National Fragrance Day is right around the corner on March 21, and Nordstrom Beauty is ready. Offering more than 100 fragrance brands, with more than 90 percent available in stores, the scent selection is, simply, impressive. (Manhattan’s flagship location has 1,500 fragrance options to choose from.) We recently chatted with the head of it all, Autumne West, National Beauty Director at Nordstrom, who offered an inside look as to what is trending, what is selling and what has caught her by surprise.
What are the most trending spring fragrances you are seeing?
Vanilla is the scent of the season, we’re seeing it everywhere. It is coming through in beloved fragrances like Byredo Vanille Antique ($400), but it can also take on different forms—like the velvety vanilla bourbon notes in MYSLF by YSL ($185), which is less sweet.
Customers are also loving the scent through body sprays and hair mists like Phlur Vanilla Skin ($38), which is a light and approachable way to wear a fragrance.
The other trending spring scent customers are responding to is rose. It’s a classic note that is feeling fresh and new again this season. Jo Malone Taif Rose ($160)and Tom Ford Rose Exposed ($300) are two fragrances that we see customers gravitating toward.
Any surprises?
The continued innovation of the fragrance category continues to surprise me—it is such a vast category that can feel saturated at times, but we’re still seeing exciting new launches from emerging brands like Perfumehead and Les Eaux Primordiales.
Are there any new fragrances you are really impressed by?
My current fragrance obsession is a scent by Lake & Sky called Apaaray ($98). I can’t stop smelling this one. I love that this brand not only offers fragrances that smell clean, but they are also clean from an ingredients standpoint by being vegan and free of parabens, phthalates and sulfates.
Are you seeing any notes, brands or particular perfumes that have made a comeback?
Dolce & Gabbana Light Blue ($175). It has been around for more than 20 years. It’s a light fragrance that is truly universal, anyone can wear it.
