Forget the lipstick index as economic indicator; in this recession, the most successful downturn beauty product is proving to be fragrance. While much of the luxury business has struggled over the past year, a number of high-end perfume businesses have been spritzing their way to success.

According to marketing researchers NPD Group, sales of perfumes priced above $100 (￡60) rose 7 per cent in the US during the first eight months of this year. Laurice Rahme, president of Bond No 9 New York, says her global wholesale business has increased 25 per cent in the past year, while at Paris-based Creed, which will soon celebrate its 250th anniversary, Erwin Creed notes that the company has more than doubled its sales volume in the past decade.

Fabienne Mauny, managing director of Diptyque, reports a 20 per cent rise in sales over the past fiscal year. “Looking at the September and October trends,” she says, “we see that fragrance sales are growing at an even faster pace, which leads us to be very optimistic for the holiday season.”