Best Earthy Floral Fragrance
Aesop Aurner eau de parfum
Aesop’s newest addition to its fragrance portfolio, Aurner eau de parfum, sits at a deliberate intersection of contrasts. Developed with long-time collaborator Céline Barel, it is a scent that sidesteps familiar floral tropes in favour of tension, structure and unexpected luminosity. Magnolia appears not in its usual lush, petal form, but through its leaf—green, crisp, and unusually aromatic. It sets the tone for a fragrance that reimagines what floral can mean.
Rather than offer easy softness, Aurner opens with clarity and bite. Citrus lifts the top, met by green, spiced notes of pink pepper and cardamom, while Roman chamomile introduces a metallic edge that Barel describes as “complex, bright, somehow tea-like.” The effect is immediate but layered, a dynamic interplay of freshness and friction.
As the fragrance develops, its floral core takes shape—though never in traditional terms. Magnolia leaf carries a clean, herbaceous quality, bolstered by geranium and warmed further by cardamom. The effect is neither overtly feminine nor classically floral, instead oscillating between warmth and clarity. It is in the dry down that Aurner’s deeper tonalities emerge: the earthy resonance of cedar heart, the textured density of sandalwood, the grounded smokiness of cypriol heart. These notes add weight, not sweetness, to the floral form.
The name Aurner itself, derived from an Old Norse term meaning “to be adorned with flowers,” quietly reflects the fragrance’s ambitions—to challenge notions of beauty, and to consider adornment not as decoration, but as transformation. The bloom here is not gentle. It’s precise, sharpened, and unafraid to hold its space.
In true Aesop fashion, Aurner resists gendered categorisation. Its floral character is neither coy nor ornamental but redefined as something sculptural, bold and deeply sensory. It pays homage to historical uses of florals across cultures, where scent transcended binary identity and simply became a vehicle for self-expression.
