The Year in Perfume: 2025

created by ChatGPT and edited in Photoshop

Looking back at 2025 through the fragrances I wore feels a little like reading a diary written in scent. I tracked every spray, sample, decant, and layering combination and was surprised to find which scents I reached for most often. Not surprisingly--as I tend to wear warmer scents in the winter and lighter ones in summer--some weeks were vanilla and warm, others bright, green, and a bit tomato-y. 

What was most interesting to me was that my most-grabbed scents were all purchased in 2025. Byredo Gypsy Water (15 wears) was my number one scent of the year, followed by 1907 Vanilla Dry and Liis Ethereal Wave (12 wears each), and Chanel Paris-Edimbourg and Escentric Molecules Molecule 01+Mandarin (8 wears each). These kept showing up, week after week, season after season. They were comforting, reliable companions, and both Paris-Edimbourg and Molecule 01+Mandarin layer fabulously. 

Amusingly, I didn't even like Vanilla Dry or Ethereal Wave when I first tried them. One sample test each and they were rejected. Months later, I gave them second tries and fell in love. Funny how that happens.

I also flirted a lot. Some perfumes I wore only a couple of times: Marissa Zappas Annabel’s Birthday Cake, Lush Turmeric Latte, Bond No.9 Andy Warhol Silver Factory. Not because I don't love them. I recently purchased the Zappas scent and plan to wear it more in the winter. I bought the Lush scent just before Spring and found it too rich to wear in warm weather. I tucked it away with my holiday-appropriate fragrances and realized in December that it will be perfect to wear in the upcoming months. As for the Bond scent, well, I fall in love with it every time I put it on. I just don't know why that doesn't happen particularly frequently. 

And then there was layering. The early months of the year were almost ridiculous, thanks to ChatGPT offering some surprisingly good (and occasionally disastrous) suggestions. Poivre Piquant over Trudon Revolution and Indult Rêve en Cuir? Definitely…a lot.

Seasonally, my rotation tells its own story. Winter was vanilla, amber, and gourmands, for that cozy and comforting feel. Spring brought florals, lighter musks, and a bit of freshness. Summer smelled of citrus, green, and light woody scents. Fall really marked the transition between the warmer temperatures of September and the chill of December. 

Looking at it all together, I realized that perfume doesn't just decorate life, it marks time, mood, and memory. Some weeks were vanilla and warm, some bright and citrusy, some layered beyond reason, but all of them were uniquely mine. Perfume didn’t tell the whole story of 2025, but it told a quieter, smellier one—and sometimes that’s the one I prefer.

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Posted by theminx on Minxstinks
Note: this post is my opinion. I am not affiliated with the companies mentioned in this post or any other companies.