Fragrances by country 🇯🇵 🇰🇷 🇩🇪 🇨🇳 🇺🇸 🇫🇷 🇪🇸 🇮🇹 🇷🇺 🇬🇧 Where do you think the best fragrances are made? Do you have a preference?

[slpfrsly]

Following on from a discussion about French versus Italian perfume, there was a request for a broad discussion about fragrances and nationality. This is that thread!

Some jumping off points:

- Who do you think makes the best fragrances! 😀
- Do you have a preference for a certain type of national or regional style? Is this reflected in your own fragrance collection?
- How much, if at all, does the aesthetic and cultural history of a country matter to you?

If trying to evaluate every single nation is too much, especially outside of Europe, then it might be easier to talk in wider categories than countries for some places. The old European nations - France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Britain, Germany - are big enough to stand alone but if it's easier to use regions (like Arabia for North Africa and the Gulf, or Central and South America etc) then don't worry just do that.

Linking in the original post as well:

In terms of my own revealed preference, I find myself enjoying not only Italian houses moreso than their French equivalents - Armani over Dior, Lorenzo Villoresi over Serge Lutens - but also preferring the Italian style, its notes, and its sensibilities as well.

Now, does this make the Italians "better"? I don't know, it's a provocative title but maybe it is nothing more than personal preference; without going in to depth, there may be a genetic explanation as to why I find myself drawn to and enjoying Italian fragrances over French fragrances. But I'm not really writing this thread to argue the case, let alone with anything like hard facts - I'd like to know what other people think. France has a reputation as the epicentre of perfumery, and that seems fair on a number of different points of analysis - but is that the end of the discussion? Does that assumption translate to the fragrances themselves, particularly masculine fragrances? I'd like to see if I'm on my own here, or if this is an opinion that is shared by others.

What do you reckon? Do you agree/disagree? What are your thoughts/feelings?
If you like, you can think about this in terms of both modern/contemporary and older/vintage fragrances.

 

[Varanis Ridari]

I feel like designers (despite being French/Italian/Spanish/whatever origin) tend to have a more global vibe these days than say, even 20 years ago.

The real "regional flavors" I've found come from apothecary/barber/grooming/cosmetic brands or the dedicated perfume houses of a region (e.g. Floris).

I'll make a more thorough reply with examples later, but I think some of the more interesting stuff I've tried comes from the Arabic world, and countries with their own distinct perfume culture (like the UK)

American perfumery has always been a distortion of amalgamated European styles, but we started as a colony of Europeans so no surprise there. Caswell-Massey is sort of our D.H. Harris (although older).

 

[hednic]

- Who do you think makes the best fragrances! 😀
- Do you have a preference for a certain type of national or regional style? Is this reflected in your own fragrance collection?
- How much, if at all, does the aesthetic and cultural history of a country matter to you?

- Who do you think makes the best fragrances! FRANCE
- Do you have a preference for a certain type of national or regional style? Is this reflected in your own fragrance collection? Anywhere within France. It is reflected by 99.5% of all fragrances in my collection.
- How much, if at all, does the aesthetic and cultural history of a country matter to you? As it relates to perfume in this case everything.

 

[Bavard]

Looking at what I have, I think my favorites appear to be France (Chanel, Dior, Givenchy), Italy (Versace, Gucci, Moschino), and the US (Giorgio Beverly Hills, Bijan, Ralph Lauren), although I'm not really even sure if my examples in parentheses are all accurate.

 

[Pippin06]

Following on from a discussion about French versus Italian perfume, there was a request for a broad discussion about fragrances and nationality. This is that thread!

Some jumping off points:

- Who do you think makes the best fragrances! 😀
- Do you have a preference for a certain type of national or regional style? Is this reflected in your own fragrance collection?
- How much, if at all, does the aesthetic and cultural history of a country matter to you?

If trying to evaluate every single nation is too much, especially outside of Europe, then it might be easier to talk in wider categories than countries for some places. The old European nations - France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Britain, Germany - are big enough to stand alone but if it's easier to use regions (like Arabia for North Africa and the Gulf, or Central and South America etc) then don't worry just do that.

Linking in the original post as well:

If I were a dog, I'd absolutely be a mutt, and I love fragrances from a handful of countries--France, Spain, Italy, Germany, England, the United States.

 

[dougczar]

Guessing it doesn't matter as much these days - since more of the scent is made in a lab rather than in a local meadow. And with global communication / commerce now, anything that catches the smallest wave will be copied by all equally.

 

[RomanB]

Russian most popular men's fragrances are classics frozen in time. For example, a descendant of Coty's Chypre is still made at three factories by hundreds of thousands bottles per year and is considered a prototypical men's cologne.

 

[FiveoaksBouquet]

I fell in love with French perfumery at a very early age. I consider France the top perfume country (and I think statistically it is). Through the years I’ve also worn and loved many American perfumes and some English ones. Most I wear are from France but I am also open to well established brands from other countries. Right now I am wearing an Italian perfume, La Danza delle Libellule and feel very good in it.

 

[Varanis Ridari]

Russian most popular men's fragrances are classics frozen in time. For example, a descendant of Coty's Chypre is still made at three factories by hundreds of thousands bottles per year and is considered a prototypical men's cologne.

I'd love to try that.

 

[PrinceRF]

BTSO is a great new brand out of South Korea.

 

[slpfrsly]

BTSO is a great new brand out of South Korea.

Would you say their fragrances have a Korean sensibility, structure, and/or style?

 

[PrinceRF]

Would you say their fragrances have a Korean sensibility, structure, and/or style?

I'm not really sure because I'm not familiar with any other Korean brands; I just wanted to mention it because it's a country not often discussed in the community. There is something unique about them from a style perspective.

 

[Ken_Russell]

Seconding many of points already mentioned, including the ones about a certain increasing uniformity about designer scents as opposed to more noticeable local specificity in the past (while individuality is relegated either to pricey niche or obscure mass market among current choices, with more across the board complexity among vintages) trying to reply as on point as possible:

- a nearly equal tie between French, Italian and (at least on the traditional side) British fragrances and fragrance houses

- same preference as the favorite countries/regional specifics mentioned above, possibly with a few honorable mentions and/or wildcards that include but are not limited to fragrances from the US and also German speaking countries (Knize being quite solid towards the niche segment, Mäurer & Wirtz among the classy inexpensively priced one).

- if so, not always consciously, having so far chosen and steadily preferred fragrances that are complex and/or worth constantly (re) discovering the cultural, stylistic, historical etc. influences of the manufacturing country are seamlessly blended in, even if not always obvious at first.

 

[slpfrsly]

I'm not really sure because I'm not familiar with any other Korean brands; I just wanted to mention it because it's a country not often discussed in the community. There is something unique about them from a style perspective.

Yeah that's cool, no problem. I'll check them out.

 

[slpfrsly]

Looking at what I have, I think my favorites appear to be France (Chanel, Dior, Givenchy), Italy (Versace, Gucci, Moschino), and the US (Giorgio Beverly Hills, Bijan, Ralph Lauren), although I'm not really even sure if my examples in parentheses are all accurate.

What stands out to me in your post is the US, and how there isn't much that's distinctly, specifically American about it other than it reflects the melting pot/post-Hart Celler version of America that it became. E.g. the perfume houses/brands are owned by recent immigrants to the US.

Ralph Lauren would be the most typical "American" brand of the three you list - but then Ralph himself is of Eastern European Jewish extraction, and his all-American leisure class branding was already a pastiche of a bygone era when he released Polo (let alone by the time Polo Blue came out). Giorgio Beverly Hills (correct me if I'm wrong) is also a Jewish department store brand, and Bijan is Persian. America being as vast as it is, I wonder what traits or styles could define American perfumery - other than as a vessel for people and existing cultures from elsewhere? One thing that's interesting is, as the US becomes significantly more Hispanic, how that will impact American perfumery. Already Rodrigo Flores-Roux (whose fragrances I like very much) has created his own house that plays heavily on the Mexican notes, imagery and so on. It would be interesting to see if there is any appetite for Native American perfumery, and what they might smell like, in the future.

 

[slpfrsly]

I feel like designers (despite being French/Italian/Spanish/whatever origin) tend to have a more global vibe these days than say, even 20 years ago.

The real "regional flavors" I've found come from apothecary/barber/grooming/cosmetic brands or the dedicated perfume houses of a region (e.g. Floris).

I'll make a more thorough reply with examples later, but I think some of the more interesting stuff I've tried comes from the Arabic world, and countries with their own distinct perfume culture (like the UK)

American perfumery has always been a distortion of amalgamated European styles, but we started as a colony of Europeans so no surprise there. Caswell-Massey is sort of our D.H. Harris (although older).

Yeah, I think that's entirely fair. Rather than the nuanced differences that leads to genuine diversity, as we had in Europe up until the recent past, it feels like you can divide the world in to very broad territories or regions. I'm not even sure the Atlantic would count as one region (it did 20 years ago but I'm not sure anymore) as a fragrance like Sauvage, for example, feels totally unattached to any particular place, without roots. Arabia and Persia definitely still has a distinct style, which is spreading, and I also think the Japanese do as well. But Europe and America definitely position themselves as "global", and this is seen in the fragrances appealing to the aforementioned regions (ouds, yuzus) or in the blandness of mass appealing designers.

 

[slpfrsly]

Guessing it doesn't matter as much these days - since more of the scent is made in a lab rather than in a local meadow. And with global communication / commerce now, anything that catches the smallest wave will be copied by all equally.

True, and this is why cloning is such a scourge. Poor imitations that can be more profitable than the product they copy disincentivises creativity. The reduction of naturals also streamlines everything in to a top-down system, where the creativity comes in the form of the aromachemical rather than any other part of the process.

 

[slpfrsly]

Following on from the above about America, it strikes me that British and English perfumery isn't up to much either. Perfume is definitely a more continental craft and not something the Anglos (and possibly the Germanics?) do well/have much interest in - both historically and in the present, I'd say. Even the heralded traditional houses are, as is the case in America, founded by outsiders: Floris was Portuguese and Penhaligon was Cornish (so about as far from the interior of the country as you can get/more connected to European sailors than the rest of the country). Either way, all these brands come out of Victorian barbershops, and are much later to the scene than their European counterparts (although, oddly, they are seen as some of the most traditional houses in perfumery to the C21st shopper).

On English perfumery, I'd say there's a very narrow band of what feels coherently English. Barbershop/grooming products resonate as distinctly English, more so than an out and out perfume. In terms of notes, I reckon there's only two particular types of fragrances that, again, 'feel' British. The first would be an aromatic herbal blend of lavender (very English) and probably woody herbs like rosemary, thyme etc. Ideal for a shaving product, naturally. The second would be something spicy, but not oriental: all-spice being well-loved in Britain since the middle ages. Bay rum works well, mixing spices with limes and alcohol. But anything overly citric, even lemon, feels much more European and discordant. For women, rose is obvious. Perhaps there are other, greener, more coniferous (pine, moss) notes that feel distinctly English on top of what's already discussed. Otherwise, I think it feels (as you'd expect given the history) that Britain is very much a minor player in European perfumery, and has nothing on the French, what is now Italy etc.

 

[dealt7faux]

France.
Italy
If it counts, I do have a few travel sprays of some Casswell-Massey fragrances lying around.

 

[SmellSharpe]

Most of my fragrances are from France, but I have many from Canada, USA, Spain, Ukraine, Italy, etc. The country of origin has no bearing on my purchasing decisions now that I think about it.