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Danielle Popov

What does a scent say about your personality or even cultural identity?
Quite a lot, according to the fragrance industry.
For example, Hongkongers used to have a penchant for English perfumes such as Jo Malone and Penhaligon’s, due to the city’s past as a British colony, says Patrick Hui, founder of Hong Kong perfume store Scented Niche.
In mainland China, florals like osmanthus, rose and jasmine had for around a decade been top scents, he adds, though that started to change about five years ago.

Some believe that the popularity of those florals was because Chinese women associate florals with a touch of innocence. That is why Hermès’ Osmanthe Yunnan (tea, osmanthus, orange) and Dominique Ropion’s Portrait of a Lady (amber-floral, patchouli and rose) were such a hit there.
Now, bespoke and niche scents are all the rage in Asia. Just as your clothes are an extension of your individuality and style, consumers are looking for fragrances that are unique and exclusive to express their own personality.
Established in 2018, Scented Niche offers smaller fragrance brands from France, Australia and Italy. Its main customers are perfume lovers and connoisseurs seeking something different to what is commonly available.
In China, the perfume market is projected to almost double from 2023 to 2028, from 22.9 billion yuan (US$3.1 billion) to 44 billion yuan, according to US market research firm Frost & Sullivan. That is a compound annual growth rate of 14 per cent, far outpacing the projected global market average of 3.5 per cent and highlighting an important industry shift.
Hui says that due to mainland Chinese consumers’ overconsumption in the years since the country started opening up, they now tend to gravitate towards limited edition and themed launches.

Fragrance note trends are also becoming more common. Amber was all the rage in 2018, while ambrosial tuberose from India was in vogue in 2019 and 2020, he says. Since then, florals have been popular among perfume wearers.
More recently, there has been a shift to uncomplicated fragrances. This year, woody scents have taken the stage, with cedarwood leading the way, Hui says. Unisex fragrances have also grown in popularity, with women wearing drier, woodier, spicier scents.
Scented Niche’s bestselling fragrances are citrus and woodsy fragrances, specifically Trudon’s Vixi, which has a slightly masculine citrusy and woody scent; and its Isla de Oro, which with bergamot, rosemary and musk comes across as citrusy and slightly spicy.
Hui says that consumers living in second- or third-tier cities in Asia are open to new styles, but those in first-tier cities are harder to serve. “Because even when they say they like floral perfumes, they already have 30 of those perfumes.”

Maison 21G is a fragrance brand that lets customers create custom perfumes by selecting their preferred notes. Based in Singapore, the brand also has boutiques in Hong Kong, mainland China, Dubai and other locations.
As well as its consumer business, it also makes bespoke car diffuser scents for Ferrari, Lamborghini and Maserati showrooms, as well as diffuser scents for hotel brands including Kimpton, Fairmont, and Waldorf Astoria.
Co-founder Maxime Vanhoestemberghe Patas says that with customers able to create their own perfume, “you’re not just buying something from a shelf and going home and wondering whether you got your money’s worth. You are creating it yourself, you are putting your heart and soul into this, and you’re doing it with friends, so you have memories attached to it.”
He adds that the company used to use a machine that mixed the perfumes in front of customers, but found that having someone hand-mix the fragrances yielded a much stronger reaction, reaffirming the new demand for bespoke experiences.

He says that consumers in Singapore and Hong Kong have similar tastes in that they enjoy strong woods, such as sandalwood, as well as citrus, ginger, rhubarb and floral notes. “They enjoy not sweet fruit but rather sparkling and fresh fruits, like ginger.”
However, mainland China does not enjoy strong woods as much. “Some like it but not as much as fresh woods,” he says, and even those that do enjoy it do not like it paired with something too sweet.
“They prefer something not too invasive and not too strong. They enjoy scents that are very clean and fresh, almost medicinal at times,” such as sage, wormwood and vetiver.
He adds that consumers in mainland China are also making the transition away from well-known luxury brands into niche perfumes slower than in Hong Kong.

Meanwhile, while the marker of sophistication used to be wearing French perfumes, Maison 21G observed that buttery, “exotic” white florals that perform well in France – neroli, orange blossom, frangipani – do not perform well in Singapore, he says, particularly frangipani, which Singaporeans associate with ghosts and the supernatural.
“In Singapore, frangipani is our least performing ingredient, whereas in France it’s extremely widespread and appreciated,” he says.
Meanwhile, vanilla, a creamy confectionery fragrance that is extremely popular in the US, the Middle East and western Europe, is not well liked in mainland China, who consider it too strong and exotic, he says.
And surprisingly, another note that is not popular in mainland China is lavender, despite its medicinal qualities, he adds.
“The most common request I get from Chinese consumers when they ask for fragrance is ‘not too sweet’, which includes gourmand [notes] and fruits.”


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Perfume trends in China, from bespoke and niche scents to unisex, spicy fragrances

Products of Maison 21G is displayed in the store at Hysan Place, Causeway Bay. 01NOV24 SCMP/ Fan Chen

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Perfumes are displayed at Scented Niche in Causeway Bay. Photo: Fan Chen

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A perfume is displayed at Scented Niche in Causeway Bay. Photo: Fan Chen

Maison 21G co-founder Maxime Vanhoestemberghe Patas mixes a fragrance at the brand’s shop in Causeway Bay’s Hysan Place, in Hong Kong. Photo: Fan Chen

Perfumes are displayed at Maison 21G in Causeway Bay. Photo: Fan Chen

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Fashion & Beauty

With the Chinese perfume market far outpacing the global one, experts reveal note trends in mainland China and Hong Kong, and in Singapore


With the Chinese perfume market far outpacing the global one, experts reveal note trends in mainland China and Hong Kong, and in Singapore.
