The Future of Fragrance? It’s Mini

Lately, my media diet has been rather…fragrant. Recent reads include:

• A controversial $470 Greenpoint-inspired fragrance with hints of “juicy pear,” “tree moss” and “fresh cardamom”
• The seemingly universally hated re-brand from cult-favorite Boy Smells
• U Beauty’s first fragrance drop
• ‘Glossier You’ sibling scents launching seven years after their big sister
• The re-entrance of luxury brands into the fragrance space
• Quince dupes for fan-favorites like Tom Ford Lost Cherry & Carolina Herrera Good Girl with mixed reviews.

As someone who knows very little about the fragrance world (I own two nearly full bottles, both gifts, both mostly untouched), I needed intel from Team TQE. Has fragrance always been this buzzy, or is something…happening? 

Here’s what our editors are noticing: 

Hannah Cassidy, Beauty Editor: “Price absolutely matters and I rarely, if ever, buy a full bottle with a steep price tag. I prioritize brands that offer travel-sized versions.” 

Annie Goodman, Wellness Editor: “I’ve noticed a lot of brands really focusing on fragrance as a true, holistic, sensorial experience…I’ve noticed a trend of scent layering, where brands’ fragrances are versatile enough to be worn alone or stacked together.”

Sivan Weitz, Travel Editor: “One trend I love is picking a fragrance for a certain event or buying one as a souvenir for a trip. So relating a fragrance to a specific memory. I've seen brides doing this for their wedding days.”

Their throughline? A movement away from buying, and rebuying, a signature scent – and opting instead to mix things up…often. 

This trend dovetails with the rise of mini beauty culture and lands us with a growing appetite for fragrance…in shrinking bottle sizes. It’s not just editors picking up on this shift – fragrance founders are seeing it, too.

As Carina Chaz, founder of DedCool, tells TQE: “Our travel-size bottles have become incredibly popular…It’s a low-commitment way to explore, which really resonates with how people want to personalize fragrance today.”

Credo Beauty, often called the ‘Sephora of Clean Beauty’ has also seen “double-digit growth” in fragrance sales. VP of Brands Jessica Trieber says that while full-size bottles remain their bread and butter, Discovery Sets are booming. In fact, Credo recently created its very own.

Why? “Fragrance is becoming more playful,” says Chaz. “We’ve created a genderless, flexible approach to scent—one that encourages people to create something uniquely theirs.”

D.S. & Durga’s Murder Mystery Set taps into the same instinct. Designed for layering, it offers 720 possible scent combinations. While co-founder Seth David Moltz says they’re “not real trend chasers,” he admits their travel-size Pocket Perfumes are a great way to discover the brand.

It all feeds into the idea of a fragrance wardrobe – less lifelong commitment, more emotional expression. A spritz for every mood, vibe, or context.

Vyrao, a brand that fuses “energetic healing with master perfumery,” recently launched mini sizes for all of its genderless eau de parfums – and “Mini bottles, big feelings,” is the rallying cry behind the expansion. Founder Yasmin Sewell tells TQE that with these mini bottles, “Customers can easily mix and match to suit their mood. Many even collect them to have a scent for every emotion.” 

In short: what we’re seeing in fragrance is a microcosm of modern beauty: less prescriptive, more fluid. More about the vibe than the rules. (As Chaz says, “There are no rules. No gender norms. Just scent that’s as unique as you are.”)

Minis are lowering the barrier to entry – and opening the door to more creative, intuitive scent rituals. From splashy new launches to bite-sized bottles, fragrance is having a moment…and it’s never been more personal.

Looking to build your fragrance wardrobe? Here are some of our editors’ favorite starting points…