• About
  • Login to comment
    • Bluesky
    • RSS
    • Twitter

Now Smell This

a blog about perfume

Menu ▼
  • Perfume Reviews
  • New Perfumes
  • Archives

Understated brilliance

Posted by Robin on 25 April 2024 3 Comments

The premise of power perfumes in the eighties was intertwined with that of power dressing—they were a way for women to claim their space, portray their monetary success and show those around them they meant business. [...] But in 2024, the very definition of power has changed for a huge number of women—many are wanting to embrace the power of understated brilliance.

The power perfumes of 2024 aren't Armani power shoulders, they are beautifully cut Calvin Klein suits. They are clean-smelling, crisp and fresh, but they are also complex, commanding of attention and ooze expense.

— Read more in The power perfumes of 2024 don't scream, they whisper—these 7 scents know how to command a room at Marie Claire UK.

Filed Under: perfume in the news

Advertisement


3 Comments

Leave a comment, or read more about commenting at Now Smell This. Here's our privacy policy, and a handy emoticon chart.

  1. Calypso says:
    25 April 2024 at 3:50 pm

    This article presents an account of changes in taste that are so bizarre as to sound incomprehensible and incoherent to me. The smell of “immaculately clean blue jeans fresh from the dryer”? Is that a smell? Or a “hard-hitting dose of pure cleanliness”? What’s the deal with all this clean obsession?

    Having said that, I’ll make two other points.

    (1) I’m dying to try the New Look scent partly because it just sounds so good and I adore other things by Kurkdjian.
    (2) Those 80’s scents were really something else! We had a V-P at my university who sort of took me under her wing, and she was an extremely colorful and utterly Texas woman. She had BIG HAIR, very black and curly, and wore fancy red suits with tops that showed a lot of cleavage, was smart and sassy, LOUD, and always absolutely drenched in Giorgio. She was a hoot and I love thinking back to those times! We had a conference visit to NYC once and she strutted her Texas rich woman act all around there and definitely made an impression (of some sort!).

    Log in to Reply
    • Robin says:
      25 April 2024 at 4:52 pm

      Yes it’s a smell for most people…the smell of the synthetic musks in their laundry detergent and dryer sheets 🙂

      The clean obsession is not new at all, but the idea that clean is now “power” is not something I can quite buy into. I think she is equating the idea of smelling wealthy with the idea of smelling powerful, not the same thing in the 80s and not the same thing now.

      Log in to Reply
      • Robin says:
        25 April 2024 at 4:54 pm

        Actually Giorgio is a good case in point. 100% a power perfume, but I never smelled Giorgio and thought wow, that person must be rich!

        Log in to Reply

Leave a reply Cancel reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Advertisement

Search

Recent reviews

Atelier Cologne Love Osmanthus
Moschino Toy Boy
Arquiste Misfit
Diptyque Eau Capitale
Zoologist Bee
Parfum d’Empire Immortelle Corse
Comme des Garcons Series 10 Clash
Frédéric Malle Rose & Cuir
L’Artisan Parfumeur Le Chant de Camargue
Yves Saint Laurent Grain de Poudre
Régime des Fleurs Chloë Sevigny Little Flower
Chanel 1957
Gallivant Los Angeles
Amouage Portrayal Woman

Blogroll

Bois de Jasmin
Grain de Musc
Perfume Posse
The Non-Blonde
More blogs...

Perfumista lists

100 fragrances every perfumista should try
And 25 more fragrances every perfumista should smell
50 masculine fragrances every perfumista should try
26 vintage fragrances every perfumista should try
25 rose fragrances every perfumista should try
11 Cheap Perfumes Beauty Outsiders Love

Favorite posts

The Great Perfume Reduction Plan
Why I Love Old School Chypres
New to perfume and want to learn more?
How to make fragrance last through the day
Fragrance concentrations: sorting it all out
On reformulations, or why your favorite perfume doesn’t smell like it used to
How to get fragrance samples
Perfume for Life: How Long Will Your Fragrance Collection Last?

Upcoming

List of upcoming Friday projects

3 July ~ damage poll
12 July ~ summer reading poll

Back to Top

Home
Archives
About Now Smell This :: Privacy Policy
Perfume Reviews
New Perfumes
General Perfume Articles
The Monday Mail

Glossary of Perfume Terms
Perfume FAQ
Perfume Books

Noses ~ Perfumers A-E :: F-K :: L-S :: T-Z

Perfume Houses A-B :: C :: D-E :: F-G
H-J :: K-L :: M :: N-O :: P :: Q-R :: S
T :: U-Z

Copyright © 2005-2025 Now Smell This. All rights reserved.