Five Scents That Smell Like Paris (to wear in 2026).
I was gifted a bottle of Yves Saint Laurent’s Libre perfume which I’m looking forward to wearing in 2026. In 2025, Parisian fragrance shifted away from excess and moved toward a feeling of confidence.
Here are five scents that smell like Paris, ready for the 2026 New Year.
YSL – Libre
Smells like morning light, and a decisive woman crossing the Seine.
Libre (Free) captures the mood of a confident French woman with lavender, sharpened by citrus, softened by vanilla, and grounded without being heavy. It feels modern without being trendy, confident without being rigid.
This is the scent of someone who knows where they’re going.
Diptyque – Fleur de Peau
Smells like clean skin and linen shirts.
Fleur de Peau (Skin Flower) isn’t about flowers so much as about musks and iris. It smells like closeness, like belonging. This kind of understated sensuality feels especially Parisian: nothing to prove and everything to feel.
Maison Francis Kurkdjian – 724
Smells like freshly washed cotton, city mornings, and polished minimalism.
Named after the rhythm of urban life, 724 smells like Paris with clean aldehydes, gentle florals, and white musk like crisp shirts, sunlit apartments, and cafés in the morning.
It’s the scent of modern Paris: efficient and elegant.
Byredo – Blanche
Smells like white walls, notebooks, and winter light.
Blanche has always been about purity, but in 2026, it will smell like starting again. It’s about pared-back lives and intentional choices.
It’s perfect for those who experience Paris as a place to think, write, and become.
Serge Lutens – Chergui
Smells like old books, dusk, and the warmth of conversation.
Paris never fully abandons depth. Chergui, with its honeyed tobacco, amber, and spices, is not a trend fragrance. It’s a mood, a season, and a memory.
In a time of fast content and fleeting impressions, Chergui is a stayer.
What these scents share is a philosophy, not a note, a brand, or a price point. Paris in 2025 wore perfume the way it wore clothes: close to the body, rich in meaning, and never desperate for attention. And that will continue in 2026.
