Fragrance Foundation France Awards 2023 @ Fragrance Foundation France
On Thursday, June 8, the Paris Pavillon Gabriel was the setting for the Fragrance Foundation France Awards 2023. It is a prestigious place located next to place de la Concorde, the American Embassy in Paris and the Elysée Palace (the French president’s residence) for a wonderful evening organized by the Fragrance Foundation France. It was the first time I was invited, and I had the pleasure to meet many representatives of Fragrance and Flavor Companies ,houses, brands, and fellow journalists, some of them I hadn’t seen for a long time. It was also the first “gala” in person since 2019, as the ceremony had been taking place in digital format these last years. Anne-Sophie Touchais, Fragrance Foundation France deputy director, went up on stage first to welcome the guests. Then it was the turn of FFF’s President, Philippe Ughetto, to intervene and invite Mr. Jérôme Viaud, the mayor of Grasse (whose city will host the Phénix prize-ex François Coty prize- on October 16 and SIMPPAR fair in 2024) to say a few words… and time to open the ceremony!
The Awards were divided into four categories:
– Responsible Perfume Innovation Award
– Professionals Awards
– Niche perfumes Awards
– Consumer Choice Awards
For Niche perfumery, three categories were represented: major brands (perfume from a luxury brand – fragrance or fashion (in exclusive distribution), affiliated brands (part of a group with a portfolio of perfume brands) and independents. No less than 73 fragrances were competing, including more than 50 for the independent category. For the latter, it took a second round with 11 selected fragrances to bring out 3 finalists… and a winner. The jury was made up of 9 evaluators from composition houses and 12 perfume journalists.
Celine Bois Dormant – ©Celine
Fragrance Foundation France Awards 2023 Winner for Best perfume from a collection of a major brand: Céline Bois Dormant
Artistic Director: Hedi Slimane, with 41% of the vote.
(Finalists: Caron Tabac Blanc, Dries Van Noten Soie Malaquais and Hermès Violette Volynka).
L’Artisan Parfumeur Abyssae – ©L’Artisan Parfumeur
Fragrance Foundation France Awards 2023 Winner for Best Fragrance from an Affiliate Brand: L’Artisan Parfumeur Abyssae
Perfumer: Daphné Bugey (Firmenich), with 43% of the vote.
(Finalists: Editions de parfums Frédéric Malle Uncut Gem (Estée Lauder Companies) and Maison Francis Kurkdjian 724 Eau de parfum (LVMH)).
Roos & Roos Malamata – ©Roos & Roos
Fragrance Foundation France Awards 2023 Winner for Best Perfume from an Independent Brand: Roos & Roos Malamata
Perfumer: Dominique Ropion (IFF), with 57% of the vote.
(Finalists: Headspace Tubéreuse and Marc-Antoine Barrois Encelade).
For the Responsible (eco-friendly) perfume innovation awards, which recognize a brand’s overall commitment to environmental and social matters, one category was dedicated to a “Hope of Perfumery” and the other to an established brand. 8 CSR Experts voted for:
Fragrance Foundation France 2023 Winner for Promising brand Award: Nissaba Grande-Ile
Perfumer: Frank Voelkl (Firmenich)
Fragrance Foundation France 2023 Awards Winner for established brand Award: Guerlain Paris Aqua Allegoria Nerolia Vetiver Perfumer: Delphine Jelk (Guerlain Paris)
For the Professional awards, 325 people representing members of the Fragrance Foundation France voted (no more than 10 people from the same company). Being since this year employed at Cinquième Sens (composition house and training institute), I had the privilege of being one of the voters. The perfumes are all from selective distribution (perfumers and department stores) and have been pre-selected based on the 2022 50 best sellers of the year according to the Circana institute. It should be noted that there was no prize for the best men’s launch and the best packaging among the men’s launches because none of these fragrances were part of this Top 50.
Fragrance Foundation France Awards 2023 Winner for Best Women’s Launch: Prada Paradoxe Eau de Parfum
Perfumers: Nadège Le Garlantezec, Shyamala Maisondieu and Antoine Maisondieu (Givaudan)
Fragrance Foundation France 2023 Winner for Best packaging women’s launches: Paco Rabanne Fame
Glass and packaging: Pochet du Courval, Egisa and Durero
Fragrance Foundation France 2023 Winner for Best Version of an existing perfume / Women: Dior J’adore Eau de Parfum
Perfumer: François Demachy (Dior)
Fragrance Foundation France 2023 Winner for Best Version of an existing perfume / Men: Hermès Terre d’Hermès Eau Givrée
Perfumer: Christine Nagel (Hermès)
Hermès Eau de Basilic Pourpre courtesy of the brand
Fragrance Foundation France 2023 Winner for Best launch among unisex fragrances: Hermès Eau de Basilic Pourpre
Perfumer: Christine Nagel (Hermès)
Fragrance Foundation France 2023 Winner for Best Version among unisex perfumes: Guerlain Paris Aqua Allegoria Forte Mandarine Basil
Perfumer: Delphine Jelk (Guerlain Paris)
For the Consumer choice awards, the Fragrance Foundation Fragrance launched an Internet vote a few weeks ago. This year, nearly 40,000 people took part in the vote, i.e. more than 52% compared to the 2022 edition. For the same reasons as for the Professional awards, there is no prize for the best male launch. Perfumes are all part of selective distribution, except for one award:
Fragrance Foundation France 2023 Winner for Best perfume / other distribution channels (supermarkets, own store and drugstores): Adopt Parfums Sublimissime
Perfumers: Amandine Clerc-Marie and Bérénice Watteau (Firmenich)
Fragrance Foundation France 2023 Winner for Best Women’s Launch: Paco Rabanne Fame
Perfumers: Dora Baghriche, Alberto Morillas, Fabrice Pellegrin and Marie Salamagne (Firmenich)
Fragrance Foundation France 2023 Winner for Best Version of an existing perfume / Women: Guerlain Paris La Petite Robe Noire Rose Rose
Perfumer: Delphine Jelk (Guerlain Paris)
Paco Rabanne 1 Million Elixir courtesy of the brand
Fragrance Foundation France 2023 Winner for Best Version of an existing perfume / Men: Paco Rabanne 1 Million Elixir
Perfumer: Christophe Raynaud and Quentin Bisch (Givaudan)
Fragrance Foundation France 2023 Winner for Best launch among unisex fragrances: Guerlain Paris Aqua Allegoria Nerolia Vetiver
Perfumer: Delphine Jelk (Guerlain Paris)
Fragrance Foundation France 2023 Winner for Best Version among unisex perfumes: Guerlain Paris Aqua Allegoria Forte Rosa Rosa
Perfumer: Delphine Jelk (Guerlain Paris)
The 2023 Fragrance Foundation Awards France winners – ©Emmanuelle Varron
Here are all the statistics involved with the voting and entries:
-17 prizes awarded for perfumes released in 2022
– 191 perfumes in competition, all categories combined, including:
-73 for the Niche perfume awards
-57 for the Consumer Choice awards
– 53 for the Professionals awards
-8 for the Responsible perfume innovation awards
Voters were:
39,457 for Consumer Choice awards, i.e. +52% vs 2022
325 professionals working in FFF member companies for Professional awards
21 experts (9 evaluators and 12 perfume journalists) for Niche perfume awards
8 experts for the Responsible perfume innovation awards
It was wonderful to be part of the event for the first time. Milles mercis to the Fragrance Foundation France for the invitation. And congratulations to the 2023 winners and finalists!
Link to the official Fragrance Foundation France 2023 Awards page: here
Emmanuelle Varron, Senior Editor and Paris Brand Ambassador
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