Beauty is a highly emotional space, and scent is one of its most powerful drivers. In all categories, fragrance elevates everyday routines into meaningful moments of pleasure, self-expression and well-being. In an increasingly overstimulated world, its role in cosmetics has never been more important. IFF is exploring how fragrance is redefining consumer expectations across beauty and personal care categories, driving differentiation, emotional engagement and wellness benefits.
There are increasingly complex expectations around the purpose of scent in beauty products. Some fragrances are designed primarily for personal benefit; others fulfill a social function, helping consumers feel attractive, confident and expressive in their interactions with others. As beauty categories increasingly address both dimensions, brands are challenged to create scent signatures that balance personal emotions with social signaling. This shift influences fragrance character and creativity, as well as consumer expectations regarding intensity, diffusion, and longevity.
Across personal and social spheres, the “beauty wardrobe” effect is highly driven by growing perfume-centricity in beauty. Hair perfumes, body mists and newer whole-body deodorants are encouraging younger consumers to curate scented products around moods, seasons and social occasions. Frontiers between beauty zones and formats tend to disappear and “scent layering” has never been so hot on social media.
The Strategic Role(s) of Scent in Hygiene and Beauty
According to the IFF Choice Model Study, scent is—more than ever, whether consciously or not—a top driver of consumer choice across body segmentsa. It has the power to drive preference and help brands to stand out, as well as the potential to enhance the perception of functional promises. When driving desirability or signaling identity, it increases emotional attachment and encourages product loyalty. Scent is a highly strategic engine for the beauty industry. And as science unveils more potential behind fragrance, the value of scent will continue increasing.
The Choice Model Study, which includes recent research in China, Brazil and the United States, also shows that fragrance has become a key factor in body care, influencing choice, emotion and perceived value. For half of global consumers, scent is among the top two reasons for selecting products, especially in categories like shower gel, deodorant and body care, with its importance rising significantly in China.
Scent not only affects purchasing decisions but also fulfills consumers’ desire for pleasure and sensory satisfaction, connecting functional cues like freshness and care with emotions such as happiness and confidence. This helps brands address the wider demand for well-being, especially among body lotion users in Brazil.
As consumers seek emotional rewards and well-being from beauty products, fragrance acts as a vital link between functional performance and holistic needs—ushering in a new era of wellness-focused beauty.
Wellness: A New Era for Beauty Scents
The explosion of the wellness market into a $2 trillion behemothb combined with 84% of consumers prioritizing wellness has redefined the sensorial purpose of scent in cosmetics, with emotional expectations for fragrance to soothe, balance or energize becoming new hygiene and beauty essentials. Cosmetic brands are asking for innovative and consumer-meaningful benefit narratives as well as differentiating credentials.
As interest in the relationship between scent, emotions and wellness grows, fragrance development is becoming increasingly informed by sensory science, neuroscience, consumer research and AI, as demonstrated by IFF’s Science of Wellness platform. These tools help researchers better understand how different olfactive experiences can influence emotional, cognitive, social and physical well-being. Rather than treating fragrance solely as a sensory or aesthetic element, the industry is increasingly exploring its potential to contribute to broader wellness experiences and translating those insights into more targeted fragrance concepts and benefit claims.
Natural Fragrance Ingredients with Beauty Benefits
Consumers expect fragrances to go beyond hedonism, bringing combined emotional and hair and skin benefits. One example of this convergence is Lavandin Enfleurage 2.0 offered through LMR Naturals, which combines sustainablec sourcing with emotional, skin and hair benefits. It illustrates how natural fragrance ingredients are increasingly being developed to address both sensorial and beauty-related expectations.
This material is obtained with an exclusive proprietary process of extraction using a renewable and biodegradable solvent that gives a characteristic scent close to the genuine lavandin flowers linked to a specific composition in volatile compounds. It was studied using neuroscientific methods to measure brain activations in the areas associated with relaxation. In parallel, the in-vitro test showed an increase in expression of the skin barrier markers and in production of hyaluronic acid, and a decreased level of IL-6 and IL-8.
Independent third-party studies using neuroscientific methods measured brain activations in areas associated with relaxation, while separate in vitro testing demonstrated increased expression of skin barrier markers, enhanced hyaluronic acid production, and reduced levels of IL-6 and IL-8.
In addition, LMR Naturals’ Lavender Absolute Conscious and Cypress Ultimate Absolute demonstrated benefits for hair protection against UV damage. Lavender Absolute Conscious is obtained with a renewable and biodegradable solvent, while Cypress Absolute Ultimate is an upcycled ingredient obtained from distillation spent branches. These natural fragrance ingredients were tested on hair tresses under the protocol described in F-1. Both ingredients showed significant effects to protect the hair from UV damage such as hair fiber degradation, hair protein degradation and oxidation.
F-1. Ex-vivo study on hair tresses with Lavender Abs. Conscious or Cypress Abs. Ultimate IFF
Sleep at the Crossroads of Wellness and Beauty
Sleep is emerging as a key beauty and wellness concern. Nearly two-thirds of consumers are actively looking for solutions to improve sleep quality, and many already incorporate fragranced cosmetic products into their sleep routinesd. The science is clear: sleep is essential for skin repair, hydration, elasticity and healthy aging. Good sleepers have been shown to exhibit healthier skin ageing profiles and better recovery from external stressors compared with poor sleeperse.
Advances in biometrics and consumer research (as seen with IFF’s MetaSleep platform, a part of Science and Wellness) are also opening new possibilities for fragrance at the intersection of sleep, beauty and well-being, with researchers exploring how scent can be designed to support relaxation and sleep quality.
Advances in biometrics and consumer research, including IFF's MetaSleep platform within Science of Wellness, are also opening new possibilities for fragrance at the intersection of sleep, beauty and well-being, with researchers exploring how scent can be designed to support relaxation and sleep quality.
Green Innovation, New Ingredient Performance
According to the Global Wellness Institute, the concept of wellness extends beyond individual health to include people’s environments; today's consumers view personal well-being and environmental well-being as deeply interconnected. Wellness is now a top priority for 84% of consumersf, while 62% say sustainability is more important than it was two years ago. Moreover, 65% of consumers globally aspire to lifestyles that are both healthier and more sustainable, reflecting a shift toward more conscious consumption.
Meeting these expectations is driving greater innovation across the natural fragrance sector, from more advanced agronomy and green extraction technologies to the use of bio-based solvents and upcycling. At LMR Naturals, ingredient development is informed by expertise spanning agriculture, sustainable sourcing, extraction science and perfumery, brought together within an integrated seed-to-scent framework. Supported by a global research ecosystem, this approach contributes to the development of natural ingredients that combine olfactive quality with measurable beauty benefits. More broadly, integrated development models of this kind are helping drive increasingly scalable, sustainable and high-performance fragrance solutions.
This approach is exemplified by LMR Naturals’ Jasmine Conscious Absolute (2021), which pairs improved sustainability with the discovery of antioxidant compounds such as hydroxytyrosol. Meanwhile, its Rose Essential (launched in 2012) highlights the value of upcycling. By valorizing rose distillation water, traditionally a by-product, LMR Naturals created an ingredient combining a delicate rose scent with proven cosmetic benefits, including support of skin hydration through enhanced hyaluronic acid production.
This convergence of process innovation, scientific validation and sustainability reinforces the role of fragrance as a technically driven and value-adding component in modern cosmetic formulations.
In many ways, fragrance is returning to its original role of enhancing well-being through everyday rituals. But today, that promise is backed by science, data, AI and vast insight.
Together, advances in consumer research, fragrance science, natural ingredients and green extraction technologies are helping shape a new generation of cosmetic fragrance at the intersection of beauty, wellness and sustainability. Through initiatives such as Science of Wellness and integrated seed-to-scent development models, IFF and its naturals house, LMR Naturals illustrate how fragrance innovation is evolving to address emerging expectations around beauty, wellness and sustainability.
FOOTNOTES
aIFF Choice Model Study (2023–2025)
bMcKinsey & Company; The Future of Wellness: Trends Shaping the Wellness Market (2024); https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/consumer-packaged-goods/our-insights/future-of-wellness-trends
cNielsenIQ. Trends in Sustainable Beauty 2023. Nov. 20, 2023; https://nielseniq.com/global/en/insights/analysis/2023/trends-in-sustainable-beauty-2023/
dIFF Sleep Human Tracker; 9,000 participants from 13 countries
eKim MA, Kim EJ, Kang BY, Lee HK. "The Effects of Sleep Deprivation on the Biophysical Properties of Facial Skin." Journal of Cosmetics, Dermatological Sciences and Applications. 2017;7:34–47; https://www.scirp.org/journal/paperinformation?paperid=74581
fMcConnochie J., "The State of the Sustainable Consumer: Key Trends & Statistics (2026)." Sustainable Jungle. May 30, 2026
