Beast Mode Perfumes Are For Those Who Want It XL
XL presence that is. Perfumes with extra staying power and outsized aura are creeping back into the mainstream.
While skin scents (read: softer, more subtle concoctions) have been trending in recent month, so too are their polar opposites: cue the so-called "beast mode" perfumes - bombastic, ultra-concentrated scents that generally last anywhere from 10 - 18 hours or more. They're often associated with men's perfumes such as Dior's mad popular Sauvage, or the TikTok-made-infamous Maison Francis Kurkdjian Baccarat Rouge 540 - videos about “beast mode perfumes” have more than 181 million views on the platform.
It's not hard to divine why beast mode perfumes are trending - if you want to stand out from the crowd, they're your ticket to doing so with very little effort. For brands, it makes sense for them to introduce more intense flankers of an existing bestseller, says perfumer Chris Chong.
"I'm viewing it as a mutually beneficial dynamic: brands are able to capitalise and reinforce equity around their best-selling products... Meanwhile, on the consumer side, there’s an enduring appetite for perfumes that offer longer-lasting, more powerful scents."
So what makes a "beast mode" perfume? They typically come in more potent forms such as elixirs, parfums and eau de parfum, and these tend to be more costly due to their higher perfume oil content. But concentration alone doesn't guarantee extra potency.
A common thread among these bombastic numbers include a general emphasis on ingredients like patchouli, saffron, oud - woody and spicy notes essentially, which help to set the new guard apart from floral-heavy 1980s icons like Dior's Poison or Yves Saint Laurent's Paris - the last time such big, grandiose perfumes were embraced so wholeheartedly by the masses.
Here, some of the newest releases this year if you're after a scent with an XL trail:
LA COLLECTION PRIVEE ESPRITS DE PARFUMS, DIOR
They smell like: If you're a fan of Dior's high-end La Collection Privee range, you're in luck. Francis Kurkdjian (Dior's Perfume Creation Director) has introduced a new take on five existing La Collection Privee scents - Gris Dior, Oud Ispahan, Ambre Nuit, Lucky, and Rouge Trafalgar. Together, these five are now billed as the Les Esprits de Parfum collection - each scent serving as a more refined, concentrated version of its original.
Gris Dior's chypre accord features darker words like Atlas cedar and Indonesian patchouli, as well as intensified florals like violet and Bulgarian rose, while Ambre Nuit evokes the allure of a moonless night with a spicy blend of cinnamon and cardamom, tempered by a soft amber accord.
Lucky retains the Lily of the Valley from the original floral bouquet, enhanced by an elegant dark green woody leather accord, and Oud Ispahan blends woody and spicy notes of clove and cumin with honeyed rose and oud.
Lastly, Rouge Trafalgar's tangy and fruity profile is sharpened by pink peppercorn and rich Turkish and Bulgarian rose essences.
Price: $705 for 80ml each
THE HEART OF LEO, GUCCI
It smells like: With a name like The Heart Of Leo, you're definitely expecting something assertive. The latest addition to Gucci's top-end The Alchemist’s Garden perfume range, The Heart of Leo is a warm, resinous creation that combines the rich notes of olibanum and myrrh with the sweet and tart accents of blackcurrant, as a reference to its namesake animal's power. The composition features a blend of smoky olibanum at the heart, a top of blackcurrant accord, and a base of earthy myrrh essential oil, resulting in a deeply sensual scent.
Price: $575 for 100ml
LA PANTHERE ELIXIR, CARTIER
It smells like: Cartier's signature La Panthere fragrance family has been expanded to include the La Panthere Elixir, a warm, uplifting concoction that blends musk with soft, velvety jasmine. The fragrance has an ambery depth and hints of creamy floral tones, making it a more nuanced, intoxicating version of the original La Panthere Eau de Parfum, which was centered around a chypre-floral blend.
Price: $177 for 50ml, $250 for 100ml
CHLOE L’EAU DE PARFUM INTENSE, CHLOE
It smells like: A souped up version of Chloe's best-selling L’Eau De Parfum from 2008. The new Intense flanker opens with vibrant raspberry notes that highlight the rose's sensuality, capturing its essence at three times of day: fresh in the morning, rich at midday, and honeyed in the evening. A warm bouquet of concentrated ambery softwoods unfolds, featuring ambroxan's musky tones, cashmeran's luxurious softness, and cedar's depth. FYI, this perfume was also created by the same nose behind the original - Michel Almairac, this time joined by his fellow perfumer and son, Romain Almairac.
Price: $205 for 50ml, $290 for 100ml
HINOKI & CEDARWOOD COLOGNE INTENSE, JO MALONE LONDON
It smells like: Taking a healing walk through a Japanese hinoki forest - the hinoki being a species of cypress native to central Japan. Hinoki & Cedarwood Cologne Intense is the latest addition to Jo Malone London's Cologne Intense series, and as you can imagine, it's a fresh, distinctively green scent crafted by perfumer Anne Flipo that opens with an Aromatic Clean Accord, followed by hinoki wood at its heart and cedarwood as its base.
Price: $240 for 50ml, $350 for 100ml
GODDESS EAU DE PARFUM INTENSE, BURBERRY
It smells like: This scent builds upon the British label's original Goddess Eau de Parfum with a distinctive twist; the original's signature trio of vanillas has been elevated by the addition of smoky vanilla wood and luminous lavender essence, creating a deeper, more layered aroma.
Price: $155 for 30ml, $210 for 50ml, and $300 for 100ml
OMNIA CRYSTALLINE EAU DE PARFUM, BVLGARI
It smells like: Bvlgari's Omnia Crystalline eau de toilette was a smash hit when it launched 20 years ago for its soft and minimalist take on lotus flowers. Now the same master perfumer - Alberto Morillas - is back with a more pronounced version in the form of the new eau de parfum flanker. Building on the original's signature accords of nashi pear and lotus, the eau de parfum introduces new natural elements, including green mandarin essence, rich jasmine absolute, and warm sandalwood essence.
Price: $200 for 50ml and $290 for 100ml
PERFECT ELIXIR, MARC JACOBS
It smells like: The Perfect Elixir is a richer and warmer version of the original eau de parfum in Marc Jacobs' Perfect series, blending juicy purple rhubarb with golden amber woods, and finishing with a luscious vanilla bean extract for a captivating, irresistible scent.
Price: $210 for 50ml, $240 for 100ml
MILLION GOLD EAU DE PARFUM INTENSE, RABANNE
It smells like: 1 Million by Rabanne is definitely one of the original beast mode archetypes since it debuted in 2008, famed for its longevity and unique blend of spicy, woody, and fruity notes. This year, Rabanne returns with Million Gold Eau de Parfum Intense, created by original perfumers Christophe Raynaud and Quentin Bisch.
The new flanker features a rich woody signature with notes of sandalwood, cedarwood, and the iconic mandarin from the original scent. Additional elements include a warm ambery accord, cardamom oil, fresh bergamot, rose absolute, pink peppercorn, cinnamon bark oil, and unique ingredients like Akigalawood (a modern, biosynthetic version of patchouli) and cypriol oil.
Price: $147 for 50ml, $196 for 100ml