Can Blockbuster Fragrances Make a Comeback?

In July, Estée Lauder unveiled its first new women’s fragrance pillar in years, called Glimmer, to the world.

A modern gourmand developed in partnership with IFF — the fragrance developer behind Estée Lauder’s once chart-topping hits like Youth Dew, Beautiful and White Linen — the scent came as parent company the Estée Lauder Cos. refocuses on fragrance, where it saw 10 percent growth in its fiscal fourth quarter of 2026, outpacing the portfolio’s overall 6 percent growth.

More broadly, the launch landed amid several others that similarly harken back to a different era in fragrance.

The week prior, Revlon launched White Diamonds Icon from Elizabeth Taylor, a flanker of the original White Diamonds scent that in 1998 ranked alongside Estée Lauder Beautiful, Tommy Girl and Clinique Happy among the top-10 department store fragrances sold that year in the U.S., as then-reported by WWD. Meanwhile Puig-owned Jean Paul Gaultier revealed this summer its first new women’s fragrance pillar in a decade, called La Favorite; Chanel — which Circana reports is the top fragrance brand in the U.S. — added a Coco Mademoiselle Crush Absolu scent to its 25-year-old Coco Mademoiselle pillar, and Guerlain in August launched a first new feminine fragrance in a decade, called L’Heure Bleue.

“The idea of a blockbuster launch today is very different from what it used to be more than 10 years ago,” said Larissa Jensen, global beauty industry adviser at Circana, adding that in decades past, blockbuster launches could easily account for 15 percent or more of sales in their category, whereas today, “it’s a much smaller share of sales than it used to be.”

According to Circana, the fragrance launches which generated the highest sales volumes in the last four years have been Chanel Eau Splendide and Carolina Herrera Good Girl Blush, the latter of which was developed by Givaudan perfumers Quentin Bisch, Shyamala Maisondieu and Christophe Raynaud.

“For us, a blockbuster is about ensuring a strong signature for a brand,” said Xavier Renard, global head of fine fragrances at Givaudan, adding that from a sales point of view, “when you launch, if you manage to get to 1.5 to 2 percent of Fragrance market share worldwide, you have a huge success, because the market is highly fragmented.”

Indeed, fragrance launches have proliferated since the category’s unprecedented post-COVID-19 boom, as have channels.

In the ’90s, when blockbusters reigned supreme, department stores were the category’s main point of sale but today consumers buy fragrances online, and via specialty beauty and niche fragrance shops. Beyond what they’re buying, they also have exposure to and awareness of more fragrances than ever thanks to social media. As a result, indie fragrance sales grew 46 percent in the U.S. in 2025, capturing 29 percent of the total market, per NIQ.

“Fragrance is sort of trending toward what makeup looks like at the peak of makeup; you’re looking at tons of new launches a year, you’re looking at people absolutely not sticking to one fragrance, and people who want to change their fragrance the way they change their mood and their clothes,” said Rachel Green, a beauty consultant and the founder of L’Epoque Parfums.

Said Sabrya Meflah, IFF’s senior vice president and president of fine fragrance: “Twenty years ago, the path to becoming a blockbuster was relatively linear. A limited number of major brands, strong advertising investment, and broad retail distribution could create awareness at scale.”

As the market has become more complex, she said that innovating on all engines — from emotional resonance to fragrance note IP (Glimmer taps macaron rose and shimmering patchouli accords, for instance) to bringing perfumers deeper into the storytelling fold — is becoming more important.

Perhaps most recently, Prada’s Paradigme men’s fragrance, which launched in August 2025 and was developed in partnership with Givaudan, has approached modern blockbuster status, surpassing $57 million in sales during the first half of 2026.

“When a fragrance is really good, and it gets the legs it needs and from an awareness and distribution perspective, you’re going to have a great moment, and it can take a brand to the next level. Will that fragrance ever reach Chanel No.5 status? Probably not. We’re past the days of a single scent from a single brand defining an era,” said Green.

Said Renard: “It’s all about adding incremental value to the brand.”