Allure's 2026 Best of Beauty Scent Winners Announced

Allure has announced the winners of its 2026 Best of Beauty Awards for scent. The list features 19 winning products across categories including fragrance, body mists, candles, and home scents.

According to the publication, the winning scents were chosen for their ability to evoke personal memories and associations. The awards aim to highlight perfumes that become a part of the wearer's story.

Best Floral and Herbaceous Fragrances

D.S. & Durga's Debaser In Bloom won Best Floral Fragrance. The scent is described as an homage to pre-Spotify music culture with notes of plasticky-sweet cassette tape, cream, coconut husk, and gardenia. Commerce market editor Sarah Hoffmann commented on the launch. "I tend to tune out the flanker noise, but when it's D.S. & Durga reimagining a scent, I'm listening," she said.

Aesop's Virēre Eau de Parfum took the title for Best Herbaceous Fragrance. It focuses on green tea notes, accented with bergamot, fig, and cedar. Senior news editor James Manso noted its unique character. "Virēre is denser, mossier, a touch sweeter, and all-around defying what I've come to expect," he stated.

Woody, Earthy, and Gourmand Winners

Lore's Somewhere But Nowhere Eau de Parfum was named Best Woody Fragrance. Its composition features cedarwood smoothed by vanilla cream and black tea, spiced with cardamom and carrot seeds, and finished with worn-in leather.

Heretic Black Salt won Best Earthy Fragrance. The scent blends salty sea foam and wet rocks with eucalyptus and sweet flowers like jasmine, water lily, and rose.

Octavia Morgan Los Angeles Vanillin Supreme Eau de Parfum was awarded Best Gourmand. It presents a refined take on vanilla with hints of warm rum and sandalwood. Social media manager Bianca Richards praised its depth. The addition of rum and orange notes gives the fragrance a warm, citrusy depth, she said.

Citrus, Fruity, and Solar Scents

Tom Ford Beauty Taormina Orange Eau de Parfum won Best Citrus Fragrance. Inspired by orange groves, it mixes musk with bright mandarin, juicy blood orange, and tart lime, grounded by fresh green notes.

Miu Miu Beauty Fleur de Lait was selected as Best Fruity Fragrance. It avoids typical fruity notes, instead blending tropical mango with creamy coconut and floral Osmanthus.

DedCool Mineral Milk earned the Best Solar Fragrance award. It puts a twist on the solar category with a mix of creamy, floral, and aquatic notes like musk, amber milk, lavender, and sea salt.

The full list of award categories from Allure is as follows:

Additional categories announced by Allure include Best Musk Fragrance, Best Spicy Fragrance, and Best Marine Fragrance. The awards also cover home and body categories like Best Solid Perfume, Best Body and Hair Mist, and Best Laundry Detergent.

Beauty director Sarah Kinonen described the Miu Miu winner as having range, noting someone told her she smelled like clean laundry while wearing it.