My 2026 Fragrance Resolutions I Actually Plan To Keep

The first morning of this long weekend, my perfume wardrobe stared me down. I got honest. Perfume that never leaves the shelf is a ghost romance, so here are the resolutions I’m making in ink, not pencil.

• Wear the legends to mundane places. Grocery run in Guerlain Shalimar, breakfast in Mugler Angel, dog walk in Tom Ford Black Orchid. No more saving greatness for mythical occasions.

• Stop blind buying. I will sample for a week before a full bottle. Discovery sets from Ormonde Jayne, D.S. & Durga, and Maison Crivelli will do more for my nose than late night cart bravado.

• Finish what I start. I will empty my bottle of Diptyque Philosykos EDP and my travel spray of Byredo Gypsy Water before I entertain another easygoing citrus or fig.

• Give white florals winter air. Frédéric Malle Carnal Flower and Gucci Bloom are getting worn under wool coats, not boxed until April. Cold air turns them cinematic.

• Build themed weeks to sharpen the nose. Iris week with Prada Infusion d’Iris and Chanel 28 La Pausa, incense week with Comme des Garçons Avignon and Amouage Memoir Woman. Notes deserve focus, not drive-by spritzes.

• Choose one vintage rabbit hole only. This year, I will hunt a 90s Chanel No. 5 EDT or a good pre-LVMH Guerlain bottle, and skip the rest. Better one solid score than five dusty maybes.

• Reclaim skin-scent days. Meetings and migraines happen. I will lean on Glossier You, Escentric Molecules Molecule 01, and Jo Malone Wood Sage & Sea Salt without apologizing.

• Retire the clones that crowd the real thing. I adore the cashmere haze of Maison Francis Kurkdjian Baccarat Rouge 540, but I do not need a shelf of its echoes. One clear voice beats a chorus of almosts.

• Wear the weird to work. Tuesdays are for Serge Lutens Féminité du Bois or Aedes de Venustas Iris Nazarena. If my spreadsheet survives, so will everyone else.

• Track sprays like skincare. Two spritzes on skin, one on scarf, then stop. If I want more, I reapply at lunch. Sillage is a privilege, not a fog machine.

If you need me, I’ll be labeling decants, putting Amouage Dia Woman in the front row, and finally giving Le Labo Santal 33 a month off so I can hear what my collection has been whispering. Perfume is mortal, and so are we. Wear it.