Beauty Industry

IFF Curates a Wish List of the Season’s Giftable Fragrances

From perfumes to candles, check out what fragrance notes capture the essence of the 2025 holiday season.

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By: Rachel Klemovitch

Assistant Editor

This year, the demand for fragrances has surged. In time for the gift-giving season, The Fragrance Foundation (TFF) spotlights the top trends and fragrance notes from members’ newest and iconic scents.

From reimagined classics and culinary-inspired scents to fun, wearable formats such as mists and body sprays, TFF has curated the shopper’s ultimate guide. 

With noteworthy trends of Sophisticated Gourmands and Woody Scents to the Ultra Intense, a variety of fragrances has defined the holiday season this year.

Linda G. Levy, President of The Fragrance Foundation, said, 

“The popularity of fragrance continues to grow each year with more brands and consumer excitement than ever before. With the accessible price points of hair mists and body sprays to the booming trend of super intense personal perfumes, fragrance is driving the holiday spirit in stores and online. It continues to be the star of the holiday shopping season.”

Fragrance’s surge as a must-have has been fueled by its powerful connection to emotion, its transportive effect, and the rise of universal scents. 

Plus, a new generation of Gen Z shoppers are expressing themselves through a collection of popular and luxury brands, amplified by social media. 

The Sophisticated Gourmand trend of edible scents from savory to sweet has swept the fragrance landscape. 

From delectable perfumes to decadent whiffs of bakery-inspired candles, “foodie” ingredients are being infused into formulations for a cozy and nostalgic holiday. 

Not syrupy but subtly sweet, these ingredients mix with leathers, liqueurs, and woods for a sophisticated finish. Woody notes of oud, sandalwood, and cedarwood can also be added. 

For those fragrance lovers who love a bold, statement-making fragrance, the sheer intensity of this season’s potent perfumes takes a favorite note or formulation to the extreme with the Ultra Intense trend. 

Longer lasting, Extraits or Elixirs are now the new fragrance vocabulary.

Top Gourmands, Woods, and Ultra Intense

  • BrownGirlJane: Chalet Eau de Parfum 
  • Carolina Herrera: Good Girl Blush Eau de Parfum Bowtastic Collector’s Edition 
  • Coach: Gold Parfum 
  • Dior: Miss Dior Essence 
  • Kayali: Oudgasm Chocolate Oud | 11 Eau de Parfum Intense
  • LoveShackFancy: Secret Crush Eau de Parfum
  • Marc Jacobs: Perfect Absolute Eau de Parfum

Top Woody and Leather Scents

  • Aramis: Intuition Eau de Parfum 
  • Dolce and Gabbana: Devotion for Men Parfum
  • Prada: Paradigme Eau de Parfum
  • Jean Paul Gaultier: Le Male Elixir Collector’s Edition
  • Tom Ford: Oud Voyager Eau de Parfum

Top Hair and Body Sprays

  • Bath and Body Works :Touch of Gold Fine Fragrance Mist 
  • Calvin Klein: Nude Vanilla Hair and Body Mist 
  • Glossier: Lilyhaze Body Spritz 
  • Lake and Skye: 555 Strawberry + Aire Hair and Body Mist 
  • Sol de Janeiro: Cheirosa ’59 Perfume Mist 
  • Snif: Extra Whip Body Mist
  • Victoria’s Secret: Very Sexy Scarlet Fine Fragrance Mist

Top Candles and Home Scents

  • LAFCO: Eight Nights’ Light Candle
  • Blueme: Joy Diffuser 
  • Diptyque: Sapin Candle 
  • D.S. and Durga: Portable Fireplace Candle 
  • NETTE: Fete Candle
  • The Maker: Café Candle 
  • Slatkin + Co.: Garland Berry Candle 
  • Nest: Holiday Diffuser 
  • The New Savant: Snow Gazer
  • Glasshouse: Night Before Christmas Candle

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