The best perfumes for women: a shortlist by style, from fresh to amber

How to choose a women's perfume

Every perfume has a family, and most people are drawn to one or two of them again and again.

• Fresh. Citrus, green notes and light florals. Easy by day, in warm weather and at work.
• Floral. Rose, jasmine, peony and white flowers, from dewy and light to rich and heady.
• Fruity. Berries, cherry and plum over a soft base. Playful and bright.
• Gourmand. Vanilla, praline, caramel and coffee. Sweet and cosy, at its best when it is cold.
• Musky and powdery. Musk, iris and soft woods. Close to the skin and quietly elegant.
• Amber. Resins, vanilla, incense and spice. Deep, warm and made for evenings.

Look at the perfumes you already love, or loved once, and check which family they belong to. If you have never worn perfume, start with one fresh scent and one gourmand: how you feel about each tells you where to look next. Our guide to choosing perfume without smelling it shows how to read a list of notes.

Fresh and bright

Light Blue by Dolce&Gabbana

Light Blue is Sicilian lemon, apple, cedar and bellflower over jasmine, white rose and bamboo, with musk and amber in the base. Crisp, sunny and uncomplicated, it launched in 2001 and is still one of the easiest fresh scents to wear. Community voters pick it for summer, for day and office wear.

Un Jardin Sur Le Nil by Hermès

Un Jardin Sur Le Nil opens with grapefruit, green mango, carrot and tomato, then lotus, orange, bulrush and peony, over musk, iris, incense, labdanum and cinnamon. Green, watery and quietly unusual. Community voters pick it for summer and spring days.

Valaya by Parfums de Marly

Valaya is aldehydes, white peach, bergamot and mandarin over orange blossom, lily-of-the-valley and vetiver, with musk, ambroxan, akigalawood and vanilla underneath. Clean, soapy and bright, like fresh laundry and white flowers. Community voters pick it for spring, for day wear.

Floral

Chloé Eau de Parfum by Chloé

Chloé Eau de Parfum is litchi, freesia and peony, then rose, lily-of-the-valley and magnolia, over amber and Virginia cedar. A soft, powdery rose that feels clean rather than old-fashioned. Community voters pick it for spring, for day and office wear.

Alien by Mugler

Alien is built on just three notes: jasmine sambac, cashmeran and amber. A radiant white floral with a warm, woody glow. Community votes on its sillage lean strong, then enormous, so a single spray is plenty. Voters pick it for winter nights.

Lady Million by Rabanne

Lady Million opens with raspberry, neroli and Amalfi lemon, then jasmine, orange flower and gardenia, over white honey, patchouli and amber. Bright white flowers made sweet with honey. Community voters pick it for winter and autumn nights.

Si by Giorgio Armani

Si is cassis over May rose and freesia, with vanilla, patchouli, woody notes and ambroxan in the base. Fruity, rosy and softly warm. It launched in 2013, and community voters pick it for autumn and winter evenings.

Fruity

Burberry Her by Burberry

Burberry Her piles up strawberry, raspberry, blackberry, sour cherry, black currant, mandarin and lemon over violet and jasmine, with musk, vanilla, cashmeran and oakmoss underneath. Juicy and playful. Community voters pick it for spring and autumn, for day wear.

Lost Cherry by Tom Ford

Lost Cherry is bitter almond, black cherry and cherry liqueur, then sour cherry, plum, jasmine sambac and Turkish rose, over vanilla, tonka bean, cinnamon, Peru balsam, sandalwood and cloves. Boozy, dark fruit with an almond edge. Community voters pick it for winter and autumn nights.

Sweet and gourmand

La Vie Est Belle by Lancôme

La Vie Est Belle is black currant and pear over iris, jasmine and orange blossom, with vanilla, praline, patchouli and tonka bean in the base. Sweet, powdery and warm. The community's sillage vote leans strong, and voters choose it for the colder months, by day as well as at night.

Black Opium by Yves Saint Laurent

Black Opium opens with pear, pink pepper and orange blossom, then coffee, jasmine, bitter almond and licorice, over vanilla, patchouli, cashmere wood and cedar. Coffee and vanilla with a white-flower glow. Community voters pick it for winter, for night and evening wear.

Good Girl by Carolina Herrera

Good Girl pairs almond, coffee, bergamot and lemon with tuberose, jasmine sambac, orange blossom and Bulgarian rose, over tonka bean, cacao, vanilla, praline and sandalwood. Sweet and floral at once. Community voters pick it for winter and autumn nights.

Prada Candy by Prada

Prada Candy is caramel over powdery notes and musk, with benzoin and vanilla underneath. Simple, soft and sweet. Community votes on its sillage lean moderate, then intimate, so it stays close.

Hypnotic Poison by Dior

Hypnotic Poison opens with coconut, plum and apricot, then rose, jasmine, tuberose and caraway, over vanilla, almond, sandalwood and musk. Almond and vanilla at their creamiest. It launched in 1998, and community voters pick it for winter nights and evenings.

Musky and powdery

Narciso Rodriguez For Her by Narciso Rodriguez

Narciso Rodriguez For Her is African orange flower, osmanthus and bergamot over a heart of musk and amber, with vetiver, patchouli and vanilla in the base. Musk is the whole point here: soft, skin-like and a little sensual. Community voters pick it for autumn and spring, for day and office wear. If you like this style, our musk note page lists more.

Amber and warm

Shalimar Eau de Parfum by Guerlain

Shalimar Eau de Parfum opens with bergamot, lemon and mandarin, moves through iris, jasmine, rose and vetiver, and settles on vanilla, incense, leather, opoponax, sandalwood and tonka bean. Smoky vanilla and citrus, the template for a whole family of ambery perfumes. Community voters pick it for winter and autumn evenings.

Guidance by Amouage

Guidance is pear, hazelnut and olibanum over osmanthus, rose, saffron and jasmine sambac, with sandalwood, vanilla, ambergris and labdanum in the base. Nutty, floral and deeply warm. Most community voters rate its longevity eternal. Voters pick it for autumn and winter evenings.

Euphoria by Calvin Klein

Euphoria opens with pomegranate and persimmon, then black orchid, lotus and champaca, over amber, black violet, whipped cream and mahogany. Fruity, creamy and dark. Community voters pick it for winter and autumn nights.

How to find yours before buying a bottle

A paper strip shows you the first minutes of a perfume. What you actually live with is the heart and the base, and they only show up on your skin over a full day. That is why a small bottle is the smartest first step.

1. Choose three styles. One fresh or floral, one fruity or gourmand, one musky or amber. Order each as a 3ml decant: around 60 sprays gives you several days with every one of them.
2. Live with them. Wear one a day on normal days, at work, at dinner, at the weekend, and pay attention to the one you miss when it is not on.
3. Keep the one you miss. That is your answer. A 10ml decant holds around 200 sprays and slips into a bag; the 30ml holds around 600 and costs the least per ml.

Our women's perfume collection has every women's scent we carry in all three sizes. If gourmand is your style, the vanilla note page lists every vanilla perfume in the catalogue; for florals, start with rose and jasmine. Looking for a present rather than a signature? Our perfume gift guide has ideas, and how to make perfume last longer helps whichever you choose.