That’s exactly what I wish you: a happy new year! I hope you’ve all had a good start, are all safe and sound and, like me, are full of excitement about what 2025 will bring us. For my part, I already know that the first quarter has many exciting things in store, even if I can’t yet reveal what it’s all about. But of course I’ll take you with me and you’ll definitely find out more about it.
But before I turn my attention to the present and the future, I would like to take a look at the past. Last year, I presented many different brands and creations to you here, so I would like to take the opportunity to look back on our fragrance year 2024 on this blog and recall some posts that may have been forgotten – even by me.
January 2024
January of last year was primarily characterized by three brands: aaa/unbranded, OHTOP and ARgENTUM. I also introduced you to some individual creations from other fragrance houses, which I would also like to talk about. But first, let’s take a look at this month’s big three.
The London label aaa/unbranded was the first. Founded in 2017, the brand initially focused on extravagant shoe fashion, later on skincare and finally on fragrances. In our store, we have the fragrance house’s N series, which revolves around the Japanese Ma philosophy. If you would like to find out more, I recommend my articles:
- aaa/unbranded – Scented greetings from London
- N.3 /noma, N.4 /decade and N.5 /carbon from aaa/unbranded.
The Londoners’ creations are based on life – from birth to death. The eau de parfum N.1 /concrete focuses on birth with clear, clean and pure notes, while N.2 /sinless reflects childhood with light, spicy-floral and pleasantly woody nuances. N.3 /noma pays homage to older children’s thirst for discovery, N.4 /decade to puberty and N.5 /carbon to adolescence.
OHTOP is a French-Korean brand that was a guest on this blog twice last year. I presented the label’s first five creations to you in January, which are as exciting as they are unconventional. Greenish-woody and floral-meditative like Paranoïaque, powdery-woody and molecular like Ohsphalte, summery-floral and elegant like I Hate Rose, clean and green like Green Flannel or citrusy-aromatic and cologne-like-floral like Fleur d’Oh, OHTOP offers a suitable fragrance for anyone who prefers transparent and airy compositions. I have dedicated three articles to the brand here in January, namely:
- Paranoïaque by OHTOP – Olfactory wardrobe from Paris
- Ohsphalte and I Hate Rose by OHTOP – Love and Hate
- Green Flannel and Fleur d’Oh by OHTOP – Of memories and simplicity.
ARgENTUM was a really big project on this fragrance blog in the middle of the month with five posts. The London-based brand with its alcohol-free, WPE-based fragrances has consistently impressed me. ARgENTUM also impresses with its ingenious and incredibly attractive packaging and beautiful compositions, which are the work of perfumer Delphine Thierry. The concept of the fragrance house is comprehensive and quite complex. The creations are dedicated to different archetypes and elements and are intended to emphasize the energy and character of the wearer. I have presented a total of thirteen eaux de parfum in the articles here on the blog:
- ARgENTUM – Les Parfums Infinis, Creator – No. 1
- Lover – No. 2 and Jester – No. 3 from ARgENTUM
- Everyman – No. 4, Explorer – No. 5 and Caregiver – No. 6 by ARgENTUM
- Sage – No. 7, Magician – No. 8 and Hero – No. 9 by ARgENTUM
- Ruler – No. 10, Innocent – No. 11 and Rebel – No. 12 by ARgENTUM
But of course I was not only able to present brands and collections to you in January, but also some individual fragrances. Smoky Soul by Olfactive Studio was one of them, as was Pink Boa by Stéphane Humbert Lucas. I also dedicated separate reviews to In Flagranti by DER DUFT and Sol Salgado and Fuego Futuro by Thomas de Monaco. All absolutely recommendable and really well done. To round off January, there were two top 3 articles with fragrance suggestions for the approaching Valentine’s Day – for her and for him, of course.
February 2024
February was also dominated by brands and their collections. At that time, the Matière Première line available at Aus Liebe zum Duft comprised a total of eleven fragrances. Perfumer Aurélien Guichard is both the founder of the label and responsible for the fragrance compositions, which consist of a few high-quality ingredients and revolve around a specific raw material. Not a completely new concept, but realized in such a wonderful and harmonious way that this brand should definitely be a must-try for you, if you haven’t already done so.of course I’ll link you to my posts if you’d like to browse a bit:
- Matière Première – The natural beauty of a raw material
- Radical Rose, Encens Suave and Parisian Musc by Matière Première
- Crystal Saffron, Falcon Leather and Bois d’Ébène by Matière Première
- French Flower, Santal Austral and Vanilla Powder from Matière Première.
With Spiritum – as the name suggests – there was a spiritual and esoteric touch. This French label also came up with a whole range of creations – ten to be precise. The brand originates from a journey of self-discovery to South America that founder Jonathan Dufour undertook a few years ago, during which he underwent a shamanic ritual. Spiritum has a strong penchant for symbolism and numerology and so the fragrances are not only beautifully illustrated and decorated, but each also has its own number. The creations were created by the two well-known perfumers Bertrand Duchaufour and Philippe Paparella-Paris. Here are my contributions to the brand:
- Spiritum – An olfactory journey to yourself
- 2 – Astral Twin, 3 – Wisdom Universe and 4 – Builder of Future by Spiritum
- 5 – The Guardian Master, 6 – Carnal Spirit and 7 – Spiritual Explorer by Spiritum
- 8 – Mystic Warrior, 9 – Final Spirit and Shamanism by Spiritum.
As February is not the longest of months, there wasn’t much room left for further fragrance presentations in addition to these two major collection launches. But I still managed to fit in a few. Firstly, there was my Best of 2023 with my top 5 favorite fragrances from the previous year. I also had the great pleasure of interviewing Arnaud Poulain from Les Eaux Primordiales and introducing you to the then latest fragrance Vanille Supermassive from Les Eaux Primordiales.
To be continued …
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