Top10 Perfumes of 2025 Nicoleta Tomsa and Oli Marlow
For the last five years that I’ve been writing for Cafleurebon (time really does fly!), my December ritual has been enriched with one more tradition: Top 10 Perfumes time. And every year, I expect it to be much easier than it actually is. And every year, it absolutely isn’t. Narrowing down a whole year of discoveries, obsessions, and discovery moments to just ten feels… ambitious. Good thing we had a deadline, otherwise the inner fight would never end. –Nicoleta Tomsa, Senior Editor
Top10 Perfumes of 2025 (Nicoleta Tomsa)
ÇaFleureBon X Darren Alan Perfumes Lipstick Queen (Darren Alan): So let’s begin with the perfume that I had the privilege of co-creative-directing with Editor-in-Chief Michelyn Camen: ÇaFleureBon X Darren Alan Perfumes Lipstick Queen. A scent born from late-night ideas, shared obsessions, and a very specific fantasy: capturing the electric moment when lipstick, desire, and danger meet. Bold, glamorous, unapologetically seductive, this is a tribute to the queens of yesterday and today – those who dare to live life on their own terms, embrace their power, and leave an unforgettable mark on the world. @darren_alan_perfumes
Artist’o Ode (Nathalie Feisthauer): Ode unfolds like a fragrant poem built on warm, sweet, and gently spicy layers, with a chic, unmistakably French gourmand twist. Raw almonds and heliotrope mingle effortlessly with vanilla and tonka’s rounded edges, subtly accented by a hint of cinnamon. The result is a deliciously refined experience, making you feel effortlessly chic – like slipping into your favorite white linen t-shirt, twisting your hair into the most perfectly imperfect messy bun, and applying just a whisper of red lipstick, blurred with your fingertips. (if you know, you know.) @nathaliefeisthauer @artistoparis
Élisire Aliksir Review (Philippine Courtière) “Moments like this are buds on the tree of life. Flowers of darkness they are.” The stories painted in scent and light by Élisire have grown richer by one more chapter with Aliksir, an amber-hued elixir of alchemy crafted to capture twilight itself, and the fragile magic of the golden hour. Sensual crimson reds, warm brass, rich coppers, and deep green earthy tones unfold with mandarin, elemi, oud, exotic woods, suede leather, and patchouli – for a golden aura that makes my inner Mrs. Dalloway swoon in delight. @elisire_parfums @philippine.courtiere
Essential Parfums Velvet Iris (Dominique Ropion): this is sheer elegance with its collar undone. Controlled on the surface, restless underneath – it starts upright, composed, green, then slowly loses its distance, sinking into something tactile, fuzzy, and unapologetically addictive. Quietly dangerous and intensely human, this is one unexpected iris I (quite expectedly) fell in love with from the very first try. @essential.parfums @dominiqueropionparfumeur
Manos Gerakinis Amandus (Sofia Bardelli): the name says it all, as this is a fragrance truly worthy of love. Built around the almond and its beautiful myth of a heartbroken princess turned into a tree, a pure love preserved in bloom, that still echoes today in sugar-dusted almonds passed from hand to hand at Greek weddings. The scent unfolds cocooning and intimate, with a powdery warmth that drifts into caramelized depths – buttery, toasted – wrapped in a floral haze that feels like sublimated light, trailing softly into a lactonic caress. @sofiabardelli.perfumer@manosgerakinisparfums
Nos Republic Cor Serpentis(Stephanie Bakouche) unfolds like a transmission from an alien biosphere cool, luminous, and faintly dangerous. Acidic ozone, camphor crystals, and sulfur-tinged blackcurrant shimmer against an uncanny purple backdrop, while pine absolute and magnetic vetiver root the composition in a soil that feels unfamiliar, charged, alive. Beautiful, unsettling& alien. @nosrepublicperfumes@sensabaperfumeisart
Sarah Baker Velvet Vendetta (Margaux Le Paih-Guérin): This is a full cinematic arc – with character development, plot twists, and an architecture that feels alive on the skin, on each wear. There’s humour, danger, sensuality, and that unmistakable Sarah Baker touch running through it all: playful, bold, sleek, artistic, self-aware, a little wicked, and always dressed & picture perfect for the close-up. A vanilla you don’t mess with – complex, weathered, touched by smoke and time and maybe by something a little dangerous, too. This is vanilla that’s seen things. Done things. Survived to tell the tale.@houseofsarahbaker @margaux.lepaih.guerin
Śasva Saaqi (Chris Maurice) takes us on a journey into a tavern along the Silk Road, where India meets Persia. Each sip becomes a taste of both desire and the divine – a tribute to the Sufi wine bearer who pours not just wine, but a passage to eternity, where yearning transforms into enlightenment. Elusive yet grounded, mystical yet deeply sensual, Saaqi carries its own gravity, yet it remains as comfortable as an embrace. @sasvaparfums@cdelaniche
Testament London Twisted Hearts (Gokhan Simsek & Bogdan Vlad): A very cinematic take on the scent-scape of Manhattan: a slightly grainy black-and-white scene, with jazz drifting up from a posh speakeasy basement bar, rain reflecting the lights of glass towers. The mark of a drink left on a polished, textured counter; echoes of laughter, there where everything feels possible, yet slightly unreal. A boozy take built around champagne, cacao, milk, and pineapple – a cocktail of emotions that gets you addicted really fast, really, really bad. @testament.collection@bogdan_vlaad@smsekgokhn
YLEM Parfums Soap Bubble(Andreas Wilhelm) is a clean scent – but elevated to new cosmic heights. A modern vision of freshness: minimal yet emotional, transparent yet unforgettable. A scent floating in that liminal space between skin and the space we inhabit that is highly artistic through concept and execution, yet disarmingly feel–good and easy to wear.@YLEM.parfums @wilhelmperfume
Best New House Of 2025: YLEM Parfums
YLEM Parfums sits right in that rare intersection where science, mysticism, and imagination overlap – translating nebulae, the birthplaces of stars, into precious, otherworldly fragrances pinpointed in this olfactive edition of a star map. Its very name, YLEM, comes from astronomy: the term used for the primordial substance of the universe, a dense and incandescent matter which, according to the Big Bang theory, gave birth to everything we know today. As a self-confessed sci-fi aficionado, whenever the Venn diagram of perfumery, storytelling, and cosmic imagination overlaps, my eyes instantly light up with little pixelated hearts. Discovering that the perfumer behind the creations of the house is none other than Andreas Wilhelm, whose work I already am a fan of – only made the gravitational pull stronger. Add to that the sleek, minimalist, art-gallery-meets-contemporary-luxury feel of the packaging, the near-obsessive perfectionism behind every detail (just zoom in on that very-on-brand cap!), and the highly curated visuals – and you begin to sense a project born out of pure love for the art of fragrance in its truest, most artistic form. @YLEM.parfums @wilhelmperfume
I was looking back over the list of perfumes I’ve written about, all the samples I’ve accrued over the last 12 months and the various notes I’ve made on my phone and what’s immediately obvious is that I don’t really have a set type. There are predictable stylistic entries in this list for sure (leathers, grassy ones, trad masculine bits and colognes), but as far as a unifying thread that binds these standouts goes… I have no idea whatsoever. Enjoy! –Oli Marlow, Senior Contributor
Top10 Perfumes of 2025-Oli
Puredistance Ysayo (Antoine Lie): The perfume I loved the most this year was a late entry: Ysayo from Puredistance. I’m positive that’s partly because I had to work to try and understand it. A categorically unique composition from perfumer Antoine Lie, it’s a nature-dense, weirdly medicinal smelling, leathery, green perfume that the brand calls a ‘green samurai’. I just call it a big win. @antoinelieolfactiveexperience @puredistancemasterperfumes
Ataratma London Rati Patchouli (Tanguy Guesnet): To be candid: I’ve been working with the newly minted Ataratma London brand for a large part of this last year (it launched in September) and it’s definitely that kind of prolonged exposure that’s precisely why two of their fragrances are appearing in this list. Rati Patchouli was an instant love that has really wormed its way under my skin: a modernist fusion of fruits and LMR’s Patchouli Heart No. 3 that feels plump, alluring and a little bit plastic-y in the best way possible. @ataratmalondon @tanguyguesnet.parfumeur
Ataratma London Shakti Saffron (Nelly Hachem-Ruiz): Shakti Saffron is a bit of a different beast altogether. A thick, granular, powerhouse composition from Nelly Hachem-Ruiz that wonderfully combines saffron and oakmoss – two fantastically dry materials that actually fuse together way more seamlessly than you might expect.@ataratmalondon @nellyhachemruiz_perfumer
Organ Tale Devenir (Bertrand Duchaufour): One of the brands I stumbled over at the debut Niche Show in London, Organ Tale is a young Korean brand that’s been quietly working with big name French perfumers for a couple of years. Bertrand Duchaufour’s Devenir is near faultless; it takes all the ingredients and aromas you’d expect from a cologne (citruses, herbal nuances, florals and woods) and serves them up at 40% dilution under the label of a cologne absolute. @organtale @bertrand.duchaufour
Ode Ona Dawn Earth (Undisclosed): I’ve been trying to write about this one for months (!!!) but for some reason I just can’t get my thoughts together enough to describe it in detail. It’s essentially a fragrance inspired by forest bathing (think earth, moss, woods and greenery) but there’s tricks and levels to it that properly elevate the form. The almost roasted coffee note in the opening… the unique and weirdly bitter mastic note in the heart… It’s just all kinds of incredible. @ode.ona
Jovoy Parfums Ha Long Bay (Veronique Nyberg): For a while there, it got kind of hard to avoid the big, thick, fruity fragrances. Ha Long Bay from Jovoy Parfums managed to sidestep any sickly, underwhelming oversweetness by shooting for a nature identical mango aroma (achieved with Mane’s Jungle Essence technology). If it was just that on its own, it’d be noteworthy, but the twist it takes into deep, butter-leather territory means it really sticks out. @jovoyparfums @francoisheninjovoy @veroniquenyberg_official
Atelier Materi Black Oregano (Celine Pedriel): It still smells wild, the extrait strength combination of oregano and leather (that I reviewed last month). I can’t think of anything else I’ve smelled this year that has come anywhere near it, in terms of concept. @ateliermateri @celine.perdriel.perfumer
Essential Parfums Velvet Iris (Dominique Ropion): Dominique Ropion’s outing for Essential Parfums is a pretty literal olfactive portrait of the entire iris flower – from the terroir and soil it grows in, through to the sturdy green stems that are topped with those instantly recognisable purple flowers. He uses materials you wouldn’t expect (turmeric and buchu) to create nuances you didn’t know you needed (spicy suede) and at this price point? *Chef’s kiss* Perfection.@essential.parfums @dominiqueropionparfumeur
Nissaba Les Alpes (Fabrice Pellegrin): Nissaba’s Les Alpes seemingly shares very little traits with anything else on this list, but that’s exactly why it’s so good! You could consider it to be a bit of a throwback, classic masculine sillage with soapy and spicy aspects, but it’s built around a contrast between cool air and warm, spicy juniper berries.@nissaba.fragrances @fabnose
Carner Barcelona La Playa (Adriana Medina-Baez): Like the name suggests, La Playa from Carner Barcelona is inspired by a day at the beach but it’s way more than that surf, salt and sand suggestion. Unsubtle hints of coconut, tonka bean and vanilla make it smell like the zenith of luxury sun tan lotion that you wish your supermarket SPF smelled like. @carnerbarcelona
For our Part 4 Giveaways
Thanks to the generosity of Élisire, we have a 30ml bottle of Élisire Aliksir for one registered reader in the EU or USA. You must register or your entry will not count.
Thanks to the generosity of Essential Parfums, we have a draw for a 100ml bottle of Essential Parfums Velvet Iris for one registered reader in the USA or EU or UK.
Thanks to the generosity of Testament London we have a bottle of Twisted Hearts for one registered reader from the EU, UK, or US. You must register or your entry will not count. Please note the winner will need to wait until January to receive this perfume, as it is on preorder.
Please share your thoughts about Nicoleta’s and Oli’s Top 10 Perfumes of 2025. What sparked your interest? What do you want to try or have tried, where you live and which you would like to win was there a quote that resonated? Draw closes 1/2/2026
Remember there are draws you can enter for Kajal Topaz Sarah Baker Velvet Vendetta (last day to enter 12/30). Neela Vermeire Creations Eshal, Marc-Antoine Barrois Aldebaran, Etat Libre D’Orange Above The Waves and Anthologie by Lucien Ferraro. Badar Parfums Rouge Eclat, Olivier Durbano Deux EX Petra and Hiram Green Ultra
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