From vintage icons to new classics—these 16 scents will stand the test of time, according to our Marie Claire Fragrance Awards judges
Icons, which have stood the test of time
As the beauty industry's fastest-growing category, perfume is big business. Scent has always been a key pillar of our programming at Marie Claire UK, and so it was only right to launch our very first Fragrance Awards. But while we're committed to platforming the newest innovations and disruptors, we know that scent is intrinsically linked to memory, and many of us have re-purchased and loved the same classic icons for years. As such, we decided to celebrate the very best of this category. Scroll on for the winners...
Want to see the rest of the winners? Don't forget to check out our roundup of our favourite breakthrough acts, fragrance families and lifestyle picks.
How are fragrances tested and judged?
The Fragrance Awards have been judged by an esteemed panel of industry experts, bringing together the sharpest noses and most discerning voices in beauty—from industry-leading Marie Claire UK editors to renowned fragrance specialists: Alice de Parcq, Clémence Pellé, Nicola Bonn and Suzy Nightingale. Judges tested the scents and provided scores based on perfume family, innovation, longevity and packaging.
WINNER: Best Classic Women’s Fragrance
You know it's good when Nicola Bonn, judge and host of the Outspoken Beauty Podcast, declares a scent to be "one of the very best perfumes ever made." Ormonde Jayne's Ormonde Woman has had a cult following for years, and for good reason: it's unlike anything else. It starts and ends with Black Hemlock absolute, which is rarely used in such high quality and quantity. Then, woody essence mingles with jasmine and violet absolute to create something utterly irresistible and transfixing—we'd argue that it's seduction in a bottle.
WINNER: Best Classic Men’s Fragrance
A bona fide classic, Tom Ford's Bois Pacifique Eau de Parfum is a perfume the team have gifted time and time again to the most special men in their lives. It's a crowdpleaser, but in the best possible way. Aiming to evoke sunlight and encompass the feeling of endless freedom and vitality, this scent features aromatic, spicy notes of turmeric, as well as the creamy richness of olibanum essence and orris butter. Additional notes include: sandalwood, cedar and oakwood.
WINNER: Best Fragrance Bottle
What's even more subjective than scent itself? The vessel it's housed in, of course. One of the great joys of perfume is how it looks on your vanity, and Bulgari's The Allegra was a unanimous vote amongst the Marie Claire judging panel. As Suzy Nightingale, fragrance writer and co-host of the On the Scent podcast, said, "It's such a uniquely designed bottle... and it has a lovely salty, woody and vanilla scent, which stays close, but remains long-lasting."
WINNER: Best Eau de Extrait
Extrait perfumes are an essential on any fragrance connoisseur's top shelf thanks to their strength, potency and quality. As such, they are often a more hefty investment, which our judges considered when selecting their winner. Mind Games' Mentor delivers the punch you'd expect of this strain, with powerful unisex notes of caramel, plum and Italian lemon, and middle notes of coffee, amber, resin and cassis. It undulates at the end with creamy and comforting tonka bean, sandalwood, and oud. Judge Nicola Bonn classifies this as "modern vanilla", which she loves: "Creamy orris, slightly sour apple. It's Delicious," she said.
WINNER: Best Eau de Toilette
It doesn't get more classic than Dolce & Gabbana's Light Blue—chances are, you've owned a bottle yourself, or you grew up smelling it on your loved ones. There's something about it that's so comforting and evocative of sun-kissed vacations and the Mediterranean lifestyle. It's down to the top notes of Sicilian lemon heart, Granny Smith apple, and a deep base note of cedarwood. "It's a total delight!" Nicola Bonn agrees. "Everyone should own it."
Best Eau de Parfum
Byredo's Blanche created one of those rare phenomena in the Marie Claire office where the whole team stopped and demanded to know what had just been spritzed—it's that good. As our judge, Suzy Nightingale, explains: "It's very easy to wear and incredibly chic in design and scent." And that's just it: Blanche is the ultimate "clean girl" scent—crisp aldehydic notes are combined with black pepper and warm neroli, before it opens into a more floral heart, rendering it intimate, with a hint of the sensual.
WINNER: Best Designer Fragrance - Men's
A classic men's scent, Brioni's Brioni is firmly in the wood-spice camp. And despite being launched fairly recently in 2021 by nose Michel Almairac, it's acquired a steadfast legion of fans, who love its aqueous, ozonic notes, which are balanced beautifully with green apple, violet, ambroxan, cedar, musk and tonka bean. Marie Claire's Junior Shopping Editor Amelia Yeomans commented: "It's light and inoffensive—very clean and overwhelmingly nice."
WINNER: Best Designer Fragrance - Women's
A modern classic of designer perfumes, Prada Paradoxe is a delight. This floral amber scent is designed to last and is refillable. Purchasing a 100ml refill instead of two 50ml bottles of this sweet nectar helps save 44% glass, 100% metals, 67% plastic, and 61% cardboard. In regards to what lies inside: you can expect bolshy neroli bud, sensual amber, intense musk and finally a deep, evolving floral.
WINNER: Best Highstreet Fragrance
While celebrity perfumes have had an unfairly bad reputation, certain standouts have become classics in their own right. Kylie Cosmetics' Cosmic by Kylie Jenner may join those ranks thanks to its innovative design, which aims to evoke another space, and its potent scent. It opens with star jasmine and bloor orange, and develops into something comforting and warming with notes of golden amber and red peony, vanilla and crisp musk, and cedarwood.
WINNER: Best Purse-Friendly Fragrance
We've said it before, and we'll say it again: great perfumes do not need to be expensive. As Nicola Bonn says of Marks & Spencer's Discover White Coconut Eau de Toilette: "It's a lovely, light holiday scent, and I really enjoy the coconut accord here." Tropical accords of sea-salted coconut and white flowers include fizzy pops of sweet blossom and iced citrus, before developing into a richer vanilla musk, with notes of sea moss and amber.
WINNER: Best Women’s Luxury
Judge Nicola Bonn puts it best when she says: "This is an original statement of a scent that lasts and lasts." Delivering a heady dose in just one spritz, it opens with rose water and brittle almond and then develops into one of the most complex and confounding floral scents I have ever had the pleasure of smelling: expect a hefty dose of sambac jasmine, osmanthus and rose.
WINNER: Most Nostalgic Fragrance
Calvin Klein's CK One is one of the most iconic (and enduring) fragrances of all time. Perhaps the first widely beloved unisex scent, it's for everyone—crisp, refreshing, citrus—by way of green tea and bergamot—there are also whiffs of rose, violet and musk and amber. As judge and perfume expert Alice de Parcq puts it so eloquently: "It smells like all the mistakes and memories I made in the late 90s. Glorious and iconic!"
WINNER: Best Vintage Fragrance
You know a perfume is an icon when our judge, Alice de Parcq, describes Guerlain's Shalimar as a "masterclass in showing glossy, toddler perfume brands how to do things right." Inspired by the love story between an emperor and an Indian princess, Shalimar [which translates to "temple of love"] is equal parts vanilla and powder, rendering it soft and sensual. Plus, the bottle is glorious to behold, in and of itself.
WINNER: Best Fragrance Collection
This stunning collection elicited a unanimous "yes" from the judging panel at first sight. Not only is each intricately designed glass vial so beautiful, but the scents inside aim to evoke the treasures of nature, including coral, mother of pearl, bark, water lily, and desert rose crystals.
