Major perfume study says originality still matters A newly published computational study analyzed perfume data spanning 1900–2024. Its early findings suggest modern fragrances have become more minimalist in listed notes while using increasingly unusual note combinations. Most interestingly, the researchers found that more original creations tended to receive better ratings for quality, projection, and longevity than fragrances closely connected to imitation networks. That lines up strongly with your position on originals versus straightforward clones. The paper is new and has not yet completed peer review. Cultural Evolution of Perfumes since 1900 Vahid Satarifard, Fabian Baumann, Geetanjali Minsky, Laura Sisson, Lou M. Haux, Christophe Laudamiel, Nicholas A. Christakis Perfumes are cultural artifacts and works of sensory art, composed from a finite, recombinable palette of notes that together evoke a distinctive scent impression. Here, we assemble the largest perfume corpus compiled to date, spanning multiple independent databases from 1900 to 2024, and study its evolution through a multidisciplinary computational framework. We first characterize perfumes by properties such as complexity and novelty using crowd-sourced data, finding that compositions have grown more minimalist in their scent profiles, yet more novel in their note combinations. This transition began in the 1990s. Next, we construct copy-lineage networks and examine how notes are selected across successive time windows. We show that although imitation is pervasive, a growing share of notes drifts free of selection, and original creations retain a measurable quality premium, where they last longer, project further, and earn higher regard. Finally, we construct the collaboration network of master perfumers and show that a perfumer's creative style behaves as a social contagion, transmitted through collaboration and decaying with social distance. We discuss the principal forces shaping this evolution, including regulatory restrictions, cultural change, and the consolidation in the industry. Our findings position perfume as a culturally evolving system, akin to music and fashion, through which societies express and communicate hedonic sensory experiences.

Some fragrances strive to be noticed. Bois du Portugal seems to have outgrown the need. It possesses the quiet authority of a man who has spent a lifetime becoming rather than appearing. There is nothing fashionable about it, and therefore little within it that can become unfashionable. Were it a literary work, it would be Tolkien’s The Return of the King — not because it is grandiose, but because it understands that true authority is most compelling when joined to restraint. Its greatness is not found in spectacle, but in fidelity, endurance, and the gradual formation of character. Its music would be Bach: measured, ordered, and profound without ever pleading to be admired. Each movement unfolds with inevitability rather than urgency, reminding us that permanence is rarely loud. Architecturally, it resembles one of Europe’s old stone cathedrals. It does not compete with the skyline. It simply remains while generations pass beneath it. This is not a fragrance of youthful ambition, nor of a man trying to persuade others of his importance. It suggests someone who has learned that importance and significance are not the same thing. Its confidence is neither aggressive nor theatrical. It is steady, disciplined, and at peace with itself. Bois du Portugal does not create gravitas. No fragrance can confer character, wisdom, or humility upon its wearer. It merely seems most natural upon a man who has begun to understand their value. To wear it is not to announce one’s arrival. It is to affirm that character is more compelling than charisma, permanence more admirable than novelty, and substance more enduring than style. A fragrance I endeavor to embody in my daily walk of faith, dignity, and humble, quiet authority.