Soft Regret, Citrus Notes, and the Rise of Feeling-Based Copy

A Trend Desk on brand messaging maybe going too far into poetic over-explanation?

Remember when a candle just smelled like lavender? Brown sugar and vanilla?

Now it smells like “Soft Regret on a Sunday Morning.”

Cool.

I'm not at all opposed to this. I'm just curious how we let it get this far. Because lately, every product sounds like it’s been through something. The life experiences I’ve seen deodorants have had me thinking about plot development and emotional arcs in my own personal projects.

Case in point: I saw yesterday a deodorant that describes itself as “inspired by The Iliad” with a “discreetly lingering green citrus fragrance.”  Its name? Something like "The Incessant Anxiety." Green citrus, ancient epics, and just enough despair to feel expensive.

I don't want it,

but I want to smell it.

You see it now?

Brand Messaging, But Make It Emotional™

Somewhere between “clean ingredients” and “community-led,” brands figured it out: emotion sells. So they all started reaching for it. Now everything wants to make you feel something—connection, intimacy, a hint of nostalgia, ideally wrapped in incredibly talented nonsense.

And when it’s done right, it works. A good emotional hook doesn’t sell you the product—it sells you a version of yourself you might like better. Not the person you are, but the one you almost were, or might still be able to become if the serum ships in time.

Because sometimes, you just want to feel like floating lavender in a musky Monday morning. Peaceful, chaotic, slightly unhinged, but moisturized.

That’s the vibe now. And brands know it.

So… Should We All Write Like This?

Honestly? Maybe.

Because despite the existential spirals and citrus-scented melodrama, emotional messaging works. Not because it’s poetic, or beautiful, or because it name-drops Homer — but because it feels like something.

And feeling something, in a feed full of sameness, is always a win.

The trick isn’t to be emotional. It’s to be specific. The sharper the feeling, the less it sounds like everyone else. We’re past the era of “made with love” and “inspired by self-care.” Now it’s about giving your product a personality crisis — and then writing it beautifully.

Whether that’s a face mist with abandonment issues or a candle that smells like getting ghosted in Paris, what matters is that it doesn’t just speak — is that it hits a nerve.

And yes, copy is strategy. And when it lands? It sticks.

Somewhere between the sandalwood and the soft regret, we’re all buying.

Thank you for spending time at the Trend Desk