Boy saw Vasnier at his playful, gender-bending best.
Etat Libre D’Orange Exit The King (Ralf Schwieger & Cecile Matton; 2020)
Is it tongue in cheek? Is it deadly serious? Does it even matter? You’ll have fun (or be completely perplexed) trying to work out your own answers to these questions as you wear this curious, deceptively subversive update of the classic chypre structure.
Christian Dior Oud Rosewood (Francois Demachy; 2020)
Demachy has an impressive track record with oud-based compositions (Leather Oud, Oud Ispahan), so it was wonderful to see that he hasn’t lost his touch. Perhaps less strident than some of his earlier efforts, Oud Rosewood presents a smooth, subtly fruit-inflected expression of the material that still shows no sign of losing its grip on perfumery tills.
Masque Milano Ray-Flection (Alex Lee; 2021)
The crispness of a pristine winter skyline on the Cote D’Azur is captured by Lee in this irresistible homage to mimosa, with cardamom at the top to add intrigue and coolness, and honey in the base to stop things from becoming too bloodless. One of the happiest releases of the year.
Eris Green Spell (Antoine Lie; 2021)
You think you don’t need another ultra-green descendant of Chanel No. 19 until you smell Green Spell. With her impeccable taste – and the talents of Lie – brand founder Barbara Herman has fashioned a suitably witchy essay on all things viridescent, from tomato leaf, to fig and violet leaf, with, of course, a hefty dose of galbanum right in the middle of everything. Potent stuff.
—
If you’ve enjoyed this post, please consider supporting my work
by ‘buying me a coffee’ using the panel below.
Thanks very much indeed.
—
Discover more from
Subscribe to get the latest posts to your email.
Fantastic choices and writeup, Persolaise. I had a few of these in my list too. The Serge Lutens is a wonderful jasmine, and the Aesop an intriguing take on rose. The Moschino was definitely one of the better designer releases in recent times.
Other than those, I enjoyed a couple of the Guerlain’s in Patchouli Ardent and Iris Torréfié. Tom Ford’s Beau De Jour was a suave take on a fougere and Hiram Green’s Vivacious was a retro delight. All in all, despite everything, a pretty good year for new releases.
I wish you all the best for the festive season and 2021.
Thanks for writing, Daniel. Yes, Vivacious is excellent, isn’t it. It so very nearly made the final cut.
Dear Persolaise,
Thank you for your informative and interesting list.
I’m pleased to hear that you do your best to combat denial; as a retired psychologist, I think there should be more such efforts! 😉 It is indeed interesting that, this year, as you said, “the relatively low-profile of mainstream heavy-hitters made space for smaller independent brands to reach out to potential customers.” It sounds as though they got a much-needed break.
I say that your post was informative because I learned something important – an extrait does not have a bigger sillage than a PdT or EdT. I had always assumed the opposite would be true. You wrote, “When a strong sillage becomes both unnecessary and undesirable, the more intimate allure of the extrait becomes an attractive proposition.” Wearing a frown, I googled “sillage”, and found the following information under the heading of “Extraits de Parfum: Hidden Gems” on Fragrantica. “One common misconception about the extrait concentration is its power of diffusion, i.e. sillage. Due to a lower dose of alcohol, a parfum will actually tend to offer a closer-to-the-skin performance, becoming a more intimate scent.” So, thank you for helping to set me straight!
Based on your reviews, I’m particularly interested in trying Vanille Havane, Rouge, Ray-Flection (great name), and Green Spell. I don’t know what oud smells like, so I’ll tentatively add Oud Rosewood to the list. The bottle for Toy Boy made me laugh! Although they didn’t make the Top 10, I’ll also sample both Vivacious and Violet Shot, because I tend to like violet scents.
I only bought two fragrances this year. In June, I bought Marshmallow by MOR. I wrote about my guilty and clandestine purchase of this OTT scent in the June “Recommend Me a Perfume” post on BdJ. (My story is in two parts, as I was having difficulty getting the whole comment to stick. As I mentioned to you, my comments tend to be overly long…)
In December, I redeemed myself by purchasing a vintage 5¾ oz bottle of Nuit de Noël. I confess that it was a blind buy, but I had read enough wonderful things about it to be quietly confident. It didn’t disappoint. I find it to be a divine, rich fruit cake of a fragrance, and I wore it on both Christmas Eve and Christmas evening. (Christmas day here in Brisbane was a little too warm, so I wore Aqua Allegoria Pamplelune for lunch.)
Once again, I hope you have a happy New Year. To quote the late, great John Lennon, “Let’s hope it’s a good one.”
With kind regards,
Tourmaline
Tourmaline,
For the sake of accuracy, I should point out that although I *aim* to combat denial, I don’t always succeed. Our capacity for self-delusion is extraordinary, isn’t it.
Did you see my post about my Perfume Society article on extraits? I wonder if it’s available to read for free. Here’s a link: https://persolaise.com/2020/12/the-ecstasy-of-the-extrait-persolaise-in-the-scented-letter.html
All the very best to you too.
[…] so taken with one of them – Violet Shot – that I almost included it on my list of the best scents of 2020. I have finally managed to cover it in an episode of Love At First Scent. Here’s a link: […]