Jil Sander’s New Fragrance Line Took Me By Surprise

Fashion. Heard of it? Happy Fashion Month to all who celebrate. Just in time for the season of runway shows, after parties, and Uber surge pricing, cool-girl fashion brand Jil Sander has released six brand-new scents that, in a world of sameness, promise to bring something fresh. But is there anything new under the sun?

If you’re unfamiliar — Jil Sander is a German designer known for minimal designs, clean lines, and timeless styles. The Sander brand made a name for itself with this sleek signature aesthetic that has wowed the fashion crowds around the world for over 50 years. Celebs fans include Anya Taylor-Joy, who wore head-to-toe Jil Sander to the Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga photocall in Cannes this summer, and Keri Russell, who wore the brand to the 2024 Golden Globes. Like any major fashion brand, they’ve also tried their hand at fragrance — more than a few times at that.

A cursory scan of Sander will reveal that the brand has released over 90 scents since the early ‘80s, but even with such a prolific release schedule and sizeable scent collection, the brand has not really been a major player in the space.

With the fragrance industry still booming and more brands than ever trying to stake their claim in scent, Jil Sander thought it the right time to revamp their reputation and reintroduce themselves with Olfactory Series 1. The brand explains that this collection “fuses botany and technology” with aldehydes cutting across key natural ingredients in each of the six minimalist, unisex formulas. But what does that…mean?

About Jil Sander Olfactory Series 1

Briefly, an aldehyde is a synthetic molecule that smells soapy, like a white bar of Dove or being submerged in a bubble bath surrounded by towers of iridescent foam. The most well-known aldehyde is the iconic Chanel No. 5, and the more contemporary (and aptly named) being REPLICA Bubble Bath, or 2024’s Frederic Malle x Acne collab.

Aldehydes smell squeaky clean, immediately bringing to mind being fresh out of a bath and giving the wearer a feeling of crisp purity, no matter where their day brings them. Aldehydes have been seeing a bit more of a resurgence in fragrance, or more specifically, in fragrance marketing, because this type of “clean” is more than just a scent, it’s an idea. In a post-pandemic world, cleanliness often means safety. It can add not only a welcome freshness, but empowering peace of mind.

Like any great note in perfumery, aldehydes are polarizing. People either love them or hate them. When it comes to aldehydes for me? I…hate them. When I heard about Sander’s collection, I was eager to smell what they were bringing to the table. Until, however, I heard the throughline was a note that always repels me. But! My curiosity won over my contrarianism and I knew I wouldn’t stop obsessing over smelling them until I got them under my nose, even if I ended up not liking them. So here we are.

I tried all six of the new Jil Sander Olfactory Series 1 and I have been humbled. Keep scrolling for my honest thoughts.

Jil Sander Leaf

Okay so I initially really did not care about Leaf. However, it was the first one I tried and I immediately knew that Ms. Jil Sander was on some other sh*t entirely. It’s green in the way you’d expect, but also in many ways you wouldn’t. It’s fresh, dewy, and cool, but instead of pungent like a broken vine, it’s bright like a spray of citrus and a ray of sunlight.

It’s a blend of lime, cardamom, mint, and aldehydes, with a little bit of a mandarin lean in there. It reminds me that spring is coming, it reminds me of being a teenager (scary), and it’s one of those scents that makes me happy to be alive.

Jil Sander Coffea

First of all yes, it is called Coffea not Coffee. Now that we’ve gotten that out of the way…

I didn’t care about Leaf, but I really cared about Coffea, and it did not disappoint. It’s not a literal take on coffee but it’s not exactly far from that either. A deep roasted coffee note blends with powdery orris, which is a combination I’ve smelled before and found that, in that instance, it did not work. This does. The plush powderiness of the orris tempers the bitterness of the coffee, like a splash of cream in a cortado, and makes it all the more delicious.

A bit of balsam at the base helps to ground the scent, and the aldehydes injected throughout, which could threaten to make it sharp (think stale diner coffee), actually help to keep it alive on the skin all day. As someone who is obsessed with coffee scents, this is a definite win.

Jil Sander Black Tea

After coffee, you’re probably curious about tea.

There are plenty of scents that interpret tea, in every varietal you can think of. Since the late ‘90s, green tea has been the go-to, and more recently, matcha (see: Le Labo Matcha 26, Cult Gaia Mast). Those are all lovely in their own right, but this one is a welcome new identity of the timeless note.

Sander takes black tea and pairs it with a sizeable dose of cinnamon, which I absolutely love. Add to that osmanthus, which gives it a honeyed, floral sweetness, and aldehydes for a scent that is, to me, a bit more experimental while still staying true to its concept.

I love cinnamon in scent, but the reality is that it can often read as bold or too heavy to add complexity, and instead pull focus in a fragrance. The cinnamon here is prominent, but it’s layered in a way that makes it both a supporting role and at times, the star of the show, bolstering the black tea note making it even more complex and fascinating.

Miel

If you think I knew what “Miel” meant when I picked up this bottle, you’d be wrong, but I appreciate your confidence in me. Miel means “Honey” in French, and oh honey, does it take you there — in the way that Coffea and Black Tea were not literal takes on their notes, this one is, but in the best way.

In a world of vanillas (which we love, don’t start) Miel is a more, shall we say, experienced take on sweet. I love a honey scent, and it really does give you everything you want, but in a very precise way. In the way that honey can smell earthy, grassy, or floral, Miel gives you more of a true herbaceous scent while still satisfying your craving for that sticky, ambery note.

I went through an intense honey perfume era like two years ago, and while I love all of the scents I wore, Miel might be my favorite? Call it recency bias.

Jil Sander Smoke

“Smoke” is not an unusual note to find in a scent, and can be deployed as a larger part of perfumes that are centered around wood, incense, or even florals. More recent interpretations of smoke include Raconteur’s Catholic Guilt Spritz, Clue Perfumery’s With The Candlestick, and Imaginary Authors’ A City On Fire. But Jil Sander brings a different perspective that sees smoke through a fresher lens.

This approach is largely supported by wood — cedarwood, to be specific — and wood resins, like cade and elemi for a deep, herbaceous feel to the woodiness throughout. A whisper of oud is barely perceptible, with aldehydes taking a more prominent role, adding an airy, linen-like, fresh laundry note that seems to be at odds with the dark smoky wood scent, but somehow works.

Smoke plays with the idea of duality — balancing both dark and light, heavy and weightless, for a different take on the hero note that shows just how effective aldehydes can be when used as a supporting role, rather than the main focus.

Jil Sander Earth

And finally, I guess it’s only right that we take it back down to Earth. After pushing and pulling the limits of perfume, Jil Sander rounds out the collection with what may be the most classic scent in the line with its most classic note: rose.

Earth begins on the skin as wet soil right after the rain — dark, deep, and full of life. As it wears, a rose blooms, blossoms on your skin, and slowly draws you closer in. A touch of patchouli, with a bit of mushroom, aldehydes, and rose, this scent begins with a question and ends with an answer. What will this season bring? Just like, every morning, when you spray on a scent, you’ll ask yourself — what will this day bring? The answer, if we’re lucky, is beauty.