The most popular guides
The articles people read first. The other 37 — analyses drawn from our 2,023 compositions, methods, selections — are one search away.
Anatomy of a perfume: what 2,023 scent pyramids reveal
Bergamot opens 863 perfumes and closes none. White musk is in one bottle in two. Behind these figures lies the real mechanics of a scent pyramid — and it can be explained.
863 perfumes open on bergamot 100% of them put it in the top notes 1 in 2 contain white musk Read the analysisAll guides
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Guide
How to choose your perfume: the complete guide
Choosing a perfume can quickly become a headache. Here is a simple, complete method: understand the families and concentrations, test properly, and find your signature.
28 June 2026 2 min read -
Selection
The best men's perfumes in 2026
Fresh and versatile, woody with character or a gourmand that turns heads: here is our selection of the best men's perfumes of 2026, sorted by profile.
3 July 2026 2 min read -
Selection
The best women's perfumes in 2026
Luminous floral, addictive gourmand or chic powdery: here is our selection of the best women's perfumes of 2026, sorted by profile to find your signature.
3 July 2026 3 min read -
Guide
Understanding scent families: the complete guide
Why does a perfume smell “fresh”, “warm” or “sweet”? It all comes down to its scent family. Here is the complete map to find your way — and finally choose with full knowledge.
28 June 2026 4 min read -
Guide
EDT, EDP, Extrait: choosing the right concentration
The same perfume often exists in several versions — EDT, EDP, Extrait. Behind these abbreviations lies the concentration of essence, which changes everything: longevity, sillage, price.
28 June 2026 2 min read -
Guide
Giving a perfume without getting it wrong: the method and the safe bets
A perfume is an intimate object chosen by someone else: structurally, it is one of the most delicate gifts. There are nonetheless criteria to reduce the risk — and compositions statistically more consensual than others.
27 July 2026 4 min read -
Selection
The best perfumes for the office (a selection built on composition)
An office perfume is not chosen by price or by brand, but by composition. Here is the criterion we applied to the catalogue — and the 14 perfumes that pass it.
27 July 2026 4 min read -
Guide
Perfume vocabulary: more than 40 terms explained simply
“An aldehydic chypre with an ambery drydown.” If that sentence means nothing to you, this page is for you. More than forty terms, explained without jargon, with real examples.
27 July 2026 6 min read -
Analysis
The price of a perfume per millilitre: what you really pay
An extrait costs only 11% more than an eau de parfum per millilitre. An eau de toilette costs 40% less. Here is what 1,465 real prices say — and how to stop comparing incomparable bottles.
27 July 2026 4 min read -
Learn
How to wear perfume well: where, how much, and why it depends on the perfume
Two sprays of a citrus and two sprays of a gourmand do not give the same result, or the same duration. The composition tells you which one you are wearing — you just have to know how to read it.
11 August 2026 6 min read -
Selection
The best amber perfumes (a selection built on composition)
One perfume in three carries a trace of amber, very few make it their subject. Here are those where amber really leads — and why this material is not at all what its name suggests.
11 August 2026 5 min read -
Selection
The best floral perfumes (a selection built on composition)
“Floral” describes nothing. A tuberose and an iris have no smell in common, yet the catalogue files them under the same label. Here are the four registers it really covers.
11 August 2026 5 min read -
Selection
The best leather perfumes (a selection built on composition)
Nine per cent of the catalogue, and a reputation as a difficult register. Leather is nonetheless one of the few accords that make a perfume instantly recognisable. Here are those where it really leads the composition.
6 August 2026 4 min read -
Analysis
White musk is in one perfume out of two — and almost always in the same place
You have probably never looked for it, and yet it is in half of what you smell. White musk is the most used note in the catalogue — and its position is even more revealing than its frequency.
6 August 2026 4 min read -
Analysis
Rare accords: what almost nobody wears
Woody is in 1,409 perfumes. Salty, in 9. If you feel that everything in perfumery smells alike, it is not just a feeling: it is a distribution — and here is where it leaves room.
27 July 2026 5 min read -
Analysis
How many notes does a good perfume have? The answer is disappointing
Eight. That is the median number of notes announced by the houses. Some claim twenty-three, others just one — and neither extreme guarantees anything about what you will smell.
27 July 2026 4 min read -
Guide
Storing your perfumes: what really damages them
A perfume does not expire on a fixed date, it degrades. Three factors do most of the damage, and the place where many people keep their bottles is the worst in the house.
27 July 2026 4 min read -
Analysis
Why woody is in two perfumes out of three
Woody + floral: 645 perfumes. Woody + amber: 542. Woody + citrus: 520. Of the six most common accord pairings in the catalogue, all six contain woody. It is not a fashion, it is a function.
27 July 2026 4 min read -
Selection
The best woody perfumes for her
Woody is the most widespread accord in the catalogue — 1,409 perfumes — and it is still perceived as masculine. Yet many woodies are aimed at women or at everyone.
27 July 2026 4 min read -
Selection
The best gourmand perfumes (a selection built on composition)
The gourmand family is more than thirty years old. It was born around a single perfume in 1992, now concerns a third of the perfumes we analysed, and is found in women's and men's perfumes alike. Here are its best compositions.
27 July 2026 4 min read -
Selection
The best perfumes under €50 (really recorded prices)
CK One at €20, Azzaro pour Homme at €36, Opium at €84… no, that one does not make it. Here is what the catalogue gives when you filter on genuinely recorded prices, real bottles only.
27 July 2026 4 min read -
Selection
The best spring perfumes (a selection built on composition)
Spring is not summer. A spring perfume has to hold up through a day that starts at 8 °C and ends at 20 °C — which rules out hesperidic ice cubes as much as winter ambers.
27 July 2026 3 min read -
Selection
The best perfumes for evenings and grand occasions
An evening perfume must last five hours and get noticed without overwhelming the room. Two contradictory demands — here are the compositions in the catalogue that manage it, and why they manage it.
27 July 2026 4 min read -
Selection
The best unisex perfumes, from the most affordable to the rarest
CK One at €20 popularised the category in 1994. Thirty years on, unisex is no longer a provocation but a norm — and here are the families that lend themselves to it best.
27 July 2026 4 min read -
Guide
Your perfume doesn't last: the real causes, and what works
“My perfume doesn't last on me.” The cause is rarely the perfume. It is almost always a mix of three factors — one of which you can fix tomorrow morning.
27 July 2026 4 min read -
Analysis
Is niche perfumery really more expensive?
We associate niche with a high price and the small house with obscurity. Our surveys say the opposite: the catalogue's small houses show a median price of €43, the large ones €210. An explanation.
27 July 2026 4 min read -
Guide
Your first perfume: where to start when you know nothing about it
Do not start by choosing a perfume. Start by identifying a family — only six really matter — then work down to a bottle. It is the reverse of what most people do.
27 July 2026 5 min read -
Guide
Testing a perfume in a shop: the method, and the myths to forget
By the fourth bottle, you can no longer smell anything — it is normal and it is physiological. Here is how to test without saturating your nose, and why two tips you are told in shops rest on nothing.
27 July 2026 4 min read -
Selection
The best perfumes for autumn and winter 2026
When temperatures drop, perfume becomes warmer, richer, more enveloping. Here is our selection of fragrances that make the cold season shine.
3 July 2026 2 min read -
Selection
The best oud perfumes in 2026
A precious, dark, magnetic wood, oud is the signature of the perfume with character. Here is our selection to tame it, from the softest to the most intense.
3 July 2026 3 min read -
Selection
The best woody perfumes for men
Deep, elegant, timeless: woody perfumes are the backbone of masculine perfumery. Here is our selection for every style, from fresh to most intense.
28 June 2026 2 min read -
Selection
The best fresh perfumes for summer
When the thermometer climbs, heavy trails become stifling. Make way for citrus, marine notes and aromatics: here are the perfumes that smell of summer.
28 June 2026 2 min read -
Guide
Niche perfumes to discover
Discreet, artistic, daring: niche perfumery cultivates difference. Here is what sets it apart, and the houses and fragrances you absolutely need to know.
28 June 2026 2 min read -
Selection
The longest-lasting perfumes
Nothing is more frustrating than a perfume that evaporates in two hours. Here are fragrances known for their tenacity, the notes that last, and how to maximise longevity.
28 June 2026 3 min read -
Comparison
Sauvage vs Bleu de Chanel: which to choose?
The two giants of men's perfume, face to face. Notes, sillage, occasions, price: everything you need to decide between Sauvage and Bleu de Chanel.
28 June 2026 2 min read -
Selection
The best vanilla perfumes in 2026
Warm, sweet, addictive: vanilla is one of the best-loved notes in perfumery. Here is our selection of the fragrances that make it shine, for every taste and every budget.
26 June 2026 2 min read
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