The ancient Greeks were some of the first to use liquid perfume as a means of personal hygiene. Back then, perfume was a costly commodity that only the most affluent citizens could afford. Nowadays, perfume remains one of the most expensive beauty items, with the average high-end bottle often selling for more than $100.
The most expensive perfumes often contain rare ingredients and are in short supply. The priciest scent available is Flowerbomb Haute Couture by Viktor & Rolf. This floral bottle of fragrance costs about $1,471 per ounce ($2,500 per bottle). Unfortunately, Viktor & Rolf only created 15 bottles.
This guide will explore the most expensive perfumes currently available, helping you choose a luxurious scent to match your opulent lifestyle.
Here Are the Top 10 Most Expensive Perfumes You Can Buy:
- Viktor & Rolf Flowerbomb Haute Couture – $1,471 per Ounce
- Shalini Parfum – $1,364 per Ounce
- Roja Parfums Roja Haute Luxe – $1,029 per Ounce
- Fragrance Du Bois Swarovski Crystal London OUD – $911 per Ounce
- BVLGARI Le Gemme Collezione Murano Selima Parfum – $638 per Ounce
- Gardénia Parfum Grand Extrait – $559 per Ounce
- Roja Parfums Great Britain Parfum – $515 per Ounce
- House of Sillage Love Is in the Air Limited Edition – $484 per Ounce
- Soleil Lalique Crystal Edition Extrait De Parfum – $479 per Ounce
- Chanel No.5 Parfum Grand Extrait – $477 per Ounce
10. Chanel No.5 Parfum Grand Extrait – $477 per Ounce
Chanel is one of the top luxury brands in the world. They have several perfumes in their product lineup, but Chanel’s No.5 Parfum Grand Extrait is one of the brand’s consistently expensive fragrances.
At $14,500 per 30.4-ounce bottle, this scent costs about $477 per ounce, which is comparatively high. Nevertheless, it’s a potent combination of rose and jasmine, presented in a simple square glass bottle.
Overall, this unmistakable floral fragrance is a classic feminine perfume beloved for its recognizability and long-lasting qualities.
Why It’s Expensive
One of the primary reasons this perfume is so expensive is that it’s a Chanel product. This brand is one of the most successful luxury brands, and its products are designed to remain high-cost and high-quality.
Besides, when compared to some of the other fragrances on this list (including another by Chanel), No.5 is reasonably priced!
9. Soleil Lalique Crystal Edition Extrait De Parfum – $479 per Ounce
Though the world’s most expensive perfumes don’t cost as much as a Bored Ape Yacht Club NFT, these fragrances can function as active social status indicators. After all, walking into a room and catching a hint of one of the world’s priciest perfumes lets you know right away that you’re in the company of affluent people.
One of the best places to buy expensive perfumes is Harrods, a luxury department store based in London. So, it should be no surprise that this high-quality perfume is part of its inventory.
The Soleil Lalique Crystal Edition Extrait De Parfum is a limited edition fragrance that features a bottle painted in 23.5-karat gold.
But in addition to the eye-catching bottle, users are sure to appreciate the subtle-yet-powerful notes of this perfume. With scents of coffee and cardamom, this fragrance can make hearts flutter with its sweet smell and long-lasting presence.
Still, a bottle of this perfume will set you back more than $24,000 per bottle (about $479 per ounce), making this scent one of the priciest on the planet.
Why It’s Expensive
Besides smelling great, this perfume also comes in a unique, gilded bottle. It’s also a limited edition variety, adding to its high price tag.
So, if you’re looking for a one-of-a-kind floral perfume that also contains fruity and woody notes, you’ll want to invest in this distinct fragrance before it’s disappeared entirely.
8. House of Sillage Love Is in the Air Limited Edition – $484 per Ounce
When you first set eyes on this perfume, you might mistake it for a gleaming decoration. It contains a variety of gemstones and is topped by two delicate lovebirds, making it look like a crown resting on a shimmering pedestal.
The perfume, the true treasure hidden inside this precious container, has a fruity-yet-earthy scent. It’s slightly musky, woody, and yet undeniably sweet. Still, a single 75mL (about 2.5 ounces) bottle will cost you about $1,200.
That’s about $484 per ounce! But there’s no denying why this perfume is so pricey.
Why It’s Expensive
This perfume was explicitly designed to be a collectible work of art. The delicately designed bottle exterior, with its two little lovebirds, doubles as a sparkling counter piece.
So, long after you’ve used up all the fragrance inside, you’ll still be able to enjoy this purchase. This limited edition perfume is also comparatively rare, which is another factor contributing to its high cost.
7. Roja Parfums Great Britain Parfum – $515 per Ounce
Roja Parfums makes some of the most expensive fragrances, including Great Britain Parfum. Though this perfume might not perfectly capture every scent associated with Great Britain, it does a fair job.
This complex fragrance is intimate, musky, yet also soft and floral. It consists of multiple pairings of complementary scents, making for a distinct perfume that changes slightly over time.
Why It’s Expensive
A strong brand reputation is one of the reasons this scent has its high per-ounce price tag. However, this fragrance also stands on its own due to its complex melding of high-quality scents.
While a lesser-experienced perfumer might ruin a great aroma by adding too many notes, Roja Parfums has seemed to master this practice. For example, Great Britain Parfum has the musky scent of leather, the spice of fresh cloves, and the herbal freshness of rose.
But these are only a few of the notes you’ll notice when wafting a spritz of this perfume. Overall, the complexity of this fragrance is a significant factor contributing to its price.
6. Gardénia Parfum Grand Extrait – $559 per Ounce
If you enjoy Chanel’s refined aesthetic, but you’re looking for something a little pricier than No.5, you’ll likely enjoy Gardénia Parfum Grand Extrait. But what does Gardénia smell like?
Well, the name of this floral fragrance says it all, as this perfume’s primary scent is that of gardenias and sunny gardens. According to many Chanel shoppers, this scent is one of Coco Chanel’s finest achievements!
However, a 30.4-ounce bottle costs $17,000, about $559 per ounce. That’s a decent amount of money to spend on a single bottle, but each drop is potent enough to last for hours.
Why It’s Expensive
This perfume was designed by Coco Chanel, making it slightly more exclusive and attractive to buyers. It’s also made of high-quality ingredients, forming a recognizable, unique, and alluring scent.
Still, this floral scent may not be suitable for everyone. For example, it’s not nearly as romantic as the next entry on this list.
5. BVLGARI Le Gemme Collezione Murano Selima Parfum – $638 per Ounce
If you’re searching for the perfect date night fragrance, you might want to consider ordering a bottle of BVLGARI Le Gemme Collezione Murano Selima Parfum. This deep red-and-gold bottle of perfume looks like a love potion, and it also smells like one.
It’s a complex medley of scents, ranging from rose and firewood to spiced dates and leather. These notes combine to create a subtle but heady fragrance that’s intriguing and enticing.
A 100mL bottle costs about $2,100, making it a slightly more affordable (per bottle) option for high-end clients. Still, at $638 per ounce, this romantic concoction is far pricier than many other types of designer perfumes.
Why It’s Expensive
BVLGARI is an Italian high-end jewelry brand, and this brand name lends all its products a fantastic starting reputation. This includes its fragrances.
However, this perfume isn’t only expensive because it comes from a reputable luxury brand. It’s a complex fragrance that features many pure, smooth notes.
4. Fragrance Du Bois Swarovski Crystal London OUD – $911 per Ounce
Roja Parfums Great Britain Parfum isn’t the only Brit-centric perfume on our list! Fragrance Du Bois also has a fragrance celebrating the island nation, London OUD.
If you’re willing to spend $911 per ounce or £3,495 per bottle (about $4,550), you could own this sparkling Swarovski crystal version of the perfume. It’s adorned in a shimmering crystal Union Jack, so it’s unmistakable!
Like many other top-priced perfumes, this fragrance transforms throughout the day to match its namesake, the City of London. You can enjoy sharp grass, soft lavender, bright citrus, and warm woody notes from this complex perfume.
Why It’s Expensive
This fragrance is complex for two primary reasons. Firstly, it comes in a bottle that’s covered in Swarovski crystals. These crystals are also colored and arranged to resemble the Union Jack, a thoughtful touch.
Secondly, the London OUD consists of multiple note pairings, making it a complex and transformative scent. Cheaper perfumes might only have a single loud note, but this option is a symphony of scents.
3. Roja Parfums Roja Haute Luxe – $1,029 per Ounce
Saks Fifth Avenue is one of the most well-known fashion department stores in the world, offering high-paying guests the chance to own some of the world’s most decadent and desirable clothes and accessories. They also sell rare fragrances, including Roja Parfums Roja Haute Luxe.
This decadent-looking perfume is yet another masterpiece by Roja Parfums, featuring a surprising number of note pairings that play off one another and transform throughout the day.
There are floral notes like bergamot and rose, earthy scents like cedarwood and oakmoss, and hints of warm spice thanks to touches of cinnamon and cloves. The sweet hints of vanilla cap everything off, resulting in a seductive fragrance that sells for $3,500 per bottle or $1,029 per ounce.
Why It’s Expensive
Like other Roja Parfums fragrances, Roja Haute Luxe features a higher-than-average price. After all, Roja Parfums is well known for its luxury-quality French fragrances.
However, this reputation is well-deserved. Nearly all Roja Parfums scents are a wonderful and unique combination of notes, each accentuated and masterfully complementing the other. This complexity also increases the price tag for Roja Haute Luxe.
2. Shalini Parfum – $1,364 per Ounce
Oftentimes, the most luxurious items are the most understated ones. This $3,000 crystal bottle of perfume is an excellent example.
You won’t find the brand name in flashy colors or painted glass with this high-end bottle. Instead, you can enjoy the simple elegance of frosted crystal and golden fragrance, with a light-catching crystal falcon wind adorning the lid.
Though this perfume is slightly more straightforward than other high-priced scents, this simplicity works for it. Shalini Parfum smells of citrus and sandalwood, delicately combined to form an uplifting scent-based journey.
Why It’s Expensive
Shalini Parfum is only made in small batches, and it’s a beloved French perfume. These factors make it one of the priciest perfumes on the planet. However, there is one other fragrance that takes things a step further.
1. Viktor & Rolf Flowerbomb Haute Couture – $1,471 per Ounce
The world’s most expensive perfume is Flowerbomb Haute Couture by Viktor & Rolf. This garden-inspired fragrance is a commemorative piece with notes of rose and orchid.
This fragrance costs $1,471. In other words, a single bottle of this perfume costs $2,500, just as much as the world’s most expensive Squishmallow cat!
Why It’s Expensive
Viktor & Rolf combines the elements of French and Dutch luxury to create unique products, including Flowerbomb Haute Couture. The rose-gold bottle is gorgeous, but the actual reason why this fragrance is so costly is its rarity.
This perfume was designed to celebrate Viktor & Rolf’s 15th anniversary, and few bottles remain. Consequently, this scent is rare and limited edition. The bottle design is also the product of 3D printing techniques, making it one of the first of its kind.
The Most Expensive Perfume Ever Sold
Though the above perfumes are all pricier than the average bottle, they’re not the most expensive perfumes ever sold. The title of most costly perfume ever sold goes to Le Monde Sur Mesure, a fragrance that sold for about $1,500,000 per bottle.
This incredibly expensive perfume debuted in 2018 and was available in multiple sizes, up to 10-liter bottles. These bottles partially contributed to the total cost of the fragrance, as they were made of 18-karat gold and covered with diamond-encrusted sheaths.
However, labor and ingredients also helped make this perfume the most expensive one on the planet. Each bottle took approximately one year to create and contained rare elements like Neroli oil. This perfume exuded a class and style associated with French design and high-end couture, like expensive French macarons.
It’s unclear whether an unsold bottle of this opulent perfume is still available. But no other fragrance has surpassed its amazing price thus far.
Why Are Luxury Perfumes So Expensive?
The most expensive perfumes tend to exhibit high-quality, rare ingredients. Some also come from luxury-grade brands that are internationally recognized as superior perfumers.
If you’d like to enjoy a top-notch perfume with a matching price tag, you might want to invest in Viktor & Rolf Flowerbomb Haute Couture. Still, it’s crucial to act fast, as many of the world’s most expensive perfumes often sell out quickly.
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