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If 2024 was the year of the cherry perfume and 2025 was all about plums and mangoes, then 2026 is definitely the year of the peach. But wait… wasn’t 1996 also all about peach perfume?
With intense flavor and sun-ripened red and yellow coloring, peaches practically scream summer. They’re at their best between June and August, so ripe and juicy you have to eat them while standing over the kitchen sink to avoid ruining your outfit. So it’s only natural that once the weather warms up, you want to spritz on something peachy. However, it seems like there’s something more to this year’s fruity perfume trend.
Yes, peach scents are undeniably summery, but they also feel like a harbinger of ’90s nostalgia: cheerful, upbeat, and optimistic for a world that still felt ripe (pun intended) with possibility, not dread or apathy. As the entertainment industry continues to reinvent existing IP, churning out nostalgia for audiences eager to revisit their old faves, retail stores have brought back even the most cringe-worthy Y2K clothing trends; TikTokers, meanwhile, have been transforming their homes to resemble a ’90s paradise. Are peaches now the perfect example of how pop culture, politics, and perfume merge into something that feels frivolous at first but reveals more about our cultural mindset and mood beyond the initial spritz?
The nostalgia of peach fragrances
When I was a beauty-obsessed kid in the mid ’90s, peach-scented body care was everywhere: Peach Nectar lotion at my local Bath & Body Works; Avon Peach Naturals body wash hanging in my best friend’s shower; cheap lip balms we swapped and shared in class; and those colorful, fish-shaped shampoo bottles from L’Oreal that my brother and I used every night, which practically burst with juicy, fruity aromas.
Peach was a ’90s girl for sure, but peach in fragrance actually goes back way further than the all-gingham, farmers-market era of Bath & Body Works. According to Givaudan perfumer Gwen Gonzalez, peach first made a splash in Guerlain’s legendary Mitsouko, which hit the market in 1919. “Its explicit use of a peach accord helped define how perfumers would use lactonic, peach-like notes in fine fragrance,” she explains. “Its success opened the door for generations of perfumes to explore fruity accords in more nuanced ways.”
Andrew Everett, a perfumer at International Flavors & Fragrance (IFF), agrees: “Jacques Guerlain used a peach effect to modernize the chypre structure. It remains one of the first iconic uses of peach, showcasing how a novel ingredient can redefine an entire olfactive architecture,” he says. “As a perfumer, I see this moment as a powerful source of inspiration.”
For me, peach is deeply tied to my youth in the ’90s—and I’m not alone. Kayali founder Mona Kattan, who recently launched a peach-centric scent called Eden Sweet Peach 35, says the fragrance reminds her of “carefree” childhood summers she spent in Tennessee, and she understands why others would seek that same joyful nostalgia today. "I think we're seeing a growing desire for fragrances that feel uplifting, emotionally driven, and easy to connect with,” she says. “Peach conveys optimism, warmth, and a sense of playfulness that feels very relevant right now. There's something effortlessly joyful about it.”
Let’s face it—things are pretty bleak out there. There’s a lot we can’t control, but we can find a little comfort and joy through the perfume we choose. When your phone is dinging, your Teams calls and Slack chats simply won’t stop, and the headlines get darker and darker every day, it makes sense that you’d want to wear something to remind yourself of happier times. And for those of us who came of age in the ’90s and early 2000s, it might just be peach.
“Psychologically, scent is closely connected to memory and emotion,” says Sarah Seung-McFarland, PhD, a licensed psychologist who specializes in design and fashion psychology. “We're living in a highly nostalgic culture, and people are often drawn to things that feel familiar because they are comforting and emotionally reassuring. Even when we're not consciously thinking about those memories, those associations can affect how we respond to a fragrance.”
According to Dr. Seung-McFarland, part of peach’s appeal is how unintimidating it is. Unlike more complex or heavy fragrances, peach evokes “a sense of ease, which may be especially appealing during periods of stress or uncertainty, when people are looking for small moments of comfort and joy.”
She also finds a fun connection between peach fragrances and the “whimsy” trend, which is all about cultivating a sense of play in your daily life. Peach scents feel bright and upbeat, allowing people to express that side of their personality.
Given that I was a child in the ’90s, during the prior peak of peach (say that five times fast!), it tracks that I’d feel soothed and secure when wearing a peach scent; after all, I wasn’t troubled by the concerns of adulthood, like paying a mortgage, rising gas prices, or raising kids in a social media-dominated world. Life felt easy-breezy, and so did the scents I gravitated to. When I experience a peach fragrance now, I’m instantly transported to a sunny day in 1996, watching Pop-Up Video with my best friends or sneaking into Spencer Gifts at the mall—not fretting over my taxes or avoiding grown-up responsibilities.
How peach is used in perfumery
Peach may be fresh and innocent, but it isn’t childish. Instead, the scent has a unique duality, similar to rose; it can be cheerful and guileless, but still a little sexy, like the proverbial girl next door in all those ’90s rom-coms. It feels like something Cher Horowitz would’ve splashed on before a trip to the mall or a body mist shared by all five Spice Girls on their signature Spice Bus.
Gonzalez agrees, noting that, in the past, peach has been used by perfumers to bring a fruity sweetness to a scent, but next-gen peach fragrances use the note in a different way now. “Modern peach notes feel fresher, dewier, and more fleshy, emphasizing the velvety, lactonic realism of the fruit rather than its sweetness alone,” she explains. “I often use peach because it bridges fruity and floral accords beautifully. It adds a tactile, skin-like presence that helps blend different notes together while bringing a sense of warmth, softness, and playfulness to a composition.”
The reason it feels so deliciously nostalgic, Everett explains, is due to its “creamy, approachable roundness,” which was used in ’90s fragrances to “smooth the bold florals and earthy, fruity florals” of the era. “Today, its return taps into that emotional familiarity—but reinterpreted to be cleaner, juicier, and bolder,” he adds. “It aligns with renewed consumer desire for recognizable, feel-good notes that can also be elevated with contrast and contemporary sensuality.”
Autumne West, national beauty director at Nordstrom, has noticed growing consumer interest in peach fragrances. “We’re seeing customers reach for fragrances that feel juicy and bright, an ode to summer and the kind of scent you can throw on every single day—and peach sits right at the heart of that,” she says. “The words I keep hearing are ‘fresh,’ ‘happy,’ and ‘juicy.’ Everyone's chasing that sunny-glow, soft-focus-filter feeling, and a good peach delivers it the second it hits your skin.”
Linda Suliafu, vice president of merchandising at Ulta Beauty, points out that brands are incorporating peach notes into new scents and reformulations, “often pairing it with florals, gourmands, or woody notes to appeal to many different beauty enthusiasts who are seeking a balance of gourmand, fruity, and fresh fragrance profiles.”
Though peach pulls the heartstrings of perfume-loving millennials, Suliafu says that it’s actually Gen Z’ers who are gravitating to Ulta’s peach scents. Popular fragrances at the beauty retailer include Snif Me Eau de Toilette, Octavia Morgan Midnight Orchard, Lake & Skye Sueded Peach Eau de Parfum, and Dior Addict Peachy Glow Eau de Parfum.
Peach perfumes we love
The sweet peaches
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Bath & Body Works
Peach Blossom & Nectar Fine Fragrance Mist
Bath & Body Works
The mall mainstay didn’t bring its OG Peach Nectar back, but the company did dip into its DNA for this recent release: a fresh, sweet-peach line of fragrance and body care with notes of freesia, peach (well, duh), and beechwood. And what could be more ’90s than a Bath & Body Works body mist?
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Kayali
Eden Sweet Peach Eau de Parfum
Sephora
A craveable, ultra-juicy, beyond-delightful peach, Kayali’s Eden Sweet Peach 45 practically sparkles straight out of the bottle. Red apple notes add even more juiciness and a crisp freshness to the scent, while tropical-floral frangipani brings a dreamy softness to the finish.
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LoveShackFancy
Peach Pom Pom Hair & Body Perfume Mist
Sephora
Talk about whimsical! This is the sweetest treat on the list, shimmering with candied peach and actual sugar notes for your most coquettish summer moments. Jasmine tempers all that candy-coated sweetness with a touch of humid, floral sensuality, and orange keeps things light and flirty.
The sexy peaches
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Imaginary Authors
First Peach of the Season Fragrance Mist
Imaginary Authors
The niche fragrance company Imaginary Authors, which creates fragrances based on pretend novels, dreamed up a story about a college girl gone bad for this peach perfume, which unlocks the more erotic side of the fruit. It’s a velvety take on peach, drizzled with chantilly cream and warmed up with a skin-like benzoin base.
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Brown Girl Jane
Peach Aura
Sephora
Brown Girl Jane
Gourmand fans will drool over Peach Aura, a warm, luscious blend of ripe golden peach, bourbon vanilla, butterscotch, and woody musks. This is a peach fragrance you can wear well into fall and winter.
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Phlur
Peach Skin Body & Hair Fragrance Mist
Amazon
Nordstrom
Another ’90s-style body mist, PHLUR’s Peach Skin is temptingly juicy but retains some of the fuzzy quality of a peach rind, giving it added texture while remaining lightweight and easy to spritz throughout the day.
The fresh and fun peaches
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Lancôme
Idole Peach ‘N Roses Eau de Parfum
Amazon
Nordstrom
Ulta Beauty
Peaches ’N Roses, a flanker of Lancôme’s popular Idôle scent, mashes up peaches with equally-bright red berries and a wallop of jammy rose. Olivia Rodrigo fronted the campaign for the scent, which makes a lot of sense; like her music, Peaches ’N Roses comes off sweet, but can definitely bite.
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Liis
Floating Eau de Parfum
Revolve
Liis
As the name implies, Floating was inspired by the idea of weightlessness, and peach notes drift atop radiant bergamot. Linen, orchid, and wood round out the scent with a delicate touch, like the scent equivalent of a crisp, white-cotton dress on a sticky, humid day.
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Ouai
Santorini Hair and Body Mist
Sephora
Just as it does in a smoothie, peach plays well with other fruit notes here. Ouai combined it with zesty orange and grapefruit for even more fruity intensity, plus softly romantic, summery honeysuckle, and light vanilla and musk for an easy, summery refresh.