Perfumers are also having fun trying to freshen up the category, and quite literally so. Spurred by the overwhelming trend for photorealistic gourmands and naturalistic fruity fragrances, perfumers are finding ways to make floral fragrances that smell more naturalistic—like how flowers smell in nature. They’re tweaking molecules, adjusting the balance of floral accords, and concocting unconventional compositions so they smell lighter, airier, dewier, and sparklier than ever before. “The classic interpretation [of florals] was opulent and rich,” explains Givaudan perfumer Carine Certain Boin. “But now we want fluidity and freshness.” Glossier Fleur does this and then attempts to take it one step further.
Being the innovator that she is, Baghriche had a few ideas on how to create a wholly modern floral—and it started by walking around her neighborhood in Paris. “I live near a famous florist named Debeaulieu whose work is very modern, playing with shapes and colors that are not familiar in the floral world.” Baghriche found inspiration in Debeaulieu’s unconventional bouquets, and wanted to infuse that same feeling of unexpectedness in Glossier Fleur. While many classic florals find inspiration in gardens, be it English, French, Mediterranean, or mythical, for Fleur, Baghriche wanted to evoke an urban garden, like the one you might pass by on Sixth Avenue in Manhattan or in Earls Court Square in London. “Glossier You is very urban for me, and I wanted this floral to be also anchored, grounded in the city,” she explains.
What Baghriche didn’t want was for people to be able to smell a very obvious floral note, like a rose or a jasmine. Instead, she chose the more unrecognizable blooms of osmanthus and ylang-ylang, which helped her build a floral fragrance that was both nondescript and ethereal. Osmanthus, along with an apricot skin accord, provided Baghriche with a way to imitate the soft, suede-like quality one finds in You but in floral form. Ylang-ylang, once known as the “queen of the solar florals” brings a brightness and creaminess to the scent.
What really makes Fleur unique, however, is the singular accord that sits at the top of the fragrance: mineral salt. Uncommon in floral fragrances, it’s what makes Fleur so unusual and hooking, giving it a watery, mineral-like quality as well as something quite intimate and seductive. Salt, which has become an incredibly popular fragrance note in 2025 according to Franco Wright, the cofounder of Luckyscent, does a few important things for Fleur. For one, it’s what helps the floral notes smell more naturalistic. “Flowers are not only their petals,” Baghriche explains. “They’re also grounded in the earth and in the air, so the salt gives it this minerally, earthy, airy floral sensation that I wanted to capture.”
