Welcome to Polished with Elise Wilson, where Daily Mail’s qualified makeup artist and hair stylist answers your questions, shares advice, and trials the up-and-coming beauty and skincare trends so you don’t have to.
Fragrance has always held a certain power over me, long before it became the fastest-growing sector in global beauty.
My earliest memories involve hovering around my mum’s dresser, eyeing off the bottles she collected religiously – each one reserved for a birthday, Christmas or some milestone worth marking in scent.
By the time I reached 16, my own line-up ranged from Britney Spears Fantasy to Dolce & Gabbana Light Blue, because that’s what teenage girls of the 2000s did – express ourselves through whatever we could spritz.
Back then, fragrance was considered an indulgence rather than the cultural force it has become.
Today, the numbers speak for themselves. Market analysts at Euromonitor estimated the category would surge to nearly USD $69 billion in 2024, up from $64.4 billion the year prior, and they were right.
Following suit was also global market research firm Circana, who reported it’s officially the fastest-rising segment in prestige beauty, up 12 per cent in just the first half of last year, with numbers climbing rapidly in 2025.
Even TikTok has been swept up in the frenzy, with #PerfumeTok collecting more than 5.2 billion views as users obsess over longevity tests, layering hacks and viral ‘signature scent’ claims.
And while I track every launch as part of my job, even I was surprised when Delta Goodrem casually revealed over lunch last week that her fragrance range – sold exclusively at Chemist Warehouse – has now passed the one-million-bottle mark.
Fragrance has become beauty’s fastest-growing obsession, with the market set valued at over USD $69 billion and TikTok’s #PerfumeTok drawing billions of views for viral scent hacks and reviews
‘While I track every launch as part of my job, even I was surprised when Delta Goodrem (pictured in blue) casually revealed to me that her fragrance range – sold exclusively at Chemist Warehouse – has now passed the one-million-bottle mark,’ – Beauty Expert Elise Wilson. Pictured: Delta Goodrem Within EDP ($59.99)
It was a reminder that Australia isn’t just keeping up with the global fragrance boom, we’re actually fuelling it.
Our appetite for fragrance has exploded to the point where celebrity lines, niche perfume houses and century-old heritage brands now sit side-by-side in a tidal wave of demand. Just look at Kylie Minogue – her blockbuster scents have been flying off shelves since 2006 and remain a key contributor to her staggering $100million fortune.
Take Glossier You, for example. It’s the US brand’s worldwide runaway bestseller, the kind of fragrance that flies off shelves so fast one bottle is snapped up roughly every 20 seconds.
It’s pitched as the ultimate ‘you-but-better’ scent, blending with your own chemistry until it becomes almost indistinguishable from your natural smell.
Since launching in 2017, it’s become the perfume of the era: a modern-day equivalent to the classics that defined decades before it, like CKOne or Chanel No.5, slipping into the cultural bloodstream with ease.
But honestly, that whole ‘smells like you’ thing has never done it for me. Why would I want to smell like myself?
The joy of perfume, in my opinion, is the transformation of slipping into a better frame of mind, creating a little fantasy, and leaving a lingering impression long after I’ve walked away. I want to smell luxe, polished, rich!… the opposite of subtle.
If I’m heading out with my boyfriend, I reach for something bold and sultry like Dior’s Hypnotic Poison (the only acceptable Poison) or Miss Dior.
Today, the numbers speak for themselves. Market analysts at Euromonitor estimated the category would surge to nearly USD $69 billion in 2024, up from $64.4 billion the year prior, and they were right
When the weather cools and I’m wrapped in cashmere, I default to a creamy, comforting sandalwood. Goldfield & Banks White Sandalwood and Le Labo’s Santal 33 are my winter love languages.
And if I need a confidence boost, it’s all about soft florals with a whisper of jasmine and gardenia from Narciso Rodriguez For Her Forever, or Jo Malone Red Hibiscus.
My most-complimented perfume of all time? Jean Paul Gaultier Intense. Unfortunately, it’s been discontinued, which breaks my heart because those accords remind me of some of the happiest times in my life.
That’s the whole point though, isn’t it? A fragrance is a chance to reminisce, or to uplift your mood, set an intention, or step into a version of yourself that feels sharper, more confident or a little more dramatic.
Which is why now feels like the perfect time to explore the three biggest scent trends defining 2025 and praise this very special part of our beauty regime.
Subtle scents are out and ‘Beast Mode’ is in
If you’ve ever been seated at dinner and suddenly caught a powerful hit of vanilla, rose or oud from somewhere you can’t immediately locate, you’ve experienced the phenomenon currently taking TikTok by storm – ‘beast mode’ perfumes.
Hear me out.
These are not gentle, whisper-light scents. No, no, they announce themselves well before their wearer arrives and linger in the space long after they’ve left.
According to devoted fragrance critics online, these perfumes are prized for two key traits: strength and stamina. They’ve become the holy grail for scent lovers.
Creators on TikTok have built careers reviewing them, with videos pulling anywhere from hundreds of thousands to millions of views. On Reddit, entire threads are dedicated to trading recommendations for the longest-lasting vanillas, musks and honey-laden blends that cling to clothing for days.
Byredo Mojave Ghost Absolu de Parfum ($407) – Top notes: Ambrette Heart: Violet, Sandalwood Base: Musk, Amber, Cedar
A true beast-mode fragrance is crafted intentionally, not by over-spraying your usual perfume, but by using formulas with dense, heavy base notes and high concentrations of oil.
The ingredients that do the heavy lifting are the deep, resinous ones like your sandalwood, patchouli, oud, incense, honey, tobacco, and myrrh. These are the notes that magnetise a room.
Many of the most hyped versions come with a steep price tag though. Think $300, $400, sometimes even more.
Yet in an economy where cost per wear matters, a one-spray-and-done perfume makes a compelling case. If your scent is still going strong after a full day of work, a night out and a 2am kebab run, you’ve essentially purchased a luxury item with built-in longevity.
The easiest way to spot one? Look for concentrations labelled parfum, extrait or absolu, as these formulas often contain 20-30 per cent fragrance oils, sometimes more.
Combine that with those slow-burning base notes and you’ve secured yourself a scent with serious staying power.
Perfume personalisation is everywhere
At the other end of the spectrum sits a very different trend of personalisation.
In 2025, buying a fragrance isn’t just about choosing a bottle, it’s about designing an experience.
Mecca’s new Melbourne flagship on Bourke Street has leaned into this shift completely. Wander up the sweeping scissor escalators and you’ll find an entire floor dedicated to the ‘Perfumeria’, which is a space that feels part Parisian salon, part futuristic lab.
Personalised perfume is booming in 2025, with Mecca’s new Melbourne flagship dedicating a whole floor to the immersive ‘Perfumeria’ – a blend of Parisian salon and futuristic lab offering consultations, curated flights and the tech-driven ‘scentsorium’ (pictured) to help shoppers discover their perfect scent
Here, you can sit at a fragrance bar for personalised consultations, sample curated ‘flights’, or visit the ‘scentsorium,’ an interactive hub powered by AirParfum technology that helps you identify your favourite fragrance families through touchscreens and diffusers.
The goal is to give shoppers a guided, sensory-driven way to discover what they genuinely love, not what trends dictate.
In an era where identity is curated through everything from playlists to zodiac charts, fragrance personalisation has become both accessible and deeply desirable.
Nearly every brand has a hair perfume now
Of all the fragrance offshoots booming right now, none have surged quite like hair perfumes.
Once considered an optional extra, they’ve now become one of the fastest-growing categories thanks largely to TikTok, where scent layering routines have generated millions of views and thousands of product sell-outs.
Brands across the spectrum are releasing hair mists, many of which double as body sprays (yes, 16-year-old me is ecstatic). And because they typically contain far lower concentrations of fragrance oil – around three-to-five per cent compared with the 20-25 per cent found in a traditional eau de parfum – they’re more affordable and versatile.
Consumers are buying them not just to freshen hair, but to achieve a lighter version of their favourite luxury scents without the luxury price tag.
Some of the most popular designer hair perfumes mimic their namesake fragrances so closely that younger (and less cash-rich) shoppers are seriously considering them a cost-effective alternative.
Perfumers say the appeal is obvious with dual-purpose formulas that can be layered, worn alone, or used to top up a scent throughout the day without overpowering the room.
I guess my takeaway from all of this now is that fragrance is no longer the final step in a beauty routine, it’s more like the headline act.
Whether you’re drawn to high-impact beast-mode blends, personalised discovery or the rise of hair mists, scent has never been more expressive, more experimental, or more deeply woven into our daily identities.
And for a lifelong fragrance lover like me, there’s never been a better time to lean in.
Disclaimer:
The views and opinions expressed in this article are solely my own and do not reflect those of any brands or companies mentioned. This content is not sponsored or endorsed.
