Michelyn and Ermano’s Top Ten Perfumes of 2023
In Part 1, Editor Ermano Picco and I began with an overview of the best perfumes of 2023 as well as trends and we agreed more than we disagreed. Ermano lives in Milan, Italy and I live in New York City; that’s over 4030 miles away. On Ermano’s list I have not smelled three, so it comes down to access. In alphabetical order, we give you our top ten perfumes of 2023, (I have a tie so there is eleven and my four honorable mentions). –Michelyn Camen, Editor-in-Chief
Ermano’s Top Ten Perfumes of 2023 collage by Olya Bar©
Abel Odor Black Anise (Isaac Sinclair and Frances Shoemack): Isaac Sinclair from Symrise teamed up with creative director Frances Shoemack to render a dark, sultry tobacco accord infused with the intoxicating animal facets of bittersweet cocoa nodding to vanilla, and blackcurrant adding a lip-smacking winey impression. The cold medicinal dryness of star anise in the opening is the coup de théâtre making it totally unexpected. @abelodor @francesshoemack
Aftelier Perfumes Hey Jude (Mandy Aftel): Inspired by Jude the Obscure, one of the most renowned and intensely fragrant roses created by David Austin, Aftelier Perfumes Hey Jude keeps all the promises delivering a velvety, pulpy, and peachy rose tinged with subtle greenery. Perfumer Mandy Aftel sets this Queen of flowers on a honeyed pillow of the most gorgeous animalic base purring in retro powdery leather hues. @aftelierperfume
Agarthi Hidden Shores (Cécile Matton): The calm after the sea-storm breaths into this intensely woody fragrance where perfumer Cécile Matton blows all the peaceful shades of emerald-tinged pine woods, and the flora and fauna sheltering under them. Birds rustling through the bushes full of juicy and piquant berries, enchanted violets and humid mosses wear like a fairylike halo giving new life to coniferous colognes. @agarthi_scentcore @cecilepolge
Alexx & Anton Vaudou (Will Inrig): I never heard before of the Berlin based creative duo coming from fashion Alexx and Anton, but their debut in the perfume game blew my mind. Part of a limited-edition capsule collection of two fragrances, Vaudou is a unique take on vetiver laden in champaca and saffron building the illusion of a contemporary mossy and leathery wood. The Japanese porcelain handmade flacon with the classic parfum stopper you can use to let a few drops on your pulse points also bring back the glamour of wearing perfume.
Anthologie by Lucien Ferrero C’est Rebelle (Lucien Ferrero & Jean-Claude Ellena): The most youthful, carefree and tasty fragrance comes with by the vivifying energy of freshly sliced ginger and crisp citrus fruits: it’s C’est Rebelle composed by Lucien Ferrero who teamed up with his longtime friend and colleague Jean-Claude Ellena, The stunning introduction in the Anthologie line also features a beautiful sustainable and inclusive pack. #jeanclaudeellena @anthologieparfums
Frédéric Malle Heaven Can Wait (Jean-Claude Ellena): After the deceiving launch of Uncut Gem last year, in 2023 Heaven Can Wait came quite unexpected from a house at the crossroad between artistry and mass appeal. Jean-Claude Ellena concocted a stunning carnation laden woody floral in the glorious bloodline started by Coty with his Iris remastered through the contemporary elegance of his personal touch. #jeanclaudeellena @fredericmalle
Jacques Fath L’Iris de Fath Eau de Parfum (Patrice Revillard):I had a few insights in the making of Jacques Fath L’Iris de Fath eau de parfum, and I was sure this would have been great, but the result is really mind-blowing. Creative Director Rania Naim along with Perfumer Patrice Revillard worked about two years to create this more accessible rendition of L’Iris de Fath which unfolds the youthful brilliance of peachy iris, yet preserving the classy and fabulous DNA of the extrait de parfum. @jacquesfathparfums @patrice.rvd
Masque Milano Russian Tea Oud (Julien Rasquinet): Tea got a huge revamp in the last two years. Masque Milano Russian tea is one of the most brilliant creations in Julien Rasquinet portfolio, and its oud twist on it is simply gorgeous, dipping this mystical wood in the syrupy raspberry smokiness of the original making it deeper and darker. I was the Evaluator @masquemilano @julienrasquinet
Olfactive Studio Sépia Collection Smoky Soul (Marc-Antoine Corticchiato):Part of the Sépia Collection and the first of three fragrances dedicated to tea, Smoky Soul by Marc-Antoine Corticchiato focuses on Lapsang Suchong tea and the smoked bitterness of fermented leaves sublimating velvety osmanthus like never before. Along with patchouli and savory seaweed absolute, it delivers the utter sophistication of a chic umami chypre drydown to die for. @olfactivestudio
Roberto Greco Rauque (Christopher Sheldrake): Roberto Greco Rauque by Christopher Sheldrake delivers a full sensorial experience, immersive, beguiling, and even challenging by hiding the mortal coils of a leathery beast behind waxed shining coromandels, Rauque is a fragrance to die for where heady narcissus and acacia blossoms melt into Russian leather and mystic myrrh fearlessly, perfectly capturing the visual artworks of Mr. Greco, but also exuding the most carnal allure that I smelled in recent years. @christopher.sheldrake
–Ermano Picco, Editor
Michelyn’s Top 10 Best Perfumes of 2023 +1 by Olya Bar©
Abel Black Anise (Isaac Sinclair and Frances Shoemack): Dark, sultry, and slipping on like a second skin, (yours or a lover’s) Black Anise changes something people do not tend to associate with natural perfumes…tenacity. Star Anise translated from the Latin (Illicium Verum) means alluring and this perfume enticed me from first spritz, with a mysterious brew of cacao, blackcurrant and amber tinged tobacco, charred by smoke and shadow. @abelfragrance
Azman Perfumes Risk (Antonio Gardoni): Oud as I have never smelled it. There is no oud on the market that comes close in 2023. RISK is a sexy beast, after all, it uses six… count them six… natural oud oils that brought out facets of oud I never knew existed, especially its seductive floralcy (maybe the Garu Hills oud, but disclosure I am no Oud expert, so reader, and you know who you are don’t call me out on this). I just fell down the oud rabbit hole with Risk; this beast is a beauty and is unmatched. @azman_perfumes
DSH Perfumes Bacchanal (Dawn Spencer Hurwitz): Creating a grape fragrance without it smelling like cheap wine, takes a skilled perfumer. Bacchanal, by award-winning perfumer Dawn Spencer Hurwitz is transportive. Imagine falling asleep on a bed of moss and waking up in a vineyard. You open your eyes and there’s Dionysius. He carries you off and plies you with cognac. I don’t want to wake up! @dshperfumes
Gallagher Fragrances Purple Powder (Daniel Gallagher): Rarely have I been so taken by a perfume that I (abashedly) asked the artisan perfumer for a tester. Like Joseph’s coat of many colors, notes in Purple Powder take on a myriad of hues- brown, red, yellow, orange and of course purple. A sign of a talented perfumer is one that can take all nearly 50 ingredients and blend them to perfection. @gallagherfragrances
Le Jardin Retrouve Osmanthe Liu Yuan (Maxence Mouette): To date, all Le Jardin Retrouvé fragrances reference gardens throughout the world. Givaudan Perfumer Maxence Mouette has captured osmanthus in full bloom at the Mid-Autumn Festival in the Chinese city of Suzhou during the height of the season. Jardin Retrouvé Osmanthe Liu Yuan (nicknamed O.LY. by the brand), bursts out of the bottle with fresh, juicy yellow mandarin and delicious blackcurrant. The star of the fragrance is the titular osmanthus, as soft as peach fuzz (Pantone© color of 2024). Osmanthe Liu Yuan is a perfume so joyful, that Chang’e, the Chinese goddess of the moon (who lives next to an Osmanthus tree) would come back to earth to seek it out. @lejardinretrouve @maxencemoutte
Matière Premiere Vanilla Powder (Aurelien Guichard): I am a vanilla girl, and thought I have smelled every iteration… until now. Matière Premiere Vanilla Powder is vanilla reimagined and combines artistry and innovation. Aurelien Guichard composed the perfume with 40 percent powdered resins (most resins are liquid) and his signature overdose of a raw material, here, the richest natural Madagascar Vanilla Absolute, (ethically sourced by local farmers) is balanced by dry palo santo oil and coconut powder. BOOM! Explosive and addictive. @matierepremiereparfums @aurelienguichard
Meo Fusciuni Parfums Viole Nere (Giuseppe Imprezzabile): For some perfumistas, violet fragrances have a reputation for being outdated, a nod to another era. Through Meo Fusciuni’s alchemy he has kept a hint of the nostalgia of vintage violet perfumes then shrouded Violet Nere in dark forest mists. There is a sensuality to Viole Nere that is both delicate and alluring, passionate and poignant. I read that violet was one of Empress Josephine’s favorite flower. I imagine her wearing Viole Nere, her hair unbound. “Viole Nere was thought, created, and arranged, while listening to the album The Angel and the Dark River by My Dying Bride and reading the words of Mariangela Gualtieri during each of these stages” – Giuseppe Imprezzabile” @meofusciano_parfums
Nicolaï Parfumeur-Createur Iris Médicis Intense (Patricia de Nicolai): Iris fragrances can be cool, silvery and devoid of both warmth and sweetness. Madame de Nicolai created an iris/orris perfume that smells gilded. Each ingredient, like a jewel, is placed into a vibrant crown- sweetened orange blossom, neroli, and slightly powdery violet. The warm sandalwood-musk-vanilla base is enhanced by saffron and leather adding sillage and longevity. Fit for a Medici… Catherine or Cosimo. @nicolaïparfumeurcréateur@michaudenicolay @damienvflynn
Olfactive Studio Sépia Collection Smoky Soul (Marc-Antoine Corticchiato): New to the Sépia Collection Smoky Soul centers around smoky black Lapsang Souchong tea leaves infused with osmanthus absolute. Peppery florals are followed by an exquisite drydown of umami like seaweed and singed patchouli. @olfactivestudio
Olivier Durbano White Stone Prophecy 19:1.0 (Olivier Durbano): Olivier Durbano describes the significance of White Stone Prophecy as representing a white page, a gift from heaven, a new World, a new humanity. His perfumes, all made by hand in Grasse, find harmonies in the natural and spiritual realms. White Stone Prophecy 19.1.0 is perfume as a psalm and a healing balm. My soul is soothed by tendrils of Frankincense and the tenderness of violets. The fragrance, like the perfumer is a revelation. @olivierdurbano
Roberto Greco Rauque (Christopher Sheldrake): When two artists meet, one a renowned photographer and one a master perfumer, they have the opportunity to create a multi-sensorial experience that is truly genius. And that is exactly what Roberto Greco and Christopher Sheldrake achieved… and more. Breaking through the one dimension of photographic images into a dreamscape of leather, violet leaf, loamy mushrooms, and narcissus, I don’t know if I should wear Rauque or place it on a pedestal. I have never been on horseback but that is where this fragrance takes me… an “Inception” moment when the artist’s memories become mine. @roberto___greco @christopher.sheldrake
Honorable Mentions: I wanted to do a top fifteen so please don’t look at my honorable mentions for top ten perfumes of 2023 as not meriting an award. They each do.
Aftelier Perfumes Hey Jude (Mandy Aftel): A rose is a rose is a rose? Not if it’s Hey Jude by Mandy Aftel. Mandy distilled the intensely fragrant Jude the Obscure roses that grow in her garden, which have a naturally peachy fruity scent. She used her late student Ross Urrere’s aged musk along with civet and real ambergris which brings a growl to the base. Hey Jude brings to my mind not the Beatles song, but Homer and the quote from the Odyssey ”Soon Dawn was born, her fingers bright with roses.” @aftelierperfume
For The Scent of It Dreaming in Tonka (Michael Schrammel): Dreaming in Tonka was born from a dream Michael had about a race of extra-terrestrial perfumers who came to earth and shared their knowledge of perfumery with humans. Maybe they did and they whispered the formula for Dreaming in Tonka to Michael, which combines the allure of tonka bean with the golden glow of amber, creamy sandalwood edged with bourbon vetiver. @forthescentofit
Francesca Dell’Oro ELSE (Michele Marin): Else was inspired by Arthur Schnitzler novel “Fräulein Else”. Crumpling a classic bouquet in the grip of leathery mousse de saxe,, perfumer Michele Marin succeeded in reinventing the vintage carnation-laden Caron Urn fragrances, lending a contemporary glow of honeyed champaca for a gorgeously erotic trail.@fradelloro _infragranctiparfumeur
State Of Mind Fanfarone Italiano (Karine Dubreuil-Sereni): For me, this is one of the best gourmand perfumes of 2023 and we need to do a full review; it’s worthy. The newest fragrance from State of Mind debuted at Esxence 2023 and I received a sample by mail. I wanted to drink it, not spritz it. Fanfarone Italiano smells like you dipped a chocolate covered biscotti into the richest dark ristretto coffee. @stateofmind.fr @karinedubreuilsereni
Now that’s a wrap for Ermano and me. We hope you enjoyed our top ten perfumes of 2023 (plus one), honorable mentions and Best Fragrances of 2023. Soon Ida and Lauryn will step in with their respective top perfumes of 2023, followed by Nicoleta and J Wearescentient, Karl and Michael, Rachel and Danu,Hernando and Sandi, and Olya and Steven.
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Thanks to Matière Premiere, we have a 50 ml bottle of for one registered reader in the USA, UK or EU
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Mille Mercis to Olfactive Studio for 100 ml of Smoky Soul in the USA only.
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