Best 7 revitalising perfumes that smell like nature

Do you ever crave the smell of nature? I know I do, especially when I’ve been in stuffy meeting rooms, airless trains or stuck in traffic on a sweaty bus. Having some nature inspired perfumes in your collection allows you to breathe a deep and steadying sigh of relief when you spray them. Even a few moments of respite can help to bring equilibrium on challenging days. 

As usual in my fragrance blog posts, I’ve written wee scent stories to give you the impression of a perfume. Wearing perfume is often about how it makes you feel, and what emotions and memories it might evoke. How do you want to feel today?

If you’re interested in the specific fragrance notes stated by a brand, feel free to click on the name of the perfume and that’ll take you to their website or a stockist’s website.

Fragrance notes are very subjective. So don’t worry if you smell things that a brand doesn’t mention—there are no right or wrong answers. And the same goes if you don’t smell what a brand lists as the notes. Your experience is as valid as anyone else’s.

Now all you need to do is choose your slice of nature…

Smells like the sea – Kujira Densetsu by Senyoko Paris

Feet light as whispers, the merrow drifts along the shoreline, her celadon hair streaming over her shoulders in silken ribbons. Humming quietly to herself, she bends like a willow wand to inspect a jade green disc of sea glass, lit by the low sun. Rubbing its smooth surface against her cool cheek, she then tucks it into a fold of her red cap as she spies something unexpected on a low, grassy ledge.

A tiny cluster of icy white jonquils bob bravely in the brisk breeze. Breathing in their warm honeyed scent, the merrow gasps in joy, but seems caught in a moment of indecision. She waggles her head slowly, then gently plucks a solitary stem, holds it to her nose, then dives silently below the building waves.

Spears of samphire brush against her as she weaves through currents cool and cooler. A patchwork of floating seaweed shimmers in the early morning light; garnet, amber and emerald. The merrow tenderly holds her precious jonquil close as the undertow strengthens and she flicks a cautious eye up to the surface of the sea.

Down, down, down she goes, to her treasure hoard on the seabed. Golden galleons glitter, whale bones glow, and an iron bound wooden chest spills its spicy bounty. She hastily tucks the nugget of sea glass and the gleaming jonquil under a blue and white dish, then spreads her webbed fingers wide to drive her up to the thrashing waves.

Her breath building as she rises, she breaks triumphantly through the roiling ocean and the cliffs echo with her plangent cry:

“Stormy seas are a-coming. Safe home to your families. Stay inside!”

And the merrow disappears again beneath the seafoam.

Perfumer: Michael Nordstrand

Smells like woodland – Spirit by Vallense

Spirit embodies all that is best about living in Northern Europe. Bright and invigorating yet never chilly or forbidding. Pine trees sway above tufts of crushed mint and trampled sappy stems.

Who knows which mythical creature has just passed through this enchanted glade?

A solitary white flower basks in a beam of watery sun. The vibrance of spring’s green leaves now turned to amber and maple, tumble down into rich and fecund woodland earth. Peridot velvet moss dappled with soft musk embraces you warmly as you lift your face to the light.

Perfumer: Pia Long

Smells like a meadow – Been Trying To Meet You by Nosu Parfum

The pale gold disc in the sky beats down its white heat onto scattered stalks of hay. Sweaty brows, aching limbs, but a sense of satisfaction at a job well done. Here a cornflower globe, there the rosy blush of wild marjoram, and a flash of scarlet poppy.

Throwing yourself in the shade of a newly built haystack, you slake your raging thirst with cool tea, honey sweet and dark. Then, peeling one slender stalk of grass, you suck the fragrant sap from within. A soft breeze flutters your damp shirt.

One more field to go. A wheat field—burnished grains fat and golden. And tonight there will be fresh bread to share, with music and dancing and gratitude for the harvests safely gathered.

Perfumer: Jacob Grainger

Smells like a forest – Fantome des Maules by Stora Skuggan

Deep green, dark green, darkest green that’s almost black, as you peer from a sunlit field. What stirs in the shadows of the woods? Crushed mint and a brave cluster of carnations lie in the liminal space you’re in. 

But are you safe?

Bristling pine needles, felting the forest floor, soft under your feet as you cautiously enter the copse cavern. Are you wise, my child? Should you turn back?

A crackling. Some rustling. One wisp of burned sugar. 

Your head flicks round. Hands flexing and heart pounding. Is that breathing you can hear?

Copper leaves drift idly. Golden light finds you. Radiant beams twinkle and you gaze in awe.

What have you stumbled upon?

Smells like a beach – Sun by Vallense

A sun-warmed 50s starlet in a dazzling white bathing costume, narrow belt twined around her waist. Creamy tropical flowers in her hair, immaculate makeup and a finely turned ankle. Clinking ice in a curvy glass, generous slices of lime and mango bob joyously as she pushes back her sunglasses over her glossy hair and tilts the cocktail to her perfect red lips.

Perfumer: Pia Long

Smells like snow – Pine by Stora Skuggan

Silvery blue. Deep, dark green. Springy, soft bottlebrush needles.

Sprigs of mint, maybe two or three.

A snow shower of vanilla sugar dusts the treetops.

Opalescent eucalyptus shimmers.

Down on the mossy forest floor, a softly whistling gardener snips and clips bare rose bushes.

Smells like a hedgerow  – Healing Berry by Jorum Studio

Bramble leaves as umbrellas, toadstools as tiny tables, raspberries gleam redly

Blackberry squish and ooze and juice

Sweet spice, violet petals, a surprising spear of vanilla

all tumbled among a late blooming rose hedge.

Perfumer: Euan McCall

The power of nature inspired perfumes

Nature inspired perfumes can call to mind calmer and more restful places than where you might be right now. The idea of lying in a hammock and watching swaying trees is probably more pleasant than sitting in a traffic jam. And the beauty of fragrances that smell like nature is they can help you imagine yourself somewhere less stressful; a scented meditation, if you like.

What are some nature scents?

The best kinds of nature scents are the ones you find in, well, nature. That might be a mushroomy, earthy scent in a wood, or it could be the bracing saline smell of a cold beach. Snowy mountains have a smell all of their own, while freshly cut grass on a warm day is a glorious scent.

What’s one of your favourite nature smells?

What perfume has an earthy smell?

Ah, luckily for you, I wrote a piece on gorgeous earthy perfumes. You’re welcome.

And if you’re looking for fragrances that smell of the ocean or beach, I’ve written another piece about some fabulous marine perfumes too.

I hope you find some inspiration here to try some marvellous perfumes that smell like nature. They really can be a powerful mood booster on stressful days.