Way back in January 2021, Kevin wrote that 2020 had been the year of overpriced, overhyped scents: “Never have I smelled so many $250, $350, $450 perfumes that reminded me of $10 scented candles.” Based on various online “gift guides” that have scrolled past my eyes lately, I can’t say that late 2024 is looking any different. I’m less and less impressed by arbitrarily high prices. Here at NST we’ve been saying “under $100 is the new ‘free'” since 2009; in that spirit, here are three fragrances I’ve encountered over the past year or so that live up to their descriptions, feel accessible to scent-curious shoppers and sell for less than $100 for a full-sized bottle.
First: I initially came across the Cra-yon fragrance line at the Liberty department store in London and made a mental note to find out more later. Cray-on started showing up in the United States soon after that trip, and I picked up a bottle of Art Life at a perfume swap event in New York. (Swap meet-ups are the Gen Z version of the early-2000s message-board swaps!) Cra-yon was “founded by Christine and Niclas Lydeen, French/Swedish fragrance pioneers” and comes across as a welcoming, upbeat brand that doesn’t take its own cool-kid vibes too seriously…