It can often feel like scents act as instant mood-lifters, and with so much turmoil woven into everyday life, we find ourselves relying on them more than ever to comfort us or help take us back to a specific memory or place. And as time passes, they can help us celebrate seasonal shifts, like the transition from an often gloomy winter to the vibrant, hopeful feeling that comes with spring. Luckily, there are plenty of beautiful spring fragrances — and so many new ones — available to help us get in the mood for and embrace the season.
Once can sometimes feel like Goldilocks when it comes to picking a new signature scent. One might be too fruity. One might not be musky enough. One might have an overwhelming mix of notes you’ve never heard before. But in the end, there is always one that will fit you just right. In fact, that perfect scent might be something you already know and love, just with a slight twist, like Estée Lauder Bronze Goddess Nuit or Armani My Way Nacre.
And because we’re so ready for fresh starts whenever the opportunity presents itself, there are plenty of completely new fragrances to help us feel like spring is truly the time for renewal it always promises to be. Scents like Louis Vuitton Spell on You, Tom Ford Rose de Chine, Skylar Coconut Cove, and Demeter Amethyst Petal offer an opportunity to recreate your vibe the way you envision it.
To help you narrow down some of your options and make it less overwhelming, we’ve pulled some of the best fragrances of the year so far, including picks from new brands like Elorea, LilaNur, and Béatus.
Cartier Declaration Haute Fraicheur Eau de Toilette
You probably associate Cartier with jewelry, so it only makes sense that the brand’s latest fragrance, Declaration Haute Fraicheur, sparkles like its famous gems. Like entering a forest full of brilliant botanical scents, spraying on this eau de toilette means wrapping yourself in notes of citrus, cardamom, cedarwood, and crumpled leaves. Its earthiness doesn’t stop it from feeling especially fresh.
Bath & Body Works White T-Shirt Fine Fragrance Mist
It may seem redundant to wear Bath & Body Works White T-Shirt Fine Fragrance Mist with your favourite white T-shirt, but we can’t think of a better fashion and fragrance pairing. In fact, this mist’s notes of crisp pear, lavender, clean musk, sandalwood, and unmistakeable cottony vibes can make any outfit feel as effortlessly chic as a white tee. This will definitely be your go-to casual fragrance all the way through summer.
Tom Ford Rose de Chine Eau de Parfum
A member of Tom Ford’s Private Blend Private Rose Garden collection — a trio of rose-centric eau de parfums — Rose de Chine weaves Chinese golden peony into layer upon layer of rose notes. If you happen to detect a hint of smokiness, that would be the wisp of myrrh Tom Ford found room for in this irresistible floral masterpieces.
Demeter Amethyst Petal Cologne Spray
Although Demeter is best known for singular scents like Argan and Wisteria, as well as unexpected fragrances like Tarnish and Kitten Fur, the brand sometimes ventures into what might be considered more traditional perfume ideas, like the lovely new Amethyst Petal. A reimagining of the title gem as a flower, captures the range and depth of amethyst’s shades of purple with notes of purple flowers like violet, iris, and patchouli. You’ll also detect hints of powdery and fruity notes for a beautiful balance.
LilaNur Rajni Nocturne Eau de Parfum
New Indian fragrance brand LilaNur looked to French perfume masters to bring the subcontinent’s unforgettable scents to life with a contemporary twist. One of the most beautiful options in the collection is Rajni Nocturne, a tribute to night-blooming tuberose, called rajnigandha in Hindi. The central note is amplified by other florals, like jasmine, and given an easy-to-wear softness with hints of peach and coconut.
Skylar Coconut Cove Eau de Parfum
Sure, coconut tends to lean a bit more summery as far as scents go, but who says you can’t start feeling those warm vacation vibes while you’re still adjusting to daylight savings? Skylar’s Coconut Cove embraces its core aroma with white flowers, with citrusy top notes of lemon and bergamot, and even more florals at the base, like heliotrope and vanilla orchid. Basically, it’s an instant island in a bottle.
Viktor & Rolf Flowerbomb Ruby Orchid Eau de Parfum
Viktor&Rolf’s Flowerbomb has seen several iterations, but perhaps none so olfactorily diverse as Flowerbomb Ruby Orchid. In addition to its title flower, this new eau de parfum features notes of peach up top, and a strong showing of vanilla — both red vanilla bean and a bourbon vanilla infusion — at the base. It’s the most dessert-like of the Flowerbombs, making it destined to serve a tempting night-out fragrance.
Nest New York Golden Nectar Eau De Parfum
All these centuries later, Cleopatra still has an influence on beauty — and in the case of Nest’s new Golden Nectar Eau De Parfum, on fragrance, too. Her seductiveness is expressed as a rich yet botanical floral gourmand with notes of golden orchid, sueded amber, vanilla, and musk. It’s gentle in its confidence, and it definitely knows a secret.
Louis Vuitton Spell on You Eau de Parfum
Floral magic — that’s what Louis Vuitton’s stunning Spell on You Eau de Parfum is. This concoction is a worldly blend of flowers like sambac jasmine, rose from Grasse, Egyptian acacia, and arguably the star note, iris from Florence, which lends an almost violet-like essence to the mix. Not too sweet or powdery — but definitely a little of both — it’s romantic and soft with an undeniable passion.
Good Chemistry Coco Blush Eau De Parfum
When you’re too sophisticated for spring break but you still deserve a tropical trip, Good Chemistry Coco Blush Eau De Parfum delivers in the fragrance department. Deliciously affordable, it features coconut water and pineapple notes, but never feels like a literal piña colada thanks to balancing, gently grounding driftwood.
Elorea Heaven Eau de Parfum
K-beauty isn’t limited to skin care and makeup. There are some brilliant fragrances emerging from Korea, like the ones in Elorea’s collection. An instant favorite, especially for spring: Heaven. Truly an appropriate name, its sound almost like the most delicious drink imaginable. There’s green tea, freesia, and passionfruit at the heart; rose, pink pepper, orange, and bergamot bergamot at the top; and vanilla, cedar wood, amber, and musk at the bottom. OK, so vanilla may be the only bottom note we’d want in a beverage, but we want all of this in a fragrance, and this eau de parfum makes it so.
Kate Spade Sparkle Eau de Parfum Intense
We are loving the trend of “intense” fragrances, for people who unapologetically consider their signature scent to be synonymous with their personality. Kate Spade Sparkle Eau de Parfum Intense is one of the latest in the category. It’s a floral gourmand that combines notes of purple peony and hawthorn with smooth vanilla crème brûlée. Our favorite note, however — what really makes it a standout — is blackcurrant cosmopolitan. If you’re the quirky BFF in your friend group, this is the scent for you.
Estée Lauder Bronze Goddess Nuit Eau de Parfum
Estée Lauder’s Bronze Goddess collection is one of the cornerstones of the brand, and the line’s fragrance has seen quite a few versions launch over the years. The latest, Estée Lauder Bronze Goddess Nuit, turns up the warmth on the tropical treasure with notes clearly envisioned to be worn after sunset — bergamot essence, ylang ylang, salted coconut, jasmine sambac, night-blooming orchid, pepper, and dark tonka among them. It comes off as creamy yet spicy on the skin — exactly how we envision our ideal vacation scent.
Béatus Haute Futaie Eau de Parfum
Béatus is a new name in fragrance that marries French and American scent sensibilities. Of the six creations that make up the brand’s debut, Haute Futaie Eau de Parfum is the most complex and contrasting, with notes of geranium, clary sage, lavender, violet leaves, lemon, grapefruit, oud, vetiver, tonka bean, and leather. The blend of bitterness and woodiness may not make sense on paper, but the sum of the blend is vibrant brilliance.
L’Artisan Parfumeur Mémoire de Roses Eau de Parfum
A shy, cheerful floral, this limited-edition fragrance will have rose lovers wishing it would stick around forever. The mandarin, bergamot, and cotton musk in Mémoire de Roses make the multiple rose notes — oil, absolute, and concentrate — feel surprisingly youthful. But you can chalk that up to the fact that perfumer Christophe Raynaud was careful, as the L’Artisan Parfumeur says, “to ensure the rose wouldn’t be overdressed.”
The Heart Company Positivity in a Bottle Eau de Parfum
Positivity in a Bottle is a bold statement and an even bolder name for a perfume. The Heart Company, however, totally pulls it off with this eau de parfum’s transporting beachiness. The salty marine accord at the heart is flanked by white florals, topped with citrus gems like Italian mandarin, bergamot, and orange blossom, and supported by white must, blonde woods, and vanilla. It will remind you that it’s not long before weekends on the shore will be upon us.
The 7 Virtues Lotus Pear Eau de Parfum
We’ll give you one guess what the two star notes of The 7 Virtues Lotus Pear are. Yep, this flirty, uplifting fragrance is centered around sweet, juicy pear and fresh lotus flower — though that’s not the only floral note. Rose, gardenia, and geranium make notable appearances in this eau de parfum, which is made with sugarcane alcohol and 22 percent fragrance oils.
Armani My Way Nacre Eau de Parfum
This exciting update to Armani My Way is both visual and olfactory. My Way Nacre Eau de Parfum marries bergamot and orange blossom with tuberose and jasmine for a timeless combination that’s warmed by vanilla, cedarwood, and white musks. Its sparkling nature is reflected in the liquid itself with pearlescent swirls — after all, nacre is another word for mother-of-pearl.
Les Deux No 3 Eau de Parfum
There’s something about Les Deux No 3 that’s so fresh (probably the grapefuit oil and eucalyptus) yet so soft (probably the patchouli and warm musk) yet so subtle and grounded (probably the geranium and sandalwood). It’s both a head-turner and a familiar feeling when it enters a room. And speaking of rooms, if you’d prefer your home to smell like Les Deux No 3 instead of your skin, there’s a candle for that.
Victoria’s Secret Tease Collector’s Edition Eau de Parfum
Victoria’s Secret has been in the fragrance game for quite some time and deserves praise for creating some of the most nostalgic scents of our lifetimes. For fans of Tease, this limited Collector’s Edition celebrates what has become a classic gardenia- and pear-spiked gourmand — its vanilla nucleus is somehow the exact right amount of sweet — with a gorgeous new bottle you’ll display long after it’s been emptied.
Originally published in Allure.com.
