February Highlights

"At the moment, we have offers on the table from different national and foreign entities, from both large and small-scale companies, and we are open to receiving other proposals and studying them," reveals Martínez, who, together with his team, continues to deepen our knowledge of this rose and its future applications.

For the moment, what we know is that the Narcea rose - so called because it was discovered in the Asturian region of the Narcea river basin - has interesting properties for the composition of fragrances. In addition, it has a protection seal - in fact, it is the only rose to have one - which allows the rose's DNA profile to be recognised and protected.


"Various trials and tests have been carried out with some very important perfumers and business groups, but the results, for the moment, are confidential," says the CSIC researcher.


How long will we have to wait to find the Narcea Rose in a perfume? That will depend not only on us, but also on the perfumers who want to embark on this adventure. Being a pioneer is not easy, but it also has its great advantages," says Martínez.

Although fragrances aimed at babies and children have been around for years, they have been relatively neglected in the luxury category for a long time.


The launch of a new perfume from the Baby Dior line in November 2023 has put the spotlight on the luxury children's fragrance segment. The fragrance has been so well received that there has even been a waiting list for its purchase on the brand's website.


Bonne Étoile is an eau de cologne, created by the prestigious perfumer Francis Kurkdjian, which has bath and body care complements to pamper children's skin. The fragrance is alcohol-free and contains 98% ingredients of natural origin.


"I wanted to avoid the inevitable orange blossom that has long characterised the scent of childhood and look for a comforting scent in another formula: a pear, pink and green, brightened by wild rose and enveloped in soft, cottony, protective musks. Bonne Étoile is like a creamy caramel that melts in the mouth," explains Francis Kurkdjian.

Founded in 2012, the prestigious Rose et Marius fragrance house has joined the portfolio of the French Bogart Group. The company thus strengthens its portfolio of luxury perfumery brands, which until now included Carven, Jacques Bogart, Ted Lapidus, Chevignon and Neo Cologne, by integrating a "high perfumery and lifestyle house".


Rose et Marius is a small fragrance house based in Aix-en-Provence (France) that creates perfumes, home fragrances and bath and body care lines with high quality ingredients sourced from Provence. Its purchase is not an isolated move in the perfume industry.


Looking back, the year has started with two other notable investments: Estée Lauder has taken a stake in Chinese luxury fragrance brand Melt Season and L'Occitane has acquired luxury home fragrance firm Dr. Vranjes Firenze.


Moving back to the end of 2023, Unilever acquired The 7 Virtues, a Canadian organic and honest fragrance brand, while a few months earlier Kering added Creed to its portfolio of brands and the Advent International fund bought the niche fragrances of Parfums de Marly and Initio Parfums Privés.


And it doesn't end there, because the boost to the luxury fragrance category is also coming from internal developments, such as the future perfume atelier that Estée Lauder is preparing in Paris and the new concept of luxury perfumes that will soon see the light of day from Coty, Infiniment Coty Paris. The impressive 40% growth of the fragrance segment of Estée Lauder's sales by 2023 has encouraged the group to accelerate its strategic plans, creating the Atelier to stimulate innovation and quality craftsmanship on a large scale. For its part, Coty intends to raise its positioning in perfumes, as it has done with the Orveda cosmetics firm in skin care.

Artificial intelligence, increasingly present in the world of fragrances, is making it possible to generate new experiences that provoke a WOW effect in consumers and contribute to increasing fascination with brands. On this occasion, we discover the initiative of Bulgari, which has designed an impressive pop-up around its Allegra fragrance collection, open to the public at Istanbul airport.


The installation welcomes visitors with a striking décor that blends the Italian essence of the brand's luxury perfumes with a nod to the city of Istanbul and invites them to enjoy a synaesthetic experience, thanks to generative artificial intelligence technology. Customers are immersed in a universe where fragrances, images and sounds intertwine.


Using a mixing console, participants can act as DJs, exploring suggestions as they create their perfect combination of Bulgari Allegra Eau de Parfum. In addition, the interactive experience offers personalised audio and video.


The pop-up offers different themes each month based on Bulgari's Italian DNA and emotions (passion in February, the month of love, and the Mediterranean in March) and offers personalised services on specific days.


The Bulgari perfume pop-up is open to the public at Istanbul airport until 31 March.