I Have Tried Basically Every Popular Fragrance Out There—These 30 Are Worth It

I have always been one of those people who love perfumes and fragrances. Oftentimes when we’re talking about the cherry on top of an outfit, people think of shoes or a great pair of sunglasses, which are important parts of an outfit, don’t get me wrong, but the real cherry on top is a great fragrance. Your scent says just as much about you as your outfit choice does. I love fragrance so much I bring a travel size perfume in my purse with me everywhere I go. I’m a believer in mixing perfumes too. Certain brands, such as Jo Malone London, are designed to be mixed and matched with their entire collection of scents. I personally love the combination of Wood Sage & Sea Salt mixed with English Pear & Freesia. I’m currently wearing a mix of Rose 31 from Le Labo and Miss Dior Absolutely Blooming. They balance each other out so well, with the Le Labo perfume being a little smoky and masculine and the Dior being light and sweet. 

Certain fragrances gain the attention of fragrance lovers and become cult favorites. Some that come to mind are Maison Francis Kurkdjian’s Baccarat Rouge or Le Labo’s Santal 33. Now whenever I hear about a new fragrance everyone can’t get enough of, I have to be the judge myself. I have high standards when it comes to perfume, and I need to really love a scent to spend the money on it, especially considering great fragrances aren’t usually cheap. 

For me to invest in the right fragrance, it has to check four main boxes. It has to last a long time (for me, that’s at least five to six months), it has to be sweet but not overwhelmingly so that you would mistake me for a high school cheer captain, it has to be a little woodsy or smoky but not so that you’d mistake me for someone’s grandfather, and it has to have character and personality. I rounded up 30 fragrances that I’ve tried and believe are worth the hype and have earned the title of “cult-favorite fragrance,” including all of my current favorites that sit on my vanity while I write this.

Keep scrolling to see which fragrances made the cut.