Fragrance Trend Tracker: What the 2025 Fragrance Foundation Awards Tell Us About the Future of Scent

The annual U.S. Fragrance Foundation Awards are a prestigious event in the fragrance industry, often referred to as the "Oscars of the fragrance world". The 2025 awards recognised excellence across nineteen categories, highlighting the diversity of artistry and the impact of fragrance on the current market. 

Top 5 trend indicators: our key takeaways from the list of victors

1.Nature notes

According to the accords, there is an overwhelming trend towards scents of nature, which have been classically popular across genders and generations. Of the winning fragrances that have a profile on Fragrantica (noting: not all do), fourteen have a ‘woody’ accord, three an ‘earthy’ accord, and three a ‘green’ accord. It was notable that, accords aside: 

(a) three of the awarded fragrances contain the word “sun” in their name (Kilian Paris Sunkissed Goddess won “Fragrance of the Year – Women’s Luxury”, Vacation “AFTER SUN” won “Fragrance of the Year – Popular” and NEST New York Sunlit Yuzu & Neroli Wellness Collection won “Candle & Home Collection of the Year”) and a fourth has “dawn” in the name (Byredo Desert Dawn won “Fragrance of the Year – Universal Luxury”); 

(b) two contain the word “bois”, being French for “woods” (Veronique Gabai Délices des Bois won “Indie Fragrance of the Year” and Tom Ford Bois Pacifique won “Fragrance of the Year – Men’s Luxury”); and 

(c) two are named by reference to flowers (Diptyque Fleur de Peau Holiday Edition won “Packaging of the Year - Ultra Luxury/Luxury” and Marc Jacobs Daisy Wild won “Packaging of the Year - Prestige/Popular”). 

This trend highlights the enduring appeal of immersive nature, wellness, and bringing the outdoors indoors.

2. Tasty trends

Gourmand fragrances continue to soar in popularity and therefore it is no surprise that highly revered Kayali Vanilla Candy Rock Sugar | 42 took home “Fragrance of the Year – Women’s Prestige”. A common opinion is that the main pull towards this category of delectably indulgent scents is the reference they draw to nostalgic, comforting notes that often evoke childhood memories. 

In any event, turning to the accords, of those awarded fragrances that have a profile on Fragrantica, seven have a ‘sweet’ accord, six a ‘citrus’, six a ‘fruit’, three a ‘vanilla’, two a ‘balsamic’, one a ‘rum’, one a ‘coconut’ and one a ‘cinnamon’. 

This trend shows that consumers continue to gravitate towards edible-scents, further solidifying gourmand fragrances’ place as a key force in the field.

3. It makes scents to be playful

The awards also gave a nod to the cheekier side of the industry. The Vacation brand boasts a range of high-quality suncare products with (of course) popular scents, but it has also become renowned in recent years for its brand personality; launching a fun-loving website and amusing marketing activations that invoke clever references to trends from past decades. 

Further, the “Innovative Fragrance Product of the Year” award this year went to D.S. & Durga’s immersive Murder Mystery Fragrance Kit, which was well-earned. In ‘The Case of the Stolen Heart Notes’, the fragrance set creates a game of layering for the consumer with the fragrances having Cluedo-style names such as Professor Rose and Madame Currant. 

This trend shows the industry's growing appetite for experimental formats and spirited storytelling. 

4. Indie entries versus familiar favourites

Although past years have seen the larger fragrance players taking more of the spotlight, this year markedly celebrated more indie excellence, for example, with Veronique Gabai’s Délices des Bois winning the “Indie Fragrance of the Year” and with Vacation “AFTER SUN” being the winner of the “Fragrance of the Year – Popular” category. 

Not to detract from the foregoing – it does remain the case that there is unbroken strength in the heritage brands. Big houses such as L’Oréal, Puig, Estée Lauder Companies and Coty still took home the lion’s share of the awards between them (e.g. Maison Margiela Replica Afternoon Delight - “Fragrance of the Year – Universal Prestige”, Rabanne 1 Million EDT - “Fragrance Hall of Fame”, Burberry Her Intense - “Consumer Choice – Prestige”, etc.). 

This trend shows that, whilst there is always space for indie brands to rise to the competition, the classics continue to give a strong display of dominance in the fragrance space. 

5. Celebrity silence

We saw no celebrity fragrances being awarded this year which is a pivot from the 2024 awards where we saw Billie Eilish have a winning fragrance. Could this be an indication of an oversaturation of celebrity offerings in the beauty space more broadly in recent years?

Closing thoughts

The 2025 Fragrance Foundation Awards prove the fragrance industry to be firmly embracing both familiar favourites in legacy brands, and innovative offerings from new powerhouses. Established brands continue to captivate consumers with their timeless craftsmanship and remain major players. On the flipside, indie makers are being celebrated for injecting creativity and fresh perspectives; it seems that there has never been a more fertile moment for newcomers to stand out. The result is an evolving landscape where tradition, experimentation, and curiosity pave the way for an exciting future of scent.