Summer's Top Perfume Trends Feature Elevated Vanillas, Juicy Fruits, and Feel-Good Nostalgia

Elle

26-06-2025

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Sweltering, sticky heat. Sunscreen-stained sweat droplets. Summer, at its core, is more about the bigger picture—sun, fun, and adventures—than the smaller inconveniences that can easily ruin a day. Of course, there are workarounds: a strong, odor-blocking antiperspirant to keep passersby frowns away and sweat- and humidity-proof makeup for a matte, non-streaky finish. All that's missing from a perfect summer day is the flood of compliments and questions from strangers about what scent they've just caught a whiff of. No, it's not the deodorant (though we know a thing or two about the best-smelling ones), but the faint caress of crisp linen or damp botanicals or even juicy citruses leaving a trail in its wake.
Summer requires scents that are 'light, fresh and cheerful, nothing too serious—fun and sun in a bottle,' says Bettina O'Neill, EVP of business development and merchandising at Scentbird, the monthly perfume discovery subscription service. Word of advice? Less is always more when it comes to picking the perfect scent layer, 'simply because fragrance intensifies as our body temperature rises, particularly when we perspire,' she adds. Instead of opting for a strong eau de parfum, O'Neill suggests stocking up on eau de toilettes or body mists, as they have a 'lighter concentration perfect for the intense summer heat, may contain only one to three percent of perfume oil, and can last up to two hours,' she says. 'The opposite is true for winter; extrait de parfums and eau de parfums last longer on the skin because of their higher concentration of perfume oil (15 to 40 percent).'
Time to set aside those smoky ouds and candied vanillas of the fall and winter seasons—this summer's perfume trends embrace the youthfulness, intimacy, and nostalgia we all could use right now. Before you add anything to your cart, Scentbird's Bettina O'Neill and Jeniece Trizzino, VP of innovation and physical product at Scentbird, break down the season's hottest trends we're about to see, err, smell everywhere.
We get it: gourmands in the summer can easily go awry due to their deep, heavier base notes. Toasty caramel, creamy hazelnut, and sugary vanilla warmed up under the sun can veer bakery-sweet than expected. However, Trizzino predicts a vanilla evolution this summer. Vanilla, 'once considered soft, sweet, and safe, is transformed into something bold, smoky, sensual, and complex. This is the evolution of sugary Y2K cupcake to dark, complex, and more sophisticated iterations. Think vanilla leaves, vanilla absolute paired with darker notes like black amber, leather, pink pepper, coriander,' she explains.
A summer fruit salad is as refreshing as it is tasty—now imagine it compressed into a juice that's sweet, candied, and elegant for the heat and not at all the adolescent whiffs from our youth. 'Traditionally, fruity fragrances were often associated with youthful, overly sweet scents reminiscent of candy. But we are seeing a big evolution in the fruity category right now; this movement reflects a shift towards more natural, juicy, and sophisticated fruity scents, appealing to a broad spectrum of consumers,' Trizzino explains.
While summery produce typically always swirls in coconut, Trizzino predicts a darker, sexier twist with this season's coveted fruity scents. 'These fruit notes are wrapped with elevated florals and rich, sensual woods,' she adds, listing pear, plum, cherry, passionfruit, and banana as unexpected notes to look out for. And, of course, we couldn't forget to mention summer 2025's main character ingredient, guava.
Yes, although less is more for warm-weather-appropriate ingredients, musks can actually weather any season. Typically found in the base layer of a scent composition due to its staying power, musks are soft, skin-like notes that add depth to any fragrance. 'They tap into what people are craving emotionally and culturally right now—intimacy, softness, comfort, and authenticity. They've evolved from being just base notes to becoming the emotional heart of modern fragrance,' Trizzino explains. She notes that newer musk scents fall into two categories:
Scented Softness: 'We're seeing a resurgence of powdery, slightly sweet, milky, creamy musk profile in perfumery. They feel hazy and velvety and slightly romantic and are comforting and craveable all at the same time.'
New Clean: 'These musks are radiant, skin-like, modern, and transparent. They are less powdery and more warm skin-like, and strip musks from their stereotypical aldehydic qualities.'
Trizzino shares that a popular note category leading this revival is 'fougere,' otherwise known as the green, herbaceous notes that beckon images of the damp forests and fresh plants, and will transform into genderless juices. 'Lavender, moss, and tonka fougere is being reclaimed as unisex and elegant, and brands will play with notes of iris, fig, tea, and suede to modernize the classic structure—basically fougeres with tenderness,' she explains. These greener, more universal notes help tone down the 'loud, sharp, spicy opening that we see in a lot of traditional '90s scents, and we'll see brand launch scents that shift toward more diffusive, atmospheric notes.' These airy notes fall under the Ozonic note family, which features zesty yuzu, 'airy citruses, and soft green florals—notes that mimic fresh air or rainfall,' Trizzino says.
'During challenging times, people seek comfort in the familiar. The classical revival trend aligns with a broader desire for stability and connection to the past,' Trizzino explains.
Remember the Burberry Her fragrance you were gifted for a past birthday? This year introduced its intense counterpart, leaning into emotion and familiarity as a key driving point.
'This is about reconnecting with memories, softness, identity, and innocence in a time that feels uncertain and overstimulated. Through the use of nostalgia, fragrances are able to channel a safe space for customers by reminding them of cherished childhood memories. Research has shown that scents are strongly linked to memory. Fragrance houses are tapping into this emotional link by offering perfumes that make people relive past moments or tap into memories that evoke happiness, love, and warmth.
These notes generally veer floral and powdery, employing classic feminine fragrance notes 'like rose, iris, violet, orange blossom, white florals, and sweet fruits, but in radically modernized ways,' she adds.