These Bright and Zesty Fragrances Will Add Pep to Your Step This Spring
Joy, bottled
After what felt like a never-ending winter, spring is finally upon us. And with it comes an invitation to shake up our fragrance rotation—it just doesn't feel right to be doused in heavy musks and ouds when the sun has finally started peeking through the clouds. Here, Marie Claire UK picks the most smile-inducing scents for the season ahead.
Best Spring Scents 2026
I'm not fond of sweet, syrupy scents, but Loewe's newest release tackles fruit with sophistication. An awakening burst of pear (which is notably underused within the canon) is balanced by a grounding base of musk, sandalwood and vetiver. Bergamot and lemon at the top add an intoxicatingly fizzy element—I can't wait to wear this on holiday later this year.
Arkive's The Brightside is Senior Beauty Editor Katie Thomas' scent of the season. "If there's a jasmine scent, I will sniff it out like a bloodhound", she says. "But the note doesn't overpower here; the bergamot and lime make sure it doesn't read too creamy or soapy on the skin. There's nothing that will wake you from your winter slumber more than this...It's like boom, new day, new season." Plus, it comes in at an impressive £24.
Inspired by the French Mediterranean, Atelier des Fleurs Vert Soleil encapsulates the scent of sun-drenched landscapes. In particular, it takes lentisque, an aromatic shrub that is only found where vegetation meets surf and throws up the aroma of resinous mastic and juicy green mandarin. This leafy opening is warmed through with creamy musk and woods on the dry down.
L'Objet's Delphes also plucks from the Mediterranean, but this time homes in on the olive groves of Delphi, or "navel of the world", where mountains meet the sea. It's perhaps the most unique scent I've spritzed in terms of ingredients—master perfumer Jean-Claude Ellena has bottled Olive Grignon Absolute, which has never been used before in perfumery. It adds the unmistakable scent of olive trees and is complemented with violet leaf, black pepper, cedarwood, sandalwood and oakmoss.
Rose scents tend to skew old-fashioned, but not here. Balmain's Rose de Soie keeps its Turkish delight-esque sweetness, but balances it perfectly with a burst of orange blossoms and roasted tonka. It's silky smooth, never overpowering, but lasts all day long. Expect compliments.
If you love skin scents, then you have to get your hands on Luca, the standout fragrance from Troye Sivan's perfume range, TSU LANGE YOR. Conceived to complement the wearer's natural scent, it features a heady base of ambrox super, creamy sandalwood and musk, which serve to envelop and inspire familiarity. You can wear this year-round, but I love it for spring, thanks to punchy opening notes of elemi, bergamot and savoury black pepper.
