Metallic Scents Are the Most Misunderstood and Complex in All of Perfumery—They’re Sharp, Bright, and So Clean
If you're over gourmands, smell these
It can't be denied: 2025 has been the year of the gourmand. Research from the global market intelligence and research agency, Mintel, showed that launches of saccharine, food-y fragrances have increased by 24 per cent in the last year alone. In fact, it's even been suggested that a reason behind their sudden surge in popularity is due to the rise of weight loss jabs.
In any case, the demand is there—but personally, I have never been able to get on board with gourmands; my fragrance tastes skew smoky, woody, and I'm partial to aldehydes. So, my curiosity was piqued when I saw that "metallic fragrances" were trending. They initially sounded off-putting, conjuring up industrial plants, cold, shiny surfaces, and even blood—but that can't be further from the truth of how the note is used in modern-day scents.
"There’s something powerful about embracing the cool, abstract scent of machinery or ozone; it’s a different kind of intimacy," explains Stephanie Hannington-Suen, co-founder of sustainable fragrance brand, Homework. "It’s about texture and temperature rather than literal ingredients. You use materials that evoke sharpness, brightness, or a sense of static, such as aldehydes or mineral accords that mimic the tang of wet stone or cold air.
''You’re painting with contrasts: something clean against something warm and human," she continues. "For a long time, perfume was about sweetness and allure, but now there’s space for sterility, emptiness, and ambiguity. These scents sit somewhere between attraction and alienation, which makes them exciting. Metallics and minerals connect us to the present moment. They celebrate our relationship with modernity in the way we live, build, and connect."
Romy Kowalewski, founder of Barcelona-based perfume house 27 28, adds that metallic notes have a stillness that feels powerful. "They do not seduce through warmth. They pull you in through composure. That quiet restraint has its own sensuality. Metallics capture the balance between softness and strength." Intrigued? Discover more about mine and the perfumers' top metallic scents ahead.
Best metallic fragrances
"For Hashtag, we worked with clean aldehydes and incense to create that metallic shimmer," explains 27 28's Kowalewski. "Cedarwood gives it dimension, like light hitting a surface and returning as warmth. It is about transforming energy into emotion. The result is a scent that feels charged yet calm, digital, yet human."
D.S and Durga create some of the most evocative perfumes I've ever smelt, and Radio Bombay is no different—effortlessly evoking the hustle and bustle of India at first spritz. This unisex amber woody scent exudes warmth, thanks to notes of sandalwood, cedar, iris, boronia, and copper, which adds a clean, shiny radiance to an otherwise spicy scent.
You can't get closer to a metallic scent than Comme de Garçons' Copper, which bottles the smell of that elusive fiery red metal—cool to the touch as it is. Notes include luminous berries, which conjure that sheeny element, as well as fresh galbanum from the Iranian mountains, peppercorns from Peru and rhizomes of spicy Madagascan ginger.
Created to mark the Maison's 100th anniversary, Eau de Artifice was inspired by the movement of water over marble fountains—particularly those found in Rome after dark. Crafted by the jeweller, Delfina Delettrez Fendi, this scent evokes the sensation of cold jewels on the skin and packs a heady punch of aquatic minerality, which is heightened by fresh juniper, and at the end, subtle metallic notes, which suggest lucky coins tossed in the fountain.
This scent is an olfactory re-imagining of Pauline Réage’s iconic novel, La Bague d’O, and Cherry Cheng, founder of Jouissance, explains that they incorporated a metallic note because it speaks directly to the story. "The metallic facets were achieved through aldehydes, and they slice through the composition with a cool, sparkling sheen, adding lift and tension to the richer mid and base notes. I feel this way of interpreting aldehydes is trending now because people are craving bold, unconventional (even futuristic) scents with contrast and edge."
