Fig

Is it just me that is seeing fig everywhere recently? I'm curious what the appeal is to others and why it has gotten this sudden upswing. Like last year when I was getting into perfume and consuming a lot of perfume content, I never saw it being talked about, but now suddenly fig is everywhere.

I have kind of unintentionally gotten 2 scents with prominent fig notes recently (bought Velvet Fig & Pistachio from The Body Shop today and Scarlet Poppy 2 weeks ago) both on whims, so evidently I also like it as a note, but it feels like it's sudden popularity is so random. To me it smells like soap. Apparently it's a common note used in soap and other home scents in Scandinavia.

I think it's the trendy note at the moment. I have no idea how or why something becomes trendy. I personally don't really like fig as a note, it's too figgy and tends to overtake other notes 😀 Except for Diptyque Philosykos, that's the only fig scent I am able to enjoy. I like it because it's creamy, refreshing, light, and green with a slight fruitiness. I would also be curious to know why other people like the fig note so much...

I think it’s because lactonic, milky perfumes are very popular right now, and fig can naturally lean creamy and slightly lactonic. At the same time, people seem to be slowly moving away from heavy gourmands and gravitating toward less sweet, more understated “edible” notes like fig, rice, and matcha.

Green and fruity scents are also on the rise again, and fig fits perfectly into that shift. It’s incredibly versatile. It can smell green and leafy, fruity and fresh, milky, or even subtly coconutty. 

It's easy to wear and generally inoffensive, a great everyday option.

"I'm curious what the appeal is to others and why it has gotten this sudden upswing."

Maybe

- memories : fig evokes childhood memories for many of us. In Philosykos' reviews you can clearly see that photorealistic fig can be magical to some. I think that real fig trees and fresh figs are one of the best things I have ever smelled in my life.

I dislike how vintage lipsticks smell, I have memories of that smell, but I never liked it (I was a Guerlain's Terracotta bronzer sniffer instead) but for some fragheads, "vintage lipstick" is my fig, because of their own memories. 

- if you don't like the other most inoffensive notes, fig is a great alternative, as skin-scents are becoming the norm and so many notes are perceived as offensive. There is no 100% inoffensive note but if I wanted to offend a villain I would wear clove, not fig.

Seconding everything @DRKSHDW wrote. I find fig very versatile. In different scents it can lean creamy, fruity, or green. Depending on how prominent it is or other notes it's blended with, it's suited for multiple seasons, and it's quite unisex. 

Yeah I have definitely noticed the same, fig is very trendy atm. And I also agree with the previous posts that fig is very versatile. There is a certain type of green fig note that I personally dislike and that type of note was my very first experience in fig fragrances so a few years ago I still used to say that fig is one of my least favourite notes and I used to avoid all fragrances with it because I thought it always smells like that. Thankfully I was brave enough to start testing some different fig perfumes at some point so I found out that fig can also be salty, milky, solar and/or sweet. Them types of figs I really enjoy and now I have several fig fragrances in my collection that I absolutely adore! 🥰🙏

Fig is not only trendy in perfumes btw, I have also noticed quite a few fig scented skincare products etc. appearing to stores recently. For example my newest top favourite body wash is Palmolive Fig & Milk Shower Cream, it has such a gorgeous fragrance and I would love to have a perfume that smells similar! 😍

The "trick" for knowing before as a fig note will smell in a fragrance is to notice where it is on the pyramid. Usually if you find fig in the head notes that is a fresh, green fig, heart fig tends to be mor juicy, fruity and sweet. When used in the base it takes lactonic nuances, usually used with musks.

Off course there are ecceptions to this, but it's a good approximation.

True! I think this whole thing is a bit tricky for me personally because I have noticed that the salty fig, which is my top favourite type of fig, tends to be in the top notes too because it's fresher/airier. So I can never know without smelling the fragrance if the top note fig would be salty (which I like) or overly green (which I dislike). I guess I need to try to test them ones first that have fig as a top note in order to really find out which type it is. 😄

I was always on the fence about fig until i tried Studio Scent. The fig doesn't dominate but it's very present, but blended with tea and some woods, among other things. And that's warmed me up to the idea of fig in perfume. Though I haven't found another fig fragrance I've liked enough to purchase.

I was curious about the trend myself after reading your post. I found some shallow but still interesting articles explaining the fig’s scent appeal. It’s partly the relevance of figs in history and literature, and partly what everyone else in the comments has already stated (multifaceted scent that smells gourmand without being overly sweet, etc).

I found it odd that the Marie Claire article mentions Sylvia Plath’s fig metaphor in The Bell Jar. Sylvia has been a wildly popular poet for as long as I can remember, and I imagine even more so after her death. At the same time, I wonder if using her writing to market fragrances is actually pointing to a larger “vibe shift”.

My tin foil hat theory is that brands know their buyers are (generally) increasingly depressed by the state of the world and are consequently retreating into themselves. Fig scents can be peddled pretty easily as an “ideal” fragrance for introverts. They’re “quiet” (subtle) and “intellectual” (can be related to literary classics, have historical and cultural significance, etc). It’s like saying “you’re sad. You’re lonely. You’ll love this fig tree perfume.”

To add to that, I think it’s significant that figs have a romantic connotation. In an age of worldwide loneliness, violence, and derision, romance is a fantasy for many people. Fantasies can be sold.

https://www.glam.com/1424430/f...

https://www.marieclaire.com/be...

It's as with vanilla and rose...also in every scent lately...Where are the carnations ???

Philosykos very much smells green to me, reminds me of pruning trees and bushes and that freshly cut young branch smell. I never pick up on anything particularly creamy or milky. Sounds like I’ll have to explore further if this is the new trend…

Fig is trending because it gives a unique mix of green, creamy and slightly sweet freshness that feels clean but not boring. It fits perfectly with the current shift toward minimal, natural, “clean luxury” scents. Social media and popular releases have also pushed fig into the spotlight recently and I even picked up a fig-based scent myself recently that is Cloud 9
And yes, that slightly soapy vibe comes from its common use in soaps and home fragrances.

I'm just getting into fig. My favorite so far is Boy Beach. The dry down on this is so beautiful. I can see why fig is gaining popularity.

fig is also pretty popular w makeup too

Fig has definitely been a popular note recently! I was never a fan until Boy Beach which is stunning and changed my mind on fig.

Fig is trending because it hits that perfect balance of fresh, green and slightly creamy without being too sweet. Cloud 9 you get that clean, almost soapy vibe people are loving right now