Top Fragrance Trends to Watch in 2026

 Forecasting is always a question of insightful reading of what is going on in any given industry, as well as a good instinct on how the public responds to what is going on. Therefore to predict the top fragrance trends to watch in 2026, I need to point out what we noticed in 2025 first. And then give you my predictions. Let's see at the end of this year whether I was right or wrong. 

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What we saw in 2025

Brands are finally shaking off the depression spirit of the pandemic era, even though it was the one that increased the desire for perfume in the first place... as a test of Covid's loss of smell. The public is somewhat tired of the safe trend for sweet bases with thick and powerful amber-woods and oud bases (replicating agarwood resin) intended to denote luxury and are now turning to well-being and personal satisfaction effects. In 2025, many things were debunked about the purchase, manufacture and copying by Arabs (the prevalent culture of dupes). 

At the same time, we reached an oversaturation in fragrance launches, where hundreds of new releases smelled and looked like so many others, especially in the sweet confectionery olfactory profile. Fortunately, the perfume industry is working on new molecules, new ideas and a new style of presentation, so that perfume becomes mainly an experience and emotion for GenZ rather than an accessory to show off wealth or status. After all, this is no longer the case on a planet on precarious balance. 

Last but not least, it was the year that Givaudan perfumer Quentin Bisch became a mega-star on the perfume channels (taking over from the previous beloved of the perfume community, Francis Kurkdjian, who seems to have disappointed audiences since taking over as permanent perfumer at Dior). His use of Titan-strong molecules produced by Givaudan has changed the entire industry. 

Fragrance Trends to Watch in 2026 

1. Creamy, milky, and fruity scents 

 Whether expressed through fruity, woody, or coconut milk notes, lactones (a chemical class of molecules that evoke ripe fruit or summery woods like fig tree) were a defining trend in 2025 and will continue into 2026. Even consumers who aren’t technically familiar with the meaning of the adjective “lactone” have embraced this creamy aesthetic. The movement was sparked by the viral social media buzz that catapulted fragrances like Blanche Bête and Bianco Latte into the spotlight, and the industry has followed suit. This journey is far from over. Expect a steady stream of creamy sweet compositions throughout the year, often accented with nutty notes — the other big obsession as seen in the frenzy around pistachio and notes of “Dubai chocolate”.

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2. The trend for crunchy effects, in granola and cookies notes

 In the field of smell, the play of textures is starting to dominate, moving from the salty trend of last year and the year before to olfactory impressions reminiscent of crunchy cookies, baked oats and popcorn. I remind you that popcorn was an innovation introduced by the late Miss Dior Cherie two decades ago! 

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We saw at the same time a multifaceted spectrum of vanilla marrying with the crunchy textures: dark, amber or on the contrary woody with a delicate taste of nuts or milk that married with the style that dominates in candles, and all this surfacing in refined fruity-floral fragrances in posh brands. The crunchy effects are evident already in Crush Akro (which recreates in the form of a fragrance the delicacy of lychee macarons) and Miutine by Miu Miu (like sponge cake with pieces of strawberry interspaced).

 The nostalgia of childish desserts and olfactory effects recodes the low-priced and accessible style now at a high price, but more vexingly claims to be considered high culture. Niche has become as uniform and conformist as mainstream, at places, which will outdo its purpose and come at breaking point. 

 3. Freshness is back! 

Perhaps we are tired of the monothematic prevalence of so-called gourmand perfumes, sweet with references to desserts, or of boozy, alcoholic perfumes, with references to spirits, rum and aged cognacs and whiskeys. After wearing, with true mania of overspraying I might add and with a certain aspirational desire of belonging, well-known brands of the central luxury department stores (Kilian, Xerjoff, Marly, Tom Ford Private Line), the public has finally overcome the obsession. People are tentatively revisiting the fresher compositions that recall the 1990s. Or even earlier, the chic fresh colognes of the glorious 60s and 70s. Hereby we can cite the wonderful Acqua di Parma Buongiorno or Le Labo Eucalyptus 20 that resembles a living tree full of juices and aromatic woodies which remain lighter in feeling. 

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But freshness also takes on the shades of the earth after a storm, with fragrances that give the effect of petrichor and rainy morning: for example the wonderful and pioneering (from 2015), but with a tongue-twister name, Hermann à mes Côtés me Paraissait une Ombre from the previously iconoclastic French Etat Libre d’ Orange. Reminiscent of the city after a heavy rainstorm. We will see more such fragrances, often Asian (see trend #5) 

 4. The integration of Artificial Intelligence in the production and composition of fragrances 

 Perfumery has surpassed itself in the way it captures odors, moving away from the smell of a single object or plant to embrace fragrances that function as sensory translations of an entire field or to give effects that aspire to recreate space, time or completely abstract concepts. 

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The brand Paco Rabanne pioneered with Phantom but many are following in its footsteps, so we have not seen much yet. 

 5. The rise of Asian and especially Chinese brands 

 After perfumery hailing from or replicating the aura of the Middle East, we observe in the West a tsunami of new brands coming from Japan, South Korea, China, Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam with a minimalist profile: Zhufu, itā, ChuJian, cent.pm, to Define, Fukudo… 

Possibly as revenge for Trump’s infamous tariffs, the new Asian brands usually offer affordable prices on differentiated olfactory profiles that renew traditional elements. Like a tea ceremony, with notes of matcha but also calligraphy ink, rice and fine incense. They project the feeling of spa and tranquillity that we usually identify with Eastern philosophies, so it's fitting. Will they eventually displace the milky, thick creamy and sweet aromas of desserts? It remains to be seen.

Let's bookmark this post and review it anew at the end of the year. Marketeers, take note in the meantime if you want to promote your fragrance and mail me for more if interested in working together. 

Fragrance Tendencies for 2022: The Perfume Shrine Forecast

 The new year opens before us with the world of perfumes reflecting everything that concerns us in the rest of pop culture. From the world of woke to environmental consciousness and artificial intelligence, 2022 is set to be an exciting year. Let's go examine these tendencies in fragrance for 2022 one by one.

 

Reclaiming the Name of the Rose

Perfumes with rose work slightly like the classic trench coat in beige gabardine in our closet, or a brit pop song in a department store with youthful products. They brighten the mood with their easy reception even by novices, their purity of intentions, their classicism in structure. This year, creators and companies, mainstream and niche, are reinventing the rose.

 Tom Ford leads with 3 suggestions that follow last year's Rose Prick, this time with geographical inspiration: Rose D'Amalfi, Rose de Chine, and Rose de Russie are released in February 2022, before Valentine, as part of the new Tom Ford Private Rose Garden collection. Red and rose and for Armani with the new Sì Passione l'Εclat de Parfum, with the bright Cate Blanchet as the muse of the campaign again. As with Lancôme with La Nuit Trésor Intense L’Eau de Parfum (what a mouthful, have your smartphone at the ready to show to sales assistants).

 Digital Anamorphs

When marketing perfume, we often tend to resort to ancient techniques - things that are collected and processed by hand. In the actual industry, however, this is definitely not the case. Fragrances by large and small houses incorporate sophisticated ingredients of human laboratory preparation and advanced industrial sophistication technologies. Headspace was one, a popular technique first used in Antonia's Flowers, that captures the smell of things, and then recreates them in the lab as innovative arrangements. 

Nowadays technologies such as artificial intelligence are used to compose perfumes. In 2021 there was even an all-digital fragrance created as a non-exchangeable work (NFT)! The launch of Paco Rabanne Phantom in late 2021,  with its cute robot-shaped bottle, let consumers use their smartphone to tap on its head to create a digital experience.  

The composition of Paco Rabanne Phantom on the other hand is entirely created by artificial intelligence (AI) and this is going to be used more and more in industrial size perfumery. Digital interactive bottles and perfumes created entirely from artificial intelligence will continue to pierce our minds and noses. In 2022 and beyond. 

 

More art + perfume go hand in hand 

 

Arpa (sounds like harpe in Greek…) is a new multi-platform brand by perfumer Barnabé Fillion. It combines aroma, music, architecture and images in a complete experience of all the senses. Coupling that is becoming an increasingly strong trend. In November 2021, Arpa was officially released at the Dover Street Parfums Market and the final collection did not disappoint our high expectations. 

 

At Arpa, Fillion reunites with many of its former partners, drawing on different talents to create accompanying pieces for the brand's perfumes. These include a series of sculptures and records that are combined with scents, such as Anicka Yi and the French DJ Pilooski. The graphics were designed by the heavyweight Nathalie du Pasquier of the Memphis Group, while an office space was designed by the architect of the Australian firm Aesop, Jean-Philippe Bonnefoi. Meanwhile, limited edition bottles have been hand-crafted by glassmaker Jochen Holz.

 

 

Chinese Tips for Chanel

As part of its approach to China's always-aimed-at market, this dormant luxury consumer giant, Chanel with a distinctive eco-friendly approach creates recyclable, bio-sustainable products in a new line of cosmetics, makeup and grooming products called Chanel No.1

 

The collection with the camellia logo bears the symbol of the flower in red, just in anticipation of the Chinese New Year (the so-called Lunar Year) and with the expected lightness in the fragrances. For Chanel No.1 L'Eau Rouge, perfumer Olivier Polge explained: "This aromatic spray with a composition of 97% natural ingredients, can be used in combination with another product of the house or alone". 

The composition ends with a drying down of iris and clean musks for a slightly powdery feeling of cleanliness.

 

  Hot air? Not exactly.

 This is not the first time that pure air has been packaged in bottles for consumers with a sense of humor. The Air de Montcuq was a first attempt: Montcuq is a French village, but the headphones bring a bit of "air from our butt" - the smell happily reminiscent of ethereal mountain scenery and freshness.

 Air Eau de Parfum by The Air Company is a sexless fragrance composed of carbon dioxide, which binds at its source. To do this, the brand produces hydrogen which is fed to the patented carbon conversion reactor along with CO2. The resulting reaction converts hydrogen and CO2 into ethanol, methanol and impurity-free water, which form the body of the perfume. Then, the Air Eau de Parfum preparation ends with light aromatic notes, such as orange peel, jasmine, violet and tobacco - so as not to deviate from the aromatic parameter.

 

 

Eco-consciousness will flourish 

Starting with Rochas and their Rochas Girl, lots of companies, not only Chanel above, put an emphasis on eco-consciousness, sustainability and green imprint. 

Fashion brand Chloé has even issued a sort of manifesto on their website. "We intend to become a force for positive change beyond the Chloé workplace by working with our main suppliers to promote and further our standards while ensuring transparency. Based on our environmental impact research, we learned that our biggest impact comes from raw materials. This has prompted us to work with external experts to identify lower impact materials. We are focused on increasing their proportion such that we can reach 90% by 2025 at the latest. Consequently, this will contribute to our target of reducing emissions by 25% per product."

This is reflected in both their Chloé Eau de Parfum Naturelle and their newest, just launched Nomade Eau de Parfum Naturelle, fronted by Naomi Scott.  

We will continue to see this trend gaining momentum throughout 2022 and beyond.