Fragrance continues to outperform the U.S. prestige beauty market in 2025. When we look at the monthly trend, the rate of growth for fragrance sales has accelerated as we move deeper into the year.

Holidays are always a key contributor to the fragrance market’s annual bottom line, and most recently, the Mother’s Day results did not disappoint. The Father’s Day outlook is also encouraging.

I find Mother’s Day to be a special moment that celebrates motherhood and an opportune time to thank the mothers in my life with a thoughtful and personal token of appreciation. Personally, fragrance ranks high on my list as a gift to give — as well as to receive. This has proven to be a shared perspective, with one in five people choosing to gift fragrance for Mother’s Day this year. During the Mother’s Day shopping window, which we are defining as the three weeks ending May 17, women’s fragrance sales grew in both the prestige and mass retail channels. However, consistent with the rest of the year, sales remained dominant in prestige outlets. In fact, women’s prestige fragrance sales reached a new milestone for Mother’s Day 2025, exceeding half a billion dollars. Growing at a rate of 7% versus the 2024 Mother’s Day period, fragrance drove half of the total dollars gained within the overall women’s prestige beauty market during this three-week timeframe. 

Notably, innovation played a bigger role in the results this year. Sales of new scents increased 31%. Higher concentrations also continued to drive an impact as consumers opted for eau de parfums and parfums, which led most growth. This was followed by gift sets, which typically gain importance during Mother’s Day, and did so to a stronger degree this year. The growth in sets was driven by mini- and travel-sized sets, which have been trending in women’s fragrance over the past couple of years.

Echoing the sentiments associated with Mother’s Day, prestige fragrance has proven itself as a contender when it comes to showing appreciation to dads on Father’s Day. Based on the current trend, the outlook for Father’s Day remains positive, and will be boosted primarily by higher concentrations, innovations, and gift sets. Based on conservative estimates, the men’s prestige fragrance market is positioned to once again exceed $230 million for Father’s Day 2025.