“The aroma of sausage and socks”: Russian women have new perfume preferences

According to statistics, in 2023 the price of perfumes decreased by 24%, but the devil, as usual, is in the details. On the shelves of modern Moscow stores you can find perfume for both 500-700 rubles and 25-30 thousand. However, there is a trend that is exactly the opposite: in the expensive luxury and niche segments, prices, on the contrary, have risen. This is due to an increase in prices for raw materials by approximately 30%, as well as an increase in the exchange rate of the euro and dollar. So the question is simple and straightforward: who likes and can afford what?

In beauty stores, the perfume counters display primarily imported perfumes; consultants say that most often they take Italian and French ones from well-known brands that remain in Russia; in terms of price, they belong to the premium segment. If imported perfumes occupy most of the display cases, then Russian production stands quietly at the edges of them, and is represented by only two or three brands belonging to the economy segment. Their smells are very pleasant; there is no such thing as only one perfume from the collection that can boast of a pleasant aroma. You can choose woody, aquatic, floral and fruity perfumes among Russian products. However, there are complaints about the economy segment, be it domestic or imported, due to its instability. The best option is to take small bottles or buy roll-ons and pour them yourself to carry with you and refresh the scent at any time. Turkish eau de parfum with a volume of 20 ml can be found for 500 rubles in budget stores, but it is similar to a typical children’s perfume (although not always). For this amount you can find a very good option with notes of peony, praline, lily or vanilla. In budget cosmetics stores you can find French oil-based perfumes for 1,500 rubles; consultants say that they stick to the body quite well.

From a conversation with consultants of one popular chain store, Victoria and Maria, the MK correspondent also found out that Russian perfumes are not in demand at all, even the consultants themselves do not particularly notice them. The leaders are French, Italian and German. Nowadays, everyone mostly goes for already well-known brands; they don’t look at Russian production, because in general it doesn’t exist there. Victoria, who has been working there for several years, says that high-quality perfume can be bought for at least 5,000-6,000 thousand rubles, and Maria – from 8,000 thousand rubles. By high-quality perfume we mean: durability, richness, revealing notes and non-banality of the aroma.

— Some women still like to take the fruity and sweet “Empress”, which is already considered banal. The Empress is a bold red cross. And people love vanilla, literally every second one. Honestly, I don’t understand what attracts them to this vanilla. Vanilla, of course, can be sweet, if you have a whole closet of perfumes and among them there is only vanilla, then go for it. And when you constantly take vanilla, and every second person smells of it, it’s really bad. From a series of “unusual requests”: everyone says we need a perfume with pheromones when people want to use it to attract another person. But there is no perfume with pheromones. In my experience, I haven’t received any more strange requests, but my colleagues had all sorts of things: for example, they were looking for the aroma of doctor’s sausage and clean socks, and someone asked for “the aroma of a wild violet that blossomed on an iceberg,” says Victoria.

Her colleague Maria was once approached for an earthy scent, and some brands have such a scent. In general, some brands have long had unusual perfumes with natural or food scents.

If we talk about preferences by age, they do not differ; it all depends on personal preferences. It’s not that young women like lighter scents and older women like heavier ones. The seller Maria says that there are, of course, “simple, grandmotherly” scents that only grandmothers like. The store’s consultants also say that the choice of fragrances for girls does not change much; they most often choose ones they have already loved, for example, oud fragrances. At most, if there is a trend for any perfume, then everyone follows it. For example, once “grandmother’s” scents were in trend: flowers, vanilla, powder, say Victoria and Maria. The pain of many is the brands that have left Russia, for example, Chanel. Due to many brands that have left, the price of others has increased, many things now cost “fabulous” money – 30-40 thousand or more for 100 ml, which previously could be bought for “maximum twenty.”

After European brands left Russia, there was a lot of talk that they would be replaced by Koreans. However, according to consultants, the Korean boom did not happen.

—We have a few Korean perfumes, one or two brands. If you choose Korea and Japan, then Japanese brands inspire more confidence among buyers. There was no boom in Korean perfumes, nothing has changed at all,” says Victoria.

For aesthetes, there is one more option – creating perfume with your own hands. It’s more difficult, but more interesting. The MK correspondent spoke with Valeria Nesterova, the presenter of master classes on creating perfumes:

—Master class participants generally prefer floral or floral-fruity scents, which are associated with femininity. However, there are girls who are already experienced in using perfume – they prefer unusual, complex combinations (for example, vetiver-jasmine, burnt sugar-hemp, or strawberry-ambroxan). In any case, the process of creating and selecting a fragrance is individual; it is important for us that every visitor leaves satisfied with the result and enjoys the process.

A common stereotype is that perfumes should be chosen depending on their age and appearance, and one should decide whether the perfume “suits” a woman or not. However, according to the expert, it is time to leave this approach in the past.

—There is practically no “age” in modern perfumery, but there are unspoken rules, a certain perfume etiquette, which in society we intuitively observe. For example, at a younger age, girls choose brighter and fresher scents. And at an older age, you want to emphasize your status, learn to display your character with the help of unusual combinations of ingredients, and choose perfumes that are denser, softer (for example, with orris root, patchouli), but not “flashy.” Perfume can also serve as a means of self-expression – and by the bright accents in the aroma one can recognize the need of a girl or man to express himself.

However, according to the expert, certain criteria for choosing perfumes in accordance with a woman’s character and appearance still exist, and these criteria are also taught in master classes.

— Our laboratory teachers determine the aroma type and the corresponding perfumes for the participants, using a certain technique. We highlight 5 key aromas. For example, the “Natural” aroma type prefers natural soft aromas. The “Dramatic” aroma, on the contrary, chooses bright and rich perfumes. All this is due to the internal energy of a person.

The difficult task is to create a fragrance that would simultaneously become a personal brand: in this case, it is necessary to choose the right main ingredient in order to reflect the person’s personality as accurately as possible. Or trying to recreate a scent from memories is a problem with an asterisk: sometimes a person himself cannot accurately describe what and how it smelled, because he remembered the mood and atmosphere, and not the smell itself.

According to Nesterova, one master class is enough to at least try yourself as a perfumer and create your own perfume from 6 notes: two top (for example, citrus), two middle and two base. But, of course, this is not enough to work at a professional level – it takes at least two months to develop a formula that can go on sale.