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A quick perfume history lesson: In 1904, François Coty, a young perfumer, made several unsuccessful attempts to find a market for his latest creation. He had just developed La Rose Jacqueminot—his interpretation of a rose that never fades—when Henri de Villemessant, director of the Parisian store Le Grands Magasins du Louvre, refused to meet him.
Seizing the chance to make an impression, Coty “accidentally” dropped a vial of his fragrance on the department store floor. The mishap proved serendipitous. The vial shattered, permeating the air with the scent of La Rose Jacqueminot; a chorus of curious women gathered by the mess, captivated by the alluring fragrance. That moment, with its shattered glass and rose-scented air, foreshadowed the disruptive spirit that would define Coty, the fragrance behemoth responsible for launching scents like Marc Jacobs’s Daisy, Calvin Klein One, and Gucci Flora. It was also a simple lesson about the performance of a fragrance—projection is key.
“This story of the broken glass shows that if you want to sell a fragrance, you need to make sure other people can smell it,” says Sue Nabi, veteran beauty executive and CEO of Coty Inc. Sitting in a conference room at the brand’s Paris headquarters, she explains: “Performance is important because [consumers] want to send a message about who they are—they want to be noticed.” After all, the easiest way to mark a scent’s success is hearing someone ask the question: “What are you wearing?” If Nabi has her way, the answer will be Infiniment Coty Paris, a new 14-piece suite of genderless perfumes she created with co-founder Nicolas Vu.
“When we were thinking about what could be a [visual] representation of this brand, one of the first drawings that Nicolas did was of a guy throwing something on the floor,” Nabi says. She notes the concept known as Joseph Schumpeter’s “creative destruction,” a theory suggesting that the key to success lies in the ability to dismantle outdated methods and continually innovate to develop new technologies and approaches.
At Coty, artistic vision marries cutting-edge science, an approach Nabi says was an “eye-opener” for her. It was in the very conference room she’s seated in that she, Vu, and former CEO of Coty, Peter Harf, envisioned creating a patented technology, refined over the years, to enhance the quality and performance of fragrances. Where most perfumers in the industry emphasized the use of potent concentrations of natural ingredients, Coty’s leaders chose to invest in a scientifically advanced, time-released formula called molecular aura. This innovation bolsters the notes in a fragrance to ensure a stronger, more impactful, longer-lasting olfactory experience.
“I see it as a diamond you put into your fragrance to reflect the light,” she explains. “Molecular aura magnifies every part [of a scent], not only at the moment but over time,” she adds.
Each of the 14 Infiniment Coty Paris scents has molecular aura and was built from Nabi and Vu’s African and Asian roots, memories, and inspirations, following Coty’s three-pronged approach to fragrance: scientific performance, emotional connection, and sustainability. The bottles come in crisp white packaging shaped in the letter “I,” designed by Vu. Broken into three categories (I am Dawn, I am Day, and I am Dusk), the brighter, more intimate notes of the Dawn and Day perfumes transition to something deeper and more sensual as they flow to Dusk. Noir Ences and Encore Une Fois are Nabi’s favorites in the bunch.
Infiniment Coty Paris Encore Une Fois
“Encore une Fois means one more time, because when you smell it, you keep smelling it again and again,” she shares. Her affinity for strikingly alluring scents led her to help develop a suite of popular fragrances throughout her career: At L’Oreal, she launched Lancome’s La Vie Est Belle, a floral medley of patchouli and iris doused in sugary vanilla. “This time, ambery notes meet a very special quality of vanilla,” she says of Encore une Fois.
On the other hand, Vu favors delicate scents with a sharp edge—Un Parc de Roses en Alabama was one of his special creations. “It was a tribute to Rosa Parks,” Nabi says. “[Nicolas] wanted to create a rose with thorns. A rose that is not there to look beautiful, but one that says, ‘Hey, I’m here. I’m existing. And I am the beginning of a new era.’ I love to call it the Rose of Hope, because it’s all about hope.” Un Parc de Roses, or Proud Leather Rose, features a spicy leather accord combined with myrrh and softened by rose petals.
This year, the brand celebrates its 120-year anniversary. In line with the milestone, two of Coty’s most beloved brands, Chloé and Boss, also launched two new iterations of fragrances that embody the essence of their houses, but with a darker twist.
Chloé Atelier de Fleurs Nuit d’Oranger Eau de Parfum
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Alex Lee’s Nuit d’Orangers takes a sharp detour into a herbaceous, spicy amalgam of yerba mate, orange blossom, pink peppercorn, and bergamot. “This scent takes a flower that is very innocent by nature into something that’s more sexy and opulent and sweeter. My idea was to create an orange blossom, which is usually translated as fresh, into something very deep and ambery and addictive to become animalistic. It’s also little bit muskier and more sensual with vanilla,” Lee shares.
Chloé Atelier des Fleurs Orchidée de Minuit Eau de Parfum
Now 15% Off
Orchestrated by Mathieu Nardin and Cécile Matton, rum swirls in a bed of toasty vanilla “to bring a little bit of booziness, a little bit of addiction,” Nardin says. It’s also anchored by the sweet pull of patchouli and jasmine, which he explains was used “for femininity and a sensual spark.”
Chloé Atelier de Fleurs Tubérose Lazuli Eau de Parfum
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Tubereuse Lazuli, aptly named after the deep blue bottle, is built around tuberose and a honeyed, sweet caress of white florals and woods. To add depth, Jean-Christophe Hérault “decided to push the creaminess of the tuberose with sandalwood, which has this creamy, lactonic coconut effect.”
Hugo Boss Bottled Absolu Parfum Intense
“There is a fruity facet with davana, but it’s made darker by licorice,” Helley explains. “Absolu embodies the closeness you feel around someone you love. This time around, the vanilla is more sophisticated but still welcoming and warm; it has this reassuring touch and has a slightly toasty, smoky, and rich woody scent.”
Continuing Chloe’s ode to feminine grace and free-spirited romanticism, the house’s latest launches under the Atelier des Fleurs collection wring the brightness of its signature white flowers to form aromas fit for nightfall. Designed to be olfactory interpretations of “flowers of the night,” Nabi says, Atelier des Fleurs is packaged in midnight blue glass. Perfumers Jean-Christophe Hérault, Alex Lee, Cécile Matton, and Mathieu Nardin are the masterminds behind Tubéreuse Lazuli, Nuit d’Orangers, and Orchidée de Minuit, the three newest additions to the Atelier des Fleurs family.
On the other hand, the new Boss Absolu fragrance is a bolder extension of the classic scent you likely saw on your father’s dresser or smelled on the ex-boyfriend you can’t forget. Compared to its predecessor, Bottled, a fruity burst of citrus and apple, Absolu doesn’t stray too far away from the softness, but amps up the dark edge with leather and licorice, created by perfumers Suzy Le Helley and Annick Ménardo.
With 120 years behind it, Coty’s legacy is as much about innovation as it is about heritage. From François Coty’s serendipitous beginnings to today’s high-tech, high-impact creations, Coty reminds consumers that the true power of fragrance goes beyond scent alone.
Nerisha Penrose is the Beauty Commerce Editor at ELLE.com. Prior to joining the team, she was an Editorial Fellow at ELLE.com. In her current role, she helps lead coverage on makeup, skin care, hair, and fragrances. With over six years of experience in the world of beauty editorial, Nerisha enjoys delving deep into the complexities of fragrance notes, hunting for the best fixes for acne-prone skin, and advocating for daily sunscreen use. She regularly researches and tests the latest products, consults beauty professionals (including our Beauty Advisory Board) to determine the best expert-approved formulas to recommend, and conducts interviews with luminaries across the industry. Nerisha received her bachelor’s degree in Communication and Media Studies from Temple University before joining the editorial teams at Nylon and Billboard. In 2020, she co-launched our popular franchise The State of Black Beauty, an ongoing exploration of—and destination for—beauty at the intersection of Black culture.