Top Fragrance Trends for 2024: The end of each year gives us a chance to think about the past year. While many people look back on their year by listing all the things they did, I look back on mine through the lens of scents. After a sudden breakup in January, Narciso Rodriguez’s Pure Musc helped soothe my salty tears. My first Carnival in Rio was marked by minty, honeyed Caipirinhas that went well with a Brown Girl Jane scent named after and inspired by Bahia, another Brazilian state. Not one, not two Krigler’s scents put my perfume collection in a different tax group. Although I have to say that 2023 wasn’t my best year, at least I smelled great and added a lot of new words to my regular speech to match my huge collection. Come on, people, let’s focus on the wins!
A scent can take you back in time, to a different person or place, or even to another time. It is only the sense of smell that has the “power of the invisible.” Some people call fragrance the ultimate invisible accessory, and it can often make or break how someone wants to be seen or felt.
Everyone held up a ring light to look at their newest fragrance finds when the year 2023 started. There were so many lovely florals, seductive vanillas, and earthy aquatic scents to choose from. There were also strong versions that hit all the right notes from designer houses and niche businesses. As the year 2024 draws near, we asked Ylan Jacqueline to guess what it might smell like.
Top Fragrance Trends for 2024
Spice and Sugar
According to Jacqueline, “gourmand scents will continue to be explored because wearers are constantly looking for warmth, comfort, and cozy things.” The soft, vanilla scent caressing your skin is like wrapping your body in a warm, just-out-of-the-dry blanket on a chilly December evening, or donning a brand-new, thick knit sweater from the coast. A classic vanilla aroma is pleasantly delectable, reminiscent of cake and sugar cookies. The Good Girl Gone Bad age of scents, however, began in 2023 with an increase in vanilla notes. Soaked in smokey whiskey and nose-tingling spices, the fragrances swung quickly in the early notes and settled into a seductive gourmand mélange ideal for the sophisticated, serial Hinge dater who enjoys playing hard to get.
Strange Fruits
Whenever we taste a luscious fruit—whether it’s a ripe pineapple, tart berries, or sparkling summertime confections that combine to create the ideal cocktail—we always want to relive that first bite. When the temperature rises, fresh and citrus scents are always a favorite. A spring or summer return to favorites is brought about by the yearning for sun, sand, sea, or even forest woods and herbaceous greens, says Jacqueline. These delectable blends explode with a vibrant, fruity scent supported by subtle musk notes and brilliant with a dark edge.
Take a Smoke Break
The last place you’ll find me and the first place that a few perfumers thought of this past year was a smoking bar. Tobacco kills, yes, but when its hazy, smokey aroma is contrasted with creamy, sugary gourmands, it also revives—no coughing required.
