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Real search trends from Google
Nuscents Home Fragrance Search Index
The UK’s Home Fragrance Scent Index
Monthly insights into the home fragrance scents the UK is searching for, buying and loving right now.
AI Search Trends
Insights from AI search demand
Nuscents Sales Data
Live sales signals from real orders
Market & Social Signals
Buzz, demand and market movement
100% data driven
Updated monthly
UK wide coverage
4.4M+
Searches Analysed
This Month ↑ 10% vs April 2026
This Month ↑ 10% vs April 2026
3.0M+
AI Search Mentions
This Month ↓ 3% vs April 2026
This Month ↓ 3% vs April 2026
286K+
Nuscents Sales
Data Points ↑ 6% vs April 2026
Data Points ↑ 6% vs April 2026
182
Trending Scents
Right Now ↑ 8% vs April 2026
Right Now ↑ 8% vs April 2026
12
UK Regions
Covered Nationwide data
Covered Nationwide data
Top 1%
Most Comprehensive
Fragrance Index Unique data blend
Fragrance Index Unique data blend
Monthly Home Fragrance Report
The UK Scent Index May 2026
A monthly report tracking the UK's most popular home fragrance scents using Google search behaviour, AI search trends, Nuscents sales data and wider market signals.
Published 3rd June 2026
May 2026 Edition
Top 20 UK Home Fragrance Scents
| Rank | Scent | Category | Index Score | Monthly Change | Why It’s Trending |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pink Sands | Tropical | 99.3 | — | Warm weather kept beachy tropical scents at the top of UK home fragrance demand. |
| 2 | Coconut Lime | Tropical | 98.8 | ↑1 | Citrus and coconut fragrances climbed again as early summer buying gathered pace. |
| 3 | Black Cherry | Fruity | 98.1 | ↑7 | Fruity fragrances surged as warmer weather pushed sweeter, juicier scent profiles higher. |
| 4 | Summer Breeze | Fresh | 97.4 | ↑1 | Light airy fragrances continued climbing as homes shifted into summer mode. |
| 5 | Rhubarb & Custard | Sweet Fruity | 96.8 | ↑14 | Retro fruity-sweet fragrances bounced back strongly during warmer May weather. |
| 6 | Spring Awakening | Laundry | 96.1 | ↓4 | Still a major clean scent, but spring-cleaning demand cooled as fruity and tropical scents rose. |
| 7 | Fresh Linen | Laundry | 95.6 | ↓3 | Laundry scents remained dependable but lost ground to warmer seasonal fragrance families. |
| 8 | Blueberry & Vanilla | Fruity Sweet | 95.0 | New | Berry-led fragrances entered strongly as customers moved towards sweeter fruity home scents. |
| 9 | Fresh Cut Grass | Fresh | 94.4 | ↑11 | Garden-inspired fragrances continued rising during warm, outdoor-focused weather. |
| 10 | Strawberry & Rhubarb | Fruity | 93.8 | New | Juicy fruit fragrances entered the index as May brought stronger summer-scent behaviour. |
| 11 | Clean Cotton | Laundry | 93.2 | ↓5 | Classic clean scents stayed relevant but continued slipping from their spring peak. |
| 12 | Peony Blush | Floral | 92.6 | ↑5 | Soft florals held momentum as May demand favoured lighter, prettier fragrance profiles. |
| 13 | Black Coconut | Tropical | 92.0 | New | Coconut-based scents broadened beyond citrus, with darker tropical profiles entering demand. |
| 14 | Daffodil & Vanilla Flower | Floral | 91.4 | ↓7 | Seasonal spring florals softened as May shifted towards fruitier, summery scents. |
| 15 | White Dove | Clean | 90.7 | ↓3 | Soft clean scents remained steady but less exciting than tropical and fruity profiles. |
| 16 | Jasmine & Patchouli | Floral | 90.1 | ↓8 | Elegant florals cooled as the market moved towards warmer fruity fragrances. |
| 17 | Velvet Peony & Oud | Woody Floral | 89.5 | ↓4 | Luxury oud blends stayed in the index but softened as lighter summer-led scents took over. |
| 18 | Vanilla | Sweet | 88.9 | ↓2 | Vanilla remained dependable, though less dominant than fruit and tropical fragrance profiles. |
| 19 | Lemon Sherbet | Citrus Sweet | 88.2 | New | Bright sweet citrus scents entered as warm weather lifted playful summer-style fragrances. |
| 20 | Unstoppable Fresh | Laundry | 87.5 | ↓11 | Laundry booster-style scents remained searched but fell sharply from their spring-cleaning peak. |
↑ Moved up
↓ Moved down
— No change
New entry
Nuscents-Led Data
Biggest Year-on-Year Scent Risers
Each month, the UK Scent Index highlights the fragrance notes showing the strongest year-on-year growth across Nuscents search, sales and customer interest data. These figures are based on Nuscents-led trend analysis and are designed to show changing consumer behaviour across home fragrance.
#1
Juicy Fruit Notes
+68%Fruity scents saw the strongest year-on-year rise, with cherry, strawberry, rhubarb and berry-led fragrances boosted by warmer weather and earlier summer-style buying.
#2
Tropical Coconut
+55%Coconut-based fragrances continued climbing as customers moved towards beachy, holiday-inspired home scents during the warm May period.
#3
Sweet Citrus
+43%Bright citrus-sweet fragrances such as lemon sherbet and lime-led profiles gained momentum as shoppers looked for fresher, more playful summer scents.
Methodology note:
Year-on-year risers compare May 2026 against May 2025 using Nuscents-led
search behaviour, product engagement, customer demand signals and fragrance category trends.
Warmer early-summer weather appears to have strengthened interest in fruit, coconut and citrus-led home fragrance.
May 2026 Findings
What This Month’s Index Shows
May accelerated the UK's move into summer fragrance preferences. Warm weather drove strong demand for tropical, fruity and citrus-led scents, while traditional spring favourites and laundry fragrances began losing ground after dominating earlier in the year.
01
Summer fragrances arrived earlier than usual
Pink Sands, Coconut Lime and other beach-inspired fragrances dominated demand as the UK's unusually warm weather encouraged consumers to embrace holiday-style home scents weeks ahead of summer.
02
Fruity scents enjoyed their biggest jump of the year
Black Cherry, Strawberry & Rhubarb, Blueberry & Vanilla and other juicy fruit fragrances climbed rapidly as brighter, sweeter scent profiles gained popularity.
03
Laundry fragrances finally slipped from their peak
Spring Awakening, Fresh Linen and Clean Cotton remained among the UK's most popular fragrances, but their dominance eased as shoppers favoured tropical and citrus-led alternatives.
04
Fresh citrus became a major growth category
Lemon, lime and other vibrant citrus fragrances benefited from the sunshine, with consumers increasingly choosing clean, uplifting scents that reflected the warmer conditions.
Why Trust The Index?
Built From Multiple Demand Signals
The UK Scent Index is designed to be a practical monthly snapshot of home fragrance demand, not just a list of bestsellers.
Google Search Behaviour
We consider how people are actively searching for scents, fragrance families and home fragrance products in the UK.
AI Search Trends
We look at emerging AI-led search interest to spot fragrance themes that may be growing before they become obvious elsewhere.
Nuscents Sales Data
Real customer purchasing behaviour helps balance search interest with what people are actually buying.
Market Movement
Seasonality, fragrance families, wider category trends and product demand are reviewed together rather than in isolation.
Methodology
How The Monthly Score Is Calculated
Each scent is given an index score out of 100. The score combines search demand, AI search interest, Nuscents sales data, monthly movement and wider market signals. The result is a balanced view of what the UK appears to be interested in, not just what sold most in one shop.
40%
Google search interest
25%
AI search demand
20%
Nuscents sales data
15%
Market & seasonal signals
Regional Surprise
Where the UK Scent Map Changed This Month
Each month, the UK Scent Index highlights standout regional shifts from Nuscents-led search, sales and customer interest data.
Northern Ireland
Black Cherry surged in the warm spell
Fruity scents over-indexed sharply in May, with cherry-led fragrances gaining stronger-than-expected demand as shoppers moved towards juicy summer profiles.
+52% YoY demand
Liverpool & Merseyside
Blueberry & Vanilla entered fast
Sweet berry fragrances climbed quickly, suggesting warmer weather helped push dessert-style fruity scents back into stronger customer interest.
#1 berry growth region
Bristol & Bath
Lemon Sherbet became the citrus surprise
Bright citrus-sweet fragrances gained unusual momentum, with playful lemon-led scents performing strongly as May demand shifted towards fresher summer fragrance.
+41% vs UK averageMethodology note: Regional Surprise is based on Nuscents-led search behaviour, customer demand signals, product engagement and regional fragrance category trends. It is intended as a directional indicator of UK home fragrance interest.
May 2026 Regional Breakdown
Top Scent By UK Region
Explore which home fragrance scents led the index across the UK’s nations and regions this month.
Selected Region
Scotland
Top Scent
Black Cherry
Category
Fruity
Index Score
99.1
Select a UK nation or region on the map to reveal its leading home fragrance scent for May 2026.
Media & Press
Using The UK Scent Index?
Journalists, bloggers and publishers are welcome to reference or quote data from The UK Scent Index with clear attribution to Nuscents and a link back to the original report.
Monthly home fragrance data
Regional scent trends
Expert commentary available
Previous Editions
Explore UK Scent Index Reports
Browse every monthly edition of the UK Scent Index from January 2025 to June 2026.
June2026Latest report
May2026View report
April2026View report
March2026View report
February2026View report
January2026View report
December2025View report
November2025View report
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January2025First edition