I’ve always loved a good best-of list. Back when I was a magazine reader, those pages were my favorite, and that habit stuck. On my blog, I’ve always enjoyed rounding up which makeup I reach for the most and or what were my favorite purchases throughout the year. If I had to give up every fragrance in my collection and only keep ten, these would be the ten.
Wearing fragrance every day is part of my self-care routine. I don’t save perfume for special occasions. I wear it to the grocery store. The only places I don't wear perfume are on a plane and to the dentist (where people sit close to you, so not to annoy). I also don’t believe in having just one signature scent. I like to change things up with the seasons, and wearing the same perfume all year would feel boring to me. Scent is our most powerful and primal sense when it comes to memory and emotion, so I want variety. I gravitate toward niche fragrances because they feel more unique, which is why only two on my list are available at Sephora.
Perfume has symbolized luxury for centuries. In ancient Egypt, it was worn by pharaohs and high-ranking officials. In 17th and 18th century Europe, especially France, fragrance became a marker of wealth and sophistication among royalty. Today, designer perfumes still carry that idea forward. Fragrance often signals status, success, and personal taste. I’ll probably never stop buying perfume. I love having a fragrance wardrobe to choose from.
I think every woman should have scents from five core categories, each one matching a different mood or moment:
- An everyday fragrance
- A fall or winter scent
- A summer scent
- A romantic or date-night option
- Something work-safe
Different occasions call for different moods. I naturally reach for fresher scents in the summer and lean into florals in the spring. In winter, I love heavier, darker, warmer fragrances. Cold air softens perfume, which is why winter is my favorite season to wear bold, mysterious scents. When I pull them back out each year, I get excited all over again.
Summer is a different story. Heat makes fragrance burn off faster, so lighter scents work best. This is the time for citrus, breezy beachy notes, green scents, or anything that feels tropical and transportive. Think fresh, airy, and easy.
Fragrance is special because it helps us build memories and emotional associations. I always encourage quality over quantity. I’d skip discounted perfumes from places like TJ Maxx, since many of those bottles may have been sitting around for years. Save your money and buy fragrances you truly love. Rotate a few high-quality scents and enjoy them fully. Perfume should bring joy. Don’t be afraid to spray generously. You bought it to be worn and to be smelled.
That said, there is one firm rule. Please don’t wear strong perfume on a plane! On a recent flight a man's cologne an aisle in front of me was so strong, he needed to tone it down. It was too much! I'm an over-sprayer but there is a time and place, and its not confined spaces.
From the left, I've had the first bottle for 4 years, and the other bottles for 3 years.
The blue top bottle in the picture above. I would call this a sparkling grapefruit scent. I was really drawn to this fragrance because I have scent memory from my childhood of smelling honeysuckle bushes. The perfume is a blend of citruses with the lovely sweet nectar of honeysuckle, perfect to wear on your Mediterranean vacation. It has notes of bergamot, grapefruit, honeysuckle, tuberose, honey and jasmine. I know it's hard to buy perfume online, so get the mini size. It's a great size to travel with! You'll get so many compliments on it. Granddaughter of Estee Lauder, Aerin makes the most beautiful realistic floral scent perfumes. They have since released two flankers but I didn't care for either - Mediterranean Honeysuckle Mimosa and Mediterranean Honeysuckle Clementina. This is my ride or die fragrance. It is the one I connect with the most.
Picture a fresh grassy scent of mint leaves, squeezed limes and fragrant tomato leaves. It's crisp and so refreshing, you'll smell very clean. Notes are Mint, Grapefruit, Bergamot, Green Notes, Cassis, Rose and White Musk. It unisex and stays close to the skin.
This is vacation in a bottle! It has notes of pineapple, Monoi (an infused perfume-oil made from soaking the petals of Tahitian gardenias (Tiare flowers) in coconut oil), and ylang-ylang in a musky base. Imagine a mix of tropical flowers with fruit but its not too sweet. The scent is quite similar to
Intense Tiare however Jaune Oud Intense smells opulent, expensive and heavy. This tropical, floral scent is so sexy and a masterpiece! I feel so beautiful when I wear it! The word jaune means yellow in French. This is such a happy, warm, yellow scent. It's a definitely a statement piece that you want to have in your collection that is stunning, intoxicating and will turn heads. Since this is pricey I bought a dupe for it at first to see how much I would wear it, the third bottle in the pic above. Then eventually I bought the real thing you can see in my first photo front row.
You'll also notice I have a white bottle
Giardini di Toscana - Bora Bora pictured in the back. It's very similar to Jaune Oud so I don't think you need both? This was an absolute love at first sniff! It's bursting with the lushest, dense tropical experience with Tiare and Ylang-Ylang. The white florals dominate over a layer of creamy coconut, vanilla and caramel. Notes are Tiare, Ylang ylang, Jasmine, Apricot, Coconut Milk, White Musk, Jasmolactone, Vanilla, Amber, White Musks, Caramel. 2023 release.
BDK is a new Parisian fragrance house. Gris Charnel is a unisex scent best worn in winter, fall, and maybe spring. This fragrance has a very cozy feeling to it. It smells like a frothy, milky spiced chai latte with figs. The sandalwood is creamy, sophisticated and elegant. It comes in two versions, EDP and Extrait which is a darker, smokier version of the original. The EDP is a soft comforting scent and the main note is cardamom and it's a warm, spicy, wood fragrance - the perfect scent for fall! It lasts all day and this and the next fragrance are my top two from this list. Top notes are Cardamom, Fig and Black Tea; middle notes are iris and Bourbon Vetiver; base notes are Sandalwood and Tonka Bean. The small bottle in the pic above. Sometimes I buy 10 ml sizes to see how much of it I will use before determining if I should buy the full size.
If you're the type of person who likes a dark ambery fragrance, this is for you. In French,
Grand Soir means "Big Night", so imagine what scent you'd wear for a night out in Paris as you drive by the all the bridges and sparkling Eiffel Tower. This is a beautiful scent with notes of sweet amber, vanilla, tonka bean and benzoin. It's rich, sophisticated and breathtaking. It's warm but not too spicy. It has superb performance lasting 8 hours and through a shower! It's a
unisex scent and has a strong scent trail. I wore this to dinner and my friend could smell me from across the table. The next day I could still smell it on me as I had accidently sprayed my hair.
I like the extreme version not to be confused with the
regular version which Rihanna's assistant accidently mentioned was her signature perfume. It has notes of marshmallow and rose and is one of the most beautiful perfumes I've ever smelled. After I bought this I considered never wearing another perfume again. The perfume engulfs you in a cloud of marshmallows! The color of the perfume changes over time and becomes more red. White bottle on far right in above photo.
Nishane is a Turkish brand and Ani was released 3 years ago. Ani is considered a unisex fragrance. It's a warm woody vanilla with an effervescent bergamot opening, then it changes over time to a spicy ginger with cardamom. I wore this every day last December because it smells like Christmas. I got lots of compliments on it as it's a stunning fragrance! It's dreamy, delicious, inviting, warm and comforting so also perfect for rainy fall days. This also comes in a
hair perfume. A hair perfume has less alcohol so it's safe for your hair and your hair can hold a scent longer than your skin. First bottle on left in above photo. The second bottle is another Nishane perfume that I loved the sample but when I got the bottle was no longer excited about it. So not wanting to waste my money, I put the bottle by my front door for days I forget to put perfume on.
A masculine leaning fragrance that reminds me of the sweet cherry pipe tobacco my uncle Nick used to smoke. Its described as a resinous, sultry heart of incense and tobacco, combined with such smoky-sweet artistry. In the base, the woodsier and earthier aspects are enhanced with rich patchouli and vetiver, while a creamy, delectable vanilla keeps things from ever getting too dark or deep.
You'll notice a pink bottle in the picture, that is
Giorgio Armani - Magenta Tanzanite, this smells very similar to Herod but leans more feminine as it has ginger and bergamot which gives it a lighter feel but it's still a heavy perfume. The Cinnamon and Myrrh in Magenta Tanzanite make it more spicy while Herod is a little sweeter and has a lot more woody notes and feels darker. Overall it comes off as a dark, resinous, cherry liquor soaked cigar with spices (cardamom, cinnamon, ginger, vanilla bourbon). 2022 release, notes are cardamom, ginger, bergamot, cinnamon, coffee, myrrh, tobacco, vanilla, tonka bean. Some people compare this to Penhaligon's - Changing Constance as they have some similarities.
This fragrance is how you smell like wealth, it gives Old Money Vibes. This is a 2023 release and top notes are Pear, Hazelnut and Olibanum; middle notes are Osmanthus, Rose, Saffron and Jasmine Sambac; base notes are Sandalwood, Vanilla, Akigalawood, Ambergris and Labdanum. I visited the Amouage perfume factory in Muscat, Oman thinking the perfumes would be cheaper there, nope! They have finally started samples on their website so I got a sample of both and they ship overnight!
Guidance was the *IT* perfume in the fragrance community for 2024! But it had polar reviews, some hated it, some loved it, and others scoffing at the price - $380. For me it wasn't love at first sniff. This just goes to show that sometimes you need to try a fragrance a few times, tastes grow & change, the seasons may effect how you feel about a fragrance, etc. I bought the Hair Mist as it was cheaper and your hair holds perfume longer than skin. There are two dupes that I haven't tried, but link here. In 2024 they released a new version called Guidance 46 that is even stronger, but costs $520!
I love it now because I discovered that fragrance shines in cold weather! Its creamy, nutty and jammy all at once. The scent develops throughout wearing into different notes. The fragrance is very strong! I sprayed my hair and still smelled it the next day! Not listed in the notes but I can sense some franckinsence ( typical Amouage DNA ) hence it's specifically a winter gem. With an exquisite blend heavy in benzoin and patchouli, its a very balsamic, warm, incense vanilla. Material is the epitome of sophistication! It smells luxurious, rich and it’s masterfully blended. On my skin it is a intoxicating!
It's a tie with Grand Soir since they smell similar and you really only need one of the other.
I've had my sample since Jan 2022. This was love at first sniff. See the first perfume that was given to me in middle school was the original version of
YSL Opium. Not sure if it's made anymore but I linked to the new version that people say doesn't smell like the old version. But this fragrance put me in a tailspin! It's an addictive perfume that is a balsamic amber and myrrth. I skipped right over buying sweet body spray at Victoria Secret and Bath and Body Works! lol So when I smelled Amouage Material, it immediately brought back that scent memory. But it also smells so similar to Maison Francis Kurkdjian - Grand Soir, thus I thought well I don't need both so tried to forget about it.
I saw it went on sale for half price so I impulsively purchased it and I'm so glad I did. Material is a 2021 release and the top notes are Elemi and Patchouli; middle notes are Madagascar Vanilla and Benzoin; base notes are Tonka Bean, Incense, Labdanum, Guaiac Wood, Agarwood (Oud) and Osmanthus.
The difference is the opening of Grand Soir leans more masculine due to lavender. Material lacks the lavender and is like a mix of MFK Grand Soir and Nishane Ani as it takes the benzoin from the first and the Labdanum from the second and has a little Ivory Route in it as well. All three perfumes I love! (All are perfectly unisex.) But Material starts right away resinous and balsamic with a slight smokiness with incense. Soon vanilla joins this harmony. The only downside of Material compared to Grand Soir is sillage, material lasts for hours but doesn't project as strong.
Scentwise I find Material a bit more opulent, but also darker as it’s more complex and feminine. On my skin it is an intoxicating and delivers what is promised in the scent pyramid; thick syrupy resins, dense patchouli, smoky bourbon vanilla and tonka, and a base of dark guaiac wood, assam oud, incense and labdanum. As a lover of rich, opulent spicy, this fragrance finally became an impulse buy. Smells like Christmas. This is a masterpiece!
New Fragrances
A few new fragrances that launched in 2025 have really caught my attention. I am still on the fence about buying any of them, since perfumes are an investment and I like to sit with a scent for a while before deciding.
BDK Parfums - Rouge Smoking Extrait
Top notes are Cherry, Almond, Pink Pepper, Red Mandarin and Bergamot; middle notes are Peru Balsam, Milk, Tonka Bean and Spanish Labdanum; base notes are Oud, Rum, Ambroxan, Vanilla Absolute, Amber, Patchouli, Benzoin and Siam. (I mentioned another BDK perfume above)
This is a flanker to their other fragrance of the same name "Rouge Smoking." I have typically avoided cherry notes in fragrance but this one is indeed beautiful and likeable as a dark cherry scent with an Amber touch. This genuinely is the color red in fragrance form.
BDK also released
Impadia which some people said was a dupe for
Amouage - Guidance but I beg to differ! I did not like it at all. You can buy a sampler set from their
website. I'd recommend trying Gris Charnel, Impadia, Rouge Smoking Extrait, Velvet Tonka and Tabac Rose.
This is a flanker of the original Angels' Share which I own but don't wear because I find it too cloying because if the
cinnamon. I pictured the back of my bottle above. They changed the DNA and the top notes are Raspberry,
Cognac and Liquor; middle notes are Tonka Bean, Bulgarian Rose and Caramel; base notes are Oak, Praline, Sandalwood, Oakmoss and Vanilla. This is a unisex fragrances that dialed down the cinnamon from the original and I like this so much better! But I just don't think it makes sense to own both fragrances since they are similar and this is priced so high at $385. This is a heavy beast mode fragrance that lasts so long on the skin. A couple dupes are French Avenue - Royal Blend Sequoia $50 and
Zimaya - Sharaf Divine $40 which also came out last year.
Nishane - Meant To Be Seen
Nishane is a perfume brand from Istanbul (where I'm vacationing this year). I already own two perfumes from this house (one mentioned above) and they have a very recognizable DNA: strong performance, polished blends, and frequent use of honeyed sweetness and musks. It's a cruelty free brand. Meant to be Seen is an Iris Musk perfume and not like anything else I have in my collection! I might get the 15 ml size.
Top notes are Violet and Bergamot; middle notes are Orris Root, Moxalone and Civettone; base notes are Akigalawood, Ambrettolide, Sesame and Sandalwood. Some people say it smells expired lipstick from the 90s. I think it's soft, feminine, creamy, cloud-like aura that hugs the skin and floats around you. Think a powdery musk, orris butter and sesame. It was love at first sniff! The sesame gives this marshmallow scent a nutty textured depth.
Amouage - Existence
Top notes are Aldehydes, Lily of the Valley and Rose; middle notes are Frankincense, Mystikal and Labdanum; base notes are White Musk, Benzoin and Ambergris. This is a lighter version of Amouage-Guidance which I mentioned above. It's soft and aquatic!
The last two are what I would call Quiet Luxury fragrances as I would picture them being worn by a rich older lady because they are so sophisticated and unique.
Conclusion
This post is a love letter to fragrance because at the end of the day, perfume is deeply personal. These ten fragrances represent the moods, seasons, memories, and moments I want to hold onto, not just what smells good on paper. Building a fragrance wardrobe has taught me that there’s no right or wrong way to wear perfume, only what makes you feel confident, comforted, or excited. Buy scents you truly love, wear them often, and don’t save them for “someday.” Perfume is meant to be enjoyed in real life, sprayed generously, and woven into your everyday memories.
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