The Fifi Awards run by The Fragrance Foundation France were held last Wednesday evening, the 11th of April in Paris. It’s the  major perfume award ceremony in France and there are a range of prizes to be won. There is the Fifi d’Or (judged by a panel of artists), the Prix d’Experts (judged by journalists, evaluators and bloggers), as well as a variety of awards in the Prix de Professionals (a jury of professionals), and the Prix du Public. 

Here are the prize winners :

Le Prix des Experts 

Best fragrance of an independent niche brand : This was a tie between 2015 LE PHÉNIX : Les Bains Guerbois: Perfumer : Michel Almairac from Robertet AND Nuit de Bakélite  by Naomi Goodsir: Perfumer : Isabelle Doyen

Best fragrance of a niche brand affiliated to a group : Concrete by Comme des Garçons : Perfumer : Nicolas Beaulieu from IFF

Best fragrance from a collection of a large brand (exclusive range) : Iris Céladon : Armani Privé : Perfumer :  Marie Salamagne from Firmenich

Le Choix du Public 

Best Masculine Perfume Self Distributing and Pharmacy : L’homme : Scorpio : Perfumer : IFF

Best Feminine Perfume Self Distributing and Pharmacy : Oui à l’amour : Yves Rocher : Perfumer : Sophie Labbe, IFF

Best Masculine Flanker in Selective Distribution : Invictus Intense  : Paco Rabanne : Perfumer :  IFF

Best Feminine Flanker in Selective Distribution : La Vie Est Belle L’Éclat :  Lancôme : Perfumers : Anne Flipo and Dominique Ropion,  IFF

Best New Masculine Perfume in Selective Distribution : Y : Yves Saint Laurent : Perfumer : Dominique Ropion, IFF

Best New Feminine Perfume in Selective Distribution : Mon Guerlain : Guerlain : Perfumers : Thierry Wasser and Delphine Jelk

Le Prix des Professionals 

Best Advertising Masculine : Pure XS : Paco Rabanne

Best Advertising Feminine : Twilly d’Hèrmes : Hermès

Best Bottle Masculine : Y: Yves Saint Laurent

Best Bottle Feminine : Twilly d’Hèrmes: Hermès 

Best Masculine Flanker : Sauvage Very Cool Spray: Dior: Perfumer : François Demachy

Best Feminine Flanker : Fleur Musc For Her : Narciso Rodriguez : Perfumers : Sonia Constant and Calice Becker

Best New Masculine : Y: Yves Saint Laurent : Perfumer : Dominque Ropion, IFF

Best New Feminine : Twilly d’Hèrmes : Hermès : Perfumer : Christine Nagel

Le FIFI d’Or

Chief Judge was Audrey Fleurot, known for her role in Intouchables and Un Village Français and is highly watchable. I need to watch the second series of Les Témoins as she’s in that too.

Fifi D’Or Masculine : Gentleman : Givenchy : Perfumers : Olivier Cresp and Nathalie Lorson, Firmenich

Fifi D’Or Feminine : Twilly d’Hermès : Hermès : Perfumer : Christine Nagel

Musings

Last year I mused that Hermès tends to win at these awards so yet again that rings true. I don’t think Twilly is one of their best releases of all time but it is not bad either.  I’m sure the new Hermessences will win next year big time as well.

It was great to see Naomi Goodsir‘s Nuit de Bakélite take an award home, even if shared. They are making interesting perfumes and Isabelle Doyen (a perfumer for many classic Annick Goutal fragrances) nudged this one I believe being a big name perfumer but by also doing something really different in the white floral category. Nice also to see Marie Salamagne win an award too, who is a talented perfumer and makes the fragrances for Atelier Des Ors who I work with.

It’s interesting that a spray format won an award too  – Dior‘s Sauvage Very Cool Spray  in  what looks like a perfume in a cannister similar to a body spray or deodorant.  The male equivalent of the handbag spray. Presumably body sprays are coming …  Apparently the Tom Ford body sprays at my local parfumerie are selling like hot cakes. In one sense you’re cannibalising your own line but then again, you’re widening your market and the die-hard fans may turn their noses up at a spray. Or they’ll buy both for different occasions and you are sorted. Big brands also like to take up shelf space and edge other brands out, so it’s another strategy to employ.

Overall the winners are fairly safe I believe. The edge definitely comes to play with the Art & Olfaction awards that I will be attending next week for the first time in London. I’m pretty excited about that and a perfume day out with fellow #fumeheads and #nichenerds.

What did you think of these award winners? Any surprises?