Yazhini Manimudi14 Perfumes from the First Half of 2025 we’re Taking to the Second Half
Flankers, originals, niche perfumes and more…
1. Acqua di Parma Buongiorno
Fragrance Family: Citrus Aromatic
Key accords: Fresh spicy, aromatic, green
Unisex
If you’re a fan of Acqua di Parma’s reed diffuser of the same name and want to carry it on your person, you’re in luck. Buongiorno, Italian for hello, is a tribute to Italian summers. So if you’re vacationing in Italy this summer, you know what to pack in your suitcase. It’s a greeny fresh scent with mint, basil, citruses standing out the most. The addition of lavender in the heart makes it a little more barbershop. On the drydown, it gets woody and lightly sweet. Many wouldn’t splurge so much on a fresh fragrance as it doesn’t last too long. But if you’re a fan of fresh fragrances and want something higher end, Boungiorno is a good pick for this summer.
2. Parfums de Marly Castley
Fragrance Family: Citrus Aromatic
Key accords: Fresh, citrus, woody
Masculine
Joining Parfums de Marly’s line of fresh fragrances like Greenley and Sedley is the new Castley. If you like them, you’re sure to love this one. But if you have those two, I’m not sure you need Castley as it feels like a combination of the two. If you liked Sedley but wished it was less sweet, Catsley can feel like its less sweet, more woody and earthy sibling. It’s dependable, easy to reach for every day, but nothing mindblowing.
3. Prada Infusion de Rhubarbe
Fragrance Family: Floral Fruity
Key accords: Citrus, aldehyde, powdery
Unisex
Rhubarb is that girl in perfumery with more and more perfumers playing with this fresh, green gourmand. It’s a complex ingredient, showing up as watery, fruity, fresh, sour, sweet, or aromatic in their chosen blends. It comes out as sweet and fruity in Prada’s new creation. Not a youthful naive character we usually associate with sweetness but a mature and elevated sweetness you’d get from your elegant aunt you steal the perfume from to feel grown up. It’s very summery with a bit of tarty, vegetal scent like you’re having a garden party surrounded by greenery. If you’re someone who finds aldehydes dated, its partnership with the rhubarb can give it a modern personality.
4. Kenzo L’Eau Pure
Fragrance Family: Woody Aquatic
Key accords: Aquatic, citrus, woods
Unisex
When you think aquatic, you think colorless or at the most, a light blue that could fade into nothingness in the blink of an eye. One can accuse aquatics of blandness. Kenzo contrasts this in l’Eau Pure with floral, fruity ingredients that are bright and joyous in its freshness. It’s watery citrus with the spicy aromatic side of lavender. It dries down to a classic sandalwood that’s almost too soft to notice. Very inoffensive, wearable everyday in the UAE summer, but you’ll need to refresh it throughout the day as it’s a fleeting fragrance.
5. Amouage Purpose 50
Fragrance Family: Woody Spicy
Key accords: Woody, spicy, leather
Unisex
Purpose 50 is part of Amouage’s new line of Exceptional Extraits, highly concentrated perfumes that go beyond their EDPs. Purpose 50 seems to know its purpose more clearly, its composition smoother, richer, and loud about its complexity. As expected from the Omani brand, its frankincense is of the best quality, supporting its costars vetiver, akigalawood, and saffron. Remember its high concentration well before you spray it on as it could easily get too strong for comfort.
6. Holy Oud Expression
Fragrance Family: Oriental Woody
Key accords: Warm spicy, fruity, amber
Unisex
Expression is niche brand Holy Oud’s expression of middle eastern luxury through saffron, blackcurrant, rose, amber. This is definitely something I was going to gatekeep as it’s unique but have decided to be nice and share the finer things in life for everyone to enjoy. It starts fruity and evolves into a classic rose, the drydown a soft sweetness with some woody undertones.
7. Carolina Herrera Very Good Girl Elixir
Fragrance Family: Oriental Floral
Key accords: Cherry, vanilla, cacao
Feminine
A dark sultry gourmand flanker to the fruity Very Good Girl which was sexy in a playful way. It conjures up imagery of pencil thin stilettos, deep red lipstick that can easily slip into black and biting into a juicy cherry. Almond brings a bitterness that adds complexity to the sweet gourmand notes. Tuberose ups the sensuality but isn’t so strong as to be overpowering.
8. Creed Eladaria
Fragrance Family: Floral
Key accords: Rose, powdery, fresh
Feminine
In the perfume space where everything has to be new and chic and the next big thing on tiktok, Eladaria is a refreshing rose fragrance that forgoes all the bells and whistles. It’s a pleasant powdery rose fragrance that settles down soft and comfortable on the skin. A reliable rose scent where you know what you’re getting and don’t like surprises. If you want a simple luxury perfume that goes for every occasion, this is it.
9. Chanel Chance Eau Splendide
Fragrance Family: Floral Fruity
Key accords: Fruity, violet, fresh spicy
A playful, sweet, flirty perfume that softens down to a soft powdery floral. Eau Splendide comes as part of Chanel’s Chance line that includes Eau Tendre, Eau Fraîche, and Eau Vive. Iris and rose geranium bring a softness to the exciting fruity raspberry opening. In combining fruity, most associated with youthfulness and powdery, seen as mature, Chanel creates a fine balance between the two for a more sophisticated yet fun younger crowd.
10. Kayali Fleur Majesty Rose Royale | 31
Fragrance Family: Floral fruity
Key accords: Rose, fresh, violet
Fresh, sparkling, sweet. That’s the essence of this Kayali release. A lot of people have said it smells like the Parfum de Marly Delina but the lack of rhubarb obstructed that vision for me. It does give Delina La Rosée vibes with the watery fruitiness but is definitely more powdery at least to my nose.
11. Chloé Nomade Lumière d’Egypte
Fragrance Family: Floral
Key accords: White floral, aquatic, spicy
Lumiere d’Egypte is the new member of the Nomade line and the one that got me most excited before its release. To enjoy this fragrance, I had to completely wipe its marketing from my head. It promises something Egyptian, but I don’t get much of the promised kyphi. It opens with blue lotus, fresh, aquatic and a sweetness so mild it’s easy to miss. It’s a whisper of a fragrance but manages to last a moderate amount of time. It’s a creamy, warm, elegant fragrance that feels like something you’d smell out in nature rather than in a bottle.
12. Lancôme Ôver The Top
Fragrance Family: Floral
Key accords: Floral, green, aromatic
Unisex
It’s an over the top name for a simple, but unique fragrance. It’s fresh, green, and very summery. The perfect combination of fruity and green notes with the addition of the tomato leaf accord gives it a garden party feeling. The sun shining above, linen cloth spread over a table with a spread of fresh salads. A gentle breeze caresses the summer day and the jasmine plant climbing the walls of a French mansion wafts over to you. The bottle is beautiful too, the beautiful floral cuts in glass a refreshing sight in the midst of the trendy glass rectangles of today.
13. Byredo Blanche Absolu
Fragrance Family: Floral
Key accords: Aldehydes, musk, soapy
Unisex
If you love aldehydes, you’ll love this one. It’s a very clean soapy fresh scent that feels like rolling around in freshly washed white sheets. On a hot, humid, UAE summer day, soapy scent lovers will find themselves calmed and grounded by something like this. It’s a similar DNA as the original Blanche, but richer with the addition of jasmine and neroli. It lasts well, everything else fading for a soft woody air towards the end.
14. Azzaro Forever Wanted Elixir
Fragrance Family: Leather
Key accords: Fruity, leather, spicy
Masculine
Every new fragrance in Azzaro’s Wanted line proves to be a worthy one. Forever Wanted Elixir opens with a refreshing fruity raspberry and makes way to the warm blend of cardamom, clary sage, and lavender. There’s no respraying worries as it lasts all day long. Throughout the journey, you experience the strong presence of leather, the star ingredient. The strong woods combined with the leather gives it an undeniably rugged masculine personality.
It feels as though there have been more flankers than original fragrances in the first half of 2025, especially from the bigger brands. While I do like experiencing the different interpretation of a sensory idea, I would enjoy new fragrances that can stand on their own without riding on the coattails of a brand’s most successful perfumes. For this reason, a perfume I’m anticipating in the rest of 2025 is Guerlain Vétiver Fauve.
Did your 2025 fave make it on my list?
Yazhini Manimudi
