Slow like honey . . .

. . . and heavy with mood.

— Fiona Apple

Ace beauty journalist/editor Lauren Valenti got in touch with me a few weeks ago, asking for my thoughts on honey as a perfume note. As always, I was more than happy to chat with her. You can read her piece here!

Looking further back, I’m trying to remember the first honey perfumes or other honey-scented products I ever swooned for. LUSH had a shower gel called B Never Too Busy To Be Beautiful that was absolute perfection—not only was it a well-formulated functional product, but it had the most heady, romantic honey fragrance, rich and mouth-watering. I wanted to swim in it. I’m still grieving over its discontinuation.

I never really loved Serge Lutens Miel de Bois (Christopher Sheldrake, 2005) as much as some of my fellow MakeupAlley.com members, but I respected it as a serious fragrance and a cult classic. I did go through several samples of Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab’s O, which the BPAL website used to describe in the early 2000s as “[t]he scent of sexual obsession, slavery to sensual pleasure, and the undercurrent of innocence defiled utterly. Amber and honey with a touch of vanilla.” It’s no longer in production, alas.

Meanwhile, back in those days, mall brands from MAC (Naked Honey, above) to Marc Jacobs to Mariah Carey also released fun and affordable honey-inspired perfumes. L’Occitane even had a honey shower gel that was just about perfect, to my mind and nose, as well as an alcohol-free perfume called Gentle Honey Water. All of the above were discontinued, and then. . . honey scents just didn’t seem to be as prevalent for a while in the mainstream marketplace.

I started seeking out honey notes again in the 2010s, though, because I like fragrances that have some sweetness without being too sugary. Then the next wave of niche perfumery picked up the honey theme and started reinterpreting it in new ways, and lately the mainstream has been responding again. That’s how it goes.

Here are a few of my favorite honey-themed perfumes, limiting myself to ones still on the market. (Links are provided for your browsing convenience but are not monetized.)

Bonus points: cue up a song with “honey” in the title to enjoy while you read!

Aftelier Honey Blossom

From all-natural perfumer Mandy Aftel! When I reviewed it on Now Smell This, I wrote, “Honey Blossom starts off grassy and golden-green, with top notes that remind me of hay and broom. They’re followed by a dusty-sweet mimosa and then a very soft vanillic honey note. However, Honey Blossom always remains more floral than gourmand.” (Mandy Aftel, 2010; Aftelier website)

Zoologist Bee

This “bee” is a longtime favorite of mine: it creates an entire scene, from a bold, central honey note to suggestions of beeswax and powdery pollen. Plus, the label illustration always makes me smile. (Cristiano Canali, 2019; Zoologist website)

Naomi Goodsir Or du Sérail

For something very different, Naomi Goodsir Or du Sérail incorporates a honey note into a sophisticated tobacco-and-incense composition. Dusky golden glamour. (Bertrand Duchaufour, 2014; available at Fumerie and Perfumology)

Zernell Gillie Jazz

All the Zernell Gillie fragrances are inspired by musical genres. Jazz gives us an amber blend with some woodsy vanilla, and its honey note shines like a warm spotlight in a dark, smoky supper club. (2024; Zernell Gillie site, also available at Luckyscent)

Syd Honeybody

Honeybody combines a warm honey-and-apricot heart with a mineral note of petrichor—the distinctive smell released by soil when rain hits it. Unexpected and unique! (Sydney Buffman, 2022; Syd website, also available at Luckyscent)

LAFCO New York Golden Morning

Golden Morning is a gentle, easygoing blend of honey and chamomile notes with just a drop of vanilla. It’s an ideal honey fragrance for hot weather but would also feel clean and soothing any time of year. (Arnaud Winter, 2026; LAFCO website)

Thanks for buzzing around with me today—and remember to leave a comment about your own favorite honey scents!

Image: Candace Wheeler, Bees with Honeycomb wallpaper sample, 1881. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Gift of Sunworthy Wallcoverings, a Borden Company, 1987