Choosing the fragrance that will become your new signature is a hugely personal decision.
Walking through any airport duty free and treating yourself to a quick spritz proves just how different your olfactory experience is to even the nearest and dearest in your life. Some may opt for the woody, oud end of the spectrum, while others could find appeal in the fruitier aromas.
But when it comes to floral, that’s when you’re most likely to find accord even with hugely differing tastes. These lighter, brighter, summer-evoking scents have a more foolproof, universally adored character that makes perfect gifting fodder for the person that has everything in your life. Treating them to one of these mood-enhancing perfumes in an attractive bottle is the closest you can come to acing the present game, and all you need to do is scroll to find the one to suit.
For self-gifting purposes, your new scent wardrobe deserves an infusion of floral that will be the sensorial finishing touch to your warm weather wears. The category is ever-growing with new botanical-based as well as classics that have stood the test of time, all of which are designed to uplift. You may even decide to honour a special occasion like a wedding or birthday with these soft and romantic notes that will immediately evoke the event as soon as you catch a whiff.
Shop the best floral-based fragrances below
LOEWE Perfumes Paula's Eclectic
Each year, Spanish fashion label LOEWE creates a capsule collection paying homage to the Balearic Islands. The Ibiza-ready fashion staples include a bucket bag and now, a fragrance.
Capturing the scent of summer, this floral yet amber-based fragrance is designed to be worn from superclub Pacha to a picnic in the park, harmonising with the warmer weather thanks to notes of floral orange flower, jasmine sambac and the freshness of Madagascan mandarin and black pepper.
To give dimension, there’s also gourmand notes of coconut and vanilla, anchored down by ylang ylang, musk and woody Australian sandalwood.
Buy now £66.00, Selfridges
A Drop d’Issey Eau de Parfum Fraîche
Over the years, Issey Miyake has created some of the most iconic and sought-after fragrances to complement the late designer’s fashion collections. The L’Eau d’Issey always has and always will play a huge part in our scent wardrobe but it’s the freshness of the A Drop d’Issey Eau de Parfum Fraîche that we are drawn to this season.
Capturing the aroma of spring showers, it opens with an enveloping of a floral bouquet where the scents are enchanced by rain-drenched lilac accord and Damask rose that immediately catch your attention. The olfactory experience deepens with cedar and sandalwood accord. The lingering note is white musk that has real staying power throughout the day.
Buy now £71.00, Boots
Viktor & Rolf Good Fortune Eau de Parfum
Singer and performer FKA Twigs fronts the campaign of this EDP that has been designed to empower sisterhood. The scent from Viktor & Rolf takes a creamy approach to the floral fragrance family that is sweet and invigorating without being powdery.
The opening notes of fennel and gentian flower give a unique start that paves the way for jasmine super at its heart. What begins as a floral journey becomes velvety, and deep with bourbon vanilla at the base.
Buy now £59.00, lookfantastic
Narciso Rodriguez Cristal Eau De Parfum
White musk is the Narciso fragrance signature and is at the heart of this latest scent. It’s complemented with blooming floral top notes of rose and white floral. This light, bright and delicate beginning evolves into something more full-bodied with cedarwood and cashmeran, giving a woody, amber base that leaves a lasting impression.
Buy now £52.00, The Perfume Shop
GHOST Summer Dream
It’s hard to put into words the smell of summer. Sun-drenched skin, the slight saltiness of the beach, a cocktail in hand... it doesn’t have a specific olfactory note but somehow its instantly recognisable when you catch a whiff of it.
This is what Ghost has managed to bottle in its Summer Dream scent. A warm weather cocktail, it is a spicy-floral aroma that opens with a pink pepper, lemon and orange flower water, envelops into a heart of jasmine, tuberose and gardenia and anchors with an intoxicating base of driftwood, cedarwood and amber.
Buy now £16.00, Superdrug
Guerlain Aqua Allegoria Rosa Rossa
Rose-scented fragrances have a Marmite effect, but this tends to skew towards the former due to the sheer freshness that they bring with every spray.
Guerlain Rosa Rossa is one of the more sensual rose aromas, while still remaining bright and light. Bulgarian rose essence, an ingredient that can be found across the Guerlain collection, is played off against almond, Grasse rose absolute and a background of peach, pink pepper and patchouli for equal sweetness and spice. The beautiful shelfie-worthy honeycomb flacon is now refillable and crafted with recycled glass.
Shop the refill at FeelUnique (£114.12)
Buy now £83.00, John Lewis
La Perla Luminous Eau De Parfum
La Perla entered the fragrance category back in May 2021 with its Signature fragrance, an alluring scent designed to capture the luxury and elegance of Italy.
The newer scent on the block takes a different, more playful approach and is created to spark joy to all that catch a whiff. The fragrance starts strong with the floral yet musky note of Hibiscus-derived ambrette seed, jasmine for added richness and cedarwood for a warming glow. The brand is known for its high-fashion lingerie that empower the wearer and the same MO runs through its growing fragrance offering.
Buy now, Coming Soon
Gucci Flora Gorgeous Gardenia Eau de Parfum for her
If the beautiful flower-adorned bottle wasn’t a giveaway, as soon as you catch a whiff of this scent, you’ll be transported to blossoming meadows with an aroma that’s remniscient of gardenias. It’s a light floral fragrance that has a top note of pear blossom, a heart of white gardenia and jasmine and a base of brown sugar and patchouli that sets the scent of the elongated trail.
Buy now £77.00, The Perfume Shop
Marc Jacobs Daisy Skies Eau de Toilette
The ever-growing Marc Jacobs Daisy fragrance line has given rise to this fresh floral iteration with the scent inspiration coming from the aromas of a garden in summer.
There’s top notes of quince, violet leaves, and mineral accord with a heart of lotus flower, jasmine and more violet. The base is woody but musky with sandalwood and seaweed abs. This all combines to create an sunny, aquatic and airy fragrance that won’t feel overpowering.
Buy now £40.00, Superdrug
Viktor & Rolf Flowerbomb Eau de Parfum
Flowerbomb is one of the bestselling scents on the market and plays a fine but winning balance of floral with deeper woody overtones that would suit all fragrance preferences.
This also means it’s versatile so you can spritz it in the morning and layer it up come evening for a deeper, sensual touch. The top note is of tea, bergamot and freesia, while the heart is sambac jasmine, cattleya orchid and centifolia rose. It finished with an amber and patchouli base.
A stand-out on your dressing table, the fragrance is housed in a pink, grenade-style bottle.
Buy now £79.50, Boots
Armani My Way Eau de Parfum
White flowers take the starring role in Armani’s My Way. It puts a modern twist on the traditional floral fragrance combining this ingredient with bergamot and orange and a heart of tuberose and jasmine. There’s vanilla and white musk at the base and all the ingredients are natural with a planet-friendly growing and sourcing process. The scent is romantic, uplifting and light.
Buy now £48.23, lookfantastic
Lancôme La Vie Est Belle
This is another fragrance that has stood the test of time for many years and has endless re-buy potential. It is so fresh, feminine and instantly recognisable.
The aroma is derived from a bouquet of florals that includes orange blossom, jasmine and iris. To add an element of fruitiness, there’s blackcurrant and pear, and it’s rounded off with patchouli, vanilla and praline that provide a sensual edge and allow you to wear from day to after dark.
Buy now £57.00, The Perfume Shop
Paco Rabanne Lady Million Eau de Parfum
When you think of floral fragrance, it is unlikely that the Paco Rabanne Lady Million comes to mind as it’s a sultry, alluring fragrance.
Yet the brand created this aroma to break all the rules by turning the style on its head and making it addictive, seductive and heady. This is achieved through a concoction of neroli, bitter orange and raspberry as the top notes, and a jasmine heart that is enhanced by the wearer. It’s long-lasting and will leave a trail of compliments in its wake.
Buy now £41.00, Superdrug
Gabrielle CHANEL Essence
Housed in the signature Chanel square bottle with bevelled edges comes a new addition to the GABRIELLE CHANEL fragrance collection. The perfume of the same name is a scent of many contradictions. It’s rich yet fresh, fruity yet floral and creates an unmissable veil thanks to the tuberose at its heart. An olfactory experience, it is anchored with vanilla extract and sandalwood that puts a deeper, denser twist on the fragrant flower.
Buy now £90.50, John Lewis
Miss Dior Rose Essence
This fragrance takes a different approach to its distilling process than the traditional. In much the same way as a fine wine, it is presented as a yearly vintage in which the harvest dictates the scent.
For 2022, the entire May harvest from the Domaine de Manon is devoted to creating the centifolia rose water that is placed at its heart. As you may expect, this makes it one of the most fresh aromas on the market and opts for a lower alcohol content, while still remaining as long-lasting and immediately recongisable when you catch a whiff. Notes of vetiver, patchouli and guaiac balance out the fragrance at its base for a dynamic concoction.
Buy now £136.00, Harrods
