The 14th edition of Esxence – The Art Perfumery Event, the world’s leading event for artistic perfumery, confirmed Milan as the capital of research perfumery and forge of new trends in the sector, in the name of the most authentic and sophisticated olfactory culture.

This edition was a great success: more than 12.000 people from all over the world, great attendance of visitors, the community of operators and fragrance lovers, with a selected parterre of 360 brands (121 of which Italian) from 30 different countries and a rich calendar of events, round tables and talks also open to the public.

Opened in the presence of Alessia Cappello, Councillor for Labour and Economic Development of the Municipality of Milan, and supported by Barbara Mazzali, Councillor for Tourism, Fashion and Territorial Marketing of the Lombardy Region and Francesca Caruso, Councillor for Culture of the Lombardy Region, the event took place from 6 to 9 March and presented the best of the sector’s excellence to buyers, retailers, distributors, professionals and enthusiasts who gather in Milan every year to discover the novelties in designer perfumery and to get to know the best-known brands and the emerging ones.

Edition after edition, Esxence confirmed itself as the event where not only Italian and international brands gather, but where new trends in artistic perfumery are discovered. Starting with the olfactory notes, it was the triumph of the cherry, declined in person and room fragrances; notes borrowed from the plant world are also popular, to symbolize the desire to return to the origins, in every sense. Fragrances recalling space, the sky, brightness, symbolizing the desire to reach for the stars, have been presented.

Speaking of light, the best is still the one evoked by the smile, a sign of a rediscovered good mood after dark and uncertain years: the new fragrances do not aim to seduce (as they did a few decades ago), but to create and communicate a state of inner well-being and psychophysical balance. It seems clearer than ever that body and mind are one, and that even with a scent it is possible to reach the soul.

There was a huge turnout on Saturday, March 9 when the event opened to the public, a sign of the growing interest that the sector is arousing, especially among younger people, who are very well informed about novelties and new trends.

There was also great attendance at the fourth edition of Experience Lab, the appointment dedicated to beauty research and excellence hosted by Allianz MiCo, a parterre of the most innovative brands on the Italian and international scene.

«Every year, thanks to careful research and selection work, we offer our visitors only the excellence of artistic perfumery production – says Maurizio Cavezzali, co-founder of Esxence and CEO of Equipe Exibit –. Esxence is the most important event worldwide where the key players in the sector meet, the most promising brands make their debut and new trends are decided. Edition after edition we aim to renew ourselves by analyzing future trends. Milan, which in recent years has become the reference capital of research perfumery at a global level, remains for us the focus of the event and we are happy to be able to support the national cosmetics and perfume supply chain as demonstrated by our partnership with Cosmoprof and our collaboration with Milano Beauty Week».

«We have become a unique international point of reference and have given a precise identity to a sector that has contributed to the evolution of quality perfumery consumption – says Silvio Levi, co-founder of Esxence and founder of the Essencional, which supervised and coordinated, together with Equipe Exibit, panels and lectures –. I am very pleased that this 14th edition of Esxence has confirmed the extreme vitality of the sector at international level. I was particularly pleased that there was a clear recognition of our role as important players in the beauty supply chain. Furthermore, our workshops were very well attended and addressed topics of extreme relevance for the development of the sector, not only from a business point of view but also in terms of knowledge, creativity and a better understanding of the value of olfactory communication».

Esxence is a place of excellence, exchange of ideas and meetings, but it is also a space for business. On a global level, the incidence of Artistic Perfumery in the global beauty market is close to 2%, but its incidence in the alcoholic perfumery market is steadily increasing, touching points that average around 10% in many countries. In our market, which certainly has the longest specific activity in the sector, it has reached important levels. In Italy, in fact, in 2023 the turnover volume of the designer perfumery is estimated at over 310 million euros, corresponding to 2.7% of the Italian beauty business on the domestic market, over 14% of the turnover of the perfumery channel and just over 30% of fragrance sales.

Also for this edition, CFF Creative Flavours & Fragrances participated with its own experiential workshop called Le Jardin Secret, to explore olfactory accords and unique raw materials.

The fourteenth edition of Esxence boasted partners of excellence such as: Osmothèque, the unique and exclusive International Conservatory of Perfumes; Mouillettes & Co., an Italian reality that develops training and consultancy paths related to olfaction; Accademia del Profumo, which realized the exhibition IL PROFUMO DEL CINEMA @ ESXENCE 2024, in which the similarity between perfume and cinema was represented; Milano Beauty Week, the week dedicated to the culture of beauty and well-being scheduled from 25 to 29 September 2024.