Pepper Over Spice: The Fall Fragrance Swap Perfumers Recommend
Gabar co-founder Susan Wai Hnin says peppery notes "can feel dry, sparkling, sharp, or effervescent," offering a brighter alternative to heavy fall spice accords.
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The takeaway
- Susan Wai Hnin, co-founder of fragrance house Gabar, says peppery and spicy scents create 'quite different effects within a fragrance'.
- Black pepper is drier and sharper, white pepper softer and earthier, pink pepper brighter with rosy and fruity facets.
- The spicy family spans cinnamon, clove, cardamom, ginger, nutmeg, saffron, and Sichuan pepper, per Wai Hnin.
Peppery fragrances offer a sharper, brighter alternative to the cinnamon-and-clove scents that dominate fall, according to Susan Wai Hnin, co-founder of the fragrance house Gabar.
"Peppery and spicy scents can overlap, but they create quite different effects within a fragrance," Wai Hnin tells ELLE. "They can feel dry, sparkling, sharp, or effervescent, bringing brightness and lift to a composition."
Wai Hnin distinguishes the two families primarily by texture. Peppery notes act as a precision tool within a formula. "They can sharpen a composition, add sparkle, or create movement," she says. Spices, by contrast, "can play a more expansive role, adding warmth, intensity, depth, or contrast."
The peppery category splits into three main materials, each with a distinct signature. Black pepper reads drier and sharper. White pepper sits softer and earthier. Pink pepper carries a brighter, subtly rosy and fruity quality.
The broader spicy family covers more ground: cinnamon, clove, cardamom, ginger, nutmeg, saffron, and Sichuan pepper. "These ingredients can create very different expressions of spice—from the deep warmth of cinnamon and clove to the aromatic freshness of cardamom and the vibrant, tingling character of Sichuan pepper," Wai Hnin explains.
She pushes back on the assumption that spice must feel heavy or traditionally warming. "Sichuan pepper, for example, gives you something much brighter, more vibrant, and almost mouthwatering," she says.
The practical takeaway for retailers and consumers building a fall wardrobe: peppery perfumes deliver seasonal character without the weight of conventional spice accords. Wai Hnin's framing suggests pepper works as the category's fresh entry point—one that adds kick through texture rather than warmth, a positioning likely to shape fall fragrance merchandising as shoppers look beyond the expected notes.
Source: Elle Beauty; Source: gabarworld.com
Olivia Hart
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Senior reporter covering business strategy at Eurasian Beauty Journal.
