The Top 10 Best Perfume for Women in The World

Best Perfumes of All Time

By BeautypertDecember 31, 2018

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Photo by Jessica Weiller

If you want to know what are the best perfumes for women, then you’re in the right place.

Because after weeks of researching and testing 93 of the most popular perfumes (and some not so popular), we’ve rounded up our list of the best women perfume in the world.

The most expensive ones must be the best, right?

Wrong.

Because here’s the truth:

We tested all kinds of different fragrances — from popular perfume brands to super exclusive niche brands. From cheap, affordable scents to the most expensive perfume.

The final results?

We concluded that it’s NOT the price of a fragrance that determines how good it smells or how long it lasts. 

And here’s the good news…

In this post we are going to share our results with you. 🙂

Sound good? Let’s dive in…

(By the way, you can also check out our best men’s cologne list here.)

#10 Juicy Couture Viva La Juicy Gold Couture


Captivating Caramel Sweetness

This is the best version available in the Viva La Juicy line-up. Let’s take a look…

This Gold Couture version gets sweet caramel added into the sexy Viva La Juicy fragrance DNA, to produce an absolutely gorgeous seductive scent.

It smells like a cocktail of caramel, vanilla and sweet berries. In fact, this stuff smells edible!

But be careful, your significant other may want to eat you. 🙂

Seductive

This is perfect for the winter (and can also be worn in the spring and fall). But don’t wear this in the summer – or you will choke people out.

GREAT for dates, nights out, parties, clubbing etc…

Now, I should point something out:

This is more of a youthful, girly perfume, and is not really suited for a mature woman. Nevertheless…

Immense compliments with this one.

Check Price at Amazon

#9 Jean Paul Gaultier Scandal


Sensual Sweet Honey

Men LOVE this.

Now, I’ll be straight with you…

JPG Scandal is so incredibly sweet. So if you don’t like sweet perfume, this is definitely NOT for you. But if that’s your thing, read on…

Now, this is a honey & caramel fragrance, with the addition of blood orange and a unique peach and liquorice note.

Furthermore, when it dries-down it has a slight touch of powderiness… with whispers of white florals.

Youthful

To be clear:

This is more for the younger crowd (but could be worn by all ages). And is strictly for the cooler weather, as it’s far too sweet for warm weather use.

Scandal is a playful scent, so it’s perfect for nights out, clubbing, dates, parties etc. And the good news…

This is Super.long.lasting.

Simply put:

If you like honey, Scandal is for you.

Check Price at Amazon

#8 Dior Miss Dior EDP


A Versatile, Sweet Fresh Fruity Floral

Miss Dior smells incredible.

This smells like rose candy, with a hint of pink pepper and some delicious juicy citrus on the top (mainly oranges).

And as it dries-down, some patchouli and woods creep in – to add some warm sensual depth.

It’s kind of sexy, but nothing over the top. Yet it pulls in some NICE compliments. Ain’t complaining. 🙂

'Make me a perfume that smells of love.' Christian Dior.Click To Tweet

Now, to be clear:

This is NOT cloying sweet (like most girlish perfumes are). This has class and sophistication, yet still remains youthful. The beautiful part…

Anytime – Anywhere

This is extremely versatile: it’s like the Swiss army knife of perfumes – you can wear this just about everywhere, anytime (just adjust your sprays).

And it also has good lasting power. And, to finish it all off… it comes in an adorable bottles, too.

Two thumbs up!

Check Price at Amazon

#7 Tiffany & Co. Tiffany Intense EDP


A Soft Powdery Clean Elegant Scent

Hats off to Tiffany & Co…

This newer “Intense” version is so MUCH better than the previous original version… And longer lasting, too! So how’s this newer version smell?

This opens-up with a faint, clean citrus note… then morphs into a smooth soft floral blend (primarily powdery iris, with a touch of warm vanilla) – with a clean musky undertone.

Very, very elegant.

Smooth & Classy

A beautiful unique fragrance, well suited for spring/fall for evening outs, dates, dressy events, or even as a signature scent. In fact…

This would make a perfect daily scent for a mature elegant woman. And, as I said earlier…

This lasts longer than the previous version. It has moderate projection (for the first hour or so)… then settled down close to the skin – but lasted a respectable 6-8 plus hours.

Oh, and did I mention…

The bottle is absolutely gorgeous: Top Marks!

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#6 Elie Saab Girl of Now


Sweet, Warm & Nutty

As the name suggests, “Girl of Now,” is aimed at the younger, modern girl. It’s playful and easy to wear. How’s it smell?

Imagine this:

Sweet juicy pear and orange… mixed with a creamy, fresh roasted nutty almond and pistachio vibe – with a hint of soft white florals buried underneath.

Very sexy!

This has a creative fragrance DNA. It’s unique, as it’s a white floral scent, which is sweet and sugary – but not cloying.

Warm & Comforting

Now, to be clear:

This is NOT a typical teenybopper bubble-gum type of scent. It’s a very composed, sophisticated and well-put-together fragrance.

Because of the sweetness, this is more geared for the fall and winter. But you could wear it in spring – if you’re careful, and go very light with the sprays.

Performance is GREAT with this one… and expect a LOT of compliments. 🙂

Check Price at Amazon

#5 Lancôme La Vie Est Belle L’Éclat EDP


Warm Sweet Orange Blossom

In case you don’t know…

“La Vie Est Belle” is French for “Life is Beautiful,” and this certainly is beautiful. 🙂 Anyway…

This is a newer, fresher, and lighter version of the already amazing original La Vie Est Belle Eau de Parfum. 

Now, the star of the show is orange blossom. So if you don’t like that note, you should stay well clear of this. Let’s take a quick sniff…

Fruity Freshness

It’s a warm sweet candied orange blossom, mixed with other creamy white floral notes… All sitting on a smooth vanilla and sandalwood base.

It has a semi-fresh, fruity quality. Very sensual and addictive.

In short:

It’s a sophisticated clean smelling perfume, which garners some nice compliments along the way. And…

Is appropriate for just about everything – everywhere (and just about everybody likes it). The office, a date, you name it. And the good news…

It has great Sillage (scent trail), and great lasting power. It just works!

Bonus: The bottle is beautiful.

Check Price at Amazon

#4 Dolce & Gabbana Light Blue Eau Intense


Lemon & Fruity Apple Freshness!

I’ll make it super easy for you:

D&G Light Blue Intense is a newer, better smelling, and longer lasting version of the already best selling original version.

Can you say jackpot? 🙂

In fact, it smells very similar to the original version – but it’s creamier and thicker.

Smooth & Creamy

Now, if you’re unfamiliar with the original, let me explain how this one smells…

Light Blue Eau Intense is a very refreshing, uplifting, citrusy scent… which has a nice fruity apple vibe mixed with some soft florals.

And as it dries down, you get a nice clean musky undertone. It’s very smooth and extremely pleasant.

HUGE compliment getter.

By the way:

This newer release is also a stronger Eau de Parfum concentration… making it perform and last much longer than the original Eau de Toilette version (which suffered from longevity issues). So if you loved the original, this is a “no brainer.”

Everyday Go-To

Perfect for the spring and high summer heat. And is more suited for daytime use. (Also performs well in the fall.)

Use it whenever, as it’s great for everyday casual use, and dates. All ages.

Bottom line:

A very safe, versatile, mass-appealing clean scent – that will be sure to get you positive attention.

Check Price at Amazon

#3 Chanel Coco Mademoiselle EDP


A Timeless Classic

Ah, Coco Mademoiselle… you’ve just gotta love it. 🙂

Think about it:

This has been a best seller for MANY years now.

Why?

Simple. Women keep re-buying it because it’s so good!

Let’s break it down:

It opens with a feminine fruity orange sweetness (but not overly sweet), mixed with a burst of zesty citrus freshness.

Iconic

And as it dries down, rose and patchouli creep in… and morph beautifully with the fruity freshness to create that iconic clean elegant scent.

This is a perfect daytime professional scent for a classy lady. And can be worn all year round (just adjust your sprays). And if you can’t decide what to wear, this always fits the bill.

The quality is top-notch, and thanks to its long lasting beautiful scent trail, it rakes in a LOT of compliments.

Check Price at Amazon

#2 Parfums de Marly Delina


A super unique, fresh fruity floral.

This fragrance is an absolute stunner.

What it is:

An amazing blend of fruity notes, sweet notes and floral notes with added vanilla.

Smells of a sweet velvety rose and litchi combination, blended with a very unique rhubarb note, which gives it a hint of sourness.

Sweet, Sexy, and Addictive.

By the way, if you love rose scents, be sure to check out our best rose perfumes list. 🙂

This leaves a beautiful scent trail.

The beautiful part?

Delina is super long lasting and incredibly versatile. You can wear this one dressed up, dressed down, daytime, night-time, in the cold weather, in the hot weather, you name it..

Can be worn by teenagers all the way up to mature women.

Even better:

Men go crazy for this one, insane reactions and compliments.

Is it worth it? Absolutely.

Bonus: The bottle is gorgeous.

Check Price at Amazon

We had a tiebreaker for our number one spot

so we decided to split our number 1 spot into two categories :

“best perfume for night-time” and “best perfume for daytime.”

#1 Lancôme La Nuit Tresor EDP


Best Perfume for Nights

A sweet, fruity feminine, mass appealing masterpiece.

This is a rich and exquisite women’s perfume. Smells of raspberry with rose vanilla caramel, so seductive, dark and sweet at the same time. A gourmand for grown-ups.

Mouth-watering deliciousness!

Now:

La Nuit Tresor isn’t a daytime fragrance, this one is definitely just for the nights (hence the name, La Nuit, The Night.)

More appropriate for the cooler months. Perfect for nights out, dates, the club.

Now, a quick word of warning:

Don’t spray too much of this for best results. Less is definitely more with this one. Has amazing lasting power, you can still smell it when you wake up.

If you want compliments from guys, from girls, from everyone, then wear this.

Simply put:

The best perfume on the market if you want to smell sexy.

Check Price at Amazon

Guerlain Mon Guerlain EDP


Best Perfume for Daytime

Seductive Guerlain Sexiness.

Guerlain has finally jumped on the bandwagon of great mass appealing fragrances.

Mon Guerlain is a very sophisticated oriental vanilla gourmand with a bit of a floral fruity vibe.

You get a blend of lavender, amber and vanilla… with a hint of tonka, that has a lovable sweetness about it.

And it works GREAT.

Its sweet, but not overly sweet.

By the way, if you LOVE vanilla, don’t miss our best vanilla perfumes list. 🙂

Now:

The use of sandalwood in the base makes it a little creamy, so you get a beautiful semi gourmand dry down.

Very appealing and almost mouth-watering.

The best part?

This juice is super versatile. To be clear, this is NOT a massive projection head-turning fragrance, so it’s very easy to wear all year round… for just about any situation.

A perfect date scent, work scent, and would make a beautiful signature scent.

There’s no doubt about it:

Mon Guerlain is a gorgeous fragrance that will garner you some nice compliments.

It’s the perfect women scent: It’s classy, elegant and sexy in a subtle way.

Check Price at Amazon

Quick Tips You Need To Know

Let’s be brutally honest:

Choosing the perfect scent can be super difficult and frustrating, right?

The perfume counters at the mall can be a nightmare.

Pushy sales assistants showering you with many different fragrances… And trying to push their own personal favorite scent on you.

Giving you all sorts of false advice… Just to get you to buy! And…

Then you become even more confused!

Which fragrance should I take? Is it a long lasting perfume? Is it for the winter? Is it best for the office or the club? Is it mass appealing? Will I get compliments???

Yikes, right?

But don’t worry…

Because you can skip all of this out — we’ve done all of the hard work for you!

You see, all of our top rated picks listed above, smell amazing, are long lasting and are perfumes men love!

And we believe these are the best fragrances for women available on the market today.

The beautiful part?

We also inform you the most suited fragrance possible for each season and situation — making it super easy for you to choose. Which brings us to…

Things to Consider Before Choosing Your Perfume


Now, some important things to consider before choosing your perfume are the season (temperature) and the situation the scent will be worn.

Why is that important?

Well, fragrances that are designed to be worn in cooler temperatures (winter season), like a vanilla perfume, are stronger and sweeter smelling. This is so they can cut through the cold.

However:

If you apply this type of scent in the hot summer heat — it will quickly become cloying (sickly sweet)… and you will have everyone around you gagging!

Not good.

On the other hand:

A fresh perfume which has been designed for the hotter weather (summer season) such as a coconut based scent, will typically not perform as well in the colder winter months — and may only last 1 hour on your skin.

Oh, by the way:

Some scents are more suited for casual wear, some for the office, and some for romantic date settings.

What am I talking about?

For example:

A perfume for a teenage girl which was designed to be worn in the club, would make a terrible choice for you to wear in the office!

Wearing a very sexy perfume for work, might not go down to well with your co-workers.

Don’t make this mistake.

Furthermore, scents can be designed for daytime and nighttime usage. Some for indoor situations and some for outdoors.

On the other hand:

Some perfumes can be used for all seasons and all situations, making them very versatile. These types of scents could make a perfect signature scent for you.

Confused?

Don’t be.

We’ve took all the guesswork out of choosing the perfect scent for you. You might be wondering…

How did We Choose?


perfume oils in bottles
Photo by Joost Crop

The rules for our top selections are simple:

We aimed only to select perfumes that are long lasting, be of a high-quality to justify the price, and most importantly — they had to smell amazing and be mass appealing. 🙂

All of our top picks fit the bill, and they all got overwhelmingly positive reactions. These are the perfumes men love.

Because here’s the truth:

The most expensive perfume is not always the best smelling perfume.Click To Tweet

In fact:

Some of the most expensive perfume we tested smelled awful. Seriously. One even smelled like a grandma fragrance (sorry, grandma). And one smelled like an old church, lol.

And some, even though they did smell great, only lasted an hour on the skin — before disappearing into thin air!

Now:

We think a good perfume should be long lasting to justify the price.

That’s why any fragrance that we tested that had poor lasting power, was immediately excluded from the list (even if they smelled amazing).

On the other hand, some of the more affordable designer fragrances we tested smelled amazing, had high-quality ingredients, and were super long lasting.

Because here’s the thing:

Many world class Perfumers are the SAME “noses” who create both the super-expensive, niche fragrances AND the cheaper designer fragrances.

So… you can’t simply expect that paying more money gets you a better smelling perfume. Most of the time, you will simply be paying a premium for the “brand name,” or a fancy box.

Which brings us to a few…

Things You Need to Watch Out For


Many companies often reformulate the ingredients of their fragrances — sometimes due to new EU Regulations (or to save money).

This SUCKS, right?

Yes it SUCKS when your favorite perfume gets reformulated. Photo by Gabriel Matula

This is why your favorite best smelling perfume, which used to perform all day after a single application… Now suddenly lasts only 2 hours, and doesn’t smell as good as you remembered it.

It gets worse…

Now, to make it last all day, you have to carry around a small decanter and keep reapplying the scent every few hours — which uses up more of the product in less time. This is a waste of money!

But don’t worry because…

We’ve Got You Covered

How?

Well, we keep on top of the fragrance game, so you don’t have to worry about any of these pitfalls.

You see, the formulations of our latest top perfumes are long lasting, smell amazing… and are sure to get you heaps of compliments. And…

If any of our top picks gets reformulated, we will be sure to retest them and update this list accordingly.

Oh, and in case you don’t know…

What’s The Difference Between Parfum, Eau de Parfum, Perfume and Eau de Toilette?


Different terms are used to describe the concentration of the pure perfume oil in the fragrance. In a nutshell, the higher the concentration of pure perfume oil – the greater the strength of the fragrance.

Now:

The strength usually will determine how long an application of the fragrance lasts on your skin… and how far the scent will project (but this is not always the case, as our testing revealed).

The most common terms used in women’s fragrances are:

Listed from strongest to weakest concentration.

  • Parfum Extrait (Perfume Extract or Parfum) Contains 15–40% perfume oils. This is the most expensive and strongest concentrated of all options.
  • Eau de Parfum (EdP) Contains 10–20% perfume oils. Sometimes called “Eau de Perfume” or “Millésime.” This is the strength usually sold as Perfume.
  • Eau de Toilette (EdT) Contains 5–15% perfume oils. This is the most common strength sold in men’s fragrance, but is also used for women’s fragrances.
mixing perfume
Photo by Katherine Hanlon

To be clear:

In modern day usage, the terms “Parfum” and “Perfume” have now incorrectly become a generic term for any fragrance marketed towards women (no matter what the concentration of pure perfume oil contained in them is).

So technically you can have “Men’s Perfume.”

Now, over to you…


We would love to hear from you:

Do you agree with our picks? Did we miss any hidden gems? What is your current favorite?

Or maybe you have a question.

Either way, please let us know by leaving a comment below right now.

Where to go from here?

If you’re looking for something light and sophisticated, then I highly recommend you check out our best Jo Malone scents. Or…

If you’re after something sweet & sexy, our best Victoria Secret perfume list – for some delicious smelling fragrance recommendations. 🙂

We hope you enjoyed our article and found this list useful.  If you did, we would love it if you would share it to your favourite social networks!

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