7 of the best fragrance trends and scents to follow in 2025, according to professional perfumers
Business Insider spoke to three perfumers about the coming 2025 fragrance trends.
Maximalist fragrances, like bold florals, are cycling back into popularity.
Consider testing out a rice scent or incorporating citruses during the warmer months.
As we enter the New Year, it's a great time to reassess our signature scents.
Business Insider spoke with three professional perfumers about the best scents and trends they see coming in 2025.
There's been a shift from minimalist to maximalist fragrances.
Shabnam Tavakol, the founder of the New York City-based independent fragrance studio Kismet Olfactive, said recent perfume trends have been all about soft fragrances that mix with your body's natural odors.
However, we're now entering a maximalism era reminiscent of the 1970s and '80s.
"It's much like fashion, where everything goes in this cyclical pattern," she told BI.
The perfumer said bold florals make great full-bodied fragrances. She also recommended heavier perfumes like Le Labo's Santal 33 and Alien by Thierry Mugler.
Gourmand scents will continue to be popular in the New Year.
Emma Vincent, an in-house perfumer at Lush, said gourmand scents will still be favored in 2025. These fragrances, which smell like edible things, remain popular largely due to their comforting and familiar qualities.
Vanilla is probably the most popular gourmand. However, as the trend continues to grow, the perfumer expects people to experiment with different scent profiles and complexities, including coffee, musk, and cereal undertones.
More specifically, it's time to look into rice scents.
Kelsey Hodgson, a salesperson who's worked in the perfume industry for nearly nine years, said rice is a big scent right now. They've seen an increasing number of brands trying to add the note to their fragrance lineup.
"People are still looking for gourmands in general, but rice blends that space of milky and bready," they told BI. "It sits close to the skin."
In particular, Hodgson recommends L'Eau Papier by Diptyque and White Rice by d'Annam.
Dupes are on the rise.
Between everything getting more expensive and the rise of influencer-run social media, dupe culture isn't slowing down.
The less-expensive duplicates of higher-end products are a more affordable and accessible option for those seeking luxury on a budget.
"The dupes that come out are so much better than they were before," Vincent said.
Lavender florals will be in for the spring.
Florals tend to trend in the spring, but Hodgson expects lavender to be particularly popular in 2025.
"People are leaving rose behind and trying to modernize a more old-school version of lavender," they said.
They recommend Lavande 31 by Le Labo for that old-fashioned floral scent.
Citrus scents will thrive in the summer.
Warmer seasons typically bring lighter fragrances, so citrus scents usually boom in the summer.
"When it's humid outside, you don't want a scent that's going to be too oppressive," Hodgson told BI. In particular, they think notes of yuzu and grapefruit will be making a big comeback in 2025.
They recommend citrus aromas from Phlur, which offers unisex scents like Apricot Privée and Tangerine Boy, as well as J-Scent's Yuzu perfume.
Try layering your scents.
Although it's not necessarily a new trend, layering scents offers an opportunity to create nonuniform and complementary scent profiles.
From your hair primer to body wash, building a full-body, complex fragrance palette is in for 2025.
"Once people start experimenting in that way, they're more likely to do more research and find things that are a little bit more out there," Hodgson said.
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