6 Perfumes That Smell Like Honey

Honey is the sweet note with a bit of danger in it: waxy, warm and faintly animal. These six run from honey with white flowers to honey with oud and leather. Start with Jean Paul Gaultier Scandal for honey and gardenia, Paco Rabanne Lady Million for honey with jasmine, and Montale Honey Aoud if you want it dark.

Why Does Honey Smell Slightly Animal?

Because of phenylacetic acid. It’s the molecule that gives honey its sweet, waxy smell, and its esters, methyl and ethyl phenylacetate, add the floral, honeyed sweetness. In small amounts it’s lovely. In large amounts it smells of hay, sweat and, frankly, urine, and that’s the edge that makes honey notes sensual rather than sugary.

Perfumers build honey from those molecules and from beeswax absolute, which is honeyed, waxy and slightly smoky. Paired with white flowers, it brings out their warmth. Paired with oud, tobacco or leather, it goes dark and animalic. Honey is rarely the only sweet note: caramel, vanilla and fruit usually come with it.

Perfume	The honey	What’s with it
Jean Paul Gaultier Scandal	Honey	Gardenia, patchouli
Paco Rabanne Lady Million	Honey accord	White flowers, jasmine
Prada Candy Florale	Honey and caramel	Limoncello sorbet, peony, benzoin
TokyoMilk Honey & the Moon	Honey	Sugared violet, jasmine, sandalwood
Mariah Carey Lollipop Bling Honey	Honey	Pineapple, passionfruit, ginger
Montale Honey Aoud	Honey	Cinnamon, oud, leather, vanilla

6 Honey Perfumes

Jean Paul Gaultier Scandal

Scandal is gardenia, honey and patchouli, in a bottle shaped like a woman’s legs. Gardenia is a creamy, slightly mushroomy white flower, and honey makes it richer and warmer. Patchouli adds a dark, earthy base. One wearer gets something very sweet and patchouli-heavy; another notices a waxy, incense-shop side later on, which is the beeswax effect. Choose Scandal Eau de Parfum for women, not Pour Homme, By Night or Le Parfum.

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Paco Rabanne Lady Million

Lady Million is white flowers, jasmine and a honey accord. Jasmine and honey share a warm, slightly animal side, so they amplify each other into something big and golden, like its gold, diamond-cut bottle. It’s loud and unapologetic.

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Prada Candy Florale

Candy Florale is limoncello sorbet, peony, honey, caramel, benzoin and musk. Limoncello is the clever part: sharp lemon cuts through honey and caramel so it smells like a lemon-and-honey sweet. It’s the brightest honey on the page. Original Prada Candy, the caramel one, is a different perfume.

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TokyoMilk Honey & the Moon

Honey & the Moon lists honey, sugared violet, jasmine and sandalwood. It’s the quietest honey here: violet makes it powdery and a little old-fashioned, and sandalwood gives it a creamy base. A good honey for daytime.

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Mariah Carey Lollipop Bling Honey

Lollipop Bling Honey is passionfruit, pineapple juice and lemon drops, then Amazon lily, ginger and white freesia, over musk, linden blossom and honey. Linden blossom is itself honey-scented, so the base is doubly honeyed. With lemon drops and ginger, it’s a honey-and-lemon throat sweet. Cheerful and cheap.

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Montale Honey Aoud

Montale’s Honey Aoud opens with cinnamon and honey, then patchouli leaves, over amber, leather, oud, vanilla and white musk. This is honey’s animal side turned up: honey, oud and leather all share a warm, slightly feral edge, and cinnamon keeps it spicy. Not for the office. Our oud list goes darker.

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More Sweet Things

For caramel and brown sugar, see our sweet perfumes. The honeysuckle list covers the flower that smells of honey, and amber perfumes go warmer still.