It's Unanimous: After Spritzing Hundreds, These Are the 11 Best Fragrances of the Year
Our panel of expert judges have been busy deciding which perfumes to have on your radar in 2026.
Welcome to Who What Wear UK's Next in Beauty Awards 2026. Here, we are crowning and celebrating the very best in beauty, from game-changing industry innovators to the tried-and-tested classics that remain mainstays in our bathroom cabinets and makeup bags. To help us find the worthy winners, we called upon our esteemed panel of industry experts, hard-to-please editors and in-the-know influencers, who put each and every product to the test. We enlisted our judges to document and share their testing for every product they tried, so you can see all the winners in action—as well as those very important before-and-after results. After much testing, spritzing and reviewing, the results are in. Join us in celebrating the best fragrances of 2026.
Who What Wear UK Next in Beauty Awards 2026: Best in Fragrance
Best New Fragrance
First up, let's talk about the best new fragrance. There have been some incredible perfume launches this year, but according to our judges, Parfums de Marly Athénaïs stole the show.
"As a fan of Parfums de Marly and the iconic Valaya fragrance, I had high hopes for this," says Who What Wear UK beauty editor Eleanor Vousden. "It's a spring-like scent and conjures the very colour of the bottle. It's bright, juicy and citrusy with an ambery-floral trail."
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Best Cult Fragrance
When it comes to cult fragrances, nothing can beat Escentric Molecules Molecule 01. This unique scent consists of a single note, Iso E Super, which adapts to the wearer to create your very own skin scent.
"10/10 across the board—the absolute best fragrance," says Who What Wear UK associate business director Poppy Nash. In fact, the entire Who What Wear UK team counts themselves as this fragrance's biggest fans.
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Best Scent Innovation
Here at Who What Wear UK, we champion innovation, and our expert judges were so impressed by Amouage's Sequence. The scent is created using a clever double-infusion process with sandalwood and artisanal oakwood barrels and contains 30% pure perfume oils, creating an unforgettable olfactory experience.
"Artisanal perfumery doesn't get much better than this," says Who What Wear UK beauty director Shannon Lawlor. "The truly innovative infusion of sandalwood makes this classic leather scent profile feel creamy, comforting and deliciously wearable."
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Best Creative Blend
We love it when brands get creative with their scents. Case in point: Chloé Atelier Des Fleurs Sous Les Pins. I was lucky enough to judge this one, and I fell in love with the captivating scent.
It smells like walking through a forest on your way to a hidden five-star retreat, with notes of pine needle absolute, bergamot and eucalyptus. It's unlike anything else I've come across, and I know I will wear it for years to come.
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Best Classic Perfume
Sometimes, all you want is a classic perfume that you know you can rely on all year round. According to our judges, that's exactly what Givenchy L'Interdit delivers.
"I am infatuated with the constant reinvention of L'Interdit and how it has evolved over the years, but the explosion of white florals that is the original eau de parfum is still one of the most magnetising perfumes around, even in 2026," says Shannon.
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Best Fragrance Reinvention
Speaking of scents that reinvent themselves, we have to mention Tom Ford's Soleil Neige. Reformulated in 2025, this perfume is not to be missed.
"I've fallen for this fragrance," says Eleanor. "It really captures that feeling of brisk, snowy mountain air contrasted with the warmth and cosiness of a luxurious chalet—it's very Tom-Ford-winter-coded. It has made its way into my permanent rotation of fragrances, which says a lot. It's unlike anything else I've smelled, and I adore the warming dry-down that has me repetitively sniffing my wrists throughout the day. It also has incredible lasting power; I can still smell it on my skin even eight hours later. I know I'll be repurchasing this when I inevitably use up my bottle."
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Best Fragrance Development
A similarly striking scent, our judges couldn't get enough of Angels' Share on the Rocks by Kilian Paris.
"I absolutely adore this scent, and it has become one of my most-worn perfumes of the summer," says Shannon. "It smells bright and cooling, drenched in summer sun, but also warm, spicy and deep with the core cognac DNA. It is sweet and has an addictively moreish quality that has to be smelled to be believed."
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Best Niche Fragrance
These days, no one wants to smell like everyone else, which is why we're always on the lookout for the best niche fragrances. This year, our judges were blown away by The Merchant of Venice Rococò 26.
A blend of saffron, clove, caramel accord and jasmine, the fragrance feels as lavish as the bottle itself. Who What Wear UK editor-in-chief Jane McFarland was particularly impressed by how long-lasting it is.
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Best Body Spray
Body sprays have come a long way in recent years. Gone are the days of spritzing myself with sickly sweet body mists at school; now there's a range of sophisticated options available. Our top choice? Space NK's Paros Tides Hair & Body Mist.
"This is more expensive than other body mists I've tried, but in my opinion, it's so much nicer," says Who What Wear UK branded content editor Rebecca Rhys-Evans. "The crisp, refreshing scent is subtle, but it lasts so well."
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Best Hair Perfume
A hair perfume is my trick to smelling good all day long. In fact, it's often the thing that earns me the most compliments. When testing, our judges loved the Balenciaga 100% Hair Mist, praising its luxurious, floral-focused scent.
"This mist is long-lasting and feels lightweight on my hair," says Who What Wear UK junior writer Brittany Davy. "In true Balenciaga fashion, it smells extremely expensive."
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Best Home Fragrance
You didn't think we'd leave out home fragrance, did you? You probably know by now that we're huge fans of Diptyque's candles, but it's the Rhubarbe scent that received top marks from our expert judges.
"This is a mouthwatering aroma of rich berries with a hint of peppercorns, and it feels perfectly autumnal," says Jane.
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