Olive Perfume Is the Savory Fragrance Trend Taking Over Summer 2026
The dirty martini girls are rejoicing.
I can get down with a weird perfume. After all, I’m a niche fragrance collector who loves to smell different than everyone else in the room, and it’s a badge of honor that I wear with pride. However, once in a while, a fragrance note comes out of left field so much that I have no choice but to become obsessed, make it my personality, and go down the research rabbit hole. So goes my journey with the newly trending olive perfumes.
“Olive scents reflect a broader movement in perfumery towards more natural, textured and unexpected scent profiles,” senior perfumer at CPL Aromas, Julien Rasquinet, tells me. “It brings something very authentic, rooted in the Mediterranean, in sunlight, in skin, and at the same time introduces a subtle, savory twist that feels new and sophisticated.”
It’s true. The olive perfumes that I’ve tried continue to catch me very off guard but in a way that makes my very experienced nose feel excited again. In fact, the first one that came across my desk, Delphes by L’Objet, in my mind, was going to be salty, maybe a little aquatic, and, frankly, not my cup of tea. Imagine my surprise when I sprayed it on and was met with one of the freshest, most grounding scents that I’ve ever tried. It was the scent that sparked my current obsession with olive perfumes, and if your interest is piqued, keep reading to learn more about the note, plus a few other scents you can pair with it to spice up your fragrance collection.
The Best Olive Fragrances
The one that started it all for me is none other than Delphes by L'Objet. A gorgeous, airy combination of olive wood, violet leaf, sandalwood, and more creates this beautifully fresh scent bubble that I’ve been wearing nonstop this spring and summer.
If you want an olive overdose in your perfume, Arquiste has you covered. A Grove by the Sea not only has an olive leaf note, but it also has an extra virgin olive oil accord. Combined with herbaceous notes like rosemary, thyme, and fir balsam, it’s like a one-way ticket to the Mediterranean.
A slightly softer interpretation of the note comes from the niche brand Anti, via the scent Rose Antiqua. Black currant, olive oil, and cashmeran are a few of the standout notes in this fragrance, and it’s so smoothly blended that you won’t know where one note stops and the other begins.
What Is An Olive Perfume?
While I don’t partake in olives on a regular basis, the fragrance note is strikingly familiar to the taste of the real-life fruit. “An olive accord is soft, green and slightly bitter,” Rasquinet tells me. “It has a smooth, almost velvety texture.” It’s not typically a very loud note, which minimalist fragrance lovers will appreciate. (Fun fact: it’s also not technically considered a gourmand scent, despite olives being a stone fruit.) However, an olive accord is fantastic for making a fragrance a little more atmospheric. “ It evokes crushed leaves, warm skin, and a quiet richness you only find in nature,” Rasquinet adds.
What Do Olive Perfumes Pair Well With?
If you’re anything like me, you’re a big fan of layering your perfumes to match your olfactive personality. Of course, this means that some notes pair better with olive perfumes over others. “Olive works beautifully with citrus for freshness, with aromatic herbs for a very natural feel, and with woods or soft florals to create elegance,” Rasquinet says. “It’s a very versatile note. It doesn’t dominate; it elevates.”
I’ve personally been pairing my olive perfumes with notes like violet, ambroxan, and even moss, but feel free to play around with your own favorite scents. That’s the fun thing about fragrance—it’s your personal space to play and explore.
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Meet the Expert
Julien Rasquinet is a senior perfumer at CPL Aromas.
