Smellscapes: How luxury perfume engages emotionally in China

When Xiaohongshu user NovemberLightSummer (@11月浅夏) arrived at Diptyque’s Un Air de Paris pop-up in Shanghai, she found herself in a line that moved slowly — not for lack of organization, but because visitors were pausing to take photos at every turn. From “Paris Mirror House” selfie zones to a “Botanical Café” styled after a Haussmannian courtyard, the exhibition recreated 11 distinct scenes tracing Diptyque’s history, materials, and signature scents. Attendees received a poster, an illustrated scent handbook, a perforated frame card to “lock in the beauty of the limited-time space.” They also explored unreleased scents in the perfumer’s atelier, and crafted keepsake cards in a botanical printing workshop. The response was emblematic of how China’s perfume consumers now interact with brands: through immersion, participation, and social storytelling. Un Air de Paris — which marked Diptyque’s 10 years in the market — became one of the most shared fragrance events on Xiaohongshu this fall, reinforcing how offline experiences have re-emerged as a powerful form of marketing. That sentiment echoes across the global fragrance landscape. While markets soften and digital budgets balloon, luxury perfume houses are investing more in physical pop-ups than ever. From Miss Dior’s Stories of a Miss experience in Shanghai to Penhaligon’s debuting its first global exhibition Eau so British in China, the perfume world’s response to economic uncertainty has been remarkably tangible — and profoundly sensory. The scent economy: When emotion outperforms algorithms Despite China’s digital dominance, perfume remains a luxury category that cannot be fully digitized. “In fragrance, the physical encounter is irreplaceable,” says Anaïs Bournonville, CEO of Shanghai-based consultancy AB Advisory. “A pop-up is not just a sales channel — it’s a stage for emotion and discovery.” For Antoaneta Becker, director of consumer economy at the China-Britain Business Council, the olfactory experience — tied to emotion, memory, and sensory connection — is impossible to replicate online. “You can co-create content with Chinese consumers on social media, but nothing replaces the smell and feel of the immersive spaces these brands imagine and share,” she says. The economics support this strategy. Digital marketing costs in China have soared — with top-tier ad slots on Douyin or Xiaohongshu costing more than retail space rentals in prime malls. For heritage brands like Dior or Diptyque, investing in pop-ups that become social media phenomena can offer more organic exposure and user-generated content (UGC) than paid campaigns. “Even if digital reach is cheaper, it has become an intense war,” says Bournonville. “Offline brings visibility both offline and online — through UGC, PGC (professional-generated content), and cultural conversations.” Pop-up as brand theatre These installations may look like elaborate “brand theatre.” Yet, for luxury perfume, theatre is the business model. Since the National Day holiday (October 1 to October 8), the 2,000 free visit slots of Dior’s Stories of a Miss exhibition have almost been fully booked every single day. “Projects like Stories of a Miss or Un Air de Paris don’t sell a product — they sell belongings,” says Bournonville. “They translate a brand’s aesthetic universe into something people can walk through. When someone later buys the perfume, it’s not a transaction — it’s a continuation of that moment.” Dao Nguyen, founder of boutique strategy agency Essenzia ByDao, agrees. “Experiential pop-ups are far more powerful than digital engagement alone,” she says. “They drive sales when consumers can relate and resonate, rather than only going there for selfies.” For Dior, Stories of a Miss — a multisensory journey inspired by the maison’s iconic fragrance — was as much a storytelling exercise as a commercial venture. For Diptyque, the Shanghai exhibition marked ten years in China and reaffirmed its positioning as an “art de vivre” maison rather than a mere scent label. Visitors lingered over the Craftsmanship Atelier, where wax and glass danced in the rhythm of artisan hands, and in the Sensory Garden, where 49 iconic candles composed a living herbarium of scents. As Becker notes, “Brand theatres are becoming ever more important in China. The role play, the aspiring life scenarios they offer feed the intrinsic curiosity of Chinese consumers — their appetite to travel, to reinvent themselves.” Pop-ups nurture the next generation of shoppers by creating an emotional blueprint for future loyalty. Local players claiming legitimacy through offline expansion If Diptyque and Dior use experiential storytelling to deepen heritage, China’s homegrown fragrance leaders are using it to build legitimacy. Brands like To Summer, Melt Season, and Documents are expanding their physical footprint even as global peers consolidate. To Summer recently opened its first international store in Hong Kong’s Causeway Bay, while Melt Season launched a retail counter at Tokyo Narita Airport — both spaces designed as cultural sanctuaries rather than sales points. “Chinese niche perfume houses understand their consumers even better than international ones,” says Becker. “Smell is linked to memory and emotion — things difficult to trigger digitally. These brands also hold a monopoly on the cultural interpretation of Chinese smells for their audiences.” Becker points out that for To Summer and Melt Season, expansion abroad is “both revenue and credibility.” Japan and Hong Kong provide not only receptive audiences but also symbolic value. “They are aware of the consumer power these markets hold for building global awareness,” she says. For Dao Nguyen, these moves reflect ambition. “Global credibility is mandatory — revenue will be a consequence,” she says. “These brands are mature enough to expand both domestically and internationally.” To Summer and Documents are backed by Estée Lauder and L’Oréal, respectively. Offline as the new luxury The rise of domestic perfume brands in China coincides with what analysts call “digital fatigue.” After years of hyper-online lifestyles, consumers increasingly seek tactile, slow experiences — a trend that has transformed retail spaces into refuges of calm. “Offline presence has become the new luxury,” says Bournonville. “Brands like To Summer, Melt Season, and Documents understood this local consumer need and decided to create spaces that slow people down and invite them to feel.” Documents’ stores, for instance, are designed like temples — minimalist spaces where scent, sound, and spatial rhythm coalesce. Melt Season’s Narita installation immerses travelers in an atmosphere of serenity before departure, positioning scent as a ritual of transition. To Summer, known for its architectural stores in Shanghai and Chengdu, takes a more urban approach — its boutiques feel like scent laboratories, blending brutalism with poetry. The strategy aligns with global movements in luxury retail, where “slowness” has become a new form of sophistication. Cultural storytelling as fragrance strategy in China International perfume brands are treating China as more than a growth market — increasingly, it’s a creative collaborator. This year’s fragrance pop-ups show how cultural adaptation is becoming central to global brand storytelling. Diptyque’s Un Air de Paris transformed Shanghai’s Zhangyuan heritage district into a Parisian landscape, blending French craftsmanship with Chinese architectural context. Dior’s Stories of a Miss in Shanghai unfolded as a multisensory journey through femininity and artistry. Meanwhile, Chinese brands such as Documents and To Summer are reinterpreting these global aesthetics through a local lens, infusing their fragrances with references to incense, tea, and regional botanicals. “The real dialogue isn’t between Paris and Shanghai,” says Becker. “It’s between global and local — how international brands adjust their narratives to Chinese cultural codes, and how domestic brands export those codes outward.” While Dior and Diptyque continue to expand gradually in China through exhibitions rather than rapid retail rollout, domestic players are scaling internationally with localized interpretations of scent culture. “It will take time for foreign brands to match the cultural layering that local maisons like To Summer or Melt Season express,” Becker adds. “They’re not just selling perfumes — they’re translating cultural memory into olfactory form.” The long game: Emotional capital as equity As experiential marketing matures, fragrance brands are measuring success through what Bournonville calls ROE — return on emotion — rather than traditional ROI. “The main mistake brands make is to see these projects as expenses,” she says. “In China, emotional capital is the real equity.” For consumers, these exhibitions and stores offer more than just a product trial; they create lasting associations that reinforce brand identity. In an increasingly digital luxury landscape, scent remains one of the few categories that demands physical engagement. Whether through Dior’s narrative installations, Diptyque’s sensory storytelling, or To Summer’s meditative design, fragrance houses are using immersion to translate emotion into loyalty. “Smellscapes may be the last frontier where digital innovation is still left wanting,” says Becker.

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Smellscapes: How luxury perfume engages emotionally in China