20 Best Perfumes and Fragrances for Women of 2024 (2024)

Whether you are Cupid on a mission to find the perfect perfume for your significant other or treating yourself to a sweet-smelling Valentine, choosing the right scent can be a delightful yet daunting task. With an overwhelming array of perfumes, fragrances, and other scent-based products available, finding that perfect match can be a challenge any time of the year.

To help you navigate this fragrant world, I embarked on an extensive research journey. This included conducting smell tests, gathering opinions from friends and colleagues, and poring over hundreds of reviews for perfumes and eau de toilettes. After compiling a shortlist, I took it a step further by testing these scents in-person and diving deeper into customer feedback. While I aimed to focus primarily on true perfumes, my curated list also includes some eau de toilette and cologne options, with a few fragrances recognized as unisex by their creators.

Our top picks for the best perfumes for women

What to consider when buying perfume for women

When shopping on Valentine’s Day or another special occasion, consider the way a perfume is created and how the notes build the scent. Looking at the notes on a bottle can help you decide whether you want to try it, but smelling it yourself is usually the best way to decide. Buying a perfume for a special occasion or a loved one as a gift on Valentine’s Day is a way to show intimacy and love because scents are so personal and smells are linked to memory.

• Top note: This is the first smell that hits you when you open a bottle of perfume and take a whiff. These notes last the least amount of time.
• Middle note: This is the main body of the perfume, and you can usually smell it after your senses take in the initial scent.
• Base note: Base notes are the smells that stick around for hours. Musk, sandalwood, or other heavier scents will often live in a perfume’s base notes.

How to pick a perfume

When picking a perfume, what you smell when you open the bottle may smell different to your friend. Your sense of smell is processed by the brain’s areas also used to process memories and emotions. This means when you open a bottle of perfume and inhale the honeysuckle that reminds you of your childhood garden, you may gravitate toward it over one that smells of violets. And to make matters more complicated, according to research from Duke University, it’s common for people to experience smells, like perfume, spices, or foods, differently.

When you shop for perfume, make sure to smell it in a few different ways, in the bottle, on a test strip, and via a sample, ideally outside the store, to determine if you like the scent. This is important because shops that carry perfume often have many smells floating around in the air, making it difficult to pinpoint what your particular scent actually smells like.

Now that I have told you perfumes may smell slightly differently to (and on) everyone, we have created a list of popular scents with very different notes to help you find your new favorite fragrance.

Frequently asked questions (FAQs)

What is the right way to use perfume?

How you apply cologne or perfume depends on your personal preferences, but most perfumers will say you should use perfume on your pressure points, wrists, behind the ears, and neck. Some people like to put perfume between their breasts, as well.

What is the best-smelling perfume that people will like?

It is impossible to know how someone will react (romantically or otherwise) to your perfume. One may love the smell of cut green grass and flowers; others are attracted to a dark, musk scent. Wear whatever perfume makes you happy. If you are looking for a universal favorite scent, vanilla is often a top contender.

Which perfumes are suitable for everyday wear?

Scent is personal, so what you want to wear daily is subjective. Perfumes made from natural essences with lightweight scents may be better than heavy musk for a daytime office or school setting.

How do I choose the right perfume that suits my personality?

Shopping for a fragrance is a little trickier than, say, shopping for the best eyeshadow palette—since you’re matching your own mood or personality instead of choosing something that works with your undertones. Some perfumers recommend perfumes based on the elements: air, earth, water, and fire, with scents dedicated to one or the other. Think about what smells you like out in the world. For example, a scent with rich jasmine or gardenia notes might be a good fit if you love rich floral gardens. An earthy scent with moss or sandalwood notes could be a good fit if the forest calls your name. Some shops let you “create” your own perfume, like Olfactory NYC, where scentologists can help you create a signature fragrance.

What is the difference between eau de toilette and eau de parfum?

While it may vary from perfumer, overall, eau de parfum usually has a percentage of essences between 10 and 15%. Still, eau de toilette (the least concentrated scent) usually only has 8 to 10% of essences. Perfume or eau de parfum usually lasts the longest of all the scents.