Layerable skin scents are the most important part of a winter wardrobe
BEAUTYcrew speaks to fragrance experts about the seasonal trends to try
With winter well and truly here, we've been huddled inside, candles burning, trying desperately to avoid having to brave the cold.
But with bare nails being the biggest nail trend of the season, we don't have a lot in our schedule to boost our moods as the inevitable seasonal depression sets in. Which is why we're investing in a new perfume (or revisiting a beloved fragrance) as a cool season pick me up.
We've also enlisted the expertise of Lucy Bradshaw, founder of luxury fragrance brand Tulita, to forecast the biggest trends in fragrance right now. As well as, Nick Smart, the Founder and Director of Agence de Parfum and Libertine Parfumerie, to teach us how to enhance our perfume in winter too.
The top winter fragrance trends of 2026
"Winter makes our bodies crave a sense of cocooning comfort, which is why we reach for warm, ambery and woody scents over these cooler months," says Bradshaw.
"The top trends we are seeing are the continuation of fragrance stacking to create a bespoke scent that can also build more structure and longevity," she tells BEAUTYcrew. "Secondly, smoky woods that have that campfire quality."
"We are also seeing skin scents 2.0 — a trend that started emerging a few years ago: inviting a scent that enhances and adapts to your own skin chemistry," Bradshaw explains. "Our new Kama fragrance ($290 from Tulita) launched and sold out in under eight hours, and was developed with the inspiration of warmed salty skin."
"It has a sheer, warm, and comforting musk quality, offering a beautiful alternative to the sea of woody scents we will be smelling this winter," she went on to say.
Personally, we love skin scents because they layer beautifully with other perfumes in our collection, providing a nuanced take on personal fragrance that appeals to each individual's tastes.
The best tips to enhance your perfume in winter
"As we spend more time indoors, fragrance becomes a more intimate affair — and that’s where your scented sidekick steps in — hair fragrances and body mists are lighter, easier to wear, and great," Smart told us when we asked him about fragrance layering.
One of Smart's favourite perfume tricks in winter is to prep with a good quality unscented body lotion before you spray — "it gives the fragrance something to cling to and really helps with longevity".
Winter is the time to go big with scent — the cold gives you full permission to dive into spicy and gourmand scents with a bit more drama, says Smart. So with that in mind...
The best winter perfumes to try in 2026
Main image credit: @hoskelsa
Looking to update more than just your fragrance wardrobe as the weather cools down? These are the top winter haircut and colour trends to try in 2026.
Briar Clark got her start in the media industry in 2017, as an intern for Marie Claire and InStyle. Since then, her keen interest in fashion and beauty has landed her gigs as a Digital Content Producer and Beauty Editor with titles like Girlfriend, Refinery29, BEAUTYcrew and beautyheaven. She loves the way seemingly innocuous topics like skin care and style have the ability to put a smile on people’s faces or make them think about themselves a little differently. A big believer in self love and experimentation, Briar has made a point of becoming the Australian beauty industry’s unofficial guinea pig for unusual treatments and daring hair trends. When she’s not testing out the latest beauty launches, Briar is big on broadening her horizons, mostly in the form of food but she’s also partial to travelling to new destinations both near and far (and of course, allocating an extra bag to bring their best beauty offerings home with her).
