{"id":2444,"date":"2026-07-23T06:49:44","date_gmt":"2026-07-22T22:49:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nichebeaty.com\/index.php\/2026\/07\/23\/green-is-the-new-gourmand-why-garden-scents-are-taking-over-fragrance\/"},"modified":"2026-07-23T06:49:44","modified_gmt":"2026-07-22T22:49:44","slug":"green-is-the-new-gourmand-why-garden-scents-are-taking-over-fragrance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nichebeaty.com\/index.php\/2026\/07\/23\/green-is-the-new-gourmand-why-garden-scents-are-taking-over-fragrance\/","title":{"rendered":"Green Is the New Gourmand: Why Garden Scents Are Taking Over Fragrance"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Forget beach vacations and sun-drenched vanilla\u2014this summer, the most coveted scent notes are growing in the garden. From crushed tomato vines to sun-warmed basil leaves, fragrance houses are trading saccharine sweetness for something greener, earthier and altogether more grown-up. In other words: The most exciting thing in perfumery right now smells like a farmers market at golden hour.<\/p>\n

The appeal makes sense. After years of leaning into ultra-sweet, dessert-inspired fragrances, noses are craving contrast\u2014something that feels fresh, slightly bitter and unmistakably alive. Below, we’re breaking down exactly why these garden-fresh notes are having a moment\u2014and which fragrances are doing it best.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Featured Experts<\/h2>\n
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  • Kevin Keller is the co-founder of Fulton & Roark<\/li>\n
  • Celine Roux is the head of fragrance at Jo Malone London<\/li>\n
  • Ann Somma is the chief brand officer at Le Monde Gourmand<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    Trending Garden Fragrance Notes to Know<\/h2>\n

    “Fragrance notes more uniquely associated with cuisine, rather than aromatherapy per se, are gaining traction\u2014from basil and oregano, to Sichuan pepper and carrot seed,” says Somma. She explains: “These add an olfactive ‘texture’ and intrigue that can act as an exciting counterpoint to more traditional notes like rose or white florals.”<\/p>\n

    Herbal and leafy accords are lending fragrances a sun-soaked, just-picked quality that feels less like a bottle and more like a backyard. “Basil, sage, rhubarb, fig leaf, violet leaf have been quite present in the industry for quite some time,” says Roux. “The big difference is that they have moved from supporting roles to the ‘star’ of the scent.”<\/p>\n

    But the breakout note of the season is tomato leaf\u2014with its green, almost peppery sharpness, it’s showing up in everything from niche indie releases to mainstream drugstore finds. “While I mostly keep my eyes on my own paper and don’t concern myself too much with the industry at large, I’m confident that tomato leaf is a headliner,” says Keller.<\/p>\n

    Part of the appeal is the note’s sheer range. “We’re in an era of tremendously creative perfumer,\u201d says Somma. \u201cTomato is fascinating because it has so many olfactive facets\u2014a tomato leaf is richly green, while a sliced tomato can be fresh and piquant, but a cooked tomato can be deeply sweet and jammy.\u201d “To share that a fragrance has notes of tomato is to invite the wearer to discover just what tomato means to that perfumer or brand.”<\/p>\n

    Keller finds tomato leaf to be one of the most evocative scents he can think of because you only encounter it through contact. “Standing next to a tomato plant doesn’t smell like much. But brush against the vine or run your hand along the stem while you’re tying it to a stake, and you get this bitter, peppery, intensely green scent. It’s the smell of tending, not consuming,” he says. “So, it’s multisensory, and deeply tied to memory for many of us. Very few notes come with that much story built in, and I think that’s exactly why it’s connecting right now.”<\/p>\n

    Garden Scents for Your Home<\/h2>\n

    Many of this season’s biggest garden-inspired fragrances aren’t for your skin at all\u2014they’re for your space. Malin + Goetz brought back its iconic tomato candle ($68), alongside hand soap ($20), salve ($18) and room spray ($56). Flamingo Estate introduced a Tomato Collection with a candle ($64), dish soap ($36), surface spray ($36) and more. And of course, there’s the Loewe Tomato Leaves craze of summers past, which still comes in aa room spray ($135), candle ($130) and incense set ($210).<\/p>\n

    Is This a Passing Trend or the Start of Something Bigger?<\/h2>\n

    \u201cI’m sure the specific obsession with tomato leaf may ebb, the way any single note does. But my guess is that the broader move toward savory and vegetal notes is here to stay for a while because it’s not really new,\u201d says Keller. \u201cGreen fragrances have a long, distinguished history in perfumery; what’s happening now is a return to that territory with modern realism and better raw materials.\u201d<\/p>\n

    Somma agrees: “Fragrance is a powerful source of comfort and wellness, just like food, and there are many savory and vegetal notes that move our emotions.” She expects these notes will find a place in perfumery for years to come.<\/p>\n

    For Keller, the underlying driver runs deeper than a single summer. “Many people’s fragrance literacy is quickly growing, and literate audiences want a wider palette. Once you’ve expanded someone’s idea of what a fragrance is allowed to smell like, I don’t think they’ll want to go back.”<\/p>\n

    The Best Garden Fragrances of 2026<\/h2>\n
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    1<\/span> \/ 7<\/span><\/p>\n

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    Keller calls Thousand Palms his favorite\u2014the purest example of the brand’s “American Fine Fragrance” ambition. “We set out to break some rules and shift some boundaries in the fragrance world, and Thousand Palms is our boldest expression of that,” he says of the scent that opens with a vivid burst of green bell peppers. The green notes aren’t there for show, either: “They’re at the center because they make the fragrance feel alive.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

    \"Fulton<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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    2<\/span> \/ 7<\/span><\/p>\n

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    As a basil freak, I’m always pleased to see the herb given its due, whether in a dish or a luxe fragrance. Here, basil is the star, delivering a blast of fresh, vibrant, herbal goodness, while accents of cedarwood and amber make the familiar garden scent more dynamic and dramatic. Perfumer Jean-Christophe H\u00e9rault describes it as “a true-to-nature aromatic note of basil getting crazy with the vibration of cedarwood and amber.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

    \"Dries<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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    3<\/span> \/ 7<\/span><\/p>\n

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    This collaboration between Le Monde Gourmand and L.A. Italian comfort-food spot Jon & Vinny’s came as one of the chicest surprises in fragrance this summer. It “offers a delicious bite of tomato from the vine that evolves to a beautiful, fresh and very wearable summer fragrance,” says Somma.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

    \"Le<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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    4<\/span> \/ 7<\/span><\/p>\n

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    \u201cThe cologne opens with a bright burst of blackcurrant that feels juicy, energetic, almost effervescent, then settles into a soft, earthy sweetness from the beetroot that feels both vivid and wearable,\u201d says Roux of the brand\u2019s uniquely vibrant Scarlet Beetroot scent.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

    \"Jo<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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    5<\/span> \/ 7<\/span><\/p>\n

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    \u201cThis was a scent I actually read about before I smelled it. When I was starting out in this industry, I read everything Luca Turin wrote, and his writing about Eau de Campagne stayed with me. He described a fragrance decades ahead of its time, and reading that got my own wheels turning about what a fragrance could be: not just something pleasant, but a fully realized idea,\u201d says Keller. \u201cI recommend it partly because it’s lovely and partly because of what it means now. So often, \u2018trends\u2019 in fragrance are rediscovered.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

    \"Sisley<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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    6<\/span> \/ 7<\/span><\/p>\n

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    Inspired by his childhood memories of spending time in the garden with his father, perfumer Olivier Cresp created this uplifting scent. A tomato leaf accord and notes of green mandarin, patchouli and geranium make for an earthy, green fragrance that transports the wearer to a sun-drenched garden.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

    \"Maison<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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    7<\/span> \/ 7<\/span><\/p>\n

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    Somma also loves the tart Rhubarb Thief from Heretic, which blends thyme, verbena, carrot seed and rhubarb\u2014practically a bottled version of the cuisine-forward note trend she describes.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

    \"Heretic<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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