With spring well underway and summer right around the corner, my woody, resinous, and oud-heavy perfumes are slowly moving to the back of my perfume cabinet. Only the freshest, most heat-friendly formulas are getting airtime right now. Still, I’ve not only been reaching for the basil, orange, or even lemon scents but, unexpectedly, tomato fragrances, too.
That’s not a sentence that I ever thought I’d write in my life, but according to the Marie Claire Slack channel, I’m not alone. Tomato-scented products are having a true moment for spring and summer. “While tomato scents have trended in the past (circa 2023), they’re having a full-blown resurgence right now,” fragrance expert Kudzi Chikumbu, also known as Sir Candle Man, tells me. “Right now, we’re craving that clean girl, crisp energy as we head into the hotter months. There’s this very Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy elegance in the air at the moment, where people want to look and feel very refined and understated. A tomato’s crispness is perfect to pair with this cool-girl minimalist aesthetic, but it can feel like the perfect antidote to the chaos of the world. Tomato scents are grounded and natural—plus they speak to this desire for simpler vibes.”
Thankfully, there are quite a few tomato-scented products on the market, both as an eau de parfum format and for your home as a candle or home spray. This way, if you’re still skeptical about the trend (don’t worry, I was too), then you can give it a try via a lower-stakes formula like a diffuser before moving into your garden-girl era and committing fully to a perfume or any other auxiliaries. Keep reading for a list of the best tomato-scented goodies that you can add to your scenting routine this spring and summer. Plus, additional tips from Chikumbu on how to ease your way into your tomato-girl era.
Loewe Perfumes
Tomato Leaves Candle
Arguably the product that started it all, Loewe’s Tomato Candle is one that just screams chic. From the textured vessel to the scent itself, which the brand describes as “the aroma of tomato vines just before they bear fruit,” I imagine the owner of this candle to be the cool, well-traveled, and very cultured girl everyone wants in their orbit.
Loewe Perfumes
Tomato Leaves Home Fragrance
Another home fragrance from Loewe, this time in spray form. It has the same scent profile as the candle (tomato leaves and cassis berries), but this one is particularly well-suited for anyone who prefers a flame-free home scenting experience.
Maison Margiela
‘Replica’ From the Garden Eau De Toilette
From the Garden smells just like the name suggests—like the brand somehow managed to fit the smell of someone’s entire garden into a fragrance. It’s fresh and uplifting with notes like mandarin and bergamot in the opening, until the tomato note is revealed in the heart of the fragrance alongside notes like rose and geranium. The base notes are rounded out with patchouli, moss, and musk, which add an earthy element to the scent, almost as if you’ve just picked a fresh tomato from the vine in your backyard garden.
Flamingo Estate
Heirloom Tomato Jumbo Candle
A slightly spicier interpretation of our hero scent, Flamingo Estate’s Heirloom Tomato candle is another of those scents that takes a more realistic, earthy approach to the fruit. Expect notes of tarragon and black pepper, paired with tomato leaves, for a lush, effervescent scent that will fill your entire apartment.
Officine Universelle Buly
Huile Antique Scandinavian Redcurrant and Peruvian Tomato
After pining for this brand’s products for years, I finally got to try them on a recent trip to Paris. You can imagine my surprise when I smelled the Scandinavian Redcurrant and Peruvian Tomato body oil and promptly fell in love with it. Somehow, this oil manages to capture both the watery, vegetal essence of biting into a fresh tomato and combine it perfectly with the tangy red currant. The result is a fresh, realistic, ripe tomato scent that is surprisingly versatile for everyday wear.
Malin+Goetz
Tomato Home Spray
I’m already a massive fan of the sage version of this home spray, so the tomato version will be mine shortly. Not only does the water-based formula feel like it actually traps and eliminates odor, but the scent it leaves behind lasts surprisingly long. Plus, the chic glass bottle makes it feel like one of those everyday luxuries that elevate your home to the next level.
LAFCO
Tomato Season Candle
Jo Malone London
Green Tomato Vine Diffuser
A reed diffuser for the fashion girlies, this elegant scent captures the tangy, verdant greenery of the tomato vine. Your home will smell like summer personified in no time at all.
Contents
Why Are Tomato Scents Trending?
Not only do tomato scents make you or your home smell like a snack, but they can also help reset your mood. “Tomato scents are genuinely refreshing and crisp, and what I love most is how they make your home feel like a garden,” Chikumbu says. “For anyone stuck in a city who loves the outdoors, it gives you that connection back to nature. Plus, tomatoes symbolize spring and good things to come: the outdoors, optimism, vacations, and refreshing salads. Tomato scents make a space feel more alive.”
How to Find the Tomato Scent For Your Olfactive Personality
If there’s one thing I’ve learned from meeting with some of the best perfumers in the beauty industry, it’s that you should never write off a note in its entirety. Not only are there different expressions of the ingredient, but the note can smell completely different altogether based on how the perfumer incorporates it into a formula. Still, Chikumbu has some tips for easing into the vegetal, herbaceous trend.
“I recommend people lean into something that feels grounded rather than green and zingy,” he says. “Think tomato combined with earthy mosses, sage, or even patchouli. Think less overt brightness and more calming, grounded energy.” In addition, don’t be afraid to play and experiment with your scents. I’ve layered candles for a custom home scent, my body oils with other root-like or floral body care formulas, and have even layered my tomato perfume with musks, woods, or even citrus perfumes. Experimentation is half the fun in beauty, and your products should work for you, not the other way around. Now, excuse me while I go lather myself and scent my home in all the tomato-scented products I can get my hands on.
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Meet the Expert
Kudzi Chikumbu is a fragrance expert and content creator.
