Table of Contents
Most Popular Perfumes for Women Types
With such an array of bottles, scents and advertising, how does the modern woman steer her way through the shopping aisles of the most popular perfumes on the market? Firstly, it’s useful to know that perfumes are divided into several categories and after a little time and experimentation you’ll be able to narrow down the choices to find the best ladies perfume for you.
The most popular perfumes for women are generally classified into 4 main categories and knowing your category will help to eliminate many of the choices at hand. The main categories of popular womens perfume, as established by Michael Edwards, perfume consultant, are:
- Floral perfumes
- Oriental perfumes
- Woody perfumes
- Fougère (men’s fragrances)
Modern fragrances and other popular perfumes for women in some synthetic blends now include a 5th category, so we will add this to our table:
- Fresh perfumes
A Summary of the Most Popular Perfumes for Women and Perfume Classifications
1. Floral Perfumes
Think feminine, sweet, romantic, and as the name suggests, a flower. Examples of the most popular floral perfumes for women include Chanel No.5 and Chloe by Carl Lagerfeld.
Our Rating: 
(4.7 / 5)
Modern Floral subgroups include:
i. Floral Bouquet– a bunch of flowers, for example Joy by Jean Patou
Our Rating: 
(4.2 / 5)
ii. Bright Floral – a mix of floral and floral bouquet, for example Beautiful by Estee Lauder
Our Rating: 
(4.6 / 5)
2. Oriental Perfumes
Think ambergris, exotic, sensual, musk and vanilla. An example of a popular womens oriental perfume would be Opium by Yves Saint Laurent.
Our Rating: 
(4.5 / 5)
3. Woody Fragrances
Think sandalwood, cedar wood and patchouli – memories of clean forests and fresh coolness. The most popular perfumes in the Woody Fragrance category include Rumba by Balenciaga.
Our Rating: 
(4 / 5)
Modern Woody subgroups include:
i. Leather – sensual fragrances of honey, wood, leather and tobacco. A good example of Woody-Leather popular womens perfume would be Jolie Madame by Balmain.
Our Rating: (4.6 / 5)
ii. Chypre (means Cyprus in French and pronounced ‘sheep-r’) – think of strong and sexy patchouli, bergamot and labdanum. A modern heady mix of citrus and woody moss. The most popular perfumes for women in this category include Mitsouko by Guerlain, and Believe by Britney Spears.
Our Rating: (4 / 5)
4. Fougère perfumes (means Fern in French)
Think of ferns, oakmoss, lavender and a spicy mix of woody scents. Men’s fragrances fall into this category and would include fragrances such as Brut by Faberge and Cool Water (Woman) by Davidoff.
Our Rating: (4.5 / 5)
5. Fresh
Think modern, clean, fresh, bright fragrances which are best for daytime use.
i) Citrus– a lively, energetic, orangey scent. Most popular perfumes in the Citrus category include Happy by Clinique and CKOne by Calvin Klein.
Our Rating: (4.5 / 5)
ii) Fruity– fresh and spicy with fruits other than citrus. Think peach, mango, passion fruit and berries. Check out Fire Me Up by Avon and Ralph Wild by Ralph Lauren.
iii) Green– a sporty, unisex mix of fresh leaves and cucumber. Most popular perfumes for women in the Fresh-Green category include Chanel No.19 and Eau de Champagne by Sisley:
Our Rating: (4.5 / 5)
iv) Oceanic/Water – a fresh, light, aqua scent: Miyake by Issey is a good example.
Our Rating: (4.5 / 5)
v) Gourimand – a sweeter fragrance of dessert, coffee and cake with swathes of vanilla. The most popular Gourimand perfumes include Angel by Thierry Mugler.
Our Rating: (4.2 / 5)
I hope you have found the above information useful to better understand the world of the most popular perfumes for women. Now you’re more familiar with a good selection of popular best perfumes for women, you can shop with confidence!
How to Find the Best Perfumes for Women
With hundreds of perfumes on the market, how do you find the right fragrance? Up to the 20th Century most fragrances were unisex but now we need to negotiate the exotic, sometimes intimidating aisles and this can feel rather overwhelming. In order to shop for the best perfumes for women try these helpful six little tips…
1. Be Prepared
Buying a fragrance is a personal experience and you should be prepared to take your time. Wander around the counters of a department store and keep an open mind to try perfumes that you may have previously dismissed. Ask the shop assistant what he or she thinks are the best perfumes for women – it can be great fun trying them out.
2. Decide on Your Perfume Budget
- Will the perfume be for every day or only for special occasions?
- Will it be expensive or cheap?
- Will you buy a celebrity perfume or do you think the best perfume for women should be kept simple and less of a well-known brand?
Will you have a different perfume for the season (perhaps a lighter, fresher perfume for summer and a warmer, subtle fragrance for the cooler months)?
3. Know Your Perfume Concentrations
- Parfum is the most expensive type of perfume for women as it contains 15% – 22% of the perfume oils
- Eau de Parum is a popular, middle of the road option and contains 8% – 15% of the fragrant oils.
- Eau de Toilette or Eau de Cologne are the cheapest options as they contain only 3% – 8% of the perfume oils.
4. Use a Perfume Swatch Card First
A swatch card allows you to try many, various fragrances. Remember certain smells invoke memories – of childhood, holidays, baking or of friends. It’s also important to realise that perfumes always smell different on different people, so don’t just buy the fragrance your best friend thinks is the best perfume for women – try others as well.
5. ‘Top Notes’ Versus the Perfume ‘Base’
The first fragrance you will smell will be the top notes, so wait five minutes to see how the scent changes. It is the‘base notes’ that will linger on your skin during the day.
6. The Short List on the Wrist
Once you have narrowed down a few options, spray a little perfume on your wrist. At this point you’re getting close to finding the best perfume for women – for yourself. Do not rub in the perfume as this denatures the molecules. Is the smell different from the swatch card? Does the perfume fade, change or deepen after five minutes? It would be good to remember not to wear perfume before hand, as this will confuse your nose. Also avoid eating spicy food prior to shopping, as this will dampen your ability to distinguish different smells.
Check out more best perfume for women shopping hints and tips on this site to become your own perfume expert – happy perfume shopping!
Happy perfume shopping!
How to Wear Popular Perfumes
Popular Womens Perfume DOs and DON’Ts…
This article takes a look at how popular perfumes for women should be applied, worn, and stored for best effect, scent longevity and perfume care.
1. Where Should Women Apply Perfume?
Pulse Points
Pulse points on the body are where the blood vessels are closest to the skin. These are excellent locations for applying many best selling perfumes for women as they are usually some of the warmest places on the body.
Wrists: Many perfume brands for women can be sprayed either on the outer wrist or on the inner wrist. However, if you wear a watch, take care as some people can find a reaction between the alcohol in the perfume and the metal.
Base of the throat: This is a classic area to apply most popular womens perfumes. Be careful if you’re wearing pearls though, as the alcohol in the perfume can stain your jewellery.
Cleavage
Inner elbows
Back of the neck
Crease of the knees or on the calves: Remember that the scent will rise during the day, so this is a neat trick.
Belly button
Do note that you should never rub in the perfume, as this will changes the nature of the fragrance.
2. When and How to Apply Perfume?
Spray your perfume on clean skin just after a shower. The oils in the fragrance will be more easily absorbed into the skin at this time.
Layering: This means using a similar scented body lotion. This helps the perfume to last longer during the day.
Rub a little petroleum jelly on the pulse points and then spray. The perfume molecules will be attracted to the jelly and linger on your skin (note, 1 spray at each pulse point)
3. Where You Live Makes a Difference to How You Wear Your Perfume
People with dry skin should apply perfume more often i.e. after every 3 hours. This also applies to people who live in a cold climate. So those women who have a normal or oily skin and who live in a warm climate do tend to benefit in the longevity of their applied fragrances (bad luck for those of us who are fair skinned and who live in a cool, temperate climate…).
During the winter months opt for a heavier perfume and leave the light, airy fragrances for the summer months.
Note: Smokers will need to apply perfume more often, regardless of where they live. Firstly Nicotine does not react well with the perfume oils and secondly, a smoker’s sense of smell becomes less sensitive.
4. Perfume in the air
Some people love to spray the air and walk through the perfume mist (I always remember Phoebe doing this on the TV programme Friends). However, if you have spent quite a bit of money on your perfume, you may think this a waste. Also some hair products can react with the alcohol and oils in the fragrance and actually dry your hair.
5. Perfume on Your Clothes
Be careful with silks, but it is possible to spray perfume on your clothes e.g. under the lapels of a jacket. However most women worry about the perfume oils staining their clothes, so be careful if you plan to do this.
6. Storing Your Perfume
The following tips will help you to store your perfume. Stored correctly, most popular perfumes for women generally last between 3 to 5 years.
The 3 ‘baddies’ to avoid are:
- Heat
- Light
- Oxygen
Heat
Store your perfume at room temperature but out of direct sunlight. Never store your perfume in the fridge. Heat and cold change the composition of the fragrance.
Light
Store your perfume out of direct sunlight as light damages the perfume molecules. The easiest way to do this is to keep your perfume in its original box.
Oxygen
Do not pour your perfume into another bottle or spray atomiser. Oxygen reacts with the chemicals and changes the fragrance.
7. Creating a Lasting Impression with Your Fragrance
The key point for wearing perfume successfully is subtlety. Other people will always smell your perfume more strongly than you, especially as your nose becomes accustomed to the fragrance.
If being near you makes people’s eyes water and they start to sneeze, then you’ve overdone it. You want to create a lasting impression, but definitely not an overpowering one.
Perfumes for Women – 7 Important DOs and DON’Ts
I hope you have found the above perfume ‘DOs and DON’Ts’ useful. What are your own perfume experiences? Do leave a comment below and share what has worked for you when wearing perfumes.
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