This Valentine’s Day, perfume is playing matchmaker

It’s not too late to make Valentine’s Day plans. On Saturday, Perfume Room podcast host Emma Vernon will stage her second annual Smells Like Love fragrance dating show in New York City. The 2025 edition, sponsored by perfume brand Snif, welcomed more than 100 guests to watch one bachelor choose a date from among three contestants based on smell alone. Vernon expects a similar turnout for the 2026 edition.  

“Perfume and dating will always go hand in hand, because so many people use perfume as a tool of attraction,” said Vernon, who built on her background in improv and matchmaking to conceive the show. She recruited Cirque du Soleil Parfums, Mane, L’Epoque and Snif as sponsors for the 2026 edition; one slot for prospective singles is still open as of publication.

With dating and perfume at the top of the zeitgeist for many young consumers, fragrance brands are turning to a tried-and-true connection between scent and romance to connect with audiences. But in lieu of traditional “sex sells” perfume advertising, today’s partnerships are taking the form of in-person events that build on consumers’ desire for immersive experiences. And, for some participants, there’s the chance of an actual date at the end. 

That includes the singles who will attend AI fragrance startup Scircle’s event with dating platform Thursday on February 26. The New York City event will host roughly 200 attendees who, for $30 a ticket, will be able to mingle with other singles and create a custom fragrance using Scircle’s AI-powered tool Aura. 

“There’s a difference between, ‘You smell good,’ and, ‘I like the way you smell,’” said Ethan Turner, perfumer and CMO of Scircle, who proposed the partnership after having a positive experience at a Thursday event in Phoenix. “The whole point of what we’re doing at Scircle is trying to build a community around using scent as an everyday experience. We do it already, not knowingly. And maybe it’s more about bringing to the forefront that you can use scent for dating.” 

Fragrance makes a natural partner for in-person dating events that offer an alternative to singles facing “swiping fatigue” on dating apps like Hinge and Bumble. If February’s event produces a successful turnout, Turner said Scircle and Thursday will host an additional 10 events. 

“With Thursday, the real life experience that they’re offering is about human connection,” said Turner. “The longer-term conversation is: If this results in positive data where we see people are truly connecting and actually dating after they smell someone’s fragrance, can we integrate a fragrance profile into the dating experience for Thursday?” 

There’s good reason for fragrance brands to want to be top of mind with consumers in the period on and around Valentine’s Day. According to data from market analysts Circana, in the two weeks leading up to Valentine’s Day 2025, fragrance accounted for 24% of prestige beauty dollars, up three points from 2024. That share went up to 36% during the week of Valentine’s Day 2025.

Fragrance and dating are getting together outside of Valentine’s Day, as well. In September, LoveShackFancy partnered with the dating app Tinder on the launch of a three-day pop-up to celebrate its new Secret Crush fragrance. According to the brand, the New York City pop-up garnered roughly 300 visitors and more than 3 million social views and engagements on Instagram and TikTok.

Tinder is not the only dating app investing in beauty-centric experiences. Poly-friendly dating app Feeld will host a self-care-themed pop-up with beauty services app Lucie in London on Valentine’s Day. The app’s magazine, launched in 2024, has also explored the connection between fragrance and desire, with its most recent issue featuring an interview with Jouissance founder Cherry Cheng by perfume writer Arabelle Sicardi

Even with consumers feeling burnt out on dating apps, the industry is still generating big business. According to the Business of App’s 2025 Dating App Report, the dating app market earned $6.18 billion in revenue in 2024, with $3.5 billion coming from Tinder and Hinge owner Match Group. 

Whether fragrance can help guarantee a match remains to be seen. But Vernon, who has fielded requests to take her Smells Like Love show beyond New York City, finds her audience is more than willing to try. 

“Regardless of whatever is going on in the world, whether we are flourishing or having the worst politics or economy or everything’s on fire, people are still trying to look for love,” said Vernon. “That need to want to find a person to have as a companion and to spend your time with never goes away. You just have to get creative.”

Photo credit: Arin Sang-urai. 

Executive moves: 

• LVMH named Véronique Courtois as chairman and chief executive officer of its beauty division. Courtois will retain her role as head of Parfums Christian Dior. She succeeded Stéphane Rinderknech in the role and will oversee brands such as Loewe Parfums, Maison Francis Kurkdjian, Benefit Cosmetics, Fenty Beauty and Officine Universelle Buly.

• Live Tinted named Aminata Tall as chief marketing officer and Celina Areosa as svp of sales. Tall previously worked for the brand from 2021 to 2023, and has held roles at Kate Somerville and Procter & Gamble brands. Areosa was previously svp of field and domestic sales at Anastasia Beverly Hills.

News to know:

• Sydney Sweeney may be adding beauty to her Syrn lingerie line. In January, the actress filed a federal trademark application for “Syrn” that covers “skincare preparations, cosmetics, and beauty care preparations.”

• Coty terminates license with French skin-care brand Orveda as part of its “Coty. Curated” turnaround plan. Interim CEO Markus Strobel announced the plan on Thursday’s earnings call, where the conglomerate reported net revenue of $1.7 billion for Q2 2026, a 1% increase from a year earlier. Coty also withdrew its full-year outlook for 2026.

• Mexican beauty brand Aora provided makeup for Bad Bunny’s 2026 Super Bowl Halftime Show. The brand’s head of makeup, Jennifer Hatching, and a team of more than 13 makeup artists created looks for the more than 150 performers at the Puerto Rican musician’s headlining show. 

• Calvin Klein taps Rosalía as the face of its Euphoria Elixir fragrances. Launching in March, the new Euphoria flankers will attempt to introduce Gen Z to the fragrance first launched in 2005. 

Stat of the week:

Consumer spending on Valentine’s Day 2026 is expected to reach a record $29.1 billion, according to a survey from the National Retail Federation and Prosper Insights & Analytics. That would represent a 5.8% increase over the $27.5 billion spent in 2025.

In the headlines:

Fragrance is all about comfort and escapism in 2026. Buzzy beauty ingredient of the moment: PDRN. Move over, girl dinner. Boy kibble has arrived. “Chia pudding is Cathy’s composed side”: The weird and worrying world of official Wuthering Heights merchandise.

Listen in: 

On the latest episode of the Glossy podcast, Glossy Pop editor Sara Spruch-Feiner and reporter Zofia Zwieglinska unpack why creators are building systems — not chasing virality — on TikTok Shop. 

Need a Glossy recap? 

Why L’Oréal Groupe is investing in P2 Science, the ingredient company quietly working with Rare Beauty, Living Proof and The Ordinary. Glossy Pop Newsletter: Why are so many skin-care brands hitting the slopes? A year into turnaround plan, the Estée Lauder Companies finds steady growth. E.l.f. Beauty CEO outlines Rhode’s international expansion plan, holiday sales wins on earnings call. Rare Beauty breaks Ulta Beauty’s record for launch-day sales.