How to choose the right perfume is a question people ask more and more, and the numbers confirm it. On 13 October Givaudan, the Swiss group that is among the world's largest fragrance makers, released its results for the first nine months of 2026: sales in its Fine Fragrances division, the high-end perfume business, grew by 15.3% on a like-for-like basis.
Fragrance figures in 2026
The figure fits into a broader picture of growth for the group. Between January and September 2026 (sales, in Swiss francs):
- Givaudan group sales: CHF 5,891 million, +5.2% like-for-like;
- Fragrance & Beauty division: CHF 3,150 million, +8.8% like-for-like;
- fine fragrance (Fine Fragrances): +15.3% like-for-like;
- fragrances for consumer products: +9.3% like-for-like.
“Like-for-like” means excluding the effects of currency and acquisitions: it measures how much sales really grew. The figure describes the performance of a large fragrance supplier, not how much perfume an individual consumer buys, but it signals that demand for high-end fragrances remains strong even after years of rapid growth.
Why fragrance is part of your image
Fragrance is the element of personal image that is least visible and most remembered. Research by Rachel Herz, a psychologist at Brown University, has shown that memories triggered by a smell are more emotionally charged than those triggered by an image or a sound. A fragrance arrives before words, and lingers after the person has left.
That's why a fragrance chosen at random, or just because it's fashionable, can tell a different story from the one you'd like to convey. A very intense perfume in an office, a note that's too sweet in a formal setting, a fragrance that doesn't match your personal style: small signals, but they get through.
How to choose the right perfume for you
There's no right perfume in absolute terms: there's the one that matches the person and the context. A few practical criteria:
- start from your personal style: those who love clean lines and sober colours often recognise themselves in fresh, mineral notes, those with a warmer, enveloping style in amber or woody notes;
- consider where you'll wear it: work, evenings and free time call for different intensities;
- try the perfume on your skin, not just on a blotter, and wait a few hours: the base notes are the ones that stay;
- don't choose on a wave of enthusiasm: better to come back the next day and decide with a fresh mind.
Fragrance at work
For a professional the question changes: which fragrance is consistent with my role and with what I want to convey? A consultant, a doctor, a manager who meets clients every day have different needs from someone working in fashion or communication. The choice starts from goals, not from the trend of the moment.
A choice you can learn to make
Choosing a perfume is a skill, not a stroke of luck. You learn to know the olfactory families, to recognise what represents you and what covers you up instead.
That's what Fragrance Style does, CG Imagine's consultation dedicated to choosing a fragrance in line with personal style or professional goals: a way to make sure your perfume, at a time when fine fragrance keeps growing at double digits, truly tells who you are.
Sources
Photo by Camille Paralisan on Unsplash
