If there is one influencer who has done more good (or harm) for fragcomm than any other, I’d argue it’s Jeremy Fragrance.
Before getting into the details, it’s worth stating what I believe is the central truth of his influence: Jeremy’s meteoric rise and equally dramatic decline didn’t just shape his own trajectory; it fundamentally altered how the fragrance community thinks about authenticity, trust and the role of influencer-driven perfume brands. Everything that has followed, for better or worse, exists in the space he opened.
This is not a personal attack. For better or worse, Jeremy is directly responsible for making authenticity the currency that now matters above all else.
Objectively speaking, he has brought more people into fragcomm than any other figure. One of his earliest videos on YouTube sits comfortably above two million views. These are extraordinary numbers that only a uniquely charismatic individual could draw. Anyone returning to those early uploads can see immediately how different he was then compared to what he eventually became.
I’m not even referring yet to the erratic behaviour that eventually unravelled his image as the defacto leader of the fragrance community: once suave, polished and compelling enough that his recommendations carried the weight of a marketing department with a multimillion-dollar budget.
His downfall began, I believe, with the Ferrari.
Back in 2017, Jeremy asked followers to donate money so he could purchase a new computer. A few weeks later he appeared on his channel collecting not a laptop but an Italian sports car worth the price of a home.
If he had enough for a Ferrari, he surely had enough for a laptop. That was the first reckoning.
Then, in 2019, he announced his own brand, Fragrance One, launching with “Office,” priced at $140 for 100 ml. The general impression circulating online was that the fragrance was fine: pleasant enough, unremarkable but serviceable. When the price later doubled on his website, the prevailing sentiment was that Jeremy had flown too close to the sun.
While writing this, I noticed bottles of Office currently reselling for an astonishing $489 CAD. This is much more than many people would pay for a universally acknowledged masterpiece, which Office emphatically is not. The fragrance has been declared by Jeremey to be “discontinued” and marked up multiple times, only for Office to continue appearing on the site business as usual (pun not entirely unintended).
Around this period, many in the fragrance community began to suspect that what often passed online as “good advice” was, in truth, financially motivated.
Jeremy’s channels gradually shifted away from fragrance toward pure attention capture. To be fair, he was never especially knowledgeable about perfumery. Even in his heyday, his reviews often had little connection to the composition itself, and the content quickly became formulaic.
Later, as his behaviour grew increasingly erratic, many long-time viewers including myself found the experience progressively uncomfortable.
The strange dancing, the insistence that he was “the number one fragrance influencer following the teachings of Jesus,” the uniform of all-white suits … all of these gestures felt less like the eccentricities of a performer and more like the visible unravelling of someone struggling under the weight of his own persona.
His trajectory did something far larger than sour viewers on a single influencer. It reshaped the emotional architecture of fragcomm itself. People who once trusted recommendations freely began asking harder, more cynical questions:
Is this genuine enthusiasm, or a sponsored talking point?
Is this reviewer guided by passion or by monetization?
Do fragrance influencers exist to enrich the community or to profit from it?
Jeremy’s rise and more importantly his decline ushered in a skepticism that now extends far beyond him. Today, anyone who attempts to monetize fragrance content is often immediately dismissed as opportunistic.
I think this reaction is unfair. Not everyone deserves to be judged through the lens Jeremy created. And although as a fragrance journalist I make no money from my reviews, I have no problem in others doing so.
There are creators who genuinely care about the craft. For example, Neeb from the Aromatix channel has partnered with Fragrance World to produce sensibly priced, engaging scents under his channel’s name. I recently sampled several and enjoyed all of them. The bottles were handsome, the compositions distinctive enough that I could easily see myself reviewing them in the future.
Then there is Dan Naughton, host of the Mr Smelly YouTube channel and co-owner of the deliberately British house Naughton and Wilson, purveyors of classically inspired, luxurious fougère and chypre-leaning men’s fragrances. Dan knows exactly what he likes and has a clear creative vision for the modern interpretations he wants to share. He recently gifted me two bottles, one which is excellent and that I will surely review.
Producing a well-made fragrance in today’s economy is no easy task. The financial and logistical demands are immense, encompassing but not limited to concept development, materials, marketing, production, not to mention difficulties absorbing additional taxes, tariffs and shipping in the protectionist economies we find ourselves surrounded by today. Given all of that, I don’t believe we should dismiss creators who step forward from within the community. Many are working extraordinarily hard for rewards that are, in truth, modest at best.
Yes, Jeremy Fragrance disappointed many of us. But that doesn’t mean others don’t deserve a fair chance to earn our trust, especially when their effort and intentions are transparent. The revenue generated from niche perfumes or fragrance content is minimal compared with the passion, time and financial risk invested in making them.
So Jeremy, despite your drift away from fragrances, thank you. For the excitement, the entertainment and the gateway you provided for millions of newcomers to enter this world. Without you, many aspects of today’s fragcomm might not exist. It is entirely possible that I myself would not be a fragrance journalist if it weren’t for you.
Now, as a new generation of creators emerges more grounded, more transparent and more committed to the community’s long-term health, I have reason to home fragcomm is entering a more stable and thoughtful era. The disappointments of the past shouldn’t prevent us from recognizing the sincerity and craft of those working earnestly today.
