(Fragrance)
It’s Always Raspberry Season With This Fragrance Trend
Move over, strawberry.
The second coming of Y2K-era gourmand fragrances is great news for anyone with a sweet tooth. Yes, there are now more desert-inspired options than ever for those who want to smell like their favorite pastry or dessert. But as the cliché adage goes, you can have too much of a good thing. So if your ideal scent is one that’s sweet but won’t cause a sugar rush, a raspberry perfume is the perfect middle ground.
What sets the berry apart from other fruit notes is that it strikes a balance between sweet and tart, so it reads elevated rather than simply decadent. Unsurprisingly, a number of top brands like YSL Beauty, Lancôme, and Jo Malone have created fragrances starring raspberry.
“Perfumers are reimagining fruity notes in a less overtly sweet way — introducing more sophistication, texture, and nuance, while still delivering an emotional response. Raspberry fits this evolution beautifully,” says Givaudan Senior Perfumer Caroline Sabas. “Incredibly juicy and fresh without being overly sugary, it feels more refined than many traditional fruit notes, offering both immediacy and depth. Raspberry sits at the ideal crossroads consumers crave right now: sweet yet tart, indulgent yet vibrant, playful yet polished. This balance makes it sophisticated enough, yet still commercially appealing, to stand confidently as a hero ingredient in major launches.”
The duality of raspberry is why it complements classic edible gourmand notes like marshmallow, vanilla, and caramel, but also florals, woods, and musks.
“One of my favorite ways to use it is alongside bold florals, where it brings modernity and vibrancy while creating a delicious, familiar introduction to the fragrance. I also love combining raspberry with woody notes. Woods add unexpected depth and sensuality, transforming the fruit into something more refined and intriguing,” Sabas explains. “This pairing creates a modern fruity-gourmand sensuality that feels confident and elevated. When paired with musks, raspberry becomes especially addictive on skin, enhancing comfort and intimacy while maintaining its juicy, playful character.”
Find your signature raspberry fragrance in one of TZR’s top picks, below.
Raspberry is the star of the new addition to YSL Beauty’s Libre family. The fruity take on the original warm floral fragrance also has notes of creamy coconut accord, vanilla, and of course, orange blossom and lavender.
Inspired by Austin’s tranquil Lady Bird Lake, Fulton & Roark’s sweet floral fragrance was crafted to have the same calming, grounding effect as stepping away from your various screens to touch grass. It combines notes of black jack, raspberry, pink peppercorn, bluebonnet, rose, freesia, amber, cedarwood, and musk.
In the market for a new going-out fragrance? Alien Pulp is perfect evening scent for gourmand fans. It combines raspberry, jasmine, and musk for a sweet yet mysterious aroma that lingers.
A fragrance that lives up to its name, indeed. You won’t be able to get enough of Dior’s sugary floral scent, which features Tuscan iris, candied raspberry, vanilla, and musk.
It’s always sweet treat o’clock when you’re wearing Jo Malone’s Raspberry Ripple Cologne. The gourmand scent pairs the lush fruit with black currant and soft white musk.
This floral-centric scent has Chloé’s signature brand of French je ne sais quoi thanks to the addition of sweet raspberry.
Not your average gourmand, Lancôme’s blend of raspberry, violet leaf, and cocoa butter reads more sultry than sweet.
The sweet floral scent of a lipstick is just as recognizable as its tube. This Juliette Has A Gun eau de parfum combines traditional notes used in lipsticks like iris, violet absolute, and raspberry, with woody patchouli and cedarwood for a soft powdery scent that lingers — just like your favorite matte red lippie.
Crush the winter blues or mid-week slump with a few spritzes of Nette’s Pear Jam. Created to boost feelings of joy, the juice is a blend of Japanese pear, Bulgarian rose, osmanthus, jasmine sambac, ambrette seed, vanilla, patchouli heart, and raspberry pulp.
As the name suggests, Viktor&Rolf’s Flowerbomb Extreme is a bolder iteration of the original fragrance. Along with a blend of florals at the heart, it opens with juicy raspberry, citrusy bergamot, and tea, and has patchouli, balsam, and vanilla bean extract at the base. The result is an amber-y floral scent that’ll get you an overwhelming number of compliments.
