Merit expands into fragrance

Minimalist beauty brand Merit, founded by Katherine Power, is expanding into fragrance with its first scent, less than four years after its launch and after hitting 100 million US dollars in sales in 2023.

Its debut fragrance, Retrospect, launches on October 22 and is described as a “complex, layered scent,” which has taken the brand two years and over 200 rounds to develop.

Merit worked with master perfumer Fanny Bal, based in Paris, to develop Retrospect, a rich, balanced scent designed to evolve and change as you wear it. The soft, clean notes develop into a subtle floral centre, followed by a warm, second-skin finish.

“Retrospect is a nuanced scent that runs counter to the linear, one-note fragrances dominating the market today, inspired by the complex, expertly crafted fragrances of the past,” explains Merit in the press release.

Mixing nostalgic vintage notes with a modern sensibility, Retrospect has top notes of bergamot, pear, and aldehydes, a heart of jasmine, synthetic rose, rosemary, violet, and orris, and a bottom of vanilla, musk, and moss.

In addition, Retrospect has been designed with durability and wearability, and is nearly 30 percent concentrated extrait de parfum, double the concentration of most perfumes on the market, meaning that the fragrance only requires one spray to last all day.

Merit Retrospect will retail for 79 pounds / 92 US dollars / 125 Canadian dollars and be available at meritbeauty.com (excluding Australia and the US’s non-contiguous states and territories) and at all Sephora retail locations and sephora.com in North America from October 22.