Spring fragrances when they first come to mind are obvious. Peonies in buckets at the florist, the first smell of jasmine on an evening stroll, winter’s forgotten rose bushes finally blooming in the garden. But some of spring’s most charming scents aren’t really floral at all, such as the aroma of freshly mown grass on a sunny afternoon, wet concrete after the rain, a coastal breeze, a sprinkler in the herb patch, crispy sheets after a day in the sun.
After the spicy, smoky, amber notes of winter, you might be craving something with a little more oxygen to it as the bookends of the day begin to hold more warmth. Herbaceous, oceanic, clean, and solar scents offer a lift along with the change of the season, and a freshness that a classically floral scent might not necessarily give. Like opening a window, they offer a greener, more airy infusion of fragrance when worn both on the skin and when scenting your home.
This is not to say you shouldn’t jump on that bouquet of peonies for the short time they’re in season, but there’s a reason mint and rosemary can’t help but grow wild, and ocean air has such a nostalgic hold. These are scents with quiet confidence and a familiarity that makes a space feel alive. The door has been left open, the sheets are on the line, and spring has arrived.
Read on to discover some of Fashion Quarterly’s favourite fresh, herbaceous, and zesty scents that hold a unique, more quiet confidence.
Herbaceous and green fragrances
Herbaceous fragrances created for the skin draw on notes found in your kitchen garden: basil, thyme, tomato leaf, fig, sage, and fennel. They give a perfume an aromatic green snap, which can be peppery, earthy, and cool, sometimes even slightly medicinal, like crushing mint between your fingers or pulling rosemary leaves from the stalk.
Oceanic fragrances with a salty bite
Aquatic notes are a bit more abstract and mysterious and refer to watery, marine, and airy scents, which evoke sea spray, salty air, and mineral freshness. These notes are usually accords as opposed to extracted ingredients, meaning a blend of fragrances used to create an impression, be that one of ocean air, rain, wet stone, or salt on skin.
Fresh, clean fragrances
Clean and fresh scents sit in a similar emotional register but often come from a different direction. Think citrus notes such as bergamot, lemon, mandarin, and grapefruit, soft musks, iris, cotton, linen or soap-like accords, cucumber, pear, or watery florals, and sheer woods for grounding. They’re lively and crisp.
Solar fragrances
For something with a bit more warmth, a scent with more solar notes will give that Euro summer feeling of sunlit skin and an Aperol spritz at sundown, such as orange blossom, warm musk, coconut water, and ylang-ylang. Still floral but not in the least bit powdery.
Beauty editor's tip: Scenting your home this spring
Worn on the skin, these spring scents are such a lovely way to celebrate a new season, one that takes us from wanting to hunker down with a book and into a more social mode. But this vibe shift shouldn’t stop at your pulse points. Switching up your scents at home can shift the entire mood of your space. Light a herbaceous candle in the kitchen and the smell will linger long after the wick has been snuffed.
Create a coastal atmosphere, even if you live far from the water, with an oceanic diffuser in the hallway, scent your sheets with a citrus linen spray for a real holiday feeling, or bring a spa-like freshness to the bathroom with a citrus scent that carries a greener edge, such as bergamot, or the soft, tropical warmth of ylang-ylang.
This article originally appeared in the Spring ’26 issue of Fashion Quarterly.
Words: Lucy Slight.
