This report comprises on-site observations compiled by Aurélie Colin-Thévenet, who was on the show floor at Esxence on behalf of Perfumer & Flavorist+.
The 16th edition of Esxence, held in Milan from June 3-6, 2026 under the theme “Sensing the World,” highlighted a sector increasingly defined by emotional storytelling, experiential retail, and accelerating commercial pressure.
Brands leaned heavily into immersive activation strategies to drive engagement. Esxence/Aurélie Colin-Thévenet
At the heart of the event, co-founder and president of the technical committee Silvio Levi reflected on the evolving landscape of artistic perfumery. While noting strong and sustained growth in interest, he also warned that the category’s original pace—slow, reflective and innovation-led—has been displaced by a far more aggressive market dynamic. Levi pointed to an estimated 10,000 fragrance launches annually (including dupes and copies), arguing that excessive volume is diluting impact and preventing products from having sufficient time to establish themselves commercially.
At the heart of the event, co-founder and president of the technical committee Silvio Levi reflected on the evolving landscape of artistic perfumery. While noting strong and sustained growth in interest, he also warned that the category’s original pace—slow, reflective and innovation-led—has been displaced by a far more aggressive market dynamic.Aurélie Colin-Thévenet
This year’s edition also underscored how external constraints are reshaping the industry calendar. The event was rescheduled due to the Winter Olympics, which occupied the venue as a media center. Organizers confirmed Esxence will return to its traditional February slot in 2027, restoring its role as a key launch-timing moment for brands.
The exhibition grew to 20,000 square metres—up 3,000 from 2025—and welcomed more than 40 countries and 108 debut brands. Exsence/Aurélie Colin-Thévenet
On the show floor, expansion was a dominant theme. The exhibition grew to 20,000 square metres—up 3,000 from 2025—and welcomed more than 40 countries and 108 debut brands. The result was a noticeably broader creative spectrum, introducing new aesthetic codes, narrative approaches and regional olfactory influences into the Milan showcase.
Experience design also took center stage. A dedicated “Experience Lab” recreated domestic environments—bathroom, kitchen, office—using scent to trigger memory and nostalgia, reinforcing the theme of fragrance as emotional architecture rather than product alone.
This year's event featured a noticeably broader creative spectrum, introducing new aesthetic codes, narrative approaches and regional olfactory influences into the Milan showcase.Exsence/Aurélie Colin-Thévenet
Brands leaned heavily into immersive activation strategies to drive engagement. Dutch house Fugazzi drew crowds with a coin-operated perfume dispenser offering discovery through gamified sampling. Korean brand Born To Stand Out paired fragrance with curated coffee blends designed to match scent profiles. Meanwhile, Posh Perfumes embraced the summer heat with a playful lifeguard setup and ice cream cart, turning their booth into a full lifestyle vignette.
Overall, this year’s Esxence signaled a category at a crossroads: expanding rapidly in scale and creativity, but increasingly challenged by oversaturation and the need to sustain meaning in an overcrowded fragrance landscape.
