In the U.S., P&G [Procter & Gamble] is the No. 5 player with nearly $600 million in sales and 10 percent of the market. But industry data show P&G is not that far behind fragrance leaders: The company’s market share is less than 1 percentage point behind No. 3 Elizabeth Arden and No. 4 Estee Lauder. No. 1 L’Oreal holds less than 17 percent of U.S. fragrance sales with $975 million, according to industry tracker Euromonitor. Coty is No. 2 with $740 million in sales, or almost 13 percent of the market.

— So, in order, that's L'Oreal, Coty, Elizabeth Arden, Estee Lauder, P&G. Read more at P&G smells success in high-end fragrances at Cincinnati.com. P&G is responsible for the new Dolce by Dolce & Gabbana; other brands in their stable include Gucci and Hugo Boss. Hat tip to Tiara!

While women's fragrance sales have increased by two per cent in both the UK and US, the men's fragrance market has enjoyed a punchy five per cent growth according to WWD. And it's mostly down to this year's new launches for the boys. [...] The top five launches for 2013 included Gucci Guilty Black Pour Homme, Polo Red, Givenchy's Gentleman Only and Dolce & Gabbana The One. Only one fragrance for woman made it to the top five, See by Chloé.

— Read more at Men's fragrance sales soar in the UK and US at the Telegraph.

After gaining back some of the ground lost after four years of negative sales during the economic downturn, fragrance sales are basically flat on the year, and experts predict they will continue their holding pattern during the holidays.

According to The NPD Group, 15 percent of shoppers will purchase a fragrance this holiday, which is unchanged from 2012; similarly, Euromonitor forecast that the category's sales will tick higher by only 0.2 percent this year.

— But it's still the fourth most popular holiday present. Read more at Fragrance sales to be flat this holiday at CNBC.