This Year Smelled So Good Because These Were Your Favourite Scents
December 20 | 3 minute read
Words by Kerri Gordon and Maddie Stewart
Everyone wants to smell good. And thanks to perfumers around the world - some traditional and accoladed (the Kurkdjians and Malles) and others new and disruptive (your Dedcools, Durgas and Crivellis) - it’s not that hard a feat.
Whether you’ve been stopped on the street by the sillage of your scent - or have stopped to enquire about someone else’s - it’s highly likely it was for one of these; the five most loved and highest selling scents, that fragranced the lives of the MECCA community in 2023.
One of the most loved fragrances at MECCA, Baccarat Rouge 540 is well worth the hype. Inspired by the iconic chandeliers of the crystal house Baccarat, this scent bottles the opulence of French luxury. It's warm and woody with amber and cedar, and slightly spicy thanks to notes of saffron. If you’re the high-maintenance-to-be-low-maintenance kind of person that has their hairstylist, nail salon and lash tech on speed dial; this scent is for you.
Santal 33 has been the go-to fragrance of trendy urbanites for years and years (and still is!). Combining fresh and woody notes so potently and eloquently - in a way few other scents have come close to - Santal 33 is, like many of its wearers, one of a kind. If your go-to bag is a canvas tote from your local bookshop, your morning buzz comes from a cold brew or you have a Murakami book on your bedside table - this scent is without a doubt for you.
If you’ve spent 2023 in striped (and always steamed) oversized shirts, combing your hair into sleek buns and forgoing foundation in favour of tints, there is a high chance you’ll embody the comforting crispness of Maison Margiela's Lazy Sunday Morning EDT. Achieving bestseller status with the rise of the ‘clean girl’ aesthetic, Lazy Sunday Morning EDT is the cleanest of clean scents, evoking freshly laundered linen sheets. Trust that it will pair perfectly with your next Matilda Djerf inspired ‘fit.
Frank Green, Mr. Winston and Sol de Janeiro's Cheirosa 68 Perfume Mist: aka the holy trinity of Gen A must-haves! If you're a fan of the brightly-coloured water bottles and oversized hoodies, we have a strong suspicion you’re going to - or already do - love this cult-status perfume mist. With notes of pink dragonfruit, lychee and jasmine this is the scent of the summer. And every other season of 2023. And by the looks of it, 2024 too.
Byredo’s Mojave Ghost is adored by those achingly chic types that will chat your ear off about the launch of Phoebe Philos’ eponymous brand. Pairing top of notes of sapodilla (that’ll appeal to their love of all things unique) with base notes of ambergris and cedar, it’s a sophisticated scent as refined (in a fun way) as their Loewe Puzzle Bag.
