Best perfumes for women 2025

Looking for a quality perfume with timeless appeal and a scent that lasts?

You might not think to turn to Which?, we accept that – but we love a challenge. We uncovered the best perfumes money can buy by asking more than 40 testers to smell and rate 16 women's perfumes in a blind test.

They didn't know which brand or product they were reviewing, and the results proved fascinating. Some proved popular across the board, while other testers said they never wished to smell them again.

One women's perfume stood out. It was broadly popular, had great staying power and a complex scent that evolved with wear. It's our only Best Buy. Others weren't too far behind though, and we discovered two Great Value perfumes that smell delectable for less.

We've tested popular perfumes, including Miss Dior and Carolina Herrera Good Girl, as well as perfumes from brands such as Chanel, Kayli, YSL and more. You can also find out how celebrity favourite fragrances from Ariana Grande, Sabrina Carpenter and others measure up to the big perfume houses.

The women's perfumes we tested

The biggest brands and the most popular eight perfumes for women are listed below.

Only logged-in Which? members can view the perfume test results. 

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A selection of the perfumes we tested is listed in alphabetical order below.

Only logged-in Which? members can view the best perfumes for women from our tests.

Join Which? to get instant access to our test results and Best Buy recommendations below.

Ariana Grande R.E.M. Cherry Eclipse Eau de Parfum

Key notes Top – black cherry, Middle – jasmine and marshmallow, Base – amber and musk

Sizes available 30ml, 50ml

Billie Eilish Your Turn Eau de Parfum

Key notes Top – ginger, Middle – peach and jasmine, Base – sandalwood

Sizes available 30ml, 50ml, 100ml

Carolina Herrera Good Girl Blush Eau de Parfum

Key notes Top – bergamot and almond, Middle – ylang ylang and peony, Base – vanilla and tonka bean

Sizes available 30ml, 50ml, 80ml, 100ml, 150ml, 200ml

Chanel Coco Mademoiselle Eau de Parfum

Key notes Top – orange, Middle – jasmine and rose, Base – patchouli and vetiver

Sizes available 35ml, 50ml, 100ml, 200ml

Dior Miss Dior Eau de Parfum

Key notes Top – lily of the valley, Middle – rose, apricot and peach, Base – vanilla and tonka bean

Sizes available 30ml, 50ml, 100ml, 150ml

Ghost Sweetheart Always Eau de Parfum

Key notes Top – bergamot and pear, Middle – peach flower and peony, Base – vanilla and amber 

Sizes available 30ml, 50ml

Best perfumes for men – discover which scents were most liked by our testers

Jo Malone London Peony & Blush Suede Cologne

Key notes Top – red apple, Middle – peony, Base – suede

Sizes available 9ml, 30ml, 50ml, 100ml

Kayali The Wedding Silk Santal 36 Eau De Parfum

Key notes Top – champagne and freesia, Middle – nectarine and praline, Base – vanilla and sandalwood

Sizes available 10ml, 50ml

Marc Jacobs Daisy Eau de Toilette

Key notes Top – wild berries, Middle – white violet and jasmine, Base – sandalwood

Sizes available 30ml, 50ml, 100ml

Sabrina Carpenter Me Espresso Eau De Parfum

Key notes Top - cocoa and espresso, Middle - jasmine and vanilla, Base - caramel and amber

Sizes available 30ml, 75ml

Thierry Mugler Alien Eau De Parfum

Key notes Top - jasmine, Middle - cashmere, Base - white amber

Sizes available 15ml, 30ml, 60ml, 90ml

YSL Black Opium Eau de Parfum

Key notes Top - pear and mandarin, Middle - vanilla and orange blossom, Base - coffee, cedarwood and white musk

Sizes available 30ml, 50ml, 90ml, 150ml

More women's perfumes from our tests

Here are the rest of the perfumes for women from our tests, listed in alphabetical order.

How we test women's perfumes

One nose isn't enough for a solid perfume recommendation. That's why we recruited more than 40 testers to sniff out the most alluring fragrances from those with a lingering 'cleaning product' scent. 

Your favourite smell is a personal choice, of course, but you can be confident that the best women's perfumes we recommend are rated highly by many people, and those we say are stinkers had the majority recoiling.

Blind smell tests

We decant all the perfumes into matching atomiser bottles, so testers don't know which product or brand they are trying, and the perfumes are judged solely on their smell and not influenced by brand reputation.

Each perfume is rated based on the initial spray and on how it settles after a couple of minutes.

Scent evolution and longevity

After this initial test round to filter out the least popular options, the testers' favourites go forward to our second round of testing, which checks how well the scent lasts. For this more in-depth test they assess:

• How the perfumes smell on the skin vs on a test stick.
• How the scent evolves over a six-hour period.
• How well the scent lasts over a six-hour period.

Why you can trust us: at Which? we're free from manufacturer and retailer influence. Find out more about our impartiality and how your support helps us to stay editorially independent

What makes a good perfume?

What makes a perfume 'good' to you will almost certainly be different to the next person. 

But, while the particular smell you savour depends on personal preference, there are some universal principles. Our extensive user perfume testing revealed to us what many people look for in a good perfume:

• An appealing opening First impressions matter. Most of our testers preferred perfumes with a clean and clear scent, sometimes with a dominant note, rather than busy perfumes or ones with a strong 'alcohol' smell.
• A scent that evolves smoothly While notes may fade, overall our testers preferred the perfumes that evolved into a more mellow version of the initial opening, rather than ones that changed a lot on the dry down. 
• A scent that lasts Our testers appreciated the perfumes where they could still smell the 'core' scent after six hours.

Best bargain perfumes: should you go for a dupe?

Big brand perfume doesn't come cheap. In fact, per 100ml, it's nearly 10 times more expensive than premium label champagne.

So, it's understandably tempting to look for cheaper alternatives that offer a similar scent for a fraction of the price. There's a big market in own-label versions of popular perfumes, from online specialists to select own-brand options at discount supermarkets such as Lidl and Aldi. 

We wanted to find out how they measure up, so we got our testers to try four big-brand perfumes along with an own-brand discounter version. This was done blind, so they didn't know what they were smelling or that some scents were meant to be similar.

Only 10% of participants noticed similarities, commenting that they thought they were smelling the same perfume.

So, our testing suggests budget alternatives may not always do a stellar job of mimicking the scent of their pricier counterparts.

But which did our testers prefer when budget and luxury versions were pitted against each other?

We included perfumes from Aldi, Noted Aromas, The Essence Vault and Perfume Parlour vs big-brand equivalents.

• For two out of four products, there was no strong preference, but a slight steer towards the original perfume.
• In one case, our testers preferred the original perfume.
• In one case, they preferred the own-label version.

So it's not a clear win on smell either way, but we did uncover some important differences in how the scents developed.

Join Which? to instantly reveal which own-labels impressed, and the key thing to know when considering cheaper alternatives.

What are pheromone perfumes and do they work?

Pheromone perfumes contain ingredients that mimic or work with the body's natural smells (pheromones).

The theory (if you believe the TikTok crowd) is that they're meant to enhance your natural smell and attractiveness.

However, there is currently no strong scientific data to back up these claims. Any claims they work are anecdotal or likely a form of placebo effect.

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How long does perfume last?

It all depends on the formulation (and how you store it) but a good perfume will typically last between three to five years, maybe more. 

Perfumes with lighter citrus or floral notes are less robust than ones with heavier bases made of oud or musky oils.

Does perfume go off?

Yes. It doesn't spoil like food, but exposure to light, heat, and air will change the quality of the scent over time. 

You can extend the life of any perfume by storing it in a cool, dry and dark place, such as a medicine cabinet.