Michelyn and Ermano’s Top Ten Perfumes of 2022

 In Part 1, Editor Ermano Picco and I began with an overview of the best perfumes as well as the top trends of 2022. Ermano lives in Milan and I live in New York City. We haven’t seen each other in three years!!! Often, I am asked is there a difference between how people from different countries judge perfumes? This year there are only two overlaps, but I believe it’s based on access more than anything. In no particular order, we present our top ten perfumes of 2022 and my 15 honorable mentions. –Michelyn Camen, Editor-in-Chief

Ermano’s Top Ten Perfumes of 2022 collage by Emmanuelle

Antonio Alessandria Parfums Amado Mio (Antonio Alessandria): After Rusty Vibes, created in 2020 to celebrate 10 years of ÇaFleureBon, Perfumer Antonio Alessandria is back after a hiatus due to the pandemic with a much-awaited release. Amado Mio is a dance cheek to cheek with rose and tobacco following the rousing music of yummy honey, raspberry, and bran absolute over a bed of dark woods. For lovers of Antonio’s elegant and multifaceted touch will go nuts for his unique take on rose. A must sniff. -Ermano Picco

April Aromatics Lost in roses (Tanja Bochnig): I was happy to meet natural perfumer Tanja Bochnig in June and to smell her latest creation focusing on roses. It was an extremely difficult year for me and smelling the beauty of Lost in roses where Tanja unashamedly poured rose extractions with their kaleidoscope of sensations that gave me a burst of joy. That’s what this perfume is at every spray, a burst of joy.-Ermano

Astier de Villatte Le Dieu Bleu (Dominique Ropion:) Born from an incredible collaboration between Perfumer Dominique Ropion and perfume anthropologist Annick Le Guérer in the collection Trois Parfums Historiques, Le Dieu Bleu strikes as an incredible reconstruction of the mythical Kyphi. Balmy, vinous, honeyed and floral, Le Dieu Bleu is the headiest concoction in the trio and distils the perfect balance between sacred and mundane. -Ermano

Zoologist Cow (Nathalie Feisthauer): I must be honest: I was expecting from Cow a monolithic load of condensed milk blended with sticky caramel and heavy notes reminiscent of treats and cakes. That’s probably how many would have played it but no, not Zoologist founder Victor Wong and perfumer Nathalie Feisthauer. Cow is a lighthearted green floral with such a mellow drydown bringing ingenuously happy vibes that succeeds at getting me back to childhood. Spray, inspire, and smile. -Ermano

Voyages Imaginaires L’Eau des Immortels (Isabelle Doyen and Camille Goutal): Slow perfumery at its best. Everything about this perfume, from its beautiful name, its stunning scent and artistic bottle immediately won us over. Ermano got a preview last June in Milan by perfumer Isabelle Doyen, as Camille Goutal couldn’t attend. Michelyn was fortunate to receive tiny sample from Indigo Perfumery only recently. Immortelle is an incredibly complex raw material with spicy, herbal, chypre, woody and edible facets and here they are all super enhanced; drenched in a boozy, thick, and ambery syrup. With exceptional sillage and longevity  not usually expected  for a natural perfume. Simply addictive. -Ermano and Michelyn

Zoologist Sacred Scarab (Sultan Pasha): In ancient Egypt scarabs were considered celestial symbols and were carved and engraved in stones as amulets to be placed on the heart. What could have been a cliché dealing with musty mummies and middle eastern balms, Sultan Pasha turned it to a lesson in entomology, perfumery and history. Since the first whiff I applauded Sacred Scarab as an iridescent perfume unfolding aldehydic glows, peachy suave blossoms, heady wines and beautiful resins. A fragrant amulet for 2023.-Ermano

Houbigant Figuier Noir (Céline Ellena): Fig has been so much exploited during the past two decades as a symbol of summer easy living that nowadays it might smell redundant and boring. Perfumer Céline Ellena interpretation is so crisp and multifaceted with acidulous, sappy and woody velvetiness it grew on me during this yeas as a brilliant diorama of this simple fruit. When simple is not banal. -Ermano

Fragments by NVC Nemus (Bertrand Duchaufour): Fragments by NVC debuted last spring as a more approachable line by creative director Neela Vermeire, and I must admit I was eager to smell it for Neela proved with her main line to be a daring, visionary player of indie perfumery, but at the same time I feared about a “downgrade” effect. At first smell the line was a total thumb up, but especially the sparkling Nemus made it more than others Oud is sublimated in a gorgeous herbal and citrus dryness like perfumer Bertrand Duchaufour never did before. -Ermano

Frassaï Victoria (Irina Burlakova): These days of loud, monolithic, uninspired perfume blockbusters, it takes courage to go your own way and create a classy, yet modern symphonic beauty built around the Diva of flowers, tuberose juxtaposed with oud. That’s why I couldn’t help falling in love with this perfume inspired by a bold, intelligent woman like Argentine writer and publisher Victoria Ocampo. So chic!=, which is why it is on my top ten perfumes of 2022 list.

Masque Milano White Whale (Christian Alori): Big dreams need ambition, infinite horizons need strong hearts, their smell needs capable lungs to deeply inspire. White Whale is not just the smell of sea, but the adrenaline of reaching the impossible like touching a block of precious ambergris and smelling your fingers in awe. That’s what the creative team of Masque Milano and perfumer Christian Alori achieved with White Whale, and what we all need after all from perfume, to bring us a little awe every day.  -Ermano Picco and Michelyn Camen

Michelyn’s Top Ten (11) Perfumes of 2022 (nine here because of the above overlap with Ermano) collage by Emmanuelle

Firstly, this was an exceptional year for artisan and independent perfumery. I had a lot of difficulty narrowing it down to 10, plus 15 honorable mentions. What they all had in common was the way they made me feel….-Michelyn

Fragments by NVC Thyina (Fabrice Olivieri) is a luminous perfume with a vintage vibe. It is a study in simplexity- you really need to wear it for at least an hour so that the many facets and layers of lavender, sandalwood, hazelnut, Peru balsam, coffee reveal themselves. Neela with perfumer Fabrice Olivieri managed to create a truly comforting and easy to wear fragrance. The sandalwood is amongst the finest I have smelt and weaves its soothing song throughout the composition. It smells like the highest quality natural ingredients were used, and no wonder, M.Olivieri is the perfumer who composed Undergreen Black, Gold and White. I wear it when I want to wind down from a particularly stressful day, which lately is every day. -Michelyn Camen

Olivier Durbano M.Oldavite (Olivier Durbano): Named for a rare glass, which is believed to be formed by a meteorite that landed in Southern Germany about 15 million ago. It literally glows on the skin as it wraps you in the healing embrace of Palo Santo, which is thought to strengthen the immune system. The green herbalcy of angelica and vetiver, the soft incense and the golden resins, play both with warmth and coolness. Did Oliver create M.Oldavite as a perfume talisman during the pandemic? Whatever his intent, the fragrance is a scented spiritual journey, a true jewel that reminds us of the transformative and protective properties of perfume. – Michelyn

Amouage Royal Tobacco (Cecile Zarokian): This is my favorite Amouage perfume of all time. Cecile Zarokian, who was my best perfumer of 2021 when she returned to Amouage after 11 yrs. She was given an antique cigar box from Chief Experience Officer Renaud Salmon in order to explore it olfactively in context of Cuba and Oman. As Karl wrote, “Her brief was to align both cultures to create a ‘Real’ tobacco through a contrast of hot and cold accords; to search for the best quality of tobacco absolute bringing across the fusion of cigars and woods”. And she  accomplishes this and more. The licorice root note is unexpected and adds depth and sweetness.  Amouage’s signature frankincense runs throughout, weaving curls of smoke around resin, spices and a hint of aromatics.  Along with Vero Kern (RIP) 2017 NAJA) Royal Tobacco is the best tobacco fragrance of the past decade -Michelyn

Matière Première French Flower (Aurelien Guichard) celebrates the intoxicating Queen of the night: tuberose. In my interview with Aurelien Guichard, he wrote that the perfumer he would like to meet from the past was Germaine Cellier, who created the landmark tuberose Piguet Fracas. French Flower was cultivated in his own field in Grasse, using tuberose enfleurage and tuberose absolue. This interpretation of the polarizing white flower will appeal to those, like me, who usually shy from its indolic qualities.  French Flower is elegant and built on a classical construction, with ginger and tealeaf oil adding a a modern twist. Aurélien Guichard was one of my perfumers of 2022 for good reason as once again he shows his love for raw materials and his mastery of them from start to finish.-Michelyn

Thomas de Monaco Eau Coeur (Maurus Bachman): In all my years of writing and testing thousands of perfumes, only twice has a fragrance had such a profound effect on me. While I wear Fragments by NVC Thyina before I go to sleep, Eau Coeur is my scent of seduction. I will wear it out at night and literally heads turn and more than one person (usually a man) asks me what is that fragrance? Since I wear perfume for myself. I wear it any time I want to feel glamorous and sexy. Thomas de Monaco and perfumer Maurus Bachman have created a heart stopping beautiful perfume. If you read Part One it was my fragrance of the year, so of course, it is on my top ten perfumes of 2022 list.-Michelyn

Der Duft Privilege (Nathalie Feisthauer): It is a privilege to name this as one of my top ten perfumes of 2022. It is the best Der Duft to date, composed by Nathalie Feisthauer who is also one of my best perfumers of 2022, literally arriving to me less than two weeks ago. This is why I wait to the last moments of the year before finalizing my list. It is a green scent at the top, initially with a burst of galbanum. It mellows and shifts with sea notes that are more mineralic than aquatic, but at the core of Privilege, is a mélange of fruits, soft woods and musk. If Privilege was a path, it takes me to a happy place. One I have only visited in my imagination-Michelyn

Parfums d’Empire Vetiver Bourbon (Marc-Antoine Corticchiato): Marc-Antoine Corticchiato best perfume of 2021, Mal Aime, is a masterpiece. His new Vetiver Bourbon is another example of why he is one of the best  perfumers in the world (IMHO)). He doesn’t follow trends, just his own path. With Vetiver Bourbon, he goes back to his roots, literally. As Emmanuelle write in her review, “As he did for Parfum d’Empire Mal-Aimé, Marc-Antoine Corticchiato pays tribute to his deceased friend Lucien Acquarone, an incomparable distiller of plants used in perfumery; they  went on many trips in search of  the finest raw materials. Whenever Marc-Antoine and Lucien went to their extraction unit located in Madagascar, they would always stopover in La Réunion to stock up on vetiver essential oils, and watch the harvesting of its roots, which requires incredible strength. They then came up with the idea of ​​recovering “Bourbon” strains to plant them in Madagascar and perpetuate the unique quality of this rare and multi-faceted vetiver.” Unique and multi-faceted it is, initially quite challenging too in its boldness. This is not some iteration of a crowd-pleasing designer vetiver fragrance. Vetiver Bourbon is never harsh; it is rounded by ambrette, cloves and iris facets. Vetiver is known as the oil of tranquility, and although this a powerful fragrance, it also is as healing as wild nature. You have never smelled anything quite like it. -Michelyn

L’Artisan Parfumeur Tonka Blanc (Alexandra Carlin): I named L’Artisan Parfumeur my best niche house of 2022 because of their new innovative Le Potager Collection. When Elise and I were at The World Perfumery Conference we learned about a technology SymTrap® from Symrise, an extraction technology making it possible to create ingredients from by-products of the food industry, promoting upcycling.  Out of the five fragrances, Tonka Blanc is the only one that actually uses a natural vegetable extract, cauliflower. Now there is a reason to wear your vegetables; perfumer Alexandra Carlin was inspired by the naturopath Jennifer Hart-Smith’s cauliflower cheesecake recipe. Tonka Blanc is warm, cozy fragrance with creamy, lactonic facets that the cauliflower imparts pairing beautifully with the sweetness of tonka bean.

Azman Killer Vavoom (Miguel Matos): AZMAN is my best independent fragrance house of 2022, so it was an “eeny meenie miney mo” situation as each appeals to me and each is unique. After testing all five of the new releases, Killer Vavooom won as one of my top ten perfumes of 2022. Decadently rich with deep dark chocolate and plum, it tempts you with heady florals heightened by a deep dose of orris which glides on an oakmoss, musky base. In Karl’s review he likened Killer Vavoom to a Tango. Let’s Dance- Michelyn Camen

10 (plus 5) Honorable mentions from Michelyn, all artisan and independent AND EACH WIN AN AWARD BECAUSE THEY ALL DESERVE AN AWARD and in no particular order:  Aftelier Perfumes Boheme Confection, Christele Jacquemin Echoes of Silence, April Aromatics Lost in Roses, Isabelle Larignon Milky Dragon, Cognoscenti Fire and Rain, Meo Fuscioni Encore du Temps, Bogue Profumo 20 EDP,Puredistance MV2Q, Aether Arts Hivemind, Maher Olfactive Waking Dream, DSH Perfumes X CaFleureBon Warrior Queen, For The Scent of It Molten Ambra, Sarah Horowitz Parfums Wake Up Angel, St. Clair Scents Moving On and Solstice Scents Sweet Clover and Wood Smoke.

Now that’s a wrap for Ermano and me. We hope you enjoyed our top ten perfumes of 2022 (plus) and Best Fragrances of 2022.

Tomorrow, Ida and Lauryn will step in with their respective top ten fragrances of 2022, followed by Nicoleta and Emmanuelle, Karl and Michael, Hernando and Rachel, and Rachel and Olya and Steven.

What did you think of Ermano’s and Michelyn’s ÇaFleureBon Top Ten Fragrances of 2022? What about Michelyn’s honorable mentions (decisions, decisions)?

From Marc-Antoine Corticchiato of Parfum d’Empire, we have a 50 ml bottle of Vetiver Bourbon for one registered reader worldwide

Thanks to Matière Première, we have a 100 ml bottle of French Flower for one registered reader USA and EU.

Mille Merci to Voyage Imaginaires for 75 ml  bottle we have a L’Eau des Immortels for one registered reader in USA and EU.

From the ever generous Neela Vermeire YOUR CHOICE of FRAGMENTS by NVC Thyina or Nemus for one registered reader in USA and EU.

Please leave a QUALITY comment with your thoughts on our selections, where you live and which you would like to win. You must be a registered reader. Draw closes December 31, 2022

Follow us on Instagram @cafleurebonofficial @magnificent

This is our Privacy and Draw Rules Policy

We announce the winners only on our site and on our Facebook page, so like CaFleureBon and use our blog feed, or your dream prize will be just spilled perfume