What Exactly Is a Chypre Fragrance?

Whether woody or fresh, leathery or floral, after speaking to a handful of perfumers and smelling dozens myself, it’s true that chypres are all about creating a mood: sophisticated, seductive, assertive, and powerful are all words our experts used to describe this enigmatic category full of intrigue and mystery.

Are we experiencing a chypre revival?

Perhaps. In 2023, Edwards and his Fragrances of the World team, who each year categorize every new fragrance launch on the market, only saw a small percent increase in the number of chypres (up 0.3 percent since 2020). But in 2024, with new launches from Hermès and Coty, an uncertain political climate—when chypres historically have come into fashion—and an increased interest in perfume (hello, #PerfumeTok), the historic category has piqued people’s interest.

Baghriche sees the return of the bold, bombastic chypre, where the main chypre accord is spotlighted and not overly softened by florals or musks. “Some might find it a bit classic but I see it as a return of sensuality in fragrance, which we initially saw with all of the buzz around sandalwood.” Gilbert, on the other hand, hypothesizes that perhaps the increased interest might be down to a desire to stand out from the crowd—a bit like how the category took off in the first place. “Niche scents have become quite mainstream these days, so I think there’s something to be said for people who are real fragrance aficionados looking for a perfume that nobody else is wearing. And if everyone is wearing the latest niche scene, maybe chypre is that micro-trend that will set people apart.”

The category might be old and complex, but it’s also incredibly diverse. If you are wondering where to start, “Look for a chypre that falls into a style of fragrances you already like, whether it be floral, fruity or citrusy,” Hassan suggests. “That’s a way to just dabble in it and see how you like it, and then you can visit the more pure chypre scents if you choose.” And because recommendations are always helpful, we curated an expert-approved list of chypre scents, from the subtlest to the most classic and every enigmatic scent in between.

Guerlain Mitsouko

“When talking about chypres in my classes, I always quote Mitsouko because it shows the true chypre structure,” says Gilbert, noting that it also incorporates a peach note at the top, an addition that’s influenced many chypres throughout history. And while this perfume has been around since 1919 and had to be reformulated due to oakmoss restrictions, many experts agree it’s stayed pretty true to the original. “It’s still a genius fragrance that Guerlain has done a great job reinterpreting,” says Edwards.

Hermès Barénia Eau de Parfum

A fragrance 10 years in the making, Barénia is the fashion house’s first chypre scent. A passion project for in-house perfumer Christine Nagel, she aimed to create a chypre that maintained the classic note structure but pushed it to another level. The bergamot on top is a green bergamot, picked before it was able to ripen. The floral heart is a delicate butterfly lily native to Madagascar instead of rose or jasmine, while two different types of patchouli and a roasted oak wood round—which smells more like rum than like humid earth—round out the base. The pièce de résistance to this scent, however, is a tart-yet-sweet wild berry added to the top notes that makes this scent as rare, sensual, and special as the calf leather the fragrance is named after.

Narciso Rodriguez for Her

An iconic scent regardless of what fragrance family it falls under, Narciso Rodridgeuez for Her flips the chypre category on its head. “It brought a lot of modernity to the category,” says Baghriche. Using notes of peach, rose, amber, musk, patchouli, and sandalwood, you still get that tension between light and dark, fresh and woody, that characterizes a chypre. It’s just wrapped up in this beautiful creaminess that makes it so wearable, and so enduring decades after its initial launch.

Chanel Coco Mademoiselle

You won’t find any mention of “chypre” on Chanel’s website, but with bergamot, rose, jasmine, and a whole lot of patchouli, all of the experts we spoke to consider this a chypre—and a key one at that. “When it launched [in 2008] it was so innovative,” says Hassan. “It’s probably our first true fruity chypre because it had a lot of fruit notes and a little bit of gourmand.” Vibrant, clean, and charming at first spritz, the warm, ambery base gives this fragrance a dark and elegant sophistication typical of a chypre.

Infiniment Coty Or de Moi

Baghriche created two chypre scents for the new Infiniments Coty range, a collection of perfumes honoring the company’s 120th anniversary. Artiso Chypre is an ode to the groundbreaking Chypre de Coty from 1917, while Or de Moi switches things up and combines the chypre archetype with creamy tuberose. “Usually, chypre is accorded with jasmine but I replaced the jasmine with tuberose to give it a very milky, addictive facet,” Baghriche says. “Plus, it goes very well with the patchouli and oakmoss.”

Floral Street Chypre Sublime

“Chypre Sublime is our ‘little black dress of fragrance’,” says Floral Street founder Michelle Feeney. Packed with fresh flowers like rose, violet, and geranium, with Chypre Sublime, Feeney wanted to “prove that even a centuries-old, well-loved fragrance family like chypre can be modernized and freshened up.” We’d say mission accomplished with this unexpected yet easy-to-wear scent.

Clinique Aromatics Elixir

Launched in 1971, Clinique’s Aromatics Elixir is a chypre that every expert we spoke to gave a shout-out to. “It’s absolutely amazing and just fantastic on skin,” says Hassan. Quite “patchouli heavy,” according to Gilbert, the employee at the Clinique counter warned me that it’s a fragrance not for the faint of heart when I stopped into Selfridges for a whiff (she seemed very confused as to why I was looking for Aromatics Elixir specifically, so perhaps the fad hasn’t quite hit department stores). It features a very classic chypre structure but with vetiver replacing bergamot at the top, fresh ingredients like orange blossom and verbena added into the mix, as well as earthy notes such as chamomile and clary sage, giving it a herbaceous, powdery dry down.

Yves Saint Laurent Mon Paris

Baghriche was one of three perfumers who worked on this fruity-floral chypre, which combines the bergamot top and mossy-patchouli base of a chypre with a burst of sweet red berries, juicy pear, and soft white florals. Mon Paris perfectly represents the dual nature of a chypre, starting out bold, bright, and tart but with a dark, intoxicating dry down that lasts long after misting it on.

Etat Libre d’Orange Afternoon of a Faun

This spicy, leathery scent may have launched in 2012, but “it has a real, classic chypre structure,” says Gilbert. It includes all the necessary notes of oakmoss, bergamot, rose, jasmine, and benzoin, but adds a leather accord (quite common for chypres) and a heavy sprinkling of spices like cinnamon, frankincense, and myrrh (not so common in this category).

Chloe Nomade

Nomade is Chloé’s take on a chypre that uses all of the classic ingredients but then amping up the citrus, throwing in some fruits (peach and plum), and bringing in some white flowers and musk. The result is a scent that manages to be not only pretty and floral but also earthy and inky at the same time.

Maya Njie Voyeur Verde

When creating Voyeur Verde, Njie wasn’t out to create a chypre. “It was based around the idea of a zesty forest fragrance that’s suited to warmer landscapes—a Mediterranean forest rather than a Scandinavian one.” Njie used a cypress tree accord (along with citrus) in the top, florals in the heart, and cedar and patchouli in the base, which many would argue fits the definition of a modern-day chypre. “I was inspired by a photograph from Spain but somehow managed to subconsciously pull all of these different elements together that fit the description of a chypre,” Njie adds. “It makes you think about why this structure exists in the first place and why perfumers have long been inclined to put these types of notes together.”

Armani Sí

An example of a gourmand chypre, Armani Sí incorporates mouth-watering notes like mandarin, blackcurrant, and vanilla into the classic chypre accord. A former Allure Best of Beauty Winner, Sí has inspired many an entire range of perfumes, but it’s the original juicy chypre that continues to gain fans and garner five-star reviews nearly a decade since its debut.