I’m not a big trend watcher, but if you’re paying any attention at all, it is hard not to notice the number of fragrance houses jumping on the “luxury” (e.g., expensive, exclusive, limited distribution) bandwagon this year. We started with the Chanel Les Exclusifs, which are now looking more and more like a bargain at $175 a pop. Then we had, well, let’s see how many can I list — Tom Ford Private Blend, MDCI, Yu by Mane, Estee Lauder Private Collection Tuberose Gardenia, By Kilian, Guerlain Quand Vient La Pluie, Thierry Mugler Angel La Part des Anges (and the upcoming Thierry Mugler Miroir Miroir). I’m sure I missed a few. L’Artisan (the Harvest series), Hermès (the Hermessences), Giorgio Armani (Armani Privé), and Givenchy (Les Millésimes de Givenchy) got started earlier, and all have new releases this year.

Creating a luxury product that purports to emphasize quality and integrity over mass market appeal seems a natural way to stand out from the pack at a time when the market is virtually flooded with product. But when the market gets flooded with luxury, what then? And when you’ve smelled enough “luxury product” to know that the ambitious pricing is often all that sets it apart from its competition, well, it is hard not to be cynical about “luxury”…

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