Is Vanilla Perfume Really Trending Because Our Love Lives All Currently Suck? (2025)

Welcome to The Afterglow by Cosmo beauty editor Beth Gillette. In her new column, Beth explores the relationships between beauty, queerness, and modern dating through a zillennial lens. 💋

For most of my adult life, I wouldn’t dare wear a sweet perfume. The fragrance family felt childish, basic, and lowbrow, which was entirely out of line with the sophisticated beauty editor persona I was creating for myself. Instead, I reached for more complex scents filled with woodsy and earthy notes (Santal 33, anyone?). But in 2025, I don’t think I’ve worn a single perfume that didn’t include a vanilla, cherry, or whipped cream note, or a combo of all three (my dream). And I’m not the only one who’s had a change of heart.

Vanilla perfumes are dominating the fast-growing fragrance category, especially among Gen Z and zillennials, with search volume rising by 16.5 percent in 2024. “Gourmand fragrance”—which is really just a fancy word for sweet, dessert-like scents—searches are up 122 percent year-over-year on Google and 193 percent year-over-year on TikTok.

So what the hell is going on? And how did we get here? From clowning on Bath and Body Works Warm Vanilla Sugar to drowning ourselves in all the same notes? Well, I have a theory, and it’s related to our love lives...or lack thereof. In a world plagued by online dating fails, 20-somethings like myself are yearning for in-person connections. But meeting someone IRL comes with its own unique struggles, which is where smelling like sweet, sugary nostalgia comes into play.

I joined Tinder as a fresh 18-year-old. The thought of meeting hot people from the convenience of my bed (or legit anywhere in the world) seemed much easier than the way my parents described their dating experiences of yore. But it’s now a decade later, and the vibes are off. “People are more fatigued than ever by dating apps,” says Carleigh Ferrante, dating expert and host of the Mostly Dating podcast. “Most of my community on Mostly Dating are frustrated by the entire experience, and if they are using the apps at all, they’re certainly not using them intentionally—it’s more out of a feeling of necessity, boredom, or routine. People want something more authentic than they believe the dating apps can provide,” Ferrante says.

Not to mention, dating apps have become synonymous with a messy era of relationships fueled by situationships and casual unseriousness. “On apps, it definitely feels like there’s a missing element of human connection—which is ironic since connecting people is their goal,” says Aaron, a single and serial dater based in New York. “I do miss meeting people in person without the help of a phone, but that happens so rarely,” he adds.

A few months ago, when I saw someone hot on TikTok, I didn’t spend hours swiping in search of their profile to match—I just rallied my friends to go to their comedy show to see if they’d, IDK, fall in love with me on the spot. (They didn’t. Shocking.) I even followed a cute girl to the bathroom at a party recently to introduce myself (nonchalant!). Basically, I'm looking for my in-person meet-cute but as a 28-year-old who’s never dated sans apps, putting myself out there without the protection of a screen is uncomfortable and intimidating. Sweet perfumes can help though...and in more ways than one.

Recently, Carolina Herrera Good Girl—a warm scent with vanilla, coffee, almond, praline, and cinnamon notes—surpassed classic, fresh Chanel Chance as the world’s best-selling women’s perfume. Its social media fame is largely to thank, as it’s topped lists on TikTok like “Perfumes that make men go crazy” with 1.3 million views and “sexy fragrances” with 3.3 million views. Sweet scents like this are linked to pleasure and sensuality, says DSM-Firmenich principal perfumer Nicole Mancini. Hence why it feels so aphrodisiacal, regardless of gender.

Nearly everyone I talked to for this story agrees with sweet gourmands being a universal love language. “Perfume can be divisive, but it’s good at making an impression, and I’ve found sweet ones do it best,” says Cosmopolitan associate sex and relationships editor and Sex at 27 columnist Kayla Kibbe. On a first date, Cosmopolitan beauty contributor and dating writer Mary Honkus often chooses gourmands because they have a cozy, inviting aura and might make her smell memorable. Fragrance content creator Emelia O’Toole, who goes by Professor Perfume on Instagram and TikTok, also notes that sweet smells are pretty mass-appealing, meaning they’re the most likely to garner compliments. And what’s more flirtatious than telling someone they smell good?

Beyond sex appeal, sweet scents offer personal comfort too—something we’re all obviously craving in the era of ~unprecedented dating times~. “All these vanilla, chocolate, caramel, and whipped cream notes take me back to when I felt the most carefree in childhood…when anxiety didn’t exist and I could make friends and connections with anyone I crossed paths with,” says Honkus. When dating seems so shallow and disconnected, we can look toward the sugary, enveloping solace of a gourmand fragrance. It’s almost like they can be worn as a “personal talisman of protection” or “an olfactory security blanket,” says fragrance expert Sable Yong, author of Die Hot With a Vengeance and cohost of the Smell Ya Later podcast.

I went to my first queer party last weekend since I came out as a lesbian—albeit terrified, riddled with insecurity and anxiety. But I spritzed on a whole lotta Dave by Henry Rose, my current emotional support gourmand that smells like a creamy almond vanilla latte, and I suddenly felt a bit more at ease. “You smell so great, by the way,” says the girl I nervously stood next to at the bar. This time, I let the vanilla do the work for me—although I realize that at some point the notes will fade and I’ll have to find my confidence and put in the work.

Just like a swipe on an app, a spritz or sniff isn’t a shoo-in for marriage. But if smelling like a delectable sweet treat is what gets me out the door to a lesbian party in the first place, then so be it. For now, I’ll probably continue wearing my sweet perfume every time I hit up the lesbian bar (New Yorkers, see ya at The Bush) in hopes that someone is drawn to me. My warm, cozy smell can waft through the room, holding my hand as I do the talking. Perhaps I’ll start with, “You smell really good, by the way.”