The Rose Scent Renaissance Is Here
February 12 | 5 minute read
Words by Izzy Wight
Synonymous with romance, devotion and the world's greatest love stories (Shakespeare's sonnets, every season of The Bachelorette), rose has been a hero note of floral fragrances for centuries.
But in 2026, modern perfumers are giving the timeless bloom a makeover. Spiked with pink pepper, blended with leathery notes and sprayed with salty, coastal air, today’s rose is anything but old-fashioned. Below, find MECCA’s favourite twists on the classic.
Also known as ‘the Rosa Charmosa scent’, Cheirosa 91 is Sol de Janeiro’s latest launch, and already becoming a fast favourite. With notes of passionfruit, honey caramel and pistachio cream, it showcases what the brand does best – nostalgic gourmands – without veering into overly sugary territory. With Valentine’s Day around the corner, Cheirosa 91 is a perfect summer date-night pick, made even sweeter with the matching body cream.
Good news for Melbournians: from 12 – 14 February, every MECCA Bourke Street customer who buys a Flowers Vasette bouquet will get a complimentary Rosa Charmosa Dewy Body Cream to go with. Prepare to fall in love...
Good news for Melbournians: from 12 – 14 February, every MECCA Bourke Street customer who buys a Flowers Vasette bouquet will get a complimentary Rosa Charmosa Dewy Body Cream to go with. Prepare to fall in love...
This was once described to me as ‘a rose wrapped in resin’, which was such a perfect description I have co-opted it here. Sugary, spicy and slightly smoky, it’s grown up, but so far from stuffy. Perfectly balanced with notes of musk, patchouli and a delicate, slightly jammy damask rose, it’s everything you want in a floral fragrance (even if you didn’t realise until right now).
Chriselle Lim’s cult-status fragrance brand is known for its modern interpretations of classic scents (see: Vanilla Skin EDP), and Rose Whip is no exception. It opens with sweet, fizzy notes of blackcurrant, rose and honeyed osmanthus, melting into a more sophisticated, leathery base of amber, cashmere and musk.
Tell the Ton! The Floral Street x Bridgerton fragrance collaboration is here, and it’s every bit as captivating as you’d expect. Inspired by season four’s spellbinding love affair between Benedict Bridgerton and Sophie Baek, Enchanted Masquerade is a fruity, floral gourmand, with notes of pear, mandarin, cedarwood and rose. If you’re a fan of Jerome Epinette’s fragrance creations (Byredo’s Bal d’Afrique, Sol de Janeiro’s Cheirosa 62, Victoria Beckham’s Portofino ’97), this is a must-spritz.
Described by MECCA’s Fragrance Category Lead as a “rose for people who don’t love rose,” Le Labo’s latest, Violette 30, is a subtle, effervescent blend of violet, rose, aldehydes, cedar and patchouli. If you’re a fan of Glossier You EDP or DIPTYQUE’s Fleur De Peau EDP, Violette 30 is a similarly intimate, melt-into-the-skin kind of scent – an everyday number that wears beautifully alone, but takes on another dimension layered with other scents.
Bright, wild and full-bodied, Raving Rose is a head-turner. With top notes of pink and black pepper, it has a spice that pairs beautifully with a soft, slightly powdery rose. It's romantic with an edge: a slightly punky, modern floral that’ll last through dinner, drinks and beyond. Like all of Dries Van Noten’s creations, the glossy pink-and-red bottle also holds major vanity appeal.
