The best Parfums de Marly perfumes, grouped by style

How to choose a Parfums de Marly perfume without smelling it

Nearly every perfume in this guide opens with bergamot, so the top notes will not tell you much about which one is yours. The opening is the part that fades first anyway. Read the base instead: it is what you will be wearing by lunchtime, and it is where these perfumes split apart. Some end on clean musk and cedar, some on vanilla and praline, and a few on oud.

Three quick signals help. Fruit in the opening, such as apple, pear or litchi, makes a scent feel friendly and easy to like. Lavender, geranium and rosemary give an aromatic, barbershop-clean edge. Vanilla, tonka and amber in the base make a perfume warmer and sweeter the longer you wear it. If you know you like vanilla or rose, start with the note page and see which of these perfumes turn up there.

The gender labels below come from the perfume facts and are a guide rather than a rule. Plenty of people who like Delina also enjoy Layton, and the reverse. The quickest way to narrow the house down is by the moment you want to wear it:

• For the office and warm days: Sedley, Greenley and Percival.
• Soft and floral: Valaya and Delina La Rosée.
• Fruity rose: Delina and Delina Exclusif.
• Warm and spiced: Layton, Carlisle and Althaïr.
• Dark and woody, for evenings: Layton Exclusif and Haltane.

Every perfume we carry from the house sits on our Parfums de Marly page, and if you are weighing this house against others, our guide to niche perfumes worth trying is a good next read.

Fresh and citrus, for daytime

Sedley by Parfums de Marly

Sedley starts cold and bright, with mint, lemon, grapefruit, mandarin and bergamot all at once. Lavender, rosemary, geranium and olibanum take over in the heart, which keeps it herbal rather than sweet. The base is dry and clean: ambroxan, cedar, vetiver, patchouli and cashmeran. Sedley dates from 2019 and carries a men's label. On sillage, most community voters settle on moderate, which suits a shared office. Warm months are its season in the voting: summer and spring, by day.

Greenley by Parfums de Marly

Greenley is the green one. Crisp green apple, Calabrian bergamot and mandarin open it, then petitgrain, violet and Pomarose sit on cedar and cashmeran. Oakmoss, musk and amberwood give the dry-down a mossy, slightly powdery finish. The house released it in 2020, labelled for men. Its longevity votes in the community lean long lasting. Summer and spring days are when voters reach for it, so think of it as an easy weekday scent.

Percival by Parfums de Marly

Percival is aromatic and polished. Lavender, geranium, mandarin and bergamot open; hedione, jasmine and violet brighten the heart, with a pinch of coriander and cinnamon. Underneath, ambroxan, amberwood, musk, balsam fir and clearwood make a clean, woody base. Percival arrived in 2018 under a men's label. For longevity, most community voters choose long lasting. It is a spring and summer pick in the voting, worn by day and at the office.

Soft florals

Valaya by Parfums de Marly

Valaya is a clean white floral with a shimmer on top. Aldehydes give the opening that bright, freshly laundered feel, softened by white peach, mandarin and bergamot. Orange blossom and lily-of-the-valley form the heart, with a thread of vetiver and mahonia. The base settles into musk, ambroxan, akigalawood and a little vanilla, soft rather than sweet. Valaya is one of the newer releases, from 2023, and carries a women's label. Longevity votes from the community lean long lasting. Spring days and working hours are where voters place it.

Delina La Rosée by Parfums de Marly

Delina La Rosée takes the Delina rose into daylight. Litchi, pear, bergamot and pink pepper open it, and Turkish rose and peony arrive with watery notes and a wash of other florals, so the rose feels dewy rather than jammy. White musk, woody notes and Haitian vetiver keep the base light. This version came out in 2021 with a women's label. Its longevity votes lean moderate, so plan on a top-up if you wear it into the evening. Voters tie it to spring and summer daytime.

Fruity rose

Delina by Parfums de Marly

Delina is a pink, juicy rose. Litchi and rhubarb give the opening a tart sweetness, with bergamot and a touch of nutmeg. Turkish rose and peony lead the heart, wrapped in musk and a soft note of vanilla. The dry-down turns creamy and woody with cashmeran, incense, cedar and Haitian vetiver. Delina was released in 2017 with a women's label. In the community, sillage votes lean moderate. Spring is its season among voters, day or evening, and going out is the occasion they give it.

Delina Exclusif by Parfums de Marly

Delina Exclusif is the same fruity rose idea turned darker and richer. Litchi, pear, grapefruit, bergamot and pink pepper open it; Turkish rose then meets agarwood (oud) and incense in the heart. Vanilla, amber, musk, vetiver and woody notes make the base deep and warm. Exclusif followed in 2018, also labelled for women. Its longevity votes lean long lasting, with eternal in second place. Cold-weather nights, in winter and autumn, are when voters wear it.

Warm and spiced

Layton by Parfums de Marly

Layton opens with apple, lavender, bergamot and mandarin, fresh and a little sweet. Geranium, violet and jasmine follow, then the base warms up with vanilla, cardamom, pepper, sandalwood, guaiac wood and patchouli. The result moves from crisp to spiced and creamy over a few hours. Layton dates from 2016 and carries a men's label. For longevity, most community voters pick long lasting. Sillage is another matter worth knowing before you spray: those votes lean strong, so start light. Autumn and winter are its seasons in the voting, after dark as well as by day.

Carlisle by Parfums de Marly

Carlisle is richer and more resinous. Green apple, nutmeg and saffron open it; tonka bean, rose, osmanthus and davana give the heart a sweet, almost fruity warmth. Patchouli, vanilla and opoponax close it with an earthy, balsamic depth. Carlisle came out in 2015 under a men's label. Community sillage votes lean strong. It belongs to autumn and winter evenings in the voting.

Althaïr by Parfums de Marly

Althaïr is the gourmand of the group. Cinnamon and cardamom open with orange blossom and bergamot, and Bourbon vanilla with elemi forms the heart. The base is praline, candied almond and tonka over musk, ambroxan and guaiac wood, sweet but kept from cloying by the woods. Released in 2023, it carries a men's label. Most community voters rate its sillage moderate. It is an autumn and winter evening scent in the voting, yet work is the occasion they give it, so it suits a cold office too.

Dark and woody, for evenings

Layton Exclusif by Parfums de Marly

Layton Exclusif shares a name with Layton and little else. Almond, mandarin, bergamot and watery notes open it, then an animalic heart of civet with rose, geranium, gardenia and water lily. The base is long and layered: Laotian oud, guaiac wood, sandalwood, coffee, vanilla, amber, patchouli leaf, pink pepper and oakmoss. Layton Exclusif arrived in 2017 with a men's label. Most community voters call its sillage strong, so this is one to spray sparingly. Voters keep it for winter and autumn nights.

Haltane by Parfums de Marly

Haltane is short on notes and big on character. Clary sage, lavender and bergamot open it with an aromatic lift, saffron and praline add a sweet, spiced middle, and agarwood (oud) with cedar makes a dry, leathery base. Haltane was released in 2021, labelled for men. For longevity, most community voters pick long lasting. It is a winter and autumn night scent in the voting.

If you already know one of them

Knowing one Parfums de Marly perfume is a useful starting point for choosing the next, because several of them share a backbone.

If you like Layton but want something for daytime, Percival is the closer relative: both lean on lavender, geranium, violet and jasmine, but Percival ends on clean woods and musk where Layton ends on vanilla and spice. If Layton feels too polite, Layton Exclusif goes the other way, into oud, coffee and civet.

The three Delinas share litchi, bergamot and Turkish rose, then part ways. La Rosée is the lightest and most watery, Delina sits in the middle with peony and vanilla, and Exclusif adds oud, incense and amber for the evening.

If you wear Sedley or Greenley in summer and want a winter partner from the same house, Althaïr or Carlisle keeps the warmth sweet without going as dark as Haltane. For more options across houses, see our shortlists of the best perfumes for men and the best perfumes for women, and our explainer on niche vs designer perfume if you are wondering where this house fits.

Wear it before you buy the bottle

A perfume you have only read about can surprise you on skin, and the base, where these twelve differ most, only shows itself hours after you spray. That is why it pays to wear a shortlist for a while before choosing a full bottle.

1. Pick two or three styles. A fresh one, a rose and a warm one make a good first set, since they cover the most ground. Around 60 sprays come in each 3ml decant, plenty for a week of honest wear.
2. Wear each one for a full day. Spray in the morning and decide in the evening, once the dry-down has settled, rather than on the first few minutes.
3. Move up when one sticks. A 10ml decant holds around 200 sprays, enough for weeks of wear. Keep the one you reach for most in 30ml: around 600 sprays, and the lowest price per ml of the three sizes.

Our decants are filled straight from the house's own bottles, which means your trial is the real perfume. When you are ready, the full Parfums de Marly selection is on our house page, and our tips on how to make perfume last longer help whichever one you keep.