Just a year ago, Nest was all about accessible luxury. The premium fragrance brand, best known for its home candles and diffusers, expanded its line into body sprays that launched at Ulta Beauty for $39 – a category that’s been booming thanks to younger shoppers.

But in May, the 17-year-old brand decided that upmarket was the way to move, wiping its Instagram feed clean and replacing it with its new Voyages collection of fine perfumes sold for $250 at Harrods and Bergdorf Goodman.

— Read more in The Fragrance Market’s Squeezed Middle at Business of Fashion.

Beauty industry data specialists Circana noted that sales of fragrances costing €150 or more were up 32% in 2024 to €653 million (compared to +8% growth for total fragrance).

In 2024, the body sprays market doubled in Europe – growing by 107% to a value of €265m – with Sol de Janeiro as the top-selling brand.

— Read more in From yuzu to neuroscience & cigarettes: fragrance innovation trends to watch at Cosmetics Design Europe.

The global fragrance market is the biggest it has ever been and still growing; it is set to generate revenue of about £45bn in 2025, according to Statista. The UK market alone reached £1.74bn in 2024 and, if growth continues apace, will top £2bn by 2029 according to a 2024 Mintel report. This growth is driven by gen Z and millennials, who have formed a unique relationship with fragrance due to social media and Covid isolation – PerfumeTok drove 45% of social media scent sales in the US by 2023. Instead of a dab behind the ear, they prefer scent layering – wearing two or more perfumes at the same time – and scent wardrobing (matching fragrances to different occasions).

— Read more in ‘Smellmaxxing’ and ‘frag heads’: how the gen Z perfume boom came up roses for indie brands at The Guardian.