I Have 50+ Perfumes, But I Keep Coming Back to These $28 Hair and Body Mists
They're the "basics" of my fragrance wardrobe.
As a beauty editor, I'm lucky enough to test hundreds of new product launches per year. I also consider myself a scent collector, which is why I currently have 50+ perfumes sitting atop my vanity. (Yes, I counted.) Some are classic floral fragrances. Others feature luxurious gourmand notes (vanilla, caramel, pistachio, you name it). Others still have a woody, smoky, or earthy quality. The point is that I have a lot of perfumes to choose from, including some that are worth a small fortune ($400 or $500+). Yet, despite my incredibly wide collection of scents, I keep coming back to the same $28 hair and body mists. Keep scrolling to see the exact ones and learn why they're currently causing my other bottles to collect dust.
Ouai St. Barts Hair & Body Mist
Notes: Dragon fruit, orange blossom, tuberose, and musk
Did you guess Ouai's Hair and Body Mists? I don't blame if you if not. After all, Ouai is first and foremost a haircare brand (it was founded by celebrity hairstylist Jen Atkin), but it does fine fragrance extremely well. It has a whole line of eau de parfums, which I've been wearing on and off for years, but lately, I can't get enough of the brand's lightweight mists.
Neither can the rest of the Who What Wear beauty team. Last year, I, along with my beauty-obsessed colleagues, crowned Ouai's St. Barts Hair & Body Mist with a coveted Who What Wear 100 Beauty Award. (That's how you know it's *really* good.) With notes of dragon fruit, orange blossom, tuberose, and musk, it's basically an all-inclusive beach vacation, bottled. The warm-solar fragrance is tropical yet not too fruity or sunscreen-forward the way others tend to be. Instead, it's elevated, luxurious, and expensive-smelling—perfect for collecting all kinds of compliments when you wear it in the wild.
The sun-soaked scent is hands down my most-worn Ouai Hair and Body Mist. I can't get enough of it. That's why I also bought Ouai's other St. Barts–scented items, including the Leave-In Conditioner ($18), Moisturizing Body Cream ($22), and Gentle Body Wash ($18). I also highly recommend Ouai's Mini St. Bart's Body Set ($36). It's perfect for traveling.
Ouai Santorini Hair & Body Mist
Notes: Peach, orange, honeysuckle, and amber
If St. Barts is the warm, sun-soaked scent of summer dreams, then Santorini is the light, bright, and clean-smelling scent that's "as refreshing as a dip in the Aegean Sea." It's fresh and slightly citrusy, with notes of peach, orange, honeysuckle, and amber. I find myself reaching for it A) on particularly hot and humid days when I want to smell cool and refreshed or B) whenever I want to smell "clean" and not necessarily like I'm covered in a heady perfume.
When my sister smelled it on me, she asked (and I quote), "Why do you smell so good?" When I told her it was thanks to Ouai's Santorini Hair & Body Mist, she requested I bring her the bottle so she could test it on herself. When I did, she immediately placed a Sephora order on her phone. If that's not proof it's something special, I don't know what is.
Ouai Ibiza Hair & Body Mist
Notes: Cocoa, tonka bean, vanilla, sugar, cinnamon, and rum
As a beauty editor, I strongly believe there's a time and place for every fragrance category, and rich, sultry, date-night scents are no exception. This, dear reader, is an elite "come closer" concoction. It's the perfect mix of sugar and spice with notes like rich cocoa, creamy tonka bean, smooth vanilla, and warm cinnamon. Spray it on your skin, and it dries down to a soft, alluring, and radiant aura—never heady, obvious, or over the top. It's utterly beguiling. I must agree with the brand when it says, "[It] smells like dinners at midnight and dancing the night a-Ouai."
Ouai Melrose Place Hair & Body Mist
Notes: Champagne, bergamot, rose, lychee, pink peppercorn, and white musk
Last but not least, I have to talk about Ouai's first and perhaps most signature scent: Melrose Place. Inspired by the West Hollywood side street of the same name, it features sweet, sparkling notes of champagne, bergamot, rose, lychee, pink peppercorn, and white musk. Soft, airy, and traditionally feminine, it's a romantic, swoon-worthy scent for anyone who loves classic floral fragrances.
The Limited-Edition Mini Set
This limited-edition Mini Set contains travel-size versions of all four scents.
