Iconic bags are moving away, perfumes are on fire. However, a new habit allows you to keep your favorite scent without blowing your budget.
For a long time, the designer bag has been the fashion grail. Today, its four-digit prices make it inaccessible to many. So to continue to appropriate a little of the aura of the big houses, we turn to another emblem: perfume. Wearing Chanel N°5, Miss Dior or La Vie Est Belle is treating yourself to a part of the dream, an intimate but immediately recognizable luxury. A few drops are enough to create a look. Perfume has become the new “it-bag”: less visible than a bag, but just as status-worthy. An emotional refuge too, in which we project our style, our memories, our femininity.
Problem: he too saw his prices soar. In six years, certain iconic references have increased spectacularly: +32% for Chanel N°5, +29% for Miss Dior, around +20% for La Vie Est Belle, according to figures relayed by BFMTV. From now on, going over 150 euros for a bottle is no longer exceptional. Several factors explain this outbreak. In Grasse, flower harvests are weakened by global warming, which makes raw materials more expensive. New European allergen regulations also require brands to reformulate certain juices, with additional costs. Finally, the houses are adopting a premiumization strategy: like leather goods, perfume is becoming a luxury product in its own right.
However, it is difficult to resist. Nearly 80% of consumers say they are willing to pay more for a fragrance they fall in love with, according to sector data cited by Capital. The market also remains very dynamic: according to the research company Circana, perfume sales in value continue to increase despite the rise in prices, proof that perfume remains a priority pleasure purchase. Because a perfume is not just bought to smell good. It reassures, it comforts, it gives confidence. In a sometimes gloomy daily life, it represents that little extra soul that we grant ourselves, even when the budget is tight.
So how can you continue to wear your favorite scent without feeling guilty when you go to checkout? The answer is simple: change format. Rather than systematically opting for the 100 ml, more and more French women are choosing 30 ml, 50 ml bottles or travel formats. According to Circana, these small formats show growth up to five times greater than that of large containers. More accessible to purchase, easier to slip into a bag, they allow you to stay faithful to your olfactory signature without spending too much money at once.
Perfume may be the new luxury bag. But at a time of inflation, it can be chosen in a mini version: a chic and pragmatic reflex, perfectly in tune with the times.
