Putting Perfume in Perspective: US Women’s Fragrance Report for Q3 2014

andy warhol perfume bottles illustartion for harpers bazaar 1956

Andy Warhol Perfume Bottles  Illustration for Harpers Bazaar 1956

 

If you are a reader of ÇaFleureBon.com, chances are you own more than five bottles of perfume; some of our readers own up of 500. You  might refer to yourself as a perfumista and you have no problem spending money buying  perfume samples and decants before springing for a spendy niche fragrance. We live in a rarified olfactive world where perfumers are rockstars and vintage fragrances are revered. But is it the real world?   Poshly.com  (which is primarily a beauty site) has shared excerpts from its Q3 2014 Fragrance Report, which collected data from more than 11,000 beauty consumers about their fragrance preferences, shopping habits and behavior. Some insights from the report (and a few of my own comments when I read this report):

• 80% of women wear fragrance at least once a week ( I don't think they have heard of SOTD and SOTE)
• 25% of consumers own more than 5 bottles of fragrances (75 % own less)
• 17% of consumers use all-natural perfumes  (That is a not a bad number and higher than I would have thought if they are indeed "natural")
• 58% of women carry perfume in their bag
• 23% of consumers purchase fragrance products of the same scent to boost the fragrance ( I don't buy many body creams either)
• Only 32% of beauty lovers switch between an eau de parfum and eau de toilette based on the season (good for them)
• 68% of fragrance users will pick out a special scent for a special occasion
•15% of fragrance users buy if there’s a celebrity spokesperson (there are good celebrity perfumes, don’t be a snob but this question is about spokespeople)

Also in the report was the Top 10 fragrance picks for men and women. Brands that made the cut include Chanel, Marc Jacobs, TOCCA and Issey Miyake. To download the report ($975) please click here

Excerpted from CEW Beauty insider

Do these numbers surprise you? What are your thoughts?

-Michelyn Camen, Editor in Chief

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6 comments

  • Stevie Wilson says:

    WHY am I surprised at the celebrity fragrances #s? I don’t get it. Most of them are boring scents that tend to disappear and just don’t have the value of the serious fragrance brands (meaning ingredients)
    I used to use a lot of shower gel when I was a single fragrance junkie.
    The # of scents that most people have is crazy .. I guess they didn’t factor in the # of people who love fragrance like those reading this article

    I carry fragrance in my bag… I wish I would carry more of them. but it’s not a smart move IMHO. I think that most women don’t realize what heat can do to a fragrance.

  • Donna Spiegel says:

    I’d have to agree on the celebrity fragrance thing. Most are so dull, weak, etc… I’m actually surprised so many want to be associated with such fragrances. $975 for the full report? Yikes!!!!

  • Maya says:

    Most of these figures were interesting but not too surprising, except those that buy products to boost a scent. I don’t do that, but sometimes use a fragrance product instead of the perfume. I also find it hard to believe anyone would buy a perfume based on the spokesperson. That’s silly at best.

  • JK DeLapp says:

    Great market research!!

    I’d be curious to hear more of what constitutes “natural” in this statement.

    “17% of consumers use all-natural perfumes (That is a not a bad number and higher than I would have thought)”

    Does this mean that 17% of the 11,000 respondents are purchasing artisan made 100% natural perfume, or purchasing fragrances sold as “natural”? The differences between the “natural” and actually natural can be quite significant. Of course, this would also mean 17% of these respondents are purchasing from boutique artisans, which would be an incredibly astounding figure!

  • Tiffanie says:

    I recently started using perfumed lotions/creams as a base for some spray perfumes, but I haven’t yet bought any matching fragrances in their different forms.

    When I want to soften an austere perfume, I use a floral or sweet body cream first. It gently lifts the fragrance, and it boosts longevity more than I expected.

  • ringthing says:

    I think it’s interesting that 80% of women wear perfume at least once a week, and 58% carry perfume with them – that seems like a lot. The 25% that have more than 5 bottles is interesting too; wonder how that compares to 25 years ago, when it seems as if more women had a signature scent. Thanks for posting this!