Keep it fresh: many Britons chose new scent to echo their seasonal fashion changes - study

By

Nigel TAYLOR

Published
Aug 6, 2024

Britons change their fragrance every nine months, with 30% switching to match the season, akin to a change in their fashion-buying habits, a survey by fragrance website Thompson & Carter London reveals.

The report, citing price comparison site Idealo, also shows Black Opium by Yves Saint Laurent is the most in-demand women’s fragrance for 2024, with a 17.6% increase in interest on a year ago. Cloud by Ariana Grande the most popular celebrity fragrance (135,000 Google searches a year) and the most popular male fragrance search-wise is Dior Sauvage, with 1.5 million searches every year.

Meanwhile, the survey also reveals the most popular reason for a fragrance change is people simply wanting to try something new (57%) with 39% citing the boredom of wearing a regular scent. Other factors include buying and wearing something new for a special occasion (25%) and being recommended a new scent (14%).

Ads

But most of all, a big 65% say their perfume makes them feel confident when wearing their signature scent, while 50% say the fragrance they wear makes them feel happy. Other emotions noted include feeling sexy, sophisticated and relaxed, depending on the scent they choose.

The survey further reveals fragrance plays an important role in a wearer’s personality and how they perceive themselves, with 85% believing it's an integral part of their personal identity.

Results showed that many people have an emotional connection to fragrance, with 70% of Britons associating certain perfumes with specific times in their lives. It points to studies that show memories evoked by scent are more positive, and relevant to a person's life story than memories elicited by verbal or visual cues.

Though memories are not always positive and 67% of people said they would avoid choosing a perfume if it reminded them of someone or something that sparked a negative response.