4 Best Perfumes For Women in 2024 To Smell Like A Dream All Day

By Shammi Mondal 

Fragrances make for easy presents, but finding the right one is truly an art. You want to give your special someone a bottle that is utterly unique, but finding the best perfume for women does not mean you have to sniff through thousands of fragrances.  

A fragrance can not only make your loved ones feel special and refreshed, but also can remind them of places, people, and moments. Fragrances are deeply personal and an essential part of your personal style as well. 

So, make sure you pick a scent wisely as it will most definitely be a memorable gift. 

Your guide to gifting fragrances  

Admit it, while hand-picking a fragrance for your loved ones is a thoughtful proposition, it’s also quite a tricky affair. Luckily, we bring you some help on which perfume is the best for women.  

To ensure that your present is met with a firm ‘eau de yes’, we enlisted the help of Abdulla Ajmal, perfumer and business mentor of Ajmal Perfumes. All you need, it turns out, is a combination of fragrance and sentimentality.

1. Look out for clues  

Take the romantic route 

If the person you are buying the perfume for is a diehard romantic look for a fragrance that feels ultra-feminine, soft and light. There are countless fragrances in the market, but some classics have stood the test of time. They deliver a perfect blend of a floral, sweet, and fresh notes. Accords of rose, white florals and a slight hint of musk never fail to charm the romantics and their olfactory senses.

Luxe galore 

When it comes to fragrances, preferences are as diverse as they get. Your favourite spicy end note is another’s floral one. But there are some fragrances that never go wrong, the classic ones are easily the best perfumes for women. If you are planning to gift a luxury perfume, pick ones from top fashion brands that have an exquisite blend of notes. We suggest you look for something that has a hint of rosewood or woody patchouli notes.

Florals FTW 

The best perfumes for women often have an underlay of floral notes. Florals blend in with most fragrance families effortlessly and make for the perfect gift. You can have a fresh floral scent with a hint of citrusy notes, or a sharp spicy floral fragrance that successfully turns heads at your evening gathering. Florals are timeless, endearing and a staple when it comes to gifting perfumes.

Now that you know which perfume is best for women, lets know what your perfumes comprise of. 

Understand your scents  

If you have wondered how you can know what the best perfume for women smells like just by reading about it, you have got to read the notes more closely. This will also help in decoding your gift better? Understanding these accords is easy, especially when you understand that perfumes have three main components- top notes, heart notes and base notes. 

Here is our cheat sheet to understanding fragrance compositions:   

Top notes  

These are the opening notes of any fragrance. Top notes are what you smell shortly after spritzing a perfume and they establish the first impression. They are also the quickest to evaporate, lasting about 5-15 minutes before transitioning to the second group of notes. Light sparkling scents like citrus, light fruits and fresh herbs are often used as top notes.  

Heart notes  

This is the essence of a perfume. They appear as the top notes begin to fade for a smoother transition and remain the entire duration of your scent. Heart notes are also the most crucial component of every perfume, accounting for 70% of the total and can last anywhere from an hour to till the fragrance fades. Primarily composed of grasping notes like spices, rich florals, and vanilla.  

Base notes  

These form the anchor of any fragrance. Base notes stay on the skin and linger the longest. Since they are the base notes, their perfume is thicker and stronger. These notes can last for up to six hours or more, staying on for the duration of the perfume's lifespan on your skin. Heady notes like amber, leather, cedarwood, musk, and patchouli are often used as base notes.  

Read more: Perfumes that are perfect for your wedding day

Steps to pick the best perfume for women  

If you are still wondering which is the best perfume for women in India, here is our formula that helps you pick and gift the right one.  

Step 1: Choose her preferred fragrance family 

Identify their inclination towards the four fragrance families which are, floral, woody, amber, and fresh. This means if they like something that smells sweet, floral scents will please them the most.  

Step 2: Pick the right notes 

After choosing the fragrance family, dive deeper and identify the notes. For example, if they lean towards fresh scents, investigate detailed perfume components, and pick amongst notes of lemon, aqua, grapefruit etc.  

Step 3: Choose the longevity  

Pay heed to how long you want the perfume to last. Perfumes are categorised into three types, namely eau de parfum that has 15-20% of perfume concentration, eau de toilette with 5-15% potency, and eau de cologne with 2-4% of perfume concentrate. The longevity is higher if the percentage of perfume concentrate is higher. Deeper base notes like amber and musk also make for long lasting scents.

Need a little more help with decoding perfumes? We got you 

Q. Which perfume lasts longest? 

Your perfume type will ensure how long the perfume lasts. Eau de parfums have the most amount of perfume concentrates and can easily last up to 8 hours or more.  

Q. How to make perfume last better? 

The notes and the type of your perfume determine this. Deeper notes and eau de parfums ensure a durable stay of your fragrance. Applying it on your pulse pint also enhance its stay on your skin. You can also layer your perfume with a moisturiser with similar notes to enhance its staying power.  

Q. Which is the best base note? 

While a base note differs in every perfume, it also stays on your skin for the longest time. Richer notes like cedarwood, patchouli, sandalwood and musk often make the best base notes.