Fragrantica: A Perfume Database, Publication, and Reader Community

香水のノート情報を読み、離れた読者と交流する様子を描いたFragranticaの記事用イラスト

It’s always been about the community, the perfumers, the craft.

Zoran Knezevic — The Business of Fashion, April 7, 2026

You look up a perfume that interests you. An unfamiliar term in its notes leads you to another fragrance. You read reviews and discover perceptions unlike your own. You learn the perfumer’s name, then turn to an interview with that person.

Fragrantica is a place where that exploration continues within a single website. A perfume database, an editorial publication, and a community of participating readers: together, these three elements connect a fragrance’s basic details with its creator’s thinking and its wearers’ experiences.

It began when two people whose lives had crossed national borders decided to create a website for talking about perfume.

Essential Information

  • Name: Fragrantica
  • Co-founders: Elena Knezevic and Zoran Knezevic
  • Public launch of the English website: July 4, 2007
  • Operator: US-based Fragrantica Inc. Elena is editor-in-chief and Zoran is responsible for technology.
  • Main activities: A perfume database; news, criticism, and interviews; reader reviews and discussion
  • Languages: The official introduction lists 23 languages, including Japanese. Checked October 14, 2026.
  • Official websites: English / Japanese

When checked on October 14, 2026, the English website displayed “Perfumes: 142K,” approximately 142,000 entries. This abbreviated figure describes the scale of the perfume database, which includes separate pages for concentrations and editions. One perfume name does not necessarily correspond to one entry.

How Elena and Zoran Created a Place to Talk About Perfume

A Cross-Border Beginning Where Language Met Technology

Elena was born in Russia and studied Slavic languages and literature in Moscow. She later lived in Sarajevo and Belgrade, where the idea for Fragrantica developed. Zoran, from the former Yugoslavia, has a background in mechanical engineering and experience in software development and web technology. They met through the internet, started a family, and worked in internet-related businesses.

Elena’s wish to create a perfume-review website first led to Punmiris.com in Serbian and Croatian. The couple then began preparing an English website to bring the idea to a wider world. Their friend Edith was also involved in discussing the early concept.

They registered the English website’s domain on June 25, 2007. After protecting it with a password during development, they opened it to the public on July 4. As they pursued their move to the United States, they associated that launch date with their hopes for a new life. In a 2019 administrator post, Zoran explained that they obtained green cards and moved to the United States after the launch.

In a 2016 ÇaFleureBon article gathering the perspectives of fragrance professionals working in the United States as immigrants, the couple said:

On our journey we bonded with people all over the world

Elena and Zoran Knezevic — ÇaFleureBon, July 2016

People who have lived in different countries connect with readers and writers elsewhere. That experience also resonates with Fragrantica’s multilingual identity. Elena now directs its editorial work from Southern California, while Zoran handles technology development and maintenance as well as financial and business matters.

When Readers Become Reporters

One of the writers who helped develop its articles and database early on was Sandra Raičević Petrović in Belgrade. Contacting brands, registering perfume information, and reporting from trade fairs and events: gathering perfume knowledge developed alongside the work of delivering news.

In its founding year of 2007, the site also interviewed Ayala Sender, the perfumer behind Ayala Moriel Parfums. The questions moved from childhood scent memories to favored materials and approaches to making perfume. Alongside searchable records of fragrances, there was an early interest in asking how personal experience informed a creator’s work.

A particular episode also illustrates the crossing of the boundary between reader and writer. John Biebel, a painter working in software design, suggested to a friend seeking writing work that he contribute online. In 2012, Biebel began writing for Fragrantica himself.

After he posted about a Guerlain event in Boston, Elena asked whether he could attend and take photographs. An event in New York followed. Eventually, she invited him to write regularly. That experience also helped lead him toward making his own perfumes.

had a lot to do with me getting involved in making perfumes.

John Biebel — Interview with Alexandre Helwani, June 30, 2019

Rather than simply posting impressions, a person goes into the field, meets creators, and begins communicating with other readers. Biebel’s story shows what it means for the site to combine a community with an editorial publication.

Multilingual Editors Broaden the World of Perfume

Writers and translators in different places sustain Fragrantica’s international reach. In May 2012, Bella van der Weerd joined the launch of the Dutch edition, taking on writing, editing, and translation. Adding a language means more than replacing headings: it means welcoming people who read about perfume in that language.

In 2016, the founders described a team of 44 people from 25 countries publishing in 17 languages. As of October 14, 2026, the official introduction described 23 languages and more than 45 active team members and contributors across 29 countries. These are the organization’s own descriptions of its team, not a count of full-time employees.

The writers’ interests vary, too. Some explore history and chemistry, some interview perfumers, and others follow launches and exhibitions. Readers can discover not just perfume names but how materials are discussed and what fragrances mean within their historical context.

Japanese is among the current language editions. Readers can follow a link from an English perfume page to its Japanese counterpart or browse articles and perfume information from the Japanese homepage. When reading an article in another language, checking the author and publication date helps establish its perspective and context.

Moving Between the Database, Articles, and Reviews

From One Perfume to Materials and Perfumers

Fragrantica’s perfume pages bring together the brand, fragrance name, perfumer, notes, reader ratings and reviews, and links to related articles. The page for Diptyque’s Philosykos, for example, lists Olivia Giacobetti and notes associated with fig.

Selecting the perfumer’s name leads to a profile and list of creations. Selecting “Fig Leaf” leads to an explanation of fig leaf and a list of perfumes featuring that note. Starting with one fragrance, readers can broaden their exploration through either its creator or its materials.

Here, a note is a word used to convey an aspect of a scent. “Fig leaf” in a note list does not specify what percentage of fig-leaf extract a formula contains. The list is not a disclosure of ingredients and proportions, but a starting point for thinking about the fragrance.

Database entries also draw on information supplied by brands. The official About page provides separate contacts for news about launches and perfume-registration details. Editorial work organizes this information and interprets fragrances in articles, with readers’ impressions appearing alongside it.

Type of Information What to Look For
Perfume registration details Identify the fragrance through its brand, name, concentration or edition, and release year.
Notes and scent descriptions Learn vocabulary for describing scent; do not treat these as formulas or complete ingredient lists.
Bylined articles and interviews Consider whose interpretation is presented, whether the creator is speaking, and the date and circumstances involved.
Reader reviews and votes Compare wearers’ perceptions, distinguishing them from editorial evaluations and measured data.

Reader Votes Also Shape the Search Tools

In August 2011, Zoran announced an improvement to note-based searching. He explained that results were moving beyond perfume popularity to incorporate readers’ votes on how strongly they perceived individual notes.

user voting really powers the search.

Zoran Knezevic — On improvements to note-based search, August 23, 2011

As impressions and votes accumulate, they help other people find perfumes. The system also treats human perceptions as data. Even when people use the same words for a scent, they differ in perceived intensity and preference, so the results reflect participants’ experiences.

Current perfume pages also offer ratings and information about wearing occasions, longevity, and projection. Longevity concerns how long a scent remains perceptible; projection concerns how far it carries around the wearer. Votes and reviews reflect differences in application to skin or clothing, quantity, climate, and product version. They are neither standardized test results nor a guarantee that a fragrance will behave identically for everyone.

Rather than looking only at an average rating, reading what people liked or disliked can give you a focus when sampling. Sections summarizing strengths and weaknesses are also labeled as AI-generated summaries of member reviews. Returning to the original review helps you understand an individual’s experience more specifically.

What Perfume Enthusiasts Can Actually Do

The following describes the English edition’s features and navigation checked on October 14, 2026. Labels and displays may differ in the Japanese edition.

What You Want to Do Where to Start
Look up a perfume by name Perfumes / Search. Check the brand, concentration, and edition of the result.
Explore a brand Designers provides a brand index, with additional routes using country or parent company.
Explore a perfumer’s work Perfumers provides a people index; alternatively, select a perfumer’s name on a perfume page.
Search through scent elements you enjoy Notes provides the note index; try Search by notes as well.
Find another candidate based on your preferences Perfume Finder uses perfumes you like as a starting point for recommendations informed by reader votes.
Record your impressions and collection After registering a free account, use reviews, ratings, and the perfume wardrobe to organize fragrances you own, want, or previously owned.
Read creators’ perspectives and follow developments Browse bylined News articles and interviews, or follow related articles listed on perfume pages.

For example, if the expression of fig leaf appeals to you, explore other fragrances in the “Fig Leaf” list and read their reviews to see how people perceive green leaves, sweet fruit, and woody impressions. As more perfumes catch your attention, use a perfumer’s list of creations to explore how that person has approached other themes. This route produces discoveries different from simply sorting by the highest rating.

Perfume Finder is a recommendation feature launched experimentally in April 2021. Its administrators described it as a complement to ordinary perfume searches, intended for exploring similar scents and perfumes other people enjoy. Its current introduction likewise says that suggestions draw on large numbers of user votes.

The “People who like this also like” section of a perfume page offers a way to discover what else a fragrance’s admirers enjoy. Reviews’ comparative descriptions, meanwhile, can explain why people consider scents similar. Overlapping preferences and olfactory resemblance offer different kinds of interest.

The wardrobe can also help you reflect on your taste. Reviewing your collection may reveal recurring materials or perfumers and suggest what to try next. A 2020 Guardian article also described the experience of exploring favorite notes through Fragrantica.

Browsing perfume pages and participating in submissions have different entry points. Reviews, voting, and collection management use an account, and some articles display a login prompt. When posting, noting the fragrance edition and the conditions in which you tried it makes your record more meaningful for the next reader.

Readers’ Awards and the Responsibilities of a Many-Voiced Publication

In November 2017, Fragrantica organized voting for its first readers’ awards. Readers helped propose categories as well as fragrances. Explaining the results, Elena positioned the rankings not as a direct reflection of individual taste but as an indication of trends for readers and brands to consider.

Readers’ awards also serve a different purpose from an editor’s “best of the year.” They offer a collective view of which fragrances moved participating voters. Regarding the 2025 awards, Zoran explained in January 2026 that votes had been weighted according to account activity. As participation grows, both opening up participation and deciding how to aggregate results require attention.

Fragrantica currently also carries advertising and links to external shops. The convenience of an information resource and the revenue mechanisms supporting its operation coexist on the same screen. Distinguishing basic perfume information, advertising, writers’ criticism, and readers’ impressions helps you use the site effectively.

Readers sometimes disagree over editorial policy. In April 2026, The Business of Fashion reported that some users had objected to content involving politics and gender and moved to other communities. In his response to the publication, Zoran denied that the platform or its team was pursuing a political agenda.

Fragrantica is both a widely consulted database and a publication reflecting its writers’ perspectives. Keeping both roles in mind, follow registration details back to a brand’s official material, and interpretations back to the speaker and the fragrance’s context. Read reviews not merely for how much agreement they attract but for reasons relevant to your interests. In this way, a volume of information becomes understanding.

Milestones

Year or Period Main Development
Before the English launch Elena’s idea for a review website leads to Punmiris.com in Serbian and Croatian.
June 25, 2007 The Fragrantica.com domain is registered in preparation for the English website’s public launch.
July 4, 2007 The English site opens to the public. An interview with perfumer Ayala Sender also appears during its founding year.
August 2011 An update to note searching is announced, explaining how readers’ votes on note intensity affect result rankings.
2012 Bella van der Weerd joins the Dutch edition’s launch. John Biebel also begins contributing.
2016 The founders describe expansion to 17 languages and a team of 44 people from 25 countries.
November 2017 The first readers’ awards are organized, with readers helping select categories and fragrances.
April 2021 Perfume Finder launches experimentally.
2026 The official introduction describes 23 language editions, including Japanese. The English interface displays approximately 142,000 perfume entries. Checked October 14.

Finding Your Own Words Beyond the Search

The pleasure of reading Fragrantica lies in moving from a familiar perfume to previously unknown creators and materials. Other people’s reviews can also help you recognize what attracts you and what you find difficult.

Recognizing that not every word on a screen carries the same factual weight makes reading more rewarding. Identify a fragrance through its registration details, discover its background through the creator’s words, compare impressions, and experience the scent yourself. Through that movement, knowledge used to choose perfume also becomes language for expressing your own taste.

References

Current features, languages, and displayed database size checked on October 14, 2026.