The Story Behind The Perfume That Broke The Internet - Refinery29

PerfumeTok is simply a abstraction wherever TikTok's fragrance fanatics stitchery to discover and reappraisal the good, the bad, the niche, and the trending successful perfume. With 3.7 cardinal views and counting, determination are a fistful of fragrances successful peculiar that instrumentality pridefulness of spot connected the saturated feed.

Take Baccarat Rouge, for example. Dubbed 'a fragrance that'll get you stopped connected the street' and 'the affluent girl's perfume', its intoxicating notes of saffron, jasmine, and ambergris took it from a limited-edition scent to a worldwide sensation that's present present for good. That's earlier we've touched connected YSL Libre (for which determination are 293.4 cardinal TikTok views) and the conscionable arsenic sought-after Black Opium.

As compliments go, being told you odor bully is possibly the pinnacle, peculiarly arsenic perfume has trumped the decorator handbag to go thing of a status symbol of late. It's nary wonder, then, that our obsession shows nary motion of slowing down. But successful my years arsenic a quality writer (who is besides chronically online), I person to admit that I person ne'er travel crossed a fragrance arsenic hyped arsenic PHLUR Missing Person.

Missing Person eau de parfum was crafted by perfumer Constance Georges-Picot. Other world-renowned perfumers astatine PHLUR see Frank Voelkl (the chemoreceptor down scents by Le Labo and Dolce & Gabbana) and Jérome Epinette (of Byredo and Boy Smells). Missing Person marries caller bergamot, jasmine, and neroli blossom with a lukewarm basal enactment of sandalwood. With 8.6 cardinal TikTok views, the fragrance has repeatedly sold retired successful the U.S., amassed an awesome 200,000 idiosyncratic waiting list, and has resold online for 3 times its price. Now disposable successful the U.K., the fanfare is much aggravated than ever.

On paper, you mightiness deliberation that the aforementioned notes aren't thing special. It's the mode they melt into each different to service up a musky haze — which the marque says "evokes the lingering scent of your lover's skin" — that has created truthful overmuch intrigue. Sure enough, to odor Missing Person for the archetypal clip feels undoubtedly familiar, cozy and comforting. But it has gone astir viral for making radical cry.

TikTokers person conjured up a poignant communicative astir Missing Person. Beauty influencer @mikaylanogueira held backmost tears arsenic she told her 13.6 cardinal TikTok followers: "I don't cognize however to explicate this. It smells similar a idiosyncratic that you emotion and miss." TikTok went arsenic chaotic erstwhile influencer @rachelrigler said that Missing Person "smells similar the feeling of being successful love." Rachel tells R29 that it reminded her of throwing connected her boyfriend's hoodie. "It decidedly brought maine a circumstantial nostalgia," she says.

In different viral video, Rachel's fellow said that it smelled precisely similar her, which inspired hordes of akin absorption videos, galore with arsenic touching responses. "Why is this making maine emotional?" asked @tik.tok.tina, adding: "This took maine determination I didn't expect." @liza_gulyaewa said that smelling it for the archetypal clip was "such a sentimental moment" arsenic it reminded her of her mum, and @sweetsoutherncustoms said it "floods you with emotion."

Everyone I notation Missing Person to has an sentiment to share. It's similar the quality manufacture equivalent of a caller TV drama. How precisely does it evoke specified idiosyncratic memories for truthful many? Research suggests that scent, emotion, and representation are intrinsically linked. Chriselle Lim, proprietor and originative manager of PHLUR, had this successful caput erstwhile she dreamed up the perfume.

"I was going done a precise hard play successful my beingness and navigating a divorcement erstwhile I started moving connected Missing Person," she tells R29. "Developing the scent with fine-fragrance perfumer Constance, I described to her however I felt emotionally. I felt lonely and wanted to vessel thing that would odor familiar, taking maine back to a clip I felt secure." Lim says she wanted the communicative to beryllium an integral portion of the selling — and it's working.

At archetypal spritz, Harper's Bazaar UK's integer quality manager Bridget March was struck by the fragrance's sentiment. "PHLUR was adopted by a assemblage wanting to consciousness — and heal — done fragrance alongside Chriselle," she tells R29. Fragrance adept Alice du Parcq echoes this. She loves that Lim looked astatine fragrance successful a caller way: with humor, heart, and emotion. "Chriselle poured her ain idiosyncratic triumphs and experiences into the concepts down each perfume [in the range]," says Alice. "She shares intimate feelings we tin subordinate to." Referring to fashionable perfume advertisement formats, de Parcq says that craving quality companionship (the premise of Missing Person) feels truthful overmuch much intriguing and relatable than "a sexy supermodel walking angrily done a packed enactment oregon wafting done a meadow."

These intimate, skin-like notes made quality writer Keeks Reid's mum burst into tears erstwhile she tried the perfume, arsenic it reminded her truthful overmuch of her mother. "A subtle musk triggers representation for astir radical and creamy sandalwood is highly comforting," says Lim. It isn't solely a feminine scent, though. "I wanted thing unisex, that smelled similar clean skin aft a bully lukewarm bath," she adds. Lim says that connected TikTok, radical person utilized the fragrance astir similar a therapy session, spraying it connected camera and sharing a infinitesimal successful clip that they longed for oregon felt nostalgic about.

So what precisely makes Missing Person antithetic from different fashionable 'skin scents' similar Escentric Molecules 01 (which is meant to odor antithetic connected everyone's skin) and Chanel's endlessly fashionable No.5? "There are achromatic floral flashes that acceptable it somewhat isolated from akin scents," says de Parcq, who adds that the scent lasted for astir 3 hours connected her skin. "I knew to expect musk and truly liked the fresh-milk lightness. There's a crisp floatiness that makes you consciousness refreshed and put-together."

White musk mightiness explicate the familiarity. This is simply a enactment which is reminiscent of slept-in sheets and lived-in clothes. de Parcq concurs: "White musk brings a comforting sensation to a perfume. It's reassuring and triggers feel-good dopamine. That carnal manifestation (along with the emotions poured into its originative process) is simply a look for a deed perfume."

We're surviving done a clip that champions self-acceptance and authenticity. Wanting to odor similar everyone other is not en vogue. Brands are experimenting with notes that amplify our ain elixir and odor antithetic connected everyone. Soft florals successful Glossier You mimic quality skin, for example, and Miller Harris L’Air de Rien (which translates arsenic 'the essence of nothing') captures a consciousness of the wearer. When it comes to Missing Person, Eleanor Vousden, quality exertion astatine Who What Wear UK, says it is lone detected erstwhile successful adjacent proximity to a person. "Perhaps this is different motion to PHLUR's intimate inspiration."

It each makes sense. During 2 agelong years of isolation and separation acknowledgment to the pandemic, galore of america longed to odor the tegument oregon consciousness the warmth of those we loved. For immoderate people, Missing Person is simply a bottled antidote to that desire. But is Missing Person for everyone? While freelance quality exertion Tori Crowther likes the perfume, she is honorable and says that it doesn't past agelong capable connected her to warrant the terms tag ($96). For each idiosyncratic who adores Missing Person, there's idiosyncratic who isn't sold.

On PHLUR's Instagram, you'll spot a fig of radical with buyer's remorse. One encourages radical not to 'blind buy' the perfume (buying without sampling first): "Don't unsighted bargain this! I did and it conscionable smells similar aged ladies." Another said: "This is mode overhyped. I got it and disappointed. Doesn't odor that large astatine all…smell similar immoderate English ma now."

TikTok's @professorperfume told her thousands of followers that "it's lovely" but she conscionable doesn't get the hype, portion @guacandpico described it arsenic "a musty aged lady's closet, the 1 she keeps her furs successful and hasn't opened for 20 years". The consensus? Missing Person has an old-fashioned constituent to it, particularly erstwhile you comparison it to the caller and modern fragrances taking implicit the quality satellite close now, similar Maison Francis Kurkdjian 724.

Though Chriselle explains that Missing Person was inspired by her ain acquisition of missing a idiosyncratic successful her life, the sanction has besides divided opinion. On societal media successful particular, immoderate of PHLUR's followers suggest that the sanction is 'tone deaf', with 1 calling for a trigger warning. "I emotion your fragrances," wrote 1 follower of the brand, "but to rubric a fragrance MISSING PERSON is wholly awful. To get an all-caps notification successful my inbox astir 'missing person' was alarming." The follower went connected to explicate that radical spell missing each time owed to misogynistic unit and coercive control. "It's insensitive to this reality. A Missing Person is not sexy oregon intriguing." The remark received dozens of likes successful solidarity, portion others called retired the sanction arsenic 'distasteful.'

Despite the controversy, Missing Person continues to merchantability and adjacent triumph beauty awards. Perhaps the existent crushed it's truthful fashionable is that we each privation a involvement successful the taste zeitgeist. There's thing chill astir being successful the know, a powerfulness and belonging successful being an insider. Or possibly much of america are seeking products to bring america person to becoming TikTok's That Girl.

You mightiness hap to beryllium influenced, but if Missing Person isn't swaying you, determination are plentifulness of tegument scent alternatives to try. TikToker and self-confessed 'certified fragrance hoarder' @oliviaolfactory shares: "It's not a dupe but Missing Person reminds maine of The Body Shop's White Musk Eau de Parfum." At $35, it's a fraction of the terms of Missing Person.

Like Le Labo and Byredo, PHLUR's aesthetically pleasing, minimal bottles are a superior pull. If you'd similar to research much of the brand's olfactory offering, effort its newest launch: Somebody Wood Eau de Parfum. Beauty exertion Vousden describes this arsenic a "sensual embrace." The archetypal spritz offers citrus notes, she says, which are followed by vanilla, musk, and amber. "The cedarwood, sandalwood, and moss are earthy, and it's perfectly seasonal for this clip of year."

If I've learned thing portion penning this article, it's that Missing Person genuinely is the Marmite of the fragrance world. You either emotion it oregon you don't. Would I urge it, however? It's conscionable excessively idiosyncratic to call...

This communicative was primitively published connected Refinery29UK.

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Correction: This communicative primitively said that Chriselle Lim is the laminitis of PHLUR. She is the proprietor and originative director. We regret the error.