Salt & Stone’s take on the pear trend is easily my favorite right now. It’s quite cold, like the feeling of walking outside on a chilly day, or waking up and the breeze coming through your windows is just a little too much so you want to stay under the covers. I’ve been so accustomed to warm, spicy fall perfumes, but this aldehydic scent still fits well for this season (and well into winter too).
| Notes | Pear, apple, orange blossom, white musk, ambrette, jasmine, ambroxan, iso E super, moss |
The pear notes in Rare Beginnings are much more prevalent on first spritz, making for a smooth, playful take on the trend. “Rare Beauty's Rare Beginnings puts pear nectar with gardenia and vanilla,” says Romero, who notes that he loves this scent. “It's sweet and approachable, and it's what I'd hand to someone just getting into pear.”
| Notes | Pear, pistachio, gardenia, jasmine, lotus, sugar, vanilla bean, cedarwood |
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An oldie but a goodie, Jo Malone London’s English Pear and Freesia is the original pear-based, showery perfume, but it still holds up today as one of the best. “It basically taught the world that pear can be elegant,” says Romero. The soft florals add a powderiness that’s reminiscent of freshly laundered linens.
| Notes | King William pear, freesia, patchouli |
Supersuite offers a more affordable take on the showery, skin scent pear vibes with Pear Skin, a musky, jasmine-spiked perfume that’s not too soapy. The added pear and mandarin top notes keep it from smelling too mature.
| Notes | Pear, mandarin, jasmine, musk, cedarwood |
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Lauded as a top perfume by Cosmo editors, Merit’s Retrospect is a masterclass in using pear to brighten up a floral perfume. It’s the most sophisticated on this list, but it doesn’t smell like a grandma by any means. It’s what I wear when I want to be taken seriously, but not, ya know, too seriously.
| Notes | Pear, ambrette, aldehydes, bergamot, orris, jasmine, rose, musk, moss, vanilla |
Romero raved about this scent, noting that it feels different from the clean-laundry takes on pear. “Hold Me Closer uses a pear liqueur accord with pink pepper, nutmeg, and chamomile, finishing on tonka and an earthy, skin-like base,” he says. “It's pear after dark, the version that stays for one more drink.”
| Notes | Liquor, pear, pink pepper, chamomile, hawthorn, papyrus, tonka bean, skin |
Beth Gillette is the beauty editor at Cosmopolitan, where she covers skincare, makeup, hair, nails, and more across digital and print. She can generally be found in bright eyeshadow furiously typing her latest feature or hemming and hawing about a new product you "have to try." Prior to Cosmopolitan, she wrote and edited beauty content as an Editor at The Everygirl for four years. Follow her on Instagram for makeup selfies and a new hair 'do every few months.