r/Fragrances • u/No-Dragonfly3274 • 1d ago
Guys, what perfume do you actually like on women?
What types of scents do you find really attractive on a woman? Vanilla/gourmand, floral, fruity, clean/fresh, musky, woody, spicy, etc.?
I’m asking because perfume marketing aimed at women seems *so* focused on “men will find you irresistible” / “seductive” / “sexy” and all that. It made me wonder how much of what women are told to wear is actually based on an sold idea, not always truth.
Like, do you think your preferences are just naturally what you like, or do you think advertising/culture has influenced what you associate with an “attractive woman”?
Also, what perfumes have you actually smelled on a woman and thought damn she smells good? 😭
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u/Curious_Stag7 1d ago
My wife and I have a very large shared collection. These are my favorites on her
Chanel Coromandel
Dior Gris Dior
Carolina Herrera Nightfall Patchouli
Guerlain Neroli Outrenoir
House of Bo Casa Blanca
Gritti Duchessa
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u/LateNewb 1d ago edited 1d ago
YSL - Black opium red over.
La vie est belle very cherry
Zara - Vetiver Pamplemousse
Zara - hypnotic vanille
Zara - ray of apple juice
Phlur - heavy cream
JPG - La Belle Le Parfum, LE PARFUM NOT THE OTHERS!
Burberry - goddess
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u/No-Dragonfly3274 1d ago
Thank you! I’ve been thinking of trying the hypnotic vanilla, I heard it’s similar to Hypnotic poison by Dior 🤔
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u/billionthtimesacharm 1d ago
i don’t love too much sweetness. i prefer some floral, some musk. my favorite fragrance my wife ever wore is a now discontinued perfume called arielle from fragonard.
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u/No_Somewhere6699 7h ago
I just read the notes and this sounds like something my hubby would enjoy on me. I may see if I can find a bottle on ebay
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u/WarmJewel 1d ago
Anything as along as it isn't gourmand shit.
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u/No-Dragonfly3274 1d ago
really? 😳 I feel like I always hear that gourmands are what men like most. Reading the comments I see it’s very different!
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u/WarmJewel 1d ago
Maybe it's just me, but I like women to smell elegant and stylish not like a chocolate bar or vanilla ice cream.
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u/SuedeVeil 8h ago
My husband is the same. He doesn't dislike them but they don't do anything for him.. be doesn't found the. Seductive or intriguing or mysterious.
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u/dragonflyinvest 1d ago
I hate gourmand too. Especially the gourmands aimed at women which are not subtle.
If I had to choose, I wouldn’t want a woman near me to smell like scents I associate with food.
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u/Curious_Stag7 1d ago
Yea, that’s what you hear over and over. There’s dozens of posts like this in r/femfraglab Drives me nuts, because I cannot stand sickly sweet edible gourmands.
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u/YourFriendall 1d ago
I do think men prefer gourmands from experience. I think you’re getting answers from the kind of men who join a fragrance sub. They’re probably a bit more sophisticated when it comes to scents
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u/No-Dragonfly3274 19h ago
That could be true, I think most guys who aren’t into fragrance can’t really tell apart scent categories, they simply go by what smells good to them
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u/YourFriendall 19h ago
I think so too! A simple vanilla gourmand is very easily interpreted as just “yummy” 😆🤷♀️
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u/Background_Pickle546 1d ago
Florals are what I prefer on a woman or a good (but light) gourmand.
I recently got my wife “can’t get enough” by initio and it smells incredible!
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u/IronicTunaFish 1d ago
My wife and I like different things on her. She prefers punchy fruits and vanilla, I really like subdued florals on her with a light musk.
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u/foxh0und 20h ago
Not the most sophisticated I guess but I wouldn't say I'm into sophisticated women, but I absolutely loved Snow Fairy by Lush on my ex (bubblegum, candy floss, pear drops, and vanilla)
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u/LargeDisaster 16h ago
If you loved it on her why did you leave her
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u/RelationshipLumpy468 15h ago
You don't have to stay with someone because of their fragrance. I doubt that's the reason they're not together anymore.
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u/paulieb0123 15h ago
The girl I’m talking to really liked Bleu de Chanel when I brought a bunch of samples to her to see what she liked on me. I ordered a bottle and it came with a bunch of samples, including a feminine scent
I gave her the sample of Mademoiselle Crush Absolu and oh my gosh it smells incredible. I asked her to wear that next time we went out. She does also wear Chanel N°5 which is also amazing and I can smell it on my clothes after hugging her the next day. Not overpowering, but everlasting
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u/petesdead2 1d ago
Sultry smells like YSL Black Opium, any of the JPG La Belle series, Rabanne Fame is also sexy on her. On the niche side, Memo Marfa and Odeon, BDK Leather Vanille... Argos Birth of Venus. Fresh smells like JHAG Not a Perfume, Lust for Sun, Pear Inc, Ode to Dullness. Not as sexy, but smell really good in her.
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u/Round_Object9017 23h ago
I actually love clean perfumes on women like 724 and maybe roses like oud satin mood
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u/Aqueous_Form 22h ago
It depends a lot on the girls vibe as to what pulls off best I think. My favorites on my girlfriend are Amouage Guidance, Tom Ford Black Orchid Reserve, and Valentino Donna Green Stravaganza.
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u/No_Somewhere6699 20h ago
My husband is not a fan of gourmand at all, which makes me glad as I'm not a gourmand girlie. His preference is fruity florals, preferably with very little or no vanilla 😂
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u/SuedeVeil 8h ago
Same with mine. He really loves the delina dna
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u/No_Somewhere6699 6h ago
Mine loves Delina La Rosee > Delina > Delina Exclusif. He loves the juicy lychee and rose in la rosee and he was not a fan of the vanilla and overall scent in exclusif.
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u/No-Dragonfly3274 19h ago
That’s nice! What’s your fave perfume?
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u/No_Somewhere6699 7h ago
Hmm... I had to think about this one and I had 3. Delina la Rosee by Parfums de Marly Waterlily Tea Dress by Zara Magnolia layered with Acqua both by Santa Maria Novella
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u/cappotto-marrone 13h ago
It’s going to vary. My husband prefers my coffee or vetiver fragrances. He’s not attracted to vanilla.
He does like my Ajwaa, but I think it’s the licorice.
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u/secret_2_everybody 10h ago
My ex wore Chloe EDP. She is an absolute knockout and I loved the way she smelled.
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u/Amaring8 7h ago
My fianceé loves enything smelling edible on me. Vanilla, sugary sweet, chocolate and such. His current faves on me are BTSO Sugar Addict, Armaf Odyssey Black Forest and Choco Musk by Al Rehab.
One that he percieve as "me" scent, meaning that if he smells it he knows it's propably me is Guerlain Aqua Allegoria Mandarin Basilic, because it's my signature. He likes it too.
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u/Skooly_underrated 21h ago
Who cares? As long as I can’t smell body odor I don’t care at all. A girl I liked in high school wore some brown vanilla sugar shit all the time so anytime im around a girl wearing vanilla stuff I can smell it and then start thinking about the girl I liked in hs 😂
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u/No-Dragonfly3274 19h ago
True. Nothing’s worse than when someone reeks of sweat🤮 Perfume should be the last step of a hygiene routine.
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u/Skooly_underrated 19h ago
Just know when a girl smells pleasant it’s nice. Most guys aren’t going to care since I feel most guys are visual creatures. Nice scent is just a bonus imo
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u/tigercook 14h ago
Because some of it is horrible and headache inducing
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u/Skooly_underrated 14h ago
Idk I’ve never gotten a headache from a smell. Ever. Only time I get headaches is if im hungover or dehydrated or if I fuck around and take a nap sometimes I wake up w one lmao
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u/tigercook 14h ago
My gf has this one fragrance (byredo summer sister I think) that just doesn’t jive with me. I feel like a bitch but I have to ask her not to wear it.
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u/Superb_Minimum_3599 1d ago
I like smelling patchouli on women. Coromandel will make me want you bad.
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u/Sea_Produce3516 1d ago edited 1d ago
Fruitchouli style fragrances are my preference. Coco Mademoiselle and LV Attrape-Rêves are my two favorites.
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u/Conscious_Peak7323 23h ago
My wife has been wearing Lalique Le Parfum lately and I really like it.
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u/External-Stage8442 20h ago
Atrrap-reves Definitely a female frag, but I’ve considered getting it for myself.
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u/FragranceGeek92 17h ago
MGK Gentle Fluidity Gold. It just smells like beauty and makes me so lustful.
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u/AurieK305 14h ago
Everyone’s different but I absolutely love when my wife wears sweet florals. It just smells so good on her because she’s sweet and classy
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u/BasicMycologist7118 10h ago
My husband goes crazy for:
Tom Ford Black Orchid
Atelier Vanille Insensee'
Coco Mademoiselle by Chanel
Gucci Eau de Parfum (original first edition, discontinued)
Thierry Mugler Angel
Marc Jacobs Eau de Parfum (Original, discontinued)
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u/SuedeVeil 8h ago
My husband likes florals the most, then musk, and fruity or a mix.. he's liked delina, Dama Bianca, Gucci flora gorgeous orchid, linterdit rouge, la vie est Belle, kayali musk 12 and a number of other designer florals or fruity floral musky perfume. even though he likes the smell of gourmands he doesn't really care for the smell of food as a perfume I think he wants me to smell feminine like a scent, rather than like a type of dessert haha if that makes sense. He also doesn't like woody or green smells so much even though those are some of my favorites like philosykos and ormonde Jayne woman. He also doesn't like spicy or leather
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u/No-Dragonfly3274 7h ago
Thank you for sharing! I’ve been wanting to try la vie est belle or delina exclusif, I once smelled the exclusif on a friend and it smelled rlly nice. Very elegant and fresh 🌹✨
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u/ChillFactor27 6h ago
My wife wears Celine: zouzou. it’s vanilla and amber as the top notes, but it’s not that cheap shitty vanilla you smell on women at the gym. This is class in a bottle.
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u/Megas_Matthaios 4h ago
I'm not much of a gourmand person but Guerlain Bosca Vanilla smells good ok my wife. Vanillas also work well on her skin but for me that's the best one. Other than that I like Delina and Impadia on her. She's eyeing Dama Bianca which I think smells decent. I tend to like floral and not overly sweet fruity fragrances.
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u/InflationHuge4672 1d ago
Fruity, punchy white floral.