Every year, fragrance trend reports promise a glimpse of the future, what we’ll crave, wear, and reach for next. They arrive full of predictions and possibility, often asking us to believe that scent moves in neat, linear cycles.
What does change, year to year, is how established tropes are built upon. The structure remains, but the atmosphere shifts: like returning to a familiar room and finding the walls repainted, the fabric changed, the air warmer or sharper, the whole space speaking in a new key.
A recent Cosmopolitan article by beauty writer Mary Honkus looks ahead to 2026, outlining a fragrance landscape shaped by reimagined gourmands, juicier fruits, caffeinated notes and chic, subtle woods. Using those insights as a starting point, we’ve paired each idea with perfumes from the Sainte Cellier curation that are already nailing it.
“The biggest 2026 perfume trends will be full of reinvention…Think: Gourmands like you've never smelled before, fruits that amp up sex appeal, perfumes reminiscent of your favourite coffee shop, and much more.” - Mary Honkus, Cosmopolitan
1. A New Gourmand Era
"Sweetness is no longer the end goal," says Gustavo Romero, founder of the Fragrance Alliance Network. "Edible notes feel cooked, browned, or aged, often cut with bitterness, alcohol, or dryness. Gourmand elements are becoming structural rather than comforting," he says.
“Expect to see more lactonic, nutty, bitter, and maybe even some savory notes. Milky notes started to grow in popularity this year because they add a soft, creamy texture, and a nuanced sweetness that feels like a cozy hug.”
“Boozy notes are entering the gourmand chat. Prepare for dramatic and indulgent rum-drenched aromas, smooth whiskey potions, and bourbon vanilla spritzers.”
Sainte Cellier suggests:
El Descanso, Frassaï
El Descanso is seductively complex. Creamy bran and boudoir ambrette folded around a blend of mimosa, ambrette, lemon, orris and vanillic tonka bean. A singular composition of strange cereal moreishness mixed with powder and bittersweet elegance inspired by the golden wheat fields of the Argentine pampas.
Not Innocent, Éveìlleur
Master Perfumer Olivier Cresp has used orange, almond and a dash of rum in the top notes. Toffee-flavoured milk and rose provide a swirling, unctuous heart with creamy vanilla and the spiced, sweet hay vibe of tonka bean, which exalts the vanilla and almond, creating delicate patisserie layers of aroma.
Milky Dragon, Isabelle Larignon
Milky Dragon, draws inspiration from Milky Oolong tea, resulting in a multifaceted and captivating olfactory rendering. A delicate arrangement of bergamot, buchu and cardamom gradually gives way to velvety lactones and indulgent hazelnut.
2. Deeper, Headier and More Realistic Fruits
"The fruity fragrances we'll see in 2026 will be highly textured, hyper-realistic, full, juicy, and multidimensional," explains perfumer Christina Christie.
Sainte Cellier suggests:
Delta of Venus, ERIS Parfums
A ripe guava accord explodes out of Delta of Venus, permeating everything, gathering erotic power as it develops. The guava here is lush, humid and tantalisingly ripe, taunted by a bitter textured mamba-green refrain of immaculacy deliciously tainted by sin.
Bombay Bling, Neela Vermeire Créations
Bombay Bling is a mix of sublime fruit notes, mango, lychee, and blackcurrant braced against a woven cocoon of frangipani, tuberose and ylang-ylang. The hyper-real fruit and sparingly used green, dry spices weave in and out of the opulent bouquet of white flowers creating an undeniably beautiful, tinselled sari shimmer.
Jasmin Gyokuro, Artimique
Jasmin Gyokuro highlights Williams pear, crisp and subtly granular, with a cool pale-green clarity. Gyokuro green tea wraps it in a softly shaded, gently sweet veil, while angelica adds an airy green lift. Together they frame a luxurious jasmine heart with quiet, orchard-lit elegance.
3. Caffeinated Kicks
“...the fragrances of 2026 will be ~very~ caffeinated, with notes of matcha, chamomile, hojicha, mate, and espresso.”
Sainte Cellier suggests:
Tambour Sacré, Rubini Profumi
A singed, baroque interpretation of swirling coffee absolute on a perfumed ground of honeyed sweet acacia, black pepper, juicy orange and a beautifully rendered tuberose absolute. The coffee vibe in Tambour Sacré is gorgeous and enhanced by a sensual base of opoponax, benzoin, vanillic tonka and the sacrificial odour of Somalian myrrh. The voluptuous mingle of these bitter resins, photorealistic coffee sprinkled with cinnamon and the discerning use of that waxen tuberose make for a moreish perfume of extraordinary character.
Aka’ula, Source Adage
Aka’ula evokes a red volcanic sunset, where mineral heat and marine air collide. A dark coffee note threads through hot stone, smoke and flinty oud, adding depth and bitterness against cool marine algae, citrus and ginger. Pineapple leaf, vetiver and soft vanilla blur fire and sea into a hazy, atmospheric calm.
Purpureum, Fragments by NVC
Purpureum is an exhilarating perfume, dense and chewy with an atramental swelter layered throughout the midnight hour of swirling coffee, bodycon allure of liquorice and shrubby immortelle. Hints of beeswax, smoked maple and myrrh recall the twisted purple tones in the art of Francis Bacon.
4. Softer Impact Scents
“Softer, more personal scents are making a comeback in 2026... with a twist. They'll still include notoriously strong notes—like oud, dry woods, deep musks, and amber—just in a different composition.”
Sainte Cellier suggests:
Dormir al Sol, Frassaï
Dormir al Sol is a dreamscape of warm, soft orange, sun and dappled shade. Translating as `Asleep in the Sun, this delicately spiced mandarin and mimosa centred perfume with an unexpected brandy note in the heart of the scent that seems to create a drowsy, golden mood as smoky guaiac wood, patchouli and saffron fume upwards. A hint of quality vetiver adds to that hazy garden waking dreamscape.
Violette Hay, Marissa Zappas
Hay-toned suede takes centre stage in Violette Hay, touched with a pale parma-violet whisper and a gentle apricot nuance. Unsweet and close-wearing, it sits like a watercolour stain on skin, diffused and quiet, breathed onto the body.
Azahar, Voyages Imaginaires
Azahar is a luminous citrus floral, where orange blossom, tangerine, and petit-grain spill bright and thirst-quenching over a base of marshmallow-soft vanilla. It feels silvered and serene, like the cool shade of a Moroccan riad amid sun-baked air.
5. Wood for All
“Woody notes will be everywhere in 2026."
"People are drawn to woody scents because they feel natural, confident, and composed," she says. "They wear close to the skin, evolve beautifully, and give off that quiet luxury energy." Julia Buonanno-Godec
Sainte Cellier suggests:
Épices, Miskeo Parfums
Épices deftly uses its palette of haute materials. Crushed sweet green coriander allied with flakes of creamy cedar and stems rendered incendiary.
Trayee, Neela Vermeire Créations
Trayee is anchored by a lacteous, glowing sandalwood that feels sacred and enveloping, softened by white jasmine and delicately calibrated spices. As it deepens, a smouldering oudh emerges, resinous and meditative, threaded with myrrh.
Moonmilk, Stora Skuggan
Moonmilk is an atmospheric study in cool milkiness and stone, blending granular, chalky softness with black tea, lime and spice-touched florals. Creamy Mysore sandalwood, cardamom and pepper deepen the illusion, like a milky tea swirling in subterranean air.
Of course, the most compelling perfumes aren’t defined by the year they arrive, but by the way they continue to feel relevant long after trends have moved on. Classics are classic because they always have something to offer, no matter the era.
And perhaps that’s what the best trends really do. They don’t demand novelty for novelty’s sake. They change the lighting, repaint the walls and invite us to step back into familiar rooms with fresh attention.