052 - the fragrance (bro) effect, and geoguesser subculture
no more signature scents, only smellmaxxing now.
The Field Test is almost TWO! ⚡️🧡
Which is crazy to me, that I’ve been writing (somewhat) consistently for two years, and I have grown this audience to (almost) 350 readers! So I’ve decided I’m going to host an event to bring all the people that appreciate this newsletter together. If you’re in Amsterdam and are interested, or want to share it to your friends, make sure to buy a ticket here!
the kids want to smell rich
A lot of people have been talking about the booming perfume industry. This wasn’t really that interesting to me, until I heard that 85% of people said that their first impressions of someone would be more positive if they smell good (Survey by Dollar Shave Club).
Gen Z, particularly Gen Z men (boys?!), are at the forefront of this burgeoning trend.
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Before we get into the who, let’s look at the industry as a whole for a bit. Retail sales of perfumes currently equate to $64.4bn globally, and is growing faster than the overall beauty sector. And this is happening for a couple of overarching reasons:
(1) Self care. This industry itself is expected to reach a value of $450Bn by 2026. Whether through functional fragrances (mind boosting scents) or the pleasure of using scented products, people are increasingly incorporating perfumes into their daily routines as a way to elevate their well-being.
(2) The “Perfume Effect” (or the lipstick effect). In September this year, Forbes wrote “the lipstick effect is in full swing as consumers show signs of pulling back their spending”. Instead of buying into brands through their more expensive products (clothes, shoes, bags), perfumes offer customers a lower cost of entry to more expensive brands - allowing them to hold on to the smaller luxuries.
gen z’s fragrance identity
What makes less sense to me, is how gen z’s are driving this growth. It’s weird to me because last year we saw them drive the rise of dupe culture. It’s weird to me because when I was that age I think I had no idea about notes, scents and barely any pocket money to afford the prestige scents. But of course with the internet, and perfumetok, they’ve been able to access a wealth of information that is helping them redefine luxury.
“Gen Z considers fragrance to be part of their core identity, worn for their personal enjoyment and self-expression rather than to appeal to others,”
In the category, hair perfumes are considered, “one of the fastest growing categories”. With Gen Zs focusing more on the ‘skinificiation of hair’ (scalp health), they offer a healthier alternative that don’t cost the same as the normal price of the perfume (these fragrances don’t dry or damage hair like normal perfumes).
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fragrance boys
Okay so here is my favourite part! According to a ‘Teen Spending Report’, Gen Z men especially are increasing their annual spending by 26%, buying “luxurious fragrances from brands like Jean Paul Gaultier, Valentino, Paco Robanne and Dior”. These fragrances are helping certain boys differentiate from their peers, engaging in discussion about “high-end fragrances the way that sommelliers might analyze wine”.
But here is where the perfume effect is tested (a little). While perfumes may be less expensive than clothes, some perfumes are still quite pricey (Baccarat Rouge 540 retails for €355). But these prices aren’t deterring the kids. They’re also less interested in finding one signature scent, and instead are rather leaning into “fragrance wardrobes”, or smellmaxxing (mix and matching several perfumes to enhance their personal expression).
At first glance, next gen’s propensity for bougie, status symbol scents seems incredibly off-brand. They won’t shell out $70 for a decent pair of Levi’s, but they’ll gleefully hand over $250 of allowance money for an extra-large bottle of Dior Sauvage.
A lot of this surge came from covid, where mental health was low, and home scents sales increased by 13%, and now “71% of fragrance of consumers are looking for a scent that lifts their mood, with male consumers particular looking for ‘functional’ fragrances’.
the community of perfumetok
I’d be remiss if I didn’t consider in this discussion the role of #perfumetok, which has “has brought niche perfume to unseen heights”. It’s helped bridge the gap between the physical and digital. While writing this, I couldn’t help but wonder how brands manage to sell a product that relies so heavily on an in-person experience. Perfumetok is the answer.
As with many places on social media, perfumetok has been a source of education: offering insights into the breakdown of notes, the making of perfumes, the applying of perfumes, etc. Online forums like Fragrantica, founded in 2007, hosts over 1 million users with a database on notes, is also the host of the wildest reviews of perfumes (which are highlighted on IG account @itsmellscrazyinhere.
Gen Z’s love for perfumes is an intriguing contradiction (at least to me). On the one hand, there is an understanding that they’re cost conscious driving the rise of dupe culture, and even fast fashion. But maybe perfumes - are the exception? Is it because of its effect on mental health? Or the fact that smell identity above all is most important to them? I love me a good perfume but I don’t think I’m a fragrance wardrobe type of person. Maybe it’s that each perfume helps evoke a specific emotion or memory and it’s the combination of mental health and identity. Maybe I shouldn’t think about it too much and be happy that at least they smell good?
read more about scents: olfactory tourism; and scents trending this year including milk, and savory gourmands;
geoguesser evolution
In the summer, I stumbled upon Natooooosh. Her most popular piece of content is “Exploring Japan until its ugly” with 18.7M views. I love the simplicity of her, her actions, her mood, her facial expressions and her exclamation “ooh, not ugly”, and then finally her “UGLY”.
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I feel like this type of exploring is an extension of the already established geoguesser subculture we were all once a part of. She’s definitely not one of the first ones to do this, with the original creator claiming their stake on the content type with their account description. Outside of this, videos like these that troll audiences like have been around since 2021.
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I’m not really sure why this matters, except to say that there is something nostalgic about going onto google maps and looking up countries. For me its reminiscent of when that was the only game you could play on your laptop. Although, my inner boomer came out when I played a version of the game (cityguesser) which had the most HD images. I was honestly so shocked, it felt like I was really in the city being walked around.
field notes
BOOKS: I just finished reading Butter a book inspired by a real case of a convicted con woman-serial killer. As someone who LOVES murder-mystery-thrillers I was really pulled by this. And I was surprised to find the book is a commentary on a lot more: women in society, compounded with the most vivid descriptions of food - this book had me salivating about crispy rice and butter;
ACCOUNTS: this account on tiktok will stop posting “once people stop littering”; Watch FairyTV; This account’s edits are amazing; This account is either the epitomy of enshittification or peak brain rot - you tell me (BUT ALSO warning as its pretty intense).
REPORTS: Zoe Scaman released a report about what it means to become a mother in the advertising industry;
ARTICLES: Rachel Kartan interviews Keithfromsonos in this wholesome article about sonos and reddit and showing up as a community member rather than a brand. “First and foremost—I’m Keith who happens to be from Sonos.” Navel Gazing on James Baldwin’s Notes of a Native son reminds me that how we learned in school should be forgotten and challenged. Deep-diving into fictional countries from movies especially The Princess Diaries. Which characters get to be shipped!! If you’ve been wondering why we’re obsessed with moo deng, this is the article for you;
NEWS: F1 announced a 10 year partnership with LVMH which i honestly dont think would have been possible without the netflix docu-series. It really is the influencer election with kamala harris on Call my daddy. Han Kan (Author of Vegetarian) won the Novel Prize of Literature; A lot of things have happened in tech lately, one thing that blew my mind is the function of Google’s NotebookLM after I read this article.
WATCH: Al Jazeera’s documentary; Stateless in Singapore; the joy of palestinian children who have escaped; How immigrant parents say I love you
TRENDS: this dance i can’t get out of my head and I would like someone to please do it with me (animal one is so cute); I lied; work chat getting leaked. Also the Artists Way is trending.