Honey Perfumes Are My Latest Gourmand Hyperfixation
Trendy, but make it niche.
This is my first time admitting this out loud, but I think I’m over my super dessert-like vanilla-fragrance era. It feels blasphemous to even write, but alas, it is true. That being said, I’m not over gourmands altogether; in fact, I’ve found a new hyperfixation. Enter: Honey fragrances.
“Honey is very interesting,” Steven Gontarski, senior manager of brand and public relations at Luckyscent, tells me. “It’s very sweet, of course, but it can also be a little polarizing because it’s very animalic.” Sweet, animalic, and polarizing is right up my alley, which I’ve discovered as I continue my journey into the world of niche perfumery. So now, my tastes for gourmand perfumes have expanded beyond the generic, run-of-the-mill formulas that we all know and love, to something more unique, attention-grabbing, and conversation-starting.
So, of course, I’ve been doing a deep dive on honey perfumes as a result, and I’ve found some serious heavy hitters. From formulas created by the queen bee herself, Beyoncé, to an indie brand that I firmly believe everyone must try, keep reading for the best honey perfumes worth adding to your fragrance collection this summer.
If anyone knows anything about a honey perfume, it’d be the queen herself, Beyoncé. This set features the singer's two perfumes, Cé Lumiere and Cé Noir. The latter is a gorgeous, warm, fruity, floral scent with notes of clementine, rose, jasmine, and amber, with the golden honey note flanking them. The result is a fragrance that almost smells royal, which I guess is fitting, coming from the Queen of Pop.
The honey note in this perfume comes from beeswax, but you’d never be able to tell. That’s because it is a musk-lover's dream, and it is so well blended that you have to basically detach your nose from your face and fasten it to your hand to really get into the individual notes of this perfume. So, if you’re a little hesitant to get into the honey trend, I’d say start your search here.
Phlur’s Honey Moon is on the sweeter end of the spectrum, but it smells delicious all the same. Mandarin, manuka honey, and vanilla bean are the stars of the show, and it’s a bit more linear than some of the options on this list. That being said, it’s also one of the easier fragrances that can help to ease you into the honey trend, especially if you love a dessert-like gourmand.
On the other end of the spectrum is Guerlain’s Tobacco Honey. Be warned: this perfume is not for the faint of heart. There are some serious heavy-hitter notes, like oud, tobacco, and amber, alongside honey and spices like anise and cloves. I personally wear this perfume exclusively in the fall, but don’t let me yuck your yum. When and where you decide to wear this formula is entirely up to you.
Gontarski’s personal favorite, Slow Dive, is an ode to the English rock band of the same name. Dried fruit, neroli, and tuberose are just a few of the notes that combine to create this honeyed white-floral scent, making it perfect for people who already know they love floral perfumes.
If you prefer an almost resinous honey fragrance, Ellis Brooklyn’s Bee should be right up your alley. Rum, cinnamon, and brandy absolute—this is a honey with a warm and spicy depth that feels like the epitome of sweater weather.
For anyone who loves a minimalist, clean-smelling perfume, Jo Malone’s Nectarine Blossom and Honey smells just like freshly-washed hair to me. To me, the peach note stands out most with this perfume, but the cassis and Acacia honey add a floral sweetness that feels perfect for daily wear.
Why Are Honey Perfumes Trending?
Gontarski also says that the popularity of gourmand fragrances is driving the rise of honey perfumes, as the phenomenon has enabled the exploration of more unusual notes. “Nutty, chocolate, caramel, they’re all kind of in that same vein as honey as far as gourmands are concerned, but honey in particular feels extremely ancient, and grounding, which I think separates it from its peers.”
Not only are honey perfumes sort of neo-gourmand in the sense that they’re a subcategory of the larger fragrance trend, but part of the reason that they’re trending is that they are incredibly easy to layer with. “Honey and any sort of floral work really nicely together,” Gontarski says. “Conceptually, I’m also really interested in pairing honey and tea fragrances, or even citrus notes like lemon."
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Meet the Expert
Steven Gontarski has spent the past seventeen years at Luckyscent | Scent Bar, where he serves as Senior Manager of Brand and Public Relations and has become a trusted voice in niche perfumery. His work moves fluidly between scent and visual art, with sculptures and paintings held in permanent collections worldwide. On his YouTube channel, @Steven-Gontarski, he offers a weekly window into his world—where fragrance, music, and art intersect through a distinctly personal lens.
