Red alert!
This spring’s fragrance palette swings between pretty rosé shades and rich, glossy burgundies. At the top notes, saffron and raspberries issue their invitations to a playful, light-hearted season. Don’t forget your dance card. The season is turning red and juicy. Valérie Donchez
Berries, raspberries, strawberries, cherries, pomegranate… This spring’s most fashionable scents aren’t meant to be drunk. They are the latest creations from the perfume houses, setting the tone for a summer that promises to be fresh, cheerful and confident, day and night. We spray them on generously for their inviting hues.
At Eight & Bob, the pink, almost plum-coloured scent of Sérénité en Bourgogne is a visual invitation to simply look your best. This classic in the making seduces like a treat, with its notes of saffron, pink pepper, myrrh, patchouli and vanilla, and works just as well with a tuxedo as with a sheath dress on warm evenings.
Day or night, indulgence and freedom set the tone for the olfactory spring. Like a desire to stop taking anything too seriously. A sheer blouse worn over masculine trousers, a lipstick bursting with character, and a touch of Libre Berry Crush by YSL that complements an urban outfit just as well as an evening gown.
This new flanker opens with a touch of very contemporary sensuality, skilfully balanced between raspberry and mandarin on a bed of orange blossom and lavender, before becoming addictive with notes of coconut and vanilla, without ever veering into indulgence at the expense of sensuality. The fruit’s playfulness reminds us that the raspberry knows how to be sexy. The berries laugh with a contagious desire.
The red fruit is definitely the olfactory signature of spring. Musc Grenat is available from Narciso Rodriguez in an intense version. A fruity chypre in which pomegranate and mandarin burst forth over saffron-tinged rose before settling on a leather base. In every respect, the red fruit breaks away from past trends in the use of fruity notes for their energising and clean facets. It lends itself to the depth of other, darker notes, takes on texture, and appropriates night, day, and masculine and feminine codes with disarming ease.
As with Yves Saint Laurent, Mr Micallef gives pride of place to raspberry this spring in Hypnotic Musk Nectar, a more indulgent composition than the others. Iris, bergamot and raspberry lead the way, with a lipstick effect and clean musks, allowing the sweetness of caramel to emerge only later.
Alter Ego by Maison Noir Parfums also celebrates raspberry at the top, set against a lovely base of leather and wood, with the patina of characterful notes playing off the fruit of summer.
Tobacco Memories by Chambre 52, voted Best Niche Fragrance 2025 in the Young Independent Brands category by the Fragrance Foundation France, returns in an extract version with an overdose of black cherry.
Cherry Bubbles, another cherry delight, composed by the talented perfumer Violaine Collas for Arabian Oud, teases the coming summer with freshness. The notes of red berries feel more like women than young girls. They also flirt with masculine facets, imposing a new sensuality.
In slight contrast to this springtime sensuality born of red fruits, Balmain’s new addictive spring fragrance, Destin, is a fruity floral in which strawberry plays with a peony as romantic as it is sensual, and the energy of pink pepper on the creaminess of sandalwood. This first prestige fragrance from the brand is more than just a sleeve fragrance, more than a fruit eau de toilette; it embodies the original Balmain woman.
The result is an ode to freedom imagined by perfumer Quentin Bisch, who brings this explosion of spring red fruits to a close by creating a striking contrast between the irresistible lightness of being and the irresistible lightness of being oneself. A feminine fragrance suited to all ages. The strawberry ripens, the peony brings a blush to the cheeks. A fruity floral for confident personalities.
