Some people don’t like ranking fragrances and ‘love them all equally’… I don’t. Taste is subjective. My favorites and especially the order may change every day, but at least once or twice a year, I like to assess my collection thoroughly, to see how my taste has changed or how my feelings towards (especially fragrances that were new to me) have changed after more time with them.

I curate my collection strictly. Of course, there are a handful of fragrances that I don’t own, that would make the list, but for the most part, these are not just the highlights of my collection, but the highlights out of over 1500 fragrances that I’ve reviewed.

The last time I ranked my collection here was in my Top 50 Fragrances (July 2023). In the list below, I’ve indicated fragrances’ respective places versus last year. Under the list, you will find an analysis, in which I explain some of my considerations, trends and biggest omissions. Lastly, you can click on each of the names to go to my original review.

Leave a comment with your favorite fragrance!

Top 50

🥇 Guerlain MITSOUKO PARFUM (1960-1970s VINTAGE)
🥈 Fragrance du Bois SAHRAA [#AD] 📈
🥉 Amouage EPIC 56 📈
04. Marc-Antoine Barrois GANYMEDE EDP
05. Roja Parfums ENIGMA POUR HOMME [#AD]
06. Puredistance PAPILIO 🆕
07. Frederic Malle NOIR EPICES 📉
08. Frederic Malle PORTRAIT OF A LADY 📈
09. Xerjoff IRISSS 📉
10. Xerjoff LUNOSA 📉

11. Amouage JUBILATION 40 [#AD] 🆕
12. Xerjoff 40 KNOTS 📈
13. Chanel 31 RUE CAMBON EDP 📉
14. Etat Libre D’Orange EXPERIMENTUM CRUCIS 🆕
15. Jazeel GHALA 📉
16. Les Abstraits BELLE AME 📈
17. Prada PRADA/AMBER 📉
18. Ensar Oud TONKIN MUSK 📉
19. Ella K MELODIE D’ALTAI 📉
20. Ostens IMPRESSION JASMINE ABSOLUTE [#AD] 📈

21. Guerlain GOURMAND COQUIN 📈
22. Lorga AMBRE PLATINE [#AD]
23. Atelier des Ors POMELO RIVIERA 📉
24. Guerlain HOMME EDP 📉
25. Essential Parfums FIG INFUSION 📈
26. Amouage REFLECTION MAN 📉
27. Jean-Patou JOY PARFUM (VINTAGE) 🆕
28. Eris DELTA OF VENUS [#AD] 🆕
29. One Day OOLONG TEA [#AD] 🆕
30. Maison Tahite COFFEE BOMB 📈

31. Perris ABSOLUE D’OSMANTHE 📉
32. Dior MISS DIOR EDT (1970 VINTAGE) 📈
33. Parfums de Marly HEROD 📉
34. Dior BOIS D’ARGENT 📉
35. Roja Parfums ROSE PARFUM 🆕
36. Serge Lutens FEMINITE DU BOIS 📉
37. Areej Le Dore GUL HINA 📉
38. Frederic Malle ROSE TONNERRE 🆕
39. Hermes TERRE D’HERMES PARFUM 📉
40. Masque Milano L’ATTESA 🆕

41. Akro AWAKE 🆕
42. Prissana MANDARAVA 🆕
43. Scents of Wood NFT1 🆕
44. Dior HOMME PARFUM 📉
45. Acqua di Parma PROFUMO 🆕
46. Frederic Malle CARNAL FLOWER 📉
47. Strangers Parfumerie SALTED GREEN MANGO 🆕
48. Marc-Antoine Barrois ENCELADE 📉
49. Regalien DEM [#AD] 🆕
50. Maison Violet SKETCH [#AD] 🆕

🔝 TOP 10 🔝

Mitsouko Parfum takes the top spot for the second time in a row, while ex-number one Fragrance du Bois Sahraa gets a place back and ends in second place. Amouage Epic 56 has been on the rise and earns its first top 3 ranking, although I seriously considered Ganymede for the bronze medal (probably already my most controversial ranking). Xerjoff Lunosa saw the biggest drop off; I think the heaviness of the wear makes it lose points this year (more on this in the Trends section). Portrait of a Lady makes it way back into the top 10, after being left out for the first time in 2023. Puredistance Papilio makes a rare entry in the top 10; last year only Jazeel Ghala did that (which landed in #15 now); however, I’m confident Papilio will remain there next year. The most underrated fragrance in my top 10 is probably Frederic Malle Noir Epices; one of the least talked about from the house, which is the only brand with 4 entries in my top 50.

📈ON THE RISE & NEWCOMERS 📈

This year, I’ve been less conservative with adding newcomers. After looking at last year’s list, I felt that some fragrances were perhaps spared based on status and nostalgia; for this list I started with more of a blank slate. It will be interesting to see, how many of those are still in my top 50 next year, when recency bias has faded; especially those completely new to me, such as Regalien Dem, Prissana Mandarava & Scents of Wood NFT1.

The highest newcomer is Puredistance Papilio. Followed closely by Amouage Jubilation 40; the only reason Jubilation XXV wasn’t already on the list, is because I only had a decant of it; now the DNA finally gets its place. The other ‘medal winners’ from my Best of 2023 lists, that I didn’t own already last time, entered in the top 30 (Eris Delta of Venus, One Day Oolong Tea, Etat Libre D’Orange Experimentum Crucis). The one that I already owned, Les Abstraits Belle Ame, ranks as one of the highest climbers, alongside Xerjoff 40 Knots; Xerjoff being arguably biggest ‘winner’ in this year’s ranking with 3 fragrances in my top 12. One that should’ve been on the list last year, but I forgot to include it, was my vintage Jean Patou Joy Parfum.

📉 TRENDING DOWN 📉

Aside from the omissions in the next paragraph (of which there were many that hurt a little to left out), there was a lot of shifting down in the ranking. Dior Homme Parfum and Marc-Antoine Barrois Encelade dropped out of the top 40, because I find them quite demanding wears. The same can be said for Perris Absolue D’Osmanthe. Fragrances that have been in my collection for several years, may suffer from me getting overly familiar with them, hence they steadily drop some places each time I make a list like this; like Amouage Reflection Man, Dior Bois D’Argent & Parfums de Marly Herod.

✂️ OMISSIONS ✂️

Each time I make a list like this, the list of serious omissions grows larger. Some fragrances that have been in my top lists since my first year into the hobby have fallen out of the top for the first time, like MFK Grand Soir (love when I wear it, but don’t miss it when I don’t) & Mancera Cedrat Boise (probably just too common for me at this point). Mainstays in recent years as well, such as BDK Gris Charnel (may very well return), Nishane Ani (just a tad harsh) & Matiere Premiere Radical Rose (grew too sugary; same reason I excluded Dior Oud Ispahan in earlier years). Newer ones have dropped off after the newness wore off (as is to be expected), most notably Xerjoff Iommi (quite earthy), which is the only one from 2023’s top 30 that is not on the list this time around. Earthy is also the reason Areej le Dore Indonesian Oud didn’t make it back into the list.

Others felt interchangeable; Strangers Burning Ben made place for two others from Prin. Tom Ford For Men Extreme & Cartier Declaration d’Un Soir were both less ‘me’, albeit great fragrances. For some, it simply felt like the list wasn’t long enough, like Kilian Black Phantom, Dusita Rosarine or my vintage Ralph Lauren Safari For Her.

The main one I left out, because it’s still new to me, was Angelos Creations Olfactives Salon Dt. As mentioned in the intro, there are handful of fragrances, that would make the list, were I to own a full bottle; notably Xerjoff XXY, Roja Parfums Taif Aoud Parfum, probably Eris Ma Bete and Boadicea The Victorious Blue Sapphire.

🌊 TRENDS 🌊

So, more newcomers this year. I think more of them will stick around as well, although the bottom 10-15 will always be interchangeable. The biggest change I’ve noticed in my taste, is longing more towards lighter, more delicate wears; more versatility over the heavier, more demanding ones. I already mentioned Iommi, Dior Homme Parfum, Lunosa, Encelade etc. ‘suffering’ from this. I switched out Strangers’ Burning Ben in favor of Salted Green Mango. This is the opposite to my comment in 2023’s list, where I found it easier to leave lighter scents out of the top 50.

As I think is normal as one progresses into this hobby, less of the ‘original heavy-hitters’ and hyped fragrances in the community stick around in the top and get replaced by some less popular fragrances. In my case, the same goes with #AD PR bottles. While I’ve received quite a lot of PR bottles, only 9 have ended up in my top 50 at the moment. I view this as a result of the sheer amount of releases I sample and acquire on my own accord. Despite that, I find that relatively bigger brands are represented heavily in my list, which goes to show that their extensive line-ups usually have something for everyone to fall in love with. The best example being Xerjoff, a brand that I feel indifferent to overall, with plenty of misses and entire lines that aren’t for me, yet it’s the brand with the most high-ranking fragrances.