The fragrances successful women are wearing this year, from expensive Aesop scents to a Gucci perfume dupe
The key to everyday luxury in 2024 was simple: spray some perfume.
The fine fragrance industry boomed throughout the year, with Women’s Wear Daily reporting that prestige scents were the fastest and largest growing sector of the overall beauty industry.
Colognes were also extremely popular with men, and members of Gen Z became obsessed with smelling good.
So, B-17 turned to successful women across industries to learn which perfumes they recently favored. Here are their picks.
The founder of a sustainable marketing agency loves unisex scents from Aesop.
Viviene New York founder Estella Struck uses two Aesop scents, including Tacit.
Estella Struck founded Viviene New York, a marketing agency that promotes sustainable businesses. She’s also a rising star of influencer management.
The 23-year-old told B-17 that she’s “not a perfume maximalist” — but there are two scents she loves.
“I really like Aesop. I think they have an amazing line of fragrances, and they’re unisex,” she said.
She’s purchased the Tacit scent for herself, which costs $160 or $220 depending on the bottle you buy, and the $200 Karst scent for her boyfriend.
“I’ll use his Aesop scent depending on my mood,” she added.
She also likes a clean version of a popular Gucci fragrance.
Rather than buying Gucci perfume, Estella Struck prefers this Dossier dupe.
Struck told B-17 that she loves the scent of Gucci Bloom but doesn’t find it to be the most sustainable and skin-friendly option on the market.
It’s also priced pretty high, between $110 and $128 each for full-sized bottles.
So, the marketing professional turned to Dossier, a brand known for selling clean, inexpensive fragrances inspired by designer products.
Struck said the brand’s Floral Honeysuckle perfume smells exactly like Gucci’s, and the bottle costs $39.
One media strategist is loyal to a classic Victoria’s Secret perfume.
Media strategist Abby Carlos uses Victoria’s Secret Bombshell every day.
Abby Carlos has spent the past two years working as a media strategist for Warner Bros. Discovery.
So far, she’s worn the same perfume each day on the job: Victoria’s Secret Bombshell.
She prefers the brand’s original scent, which is sold as a body mist, lotion, and perfume (though the latter is sold out).
Other variations of the fragrance — including Bombshell Intense — are still available on the Victoria’s Secret website for upward of $60.
For nights out, she turns to a designer brand.
Though the scent Abby Carlos uses is a limited edition one, Carolina Herrera sells various others.
Carlos told B-17 she likes to wear a limited-edition Carolina Herrera scent called Good Girl Fantastic Pink for nights out.
“It’s packaged in a sparkly pink bottle, and I get so many compliments on that one,” she said.
She also previously enjoyed the brand’s Very Good Girl scent, packaged in a red, heel-shaped bottle. But over time, she thinks it’s become a bit overrated.
“It felt like everyone started wearing it,” she said of the perfume. “I was like, ‘Oh my God. Now I’ve got to find a new scent.'”
Bottles of the latter fragrance — and others in Carolina Herrera’s Good Girl line — range in price between $94 and $192 per bottle. The brand no longer sells the Fantastic Pink line, but it can be purchased on fragrance websites and Amazon.
One entrepreneur sprays an underrated Viktor and Rolf perfume as a mood booster.
Sabrina Guler enjoys the floral, feminine scent of Viktor & Rolf.
Sabrina Guler, 31, is an author and entrepreneur who cofounded the real-estate investment company Techvestor, which landed her on B-17’s rising stars of real estate list.
“I love Viktor & Rolf’s Tiger Lily,” she said. “That’s been my go-to, and I always get complimented on it.”
She describes the scent as floral, feminine, and “very sexy.”
“I’m someone who wears fragrance when I want to enhance my self-love,” she said. “If I want to feel better about myself, if my mood is kind of off, or if I just want to feel more connected to me, I’ll add a little bit of perfume.”
An influencer talent agent layers multiple fragrances to create her signature “vanilla cupcake” scent.
This Being Frenshe scent is just one piece of Asia Gousse’s fragrance routine.
Asia Gousse found herself on B-17’s list of rising stars in influencer talent management thanks to her work with Slash Management. She works with an all-female client roster that she discovered on TikTok.
Even when her job is busy, the 28-year-old makes time for a thorough fragrance routine.
Gousse always begins by applying unscented body oil to help her perfume last longer. She then uses the $14.99 Being Frenshe body spray in Cashmere Vanilla as a base layer for a rotating perfume.
Sometimes, she sprays Valentino’s Born in Roma Intense, which costs between $110 and $140. On other days, she chooses Maison Margiela’s Replica Afternoon Delight ($35 to $165) or Viktor & Rolf’s Flower Bomb Ruby Orchid ($38 to $225).
Finally, she uses a niche fragrance from Idult Paris called Tiholta, which she says is the “truest vanilla” scent she can find. It costs 180 euros, or about $187.
“I want to always walk around smelling like a vanilla cupcake. It’s my pride and joy,” she said.
A fashion designer has found her signature scent in YSL’s line.
Designer Anna Molinari says she enjoys the Over Red version of YSL’s Black Opium.
Anna Molinari is a 26-year-old content creator and sustainable fashion designer. She’s also a newly cemented fragrance fan.
“I never used to be a fragrance person, but now I’ve been learning about them as I receive them in PR packages,” she told B-17. “My favorite is the YSL Black Opium Over Red.”
In addition to the YSL scent, which costs between $35 and $160 per bottle, Molinari enjoys the Mugler Alien scent, which retails for around $150 per bottle.
“My issue with perfumes is that, to me, they can smell like old ladies,” she said. “So what I like about the YSL cherry scent specifically is that it does smell very fruity. Same thing with Mugler Alien. I can wear them every day.”
