As a fragrance-obsessed beauty editor, I’m always open to new ideas and innovations when it comes to perfumery. Yet, if you asked to take a look at my 2025 bingo card, being presented with a fragrance created by AI, most definitely wouldn’t have made an appearance. Yes, AI can summarise texts and emails for me in the blink of an eye or offer advice on things I’d never voice to even my closest friends. It can even create those cute Barbie-inspired dolls we were all obsessed with a few months back, but input and advise on the notes behind something as precise as a fragrance? That seemed a step too far.
Except that’s exactly what Oriflame set out to do when they created their latest collection of fragrances, Scope, earlier this year. “The first idea for this project came from a simple observation: we noticed the growing number of our friends and colleagues (especially among Gen Z and younger Millennials) using Chat GPT as adviser/career mentor/dating coach. So, we wondered, do young perfumers also use AI so casually, as a part of their daily work routine?” said Anna Pavlenko, Global Brand Manager & Fragrance Development at Oriflame Cosmetics, when I asked her about the project. “Apparently, that wasn’t the case just yet [so] we briefed our partners from three prominent fragrance houses to develop scent directions where perfumers would use AI as a creativity-boost, a co-pilot.”
