The 27 Very Best Perfumes

Notes: Iso E Super | Size: 3.4 oz.

We’ve heard about Escentric Molecules a couple of times (the brand appears again further down on this list); this scent comes recommended by Kelly Ripa, who told us she started to wear the “non-fragrance” after being tipped off to it by one of the Mara sisters. Molecule 01 contains a very high concentration of the compound Iso E Super, a synthetic molecule used in perfume making. “When I put it on, people will say, ‘You smell so good — like you just got out of the shower.’ That’s the whole point,” Ripa explains. And because the scent is mostly made up of just one molecule and is a subtle scent that clings closely to the skin, it’s likely to appeal to the widest range of people, which is why we’ve given it the best overall distinction.

Notes: Top: Bergamot, petals, lemon oil; Middle: Linden, rose accord, dune grass; Base: Muscone, salt water, white moss | Size: 3.4 oz.

If you want a rose perfume that isn’t grandmotherly, fashion editor and stylist Michelle Li says this “not-cheesy rose makes you rethink everything you originally thought about rose” thanks to the notes of dune grass, linden, salt water, and white moss in its formula. She told us it’s her favorite scent, noting that it gets better as the day goes on. Li adds that “two big pluses are that the bottle and packaging are beautiful and special.”

Notes: Rose, citrus, lavender, chamomile, amber, honey | Size: 1.7 oz.

According to Strategist contributor Hillary Kelly, “though other companies peddle the sweet scent of baby — Love’s Baby Soft, Philosophy’s Baby Grace, Bvlgari’s Petits et Mamans, and Burberry’s Baby Touch — nothing beats Mustela’s Musti.” She describes the smell as “sweet but not cloying, powdery but not reminiscent of deodorant, and clean without being medicinal.” In other words: “It captures the essence of general infancy — like Dreft and a rolling European field had a love child.” While it’s technically marketed as a perfume for babies, Kelly told us she uses it with abandon, spraying it on her clothes, towels, and in closet drawers.

Notes: Top: lavender bud; Middle: Jasmine, passionflower, artemisia absinthium; Base: Egyptian musk, white woods | Size: 1.7 oz.

Strategist contributor Sadie Stein says she first sniffed Caswell-Massey’s Elixir of Love No. 1 when she was 7 years old. Stein explains that the parfumerie has been cooking up fragrances since the late 18th century and that this “scent, like the packaging, manages to be timeless without dowdiness.” Elixir of Love No. 1 is a mixture of jasmine, lavender, Egyptian musk, and passionflower, which Stein says creates a smell that is “soft and enticing, the way I imagined ladies in Victoria magazine to be.” As for the bottle, she writes it is “both Victorian and somehow Deco, unabashedly mysterious and old-fashioned yet sleek.”

Notes: Top: Almond milk, ambrette; Middle: Iris, freesia; Base: Tuberose, vanilla, tonka bean, musk | Size: 1.7 oz.

“A punchy floral that always turns heads” is how beauty editor Khalea Underwood describes this perfume. She adds that “with notes of almond milk and musk, Rolling in Love is just gorgeous.” And she’s not the only fan of the brand’s fragrances. “I used to wear Killian’s Love, Don’t Be Shy almost every day because Rihanna wears it,” says Underwood. “But because Rihanna wears it, everyone wears it.” Which is why she suggests Rolling in Love for anyone who wants to smell like Rihanna but maybe not exactly like Rihanna.

Notes: Top: Gardenia, carnation, jasmine; Middle: Patchouli, sandalwood, marine accord; Base: Caramel, coffee. | Size: 1.7 oz.

Sable Yong, a writer and co-host of the Smell Ya Later podcast, describes New York Nights as “an aromatic watercolor painting of delicate carnation and gardenia petals — it’s what you wear when you’re invited to the Met Gala.” Its floral top notes are combined with middle notes of patchouli and sandalwood and finished off with base notes of coffee and caramel. “You will definitely smell wealthy wearing this,” promises Yong, who notes that “it’s pretty expensive — so you probably are wealthy if you’re wearing it.”

Notes: Top: Bergamot, mandarin, Middle: Jasmine, tuberose, gardenia; Base: Musk, sandalwood | Size: 3.4 oz.

Designer Agnes B. told us she has been sporting this scent ever since she discovered it while strolling Paris’s Rue de Rivoli more than 30 years ago. “It’s tuberose, which I think is my favorite flower,” she says of the fragrance, which she even wears to bed. “Since I smelled it, I’ve always loved it.”

Notes: Top: Nutmeg, pink pepper; Middle: Peony, lily of the valley, praline; Bottom: Vanilla, sandalwood, amber | Size: 1.7 oz.

If you’re looking for a power scent, Yong says this peppery floral fragrance might be the one for you. “It packs a punch with nutmeg and pink pepper,” but those two notes are tempered by a “dewy sweetness from peony and lily of the valley, so it’s not so bombastic,” she explains. Created by perfumer Jordi Fernández, “the whole thing has a heat to it, simmering with vanilla, sandalwood, and amber — the overall effect of which is seductive and languid at the same time,” she says. Summing it up, Yong says “this makes me feel rich, powerful, and indisputable.”

Notes: Top: Saffron, jasmin; Middle: Amberwood, ambroxan; Base: Cedar | Size: 1.2 oz.

Originally made to scent the lobby of the Baccarat Hotel, our friends at the Cut called this “the scent of 2021.” The fragrance doesn’t lean too woody or too floral and always feels just right before a night out. I spray it liberally and always get compliments.

Notes: Top: Honey, fig; Middle: Oud; Base: Patchouli, amber, Haitian vetiver | Size: 3.4 oz.

According to Yong, this fragrance’s notes of honey, caramelized amber, patchouli, oud, and vetiver work together to create a scent that is “warm, cozy, sweet, smoky, and deep — the way I imagine the coat check smells at a speakeasy jazz club.”

Notes: Top: Bergamot, green leaf, pear stem; Middle: Fig, coconut milk, iris; Base: Blond woods, tonka bean, moss | Size: 1.7 oz.

Another option from D.S. & Durga is this “cool, joyful” scent, suggested by Yong. According to the brand, it contains notes of ripe fig, iris, coconut milk, tonka, moss, bergamot, and dry blond woods. If you have a hard time picturing what that would smell like, Yong describes it as “a juicy fig gourmand with an overall round kind of sweet dewiness, but also it’s got a green crispness that suggests not everything that seems sweet is without its edges.”

Notes: Tobacco leaf, vanilla, ginger | Size: 1.7 oz.

Underwood calls Tom Ford Vanille Fatale her “all-time favorite” and a guaranteed compliment-getter. She told us she tends to “prefer sweeter gourmand notes that don’t feel too saccharine,” adding, “In true Tom Ford fashion, this one gives me sweet and sexy all rolled into one.” The simple formula has notes of vanilla, tobacco, and frangipani, “so I can layer it with other scents when I’m feeling fancy,” she adds.

Notes: Top: Methyl pamplemousse, pink grapefruit, marijuana, bergamot, juniper berry, pink pepper; Middle: Hedione (green jasmine bud), freesia, osmanthus, orris, rose; Base: Javanol, mastic, labdanum, Iso E Super, muscone (musk), AMBROXAN™ | Size: 1 oz.

Another standout from Escentric Molecules is Molecule 04, which Strategist contributor Natalie Toren turned us onto. “With notes that include a burst of bittersweet citrus and a vibrant, earthy aroma, it smells to me like fresh grapefruit still on the branch with bark, leaves, and all,” she writes. Toren, who prefers more subtle skin scents to in-your-face perfume, promises that “the fragrance is lighter and lasts a long time, often playing hide-and-seek: Just when you think it’s gone, the aroma will surprise you with another hit.”