Fragrance has quickly become a standout category in the beauty industry, outperforming makeup and skin care so far this year. Generating close to $6 billion in sales year-to-date through September 2025, fragrance is benefiting from innovations and launches, which have introduced fresh enthusiasm and experimentation in the market. YTD fragrance launches grew 50 percent year-over-year, reaching $445 million in sales, according to Circana.
Fragrance accounted for 24 percent of prestige beauty sales, driving 37 percent of the category’s dollar gains and establishing itself as the largest contributor to growth. Prestige fragrance grew faster in sales than units (6 percent vs 4 percent, respectively), indicating a 3 percent spike in average selling price (ASP). Luxury brands within prestige — following several years of strong growth — grew another 10 percent, or twice the rate of the remaining prestige market. But prestige isn’t the only performer. Increasingly, consumers of all income levels are also viewing more affordable options as high quality and desirable alternatives.
This broad growth is driven by consumers’ propensity to indulge in feel-good luxuries amid today’s economic uncertainty and downturns.
“Historically, we’ve talked about the Lipstick Index. Today, this tendency has evolved to encompass more than lipstick — a Fragrance Index — where fragrance sales rise as economic sentiment declines,” said Larissa Jensen, senior vice president and global beauty industry adviser, Circana. “It’s a modern twist on emotional indulgence. Fragrance has been the indulgence of choice.”
According to Circana’s recent survey, around three quarters of consumers agree that fragrance is “helpful in lifting or enhancing their mood” and that it “brings back memories of happy times, places and experiences.” Such sentiment reaches across generational demographics and price points.
The desire to test scents in person also remains strong. Brick-and-mortar continues to dominate the fragrance market at 75 percent of sales, even though the rate of online growth nearly doubled.
Overall, Circana noted four trends driving fragrance sales:
Scents with skin care benefits: Alcohol-free fragrances are better for sensitive skin, and alcohol-free sprays and alcohol-free solid scents grew 19 and 118 percent, respectively.
Fragrance primers and enhancers: Created to help scents linger, primers and enhancers have become increasingly mainstream innovations.
Gourmands: These scents don’t just smell like vanilla, marshmallow, caramel, coffee and the like, their packaging often evokes such edible treats as well.
Scents with physical/wellness benefits: Jumping on the wellness train, some innovations leverage neuroscience to create scents that directly impact one’s emotions.
The growing variety and innovation in the market have also shifted consumer behavior. Many shoppers are shifting away from a single “signature scent” and building “fragrance wardrobes,” or collections of multiple scent profiles they can switch or layer based on mood, season or occasion. Smaller formats, like minis and travel sizes, are also seeing a rise. Mini fragrance units grew by 12 percent (three times faster than other sizes), while discover sets surged by 41 percent.
Consumers also want their fragrance to pack more punch. High-concentration eau de parfums and parfums drove 99 percent of juice gains overall, and this year’s launches included “Intense,” “Elixir,” “Absolue” and “Exclusif” variations. Marketed to highlight their strength and longevity, such innovations accounted for more than a third of launches this year.
“Much of the demand for stronger and longer-lasting scents has been fueled by TikTok, which is geared towards younger generations,” said Jensen, referencing the #beastmode hashtag. “The value is in the strength and longevity, and this is what is fueling the growth of juice across the board.”
There was also a rise in select brand innovations, many of which lean into trends with gourmands and body sprays, as well as celebrity brand exclusives. Collectively, such limited or exclusive distribution innovations have more than doubled in size this year.
Fragrance, and beauty in general, has long been about personal choice and self-care, but it still ranks high for gift giving. According to Circana’s 2025 Holiday Purchase Intentions, beauty ranks third in planned purchase categories by percentage of respondents, behind clothing/accessories (56 percent) and tech/electronics (38 percent). The average planned spend on beauty gifts is $247, placing it fourth among all categories in mean spend.
“This holiday season presents a strong opportunity for the beauty category, with 33 percent of consumers planning to purchase beauty products as gifts — a notable 3.7-point increase,” said Jensen. “Households with kids, Millennials, Gen Z and high-income consumers are especially driving this trend, not just for gifting but also for treating themselves. These same groups were also more likely to report purchasing holiday gifts to ‘bring joy’ or as a self-gift for ‘retail therapy,’ showcasing an opportunity for beauty brands and retailers to lean into both joy-giving and self-care messaging to connect with these eager audiences.”
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