Beauty Editors Think These 5 Perfumes Smell "Dated"—Here's What We're Spritzing Instead

As a beauty editor, I find myself thinking about perfume a lot. Not just because perusing a perfume hall is one of my favourite pastimes (who doesn't love searching for a new signature scent?) but fragrance evokes feelings that are so personal to everyone, in a way that you don't really get with makeup or skincare. At times, fragrance can be a divisive topic. I often think about the classic perfumes I've seen on my grandmother's dressing table (such as Chanel No.5 and Lancôme Trésor) or my mum's (Thierry Mugler Angel and Guerlain Shalimar). These perfumes may smell 'dated', 'old fashioned' or even a little controversial by today's standards, but at their prime, they were today's Le Labo Santal 33 or Escentric Molecules Molecule 01—they captured the zeitgeist of their era. It's interesting to think that the trending perfumes we wear now will most likely smell dated in another thirty year's time. As we know with trend cycles, whether it be in fashion of fragrance, things that were once outdated always come back into fashion.

When I asked fellow beauty editors and perfume experts on Instagram what notes smell the most dated now, it certainly drummed up some strong opinions in my DMs. While there are some perfumes ahead that we all felt are less modern nowadays, fragrance is subjective. So if you love a perfume, who are we to tell you not to wear it? However, if you do want to give a classic perfume you love an update for 2024, scroll ahead for the modern alternatives we're updating our fragrance wardrobes with.

Perfumes That Feel "Dated" In 2024

Dated Perfume Note: Rose

Out of all of the perfume notes, most agreed that this note feels the most old-fashioned. "The pure rose scents remind me of my grandma," says freelance beauty journalist, Dionne Brighton. However, if it's done in a modern way, it can feel give an entirely different vibe. "It’s hard to explain but I think rose scents these days feel lighter and modern," says freelance beauty journalist, Fani Mari. "I think the more modern rose scents feel more 'natural', like closer to the actual scent of roses in nature," she says.

Beauty experts are also in favour of rose scents combined with notes such as oud to add another dimension. "I love rose notes layered beneath contrasting oud, tobacco or pepper notes. It almost smells ‘fizzy’ on the nose thanks to the mix of smokey and powdery rose aromas," says freelance beauty journalist, Charley Williams-Howitt. "Victoria Beckham Beauty Suite 302 is a gutsy launch into fragrance—it is incredibly intoxicating with a blend of black cherry, rosa centifola and tobacco. It wraps you up in seductive Californian warmth in one single breath."

How We're Wearing Rose Now:

Dated Perfume Note: Vanilla

This might be a controversial one, given that we've seen more and more vanilla-based scents launching of late, but the sugar-sweet vanilla notes that headline a perfume feel a little overdone. "I'm so sick of vanilla—I know the '90s are hot right now, but all these sickly sweet scents brings back haunting memories of school discos," says beauty journalist Laura Pearson.

How We're Wearing Vanilla Now:

Dated Note: Sandalwood

While we adore sandalwood, the huge popularity of Le Labo's Santal 33 means this is one perfume editors are a little bored of when it's the single star of the show in a fragrance. "Personally I’m sick of smelling Le Labo Santal 33 wherever I go," says Who What Wear copy editor, Georgia Seago.

"I love sandalwood more as base note rather than a top note," adds beauty journalist, Sidra Imtiaz. "So for instance Maison Francis Kurkdjian 724 has a brighter, more floral scent but then settles into the sandalwood with wear, rather than the immediate sandalwood of a Le Labo Santal 33, which I feel like smells a bit more obvious and one dimensional to me." she says.

How We're Wearing Sandalwood Now:

Dated Note: White Florals

Another fragrance note that cropped up was white florals, such as jasmine or tuberose. In fact, after sprtizing some scents in the Who What Wear beauty cupboard, junior beauty editor Grace Lindsay and I came to the conclusion that white florals can very easily slip into dated territory—and other beauty journalists agree.

"At times, wearing white floral scents makes me feel like I’m wearing the giant overpowering bowl of potpourri my nana used to keep in her bathroom," says Lollie Hancock, content writer at Professional Beauty. "So I tend to lean more towards fresher and lighter floral scents now that don’t induce migraines. Don’t get me wrong, when it’s done right I’m all for a tuberose note, but it needs to be balanced with something more modern for me to use it," she says.

How We're Wearing White Florals Now:

Dated Trend: Cherry

We've seen a lot of takes on cherry notes of late, but beauty editors are a tad over the synthetic and headache-inducing sweet cherry notes. "Cherry notes tend to be so overwhelming and fake. They’re outdated," says freelance beauty journalist, Humeara Mohamed. "I tend to find cherry notes in reeeeally synthetic perfumes that are made to LAST, but I think scents are leaning more towards actual natural notes rather than emulations of natural notes. When I think of a cherry fragrance I instantly think: I’ll get a headache, and it’s more modern to move away from that kind of staying power now," she says.

How We're Wearing Cherry Notes Now: