Tea Perfumes Are Trending for Fall—Here’s Why Everyone’s Obsessed with the Scent of Matcha and Green Tea

This perfume is like nothing I’ve ever smelled before—and that’s coming from a person who’s tested hundreds (if not thousands) of fragrances. The first time I sprayed it, I immediately DM’d the brand’s founder, Helen Lee, to tell her how gorgeous it is. Sahara Song opens with a cooling burst of mint tea, which lingers alongside a creamy, decadent rose. Mint, rose, and coconut milk are the notes that stand out to my nose most, but there are also hints of vanilla orchid, cardamom, and even coffee bean that give this a sensual, second-skin feel.

Imagine dipping a biscotti into a milky, frothy mug of Earl Grey tea—that’s London Fog. It opens with a jolt of bright bergamot before quickly mellowing to a creamy, lavender-and-honey-infused gourmand. By the end of the day, it leaves a soft and fuzzy impression that’s made even more comforting with the addition of white musk and vanilla

It’s mind-blowing to me that there aren’t more hibiscus tea perfumes on the market. The dried flower has a tart, tangy sweetness that seems like a natural fit for fragrance. Thankfully, this scent popped up on my radar. Sultry, commanding, and complex, it amps up the natural star power of hibiscus with jammy rose, vanilla, and a deep, dark leather note at the base. Since it’s an extrait, you only need two sprays for an intoxicating fragrance trail that seriously lingers. I sprayed this on my jacket last week and can still smell wafts of it!

Forget everything you heard about tea fragrances being "barely there" or blending into the background. This solar-floral gourmand combines the velvety spices of pink chai with the airy femininity of orange blossom, leaving a long-lasting scent that’s as sensual and romantic as it is comforting and clean. I can’t wear this out without at least one person asking me, “What are you wearing?”

Wet, humid, and slightly tropical, this perfume centers around sipping Vietnamese green tea, which is brewed with young tea leaves for a light, refreshing taste, in the calm after a rainstorm. It’s deeply meditative, with a joyful citrus opening and a realistic green tea heart. Amber, musk, and vetiver base notes round out its reflective, spa-like vibe.

A spritz of this perfume transports me to a park bench on a sunny day in February, with a hot chai latte and a leather jacket on to keep out the early morning cold. Are you with me? The fragrance features a warm, grounding blend of chai spices, like nutmeg, cinnamon, and cardamom, which are contrasted with dewy violet petals and cistus, a flowering shrub that is also found in certain teas. The push and pull of the warm spices with the delicate floral notes, and the rich vanilla, cedar, and sandalwood base notes, are what make this perfume such a treat to spritz on in the fall and winter.

This perfume’s name and pale blue juice evoke something much more alien than its actual scent, which is a sheer, delicate vanilla brightened by a touch of citrus and soothing green tea. With each spritz, it feels like I’m cocooning myself in the fluffiest blanket and burrowing deep into my bed on a rainy fall day. As dreamy and beautiful as it is as a bedtime perfume, I would feel legit selfish not wearing this one out and about.

With ribbons of cardamom, black pepper, and rooibos tea, this is the scent of the sexy stranger you lock eyes with from across the room and can’t stop thinking about for weeks after the encounter. It’s warm, smoky, and magnetic; backed by orris butter, a prized perfumery ingredient that adds richness and depth. Spray this on to leave your next date hypnotized.

If you’ve been searching for a fragrance that embodies the dry, roasted quality of oolong tea fresh from the tin, you’ve met your match. This is addictively bitter, woody, and doesn’t shy away from showcasing the savory aspects of oolong tea. Even though honey is listed as a note, I don’t detect any sweetness in this scent—just a subtle, subdued smokiness.

Joga is built off of green maté, also known as yerba maté, a plant that is indigenous to South America and pays tribute to the brand’s Latine founding. Eauso Vert co-founder and CMO Faye Harris Wood says the plant’s “slightly bitter edge” is used to provide contrast to the scent’s warmer notes, like black pepper and turmeric leaf, as well as its florals. On me, this reads dewy and green, with a hazy softness thanks to vetiver and white amber base notes.

This scent perfectly captures the essence of freshly steeped black tea leaves, down to its faint smokiness, spices, and candied citrus facets. Like a lot of skin scents, this is beautiful on its own, but it can also be layered with floral, fruity, and even gourmand fragrances in your collection to give them more of a woody backbone.

“In Myanmar, there is a longstanding tradition of breakfast tea shops where people go to get their fix of Burmese tea and breakfast foods while mingling with their friends and people in the neighborhood,” says Gabar co-founder and COO Susan Wai Hnin. She says this scent takes inspiration from the popular Burmese tea drink Lappet-yay, which combines black tea with evaporated and condensed milks. The result is cozy and enveloping, with a sandalwood base and a hint of red apple up front.

In Etheral Wave, sparkling white tea is paired with bright, effervescent bergamot for a scent that radiates hopeful, optimistic vibes. I love misting this on my hair after a shower and catching whiffs of the softly woody drydown hours later. It lies close to the skin, making it an ideal everyday option, especially for sensitive noses.