Whether you identify with the subculture or not, the increase of time at home last year sent us all into a certain degree of cottagecore living—whether as subtle as nurturing a new sourdough starter, tending to your indoor plants with a new degree of care, picnicking in public gardens, or lusting over Dakota Johnson’s green kitchen. A romanticised interpretation of western agricultural life and the English countryside, cottagecore—an aesthetic subculture made popular on Tumblr, Instagram, and most recently, TikTok—embraces a nostalgic, sustainable, dream-like, and nature-centric existence, abundant with wildflowers, wooden cabins, fresh-brewed tea, and fruit-laced baked goods. According to the r/cottagecore subreddit, it’s not about being ‘cool’ or contemporary, instead, “your grandma, but like, hip.” Recent pop culture phenomenons ‘Bridgerton’, ’Little Women’, and Taylor Swift’s ‘folklore’ and ‘evermore’ albums have only amplified the trend. With the subculture already slipping into our wardrobes by way of liberty prints, corsetry, and puff sleeves, we figured it was time it spilled into our beauty rituals too. These scents will give you—and your home—the perfect cottagecore touch.
FOR YOU: Vilhelm Parfumerie’s Dear Polly Eau De Parfum Smells like: just-brewed black tea served alongside homemade apple pie or earl grey tea cake, with a lingering breeze of forest-found oakmoss—it’s cottagecore in a bottle.
FOR YOUR HOME: Jo Malone London’s Wild Bluebell Home Candle Smells like: fresh-picked persimmons and bluebells run wild in airy woodlands, with a hint of homely clove. Think crisp, clean and an ever so slightly modernised take on the trend.
FOR YOU: BULY 1803’s Eau Triple Scottish Lichen Perfume Smells like: winter turning into spring in the grassy hills of Scotland, crisp with dew and pollen. If you prefer fresh and green over sweet and floral, this is it.
FOR YOU: Maison Margiela’s By The Fireplace EDT Smells like: a crackling fireplace in a cosy cottage cabin, vanilla essence lingering and roasted chestnuts in tow. It’s cottagecore but make it winter.
FOR YOUR HOME: Boy Smells’ Petal Candle Smells like: a bouquet of white and wild flowers, brought home to a countryside cottage recently cleansed with sage and patchouli (perfect for those veering into witchcore, too).
FOR YOU: Bastide’s Rose Olivier EDT Smells like: thorned roses intertwined with herbaceous greenery, just picked and popped into a vase, heightened with the softness of a cashmere cardigan.
FOR YOUR HOME: Floral Street’s Spring Bouquet Candle Smells like: a just-gleaned basket of fruit and flowers, picked from a country garden on a sunny day dappled by overhanging greenery.
FOR YOU: Le Labo’s Lys 41 Smells like: an organic bouquet of white flowers, softened with the earthiness of wood and musk—a more subtle take on cottagecore’s woodsy nature.
