Best Perfume For Women: The 2024 Glam Beauty Awards
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If there's one beauty product you should never leave home without, it's fragrance. After all, scent is strongly tied to memory, and there's something special about connecting the seasons of your life to your favorite perfumes. For example, Tommy Girl and Britney Spears' Fantasy can conjure thoughts of first love, while Chanel Chance or Le Labo's Santal 33 underscore the transition to young adulthood. Even those who find traditional fragrances to be too much may enjoy subtler alternatives as their signature scents, from diluted essential oils to dabs of vanilla extract. Still, just as we update our closets and living quarters, sometimes our perfume wardrobes can also use a refresher. There are endless reasons to try something new, whether your go-to scent's getting stale or your fave's been tragically discontinued (our condolences).
In many ways, what's old is new again, as early-aughts beauty and fashion trends have rekindled the love for top-selling fragrances from years gone by. But if you'd rather live in the now, there are always fresh releases to explore. To help streamline your search for the perfect new scent, I've rigorously tested several of today's best perfumes. After considering factors like projection, longevity, and overall quality, only five fragrances made the cut as winners of the 2024 Glam Beauty Awards. If you never tire of hearing how good you smell, chances are you'll want to add at least one of these beauties to your collection.
Best Overall: Lavanila Vanilla Grapefruit
Let's just get one thing out of the way first: If you haven't tried Lavanila yet, you're missing out. You don't need to be a sugary vanilla gourmand fan to enjoy this luxurious line, as many of the brand's scents balance its sweetness with notes like eucalyptus and lemon. Even better, the company is committed to using natural ingredients like essential oils in its product range, which includes everything from healthy candles and perfumes to deodorants. Though Vanilla Coconut and Vanilla Lavender sounded tempting, I tested Lavanila's Vanilla Grapefruit, an eau de parfum released in 2007 that retails for $48 at the time of writing.
Knowing that Lavanila uses all-natural ingredients, I wasn't expecting miracles in terms of its perfume's longevity or projection. However, I was beyond impressed with the very first spritz of Vanilla Grapefruit. Not only is the scent to die for — a true-to-life blend of sharp grapefruit and soft Madagascar vanilla — but it's remarkably pronounced. It holds its own throughout the day, and I noticed it still smelled strongly on my forearms over 12 hours after applying it. This fresh, clean scent is versatile enough to please any fragrance fan, and its top-notch performance secured its place as the best overall perfume in the 2024 Glam Beauty Awards.
Purchase Vanilla Grapefruit from Lavanila for $48.
Best Budget Perfume: Pacifica Silver Moon
Since 1996, Pacifica has been delighting natural beauty fans. The company's catalog has expanded to include virtually everything under the sun, including vegan haircare, makeup, and skincare. Yet, Pacifica's fragrances are perhaps its most beloved products of all. With hyper-realistic scents like French Lilac and Hawaiian Ruby Guava, it's easy to see why the beauty community can't get enough of this cruelty-free brand's blends. Pacifica's latest fragrance collection pays homage to a beautiful fixture of the night sky: the moon. Though there are five lunar-inspired scents to choose from, I went with the Silver Moon formula, a unisex perfume featuring notes of santal, almond, and tonka.
I'll always have a soft spot for Pacifica's original fragrance releases, but Silver Moon instantly stole my heart. Just like its heavenly namesake, this scent is cool, moody, and enticing. Its floral notes — consisting of white flower and lily — aren't overpowering, and the inclusion of grounding elements like earthy cardamom balances things out beautifully. As with other Pacifica perfumes, it smells exquisite and has excellent staying power. Moreover, the newly released fragrance is a bonafide head-turner. I noticed an uptick in compliments while wearing Silver Moon — plus, several passersby stopped to ask me what I had on.
Purchase Silver Moon from Pacifica for $27.
Best Beachy Perfume: Michael Kors Wonderlust
You don't need to have grand plans during summer to appreciate a good beachy perfume. Whether you're lounging poolside or simply lining up for soft-serve, a solar fragrance can make everything around you sparkle. One such example is Wonderlust, a retreat-ready 2016 release by Michael Kors. It's a fragrance that's capable of "evoking a lust for life where beauty, spontaneity and sensuality are the ultimate destination," according to the designer's official website. But this isn't your average summertime scent — unlike other warm-weather favorites like Estée Lauder's Bronze Goddess or Arquiste's Vacation, Wonderlust paints a slightly different picture with a bouquet of unexpected blooms, such as heliotrope and crisp carnation.
Michael Kors' Wonderlust grabs your attention from the very first whiff, and it becomes even more mesmerizing over time. Top notes of pink pepper and almond milk make for a gentle introduction to the fragrance, though heady jasmine and sandalwood soon take their place on the skin. After several hours of wear, it develops a far warmer profile, thanks to base notes of cashmere and benzoin. Given its complex, yet summery, feel, I'd describe Wonderlust as the perfect fragrance for cozying up to a summer beach read.
Purchase Michael Kors Wonderlust from Macy's, starting at $30 for the travel-sized option.
Best Floral: Lovely by Sarah Jessica Parker
It goes without saying that "Sex and the City" star Sarah Jessica Parker is a living style icon, and her 2005 fragrance Lovely is further evidence of this. Parker's first foray into the perfume sector, the scent features a lush arrangement of lavender, orchid, and narcissus notes sure to win over any floral fan. What's more, the popular Y2K perfume has spawned several spin-off scents from SJP, including Lovely Lights, Lovely Sheer, and Lovely You. With that in mind, I opted for the original Lovely to experience this iconic fragrance in its truest form. After experimenting with Lovely, I discovered two of its distinctive quirks. Depending on your preferences, you may find these qualities totally endearing or off-putting — so it's important to take them into account before you buy.
First, this fragrance has incredibly strong projection, so a little spritz goes a very long way. Second, the scent may play differently on your skin from what the official description describes. Though SJP characterizes Lovely as a "silky white amber fragrance," it reminded me far more of a powdery perfume on the dry-down, perhaps owing to its lavender and musk notes. But as a fan of strong scents and classic florals, I truly enjoyed wearing it. Lovely may be somewhat potent, but it's a versatile choice that can carry you from the office to evening outings year-round.
Purchase Lovely by Sarah Jessica Parker from Amazon for $32.61.
Best Fruity Fragrance: Coach Poppy
Fruity florals can be divisive amongst many perfume fans, but some scents in this category have widespread appeal. An excellent example is Coach Poppy. Launched in 2010, this flirty potion has united both sides of the fragrance community with a refreshing mix of floral, fruit, and botanical accords. Like other Glam Beauty Awards' best perfume winners, it's also inspired a bevy of follow-up releases, including Poppy Flower, Poppy Wild Flower, and Poppy Citrine Blossom. For our test, I purchased Coach Poppy's classic 2010 eau de parfum, retailing for $35 an ounce. I can clearly recall the hype surrounding Poppy's debut, having worked in fragrance the summer it arrived. Still, it had been some time since I uncapped its petite pink and red bottle.
As soon as I smelled its opening notes of cucumber and freesia, I was reminded why it left such a stellar impression on me. Fruity florals of the 2010s tend to be syrupy sweet — yet Poppy is nothing of the sort. The citrusy gourmand scent sparkles with notes of mandarin orange, woody cedar, and fresh white florals in a way that's completely charming, rather than cloying. In terms of its projection, this Coach perfume is rather subtle, though its sugary, musky base notes last for hours on the skin. Thus, Poppy's a perfect pick for those in search of a new hot spring scent.
Purchase Coach Poppy from Amazon for $35.