Key notes: bergamot, ambrox, cedar, synthetic sandalwood (firstanol, iso e super) | Available sizes: 10 mL, 50 mL, 100 mL
Best Floral: Byredo Blanche Eau de Parfum
Why it’s worth it: Byredo’s Blanche Eau de Parfum is a celebration of when musks and florals collide. This skin scent juxtaposes aldehyde, musks, and sandalwood with a bouquet of rose, peony, and violet, but the magic here is how they’re used. At first spray, you’ll notice a burst of aldehyde and soft rose, but as it settles, its floral notes gradually dissipate and turn into a heady combination of musk and sandalwood.
Tester feedback: “At first spray, I didn’t get the hype around this fragrance—it just smelled like your average soft floral perfume—but it’s the dry-down period that makes this particular scent so special,” says commerce writer Jennifer Hussein. “As the florals calm down, the hazy base notes take the wheel, and I’m sent to sensorial Heaven every time I catch a whiff of myself.”
Key notes: aldehyde, rose, peony, violet, musk, sandalwood | Available sizes: 50 mL, 100 mL
Best Warm: Glossier You Eau de Parfum
Why it’s worth it: Arguably one of the most popular skin-inspired perfumes around, Glossier’s You Eau de Parfum is a modern classic for its warm, amber-heavy aroma that’s supposed to compliment and enhance the wearer’s natural scent. A duo of woody, sweet ambrette seeds and creamy, ever-so-slightly salty ambrox lean on each other to produce the same balance of sweetness and saliferous notes you’d smell on skin. To spice up its warm profile, Glossier added hints of pink peppercorn and powdery iris to this mix.
Tester feedback: “Glossier You instantly ‘melts’ into skin, lingers long after application, and garners a few unexpected compliments throughout the day,” says associate beauty director Sarah Kinonen. “It is creamier than most, thanks to its warm center, but offers a few energizing notes—sparkling pink pepper and earthy iris root—at the top to grab your attention—and keep it.”
Key notes: ambrette seeds, ambrox, pink peppercorn, iris | Available sizes: 8 mL, 50 mL, 100 mL
Best Gourmand: Clean Reserve Skin Eau de Parfum
Why it’s worth it: Want to smell like a snack at all times? The Clean Reserve Skin Eau de Parfum’s combination of sweet, salted praline and musk will do the trick. The addition of our favorite sweet treat—praline is a mainstay in candy—gives this otherwise creamy fragrance (which also has hints of vanilla orchid, white cedarwood, and orange blossom) a sugary vibe that we have no problem taking seconds (or even thirds!) of.
