I'm a Fragrance Expert—Trust Me: These 9 Perfumes Will Be on Everyone's Necks This Season

From newer launches to classic scents, these are the perfumes to know about.

Popular perfumes
(Image credit: @gracelindsay__, @monikh)

As a fragrance-specialist beauty director, I like to think I know the best perfumes better than most. And I'm not saying this to blow my own trumpet—I have over a decade of experience writing about fragrance and working closely with some of the world's best perfumers. I have also spent a lot of time working behind the scenes at some of the country's biggest beauty retailers, analysing exactly what perfumes sell well and why. It is for these reasons that I have become somewhat of a pro at predicting not only what the most popular perfumes will be before they even hit the shelves, but also what new fragrances will prove the most complimented scents.

And now that the first half of 2025 is almost over, I have had a while to ponder this year's biggest perfume trends—and I have concluded that we will continue to see a pretty major shift in the sorts of perfumes we are leaning on. While fresh, clean-smelling perfumes will continue to have their moment, we're also going to see a huge rise in demand for stronger, punchier aromas that are long-lasting and make a statement.

An image of Merit Retrospect, one of the most popular perfumes 2025, on a bathroom cabinet shelf

(Image credit: @monikh)

Amongst my beauty peers, I have become somewhat famed for predicting the most popular perfumes before the retail stats start rolling in. So, I figured it's about time I put this talent to good use and share my thoughts with you. After all, who doesn't want to be an early adopter when it comes to perfume?

Over the past few weeks, I have spent hours analysing Google Trends data, looking at retail bestsellers lists, keeping a close eye on daily sales stats, picking the brains of every perfumer I have sat down for dinner with and thinking long and hard about upcoming fragrance launches. (Sadly, I'm still sworn to secrecy on most—but I'll update you as soon as I can). As a result, I have managed to compile a list of the 9 perfumes I think have already been (and will continue to be) 2025's most popular, from niche scents to classic fashion-house icons. And don't worry, I'll be sure to update this list regularly as new insights come in and new launches hit the shelves.

So, without further ado, behold: my expert predictions on the 9 most popular perfumes of 2025.

1. Merit Retrospect

2. Yves Saint Laurent Libre Intense

3. Parfums de Marly Valaya

4. Dior Miss Dior Parfum

5. Phlur Golden Rule

6. Escentric Molecules Molecule 01

7. Chanel Coco Mademoiselle

8. Diptyque Orphéon

9. Penhaligon's Halfeti

This story was published at an earlier time and has since been updated.

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Beauty Director

Shannon Lawlor is the beauty director atBest Knockoff Luxury Clothing UK. With over a decade of experience working for some of the beauty industry’s most esteemed titles, including Marie Claire, Glamour UK, Stylist and Refinery29, Shannon’s aim is to make the conversation around beauty as open, relatable and honest as possible. As a self-confessed lazy girl, Shannon has an affinity for hard-working perfumes, fool-proof makeup products and does-it-all skincare.