All of the Most Expensive-Smelling Perfumes Have This Important Note in Common

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@nlmarilynWe love discussing perfume here at Who What Wear, and it's no secret that popular olfactory notes like vanilla, rose, gardenia, and lily of the valley make up some of our favorite (and, historically, the most covetable) fragrances on the market. Another ultra-popular addition? Jasmine, which, along with rose, is considered a "foundation stone of perfumery." In other words, almost every bottle of perfume you come across in this life will contain at least one or the other.
As it turns out, there are over 200 species of jasmine, and it's widely credited for the inherent richness and intensity it can lend a fragrance. Of course, depending on the notes it's paired with, jasmine can instantly transform into something verging on green and crisp or just as easily into something enveloping and musky. As an ode to the flower, we've found 12 of the best jasmine perfumes that smell beautiful, luxurious, and, yes, very expensive. (Because, hey, sometimes it's the little things even if you're wearing sweats for the day.) Keep scrolling for all of our jasmine-containing favorites plus some additional honorable mentions along the way.
Le Labo Jasmin 17 Eau de Parfum
Key Notes: Bitter orange, jasmine sambac, neroli, orange blossom, sandalwood, amber, musk, and vanilla.
Le Labo makes some of the most coveted perfumes in the industry, so we would be remiss not to include the brand's well-rounded dedication to jasmine right off the bat. Thanks to the abbreviated scent profile, it's the uncomplicated modern floral fragrance of a jasmine lover's dreams. The brand says it best on its website: "We refuse all responsibility for any havoc this perfume might create in your circle of friends."
Promising customer review: "I love this scent. It's so smoothly floral, very light yet fragrant enough to notice. It's sweet and youthful."
Key Notes: Tiare flower, jasmine, lily, tuberose, musk, and Madagascar vanilla.
Promising customer review: "If white florals are your thing, you will love Lys 41. I also like Michael Kors, Amarige, and Tocca’s Florence just for reference. A unique twist on my favorite floral notes!"
Byredo Inflorescence Eau de Parfum
Key Notes: Pink freesia, rose petals, lily of the valley, magnolia, and fresh jasmine.
A quick lesson in perfume: Once you spritz a fragrance, the top notes within the scent profile are what you will smell first, the middle notes will come next, and the base notes will be the lingering, most potent scent you're left with as you wear the perfume. This bouquet of florals from Byredo features fresh jasmine at the base and other lighter bouquet fares like rose petals and pink freesia up top. According to the brand, this perfume was created as a celebration of spring's earliest blooming flowers. In a word, it's lovely.
Promising customer review: "This is the lightest of florals- it’s uplifting and pretty, smelling of little white flowers on a spring day."
Key Notes: Lemon, mandarin, neroli, jasmine sambac, musk, and cotton candy.
Promising customer review: "This is hands down my favorite summer scent and I have a fairly large and ever-growing collection of fragrances. This is citrus, floral, musky and sweet. It captures summer in a way that no other scent has for me."
Frédéric Malle Le Parfum de Therese
Key Notes: Cucumber, prune, rose, jasmine, vetiver, and patchouli.
The price for this fragrance is nothing to sneeze at, but this timeless scent isn't just one of the best jasmine perfumes—it's one of the best perfumes point-blank. (And if you can't get over that price point, there's always this handy travel size!) Created in the 1950s by legendary perfumer Edmond Roudnitska, this perfume was kept secret and only worn by his wife up until recently when it was debuted by renowned perfume nose Frédéric Malle. Additions like melon, cucumber, and prune make this jasmine perfume entirely unique.
Promising customer review: "I just adore this perfume, it’s uniquely beautiful. I own just over 500 perfumes and this one smells unlike any of them. I am so glad I was able to find an authentic full bottle of this beauty."
Key Notes: Rose, jasmine, aldehydes, amber, and vetiver.
Clive Christian No.1 Feminine Edition Eau de Parfum
Key Notes: Plum, mirabelle, white peach, lemon, mandarin, bergamot, iris, jasmine, carnation, rose, ylang-ylang, Madagascar vanilla, musk, amber, and Tonka bean.
Clive Christian is one of the most covetable, expensive, and surprisingly under-the-radar perfume houses in the industry. As a quick debrief, the brand is a leading independent fragrance house in Britain, and the brand's predecessor, the Crown Perfumery Company (established in 1872), is the only house ever to have been granted permission to use Queen Victoria’s crown on its bottles. In addition to said royal heritage, its fragrance concoctions are of the most intricate, high-quality, and utterly divine nature, making them well worth the indulgent investment. This scent, in particular, is crafted from 248 ingredients with notes like iris, plum, white peach, lemon, mandarin, ylang-ylang, vanilla, and jasmine taking center stage.
Promising customer review: "Beautiful fragrance! Very feminine and soft. Floral and long-lasting"
Key Notes: Peach, mandarin, bergamot, rhubarb, jasmine, rose, orris, narcissus, lily of the valley, tuberose, vanilla, Cashmeran musk, patchouli, rum, and sandalwood.
Promising customer review: "This is so beautiful. Very sophisticated fruity white floral. I get a sweet peach note. Very nice."
Tom Ford Jasmine Rouge Eau de Parfum
Key Notes: Black and white peppercorn, ylang-ylang, amber, precious sambac jasmine sepals absolute, clary sage, and rich spices.
Black Orchid, Tobacco Vanille, Oud Wood, Fucking Fabulous… Tom Ford has no shortage of iconic and expensive fragrances. That being said, we vehemently think this best-of-the-best jasmine number is one of the brand's most underrated and irresistibly lovely scents. Jasmine lovers, you'll be tickled pink. (Or should we say rouge?) As the brand says, this full-bodied perfume is "as audacious as red, lacquered lips."
Promising customer review: "Honestly. It’s one of my absolute favorite fragrances. Mind you, I probably have over 150, but this is one of my top 10. The way it lingers with you throughout the day. The dry down is beautiful. It’s def unisex, which I love."
Key Notes: Bergamot, carrot seed, jasmine, Turkish rose, benzoin, and vanilla.
Promising customer review: "Tom Ford Soleil Neige is an exquisite fragrance that captures the essence of winter beauty. The scent is a captivating blend of delicate florals, crisp freshness, and warm sensuality, creating a unique olfactory experience."
Jo Malone White Jasmine & Mint Cologne
Key Notes: Wild mint, jasmine, lily, orange flower, maté leaf, and rose.
If you are not as keen on warm, sweet, or overly floral iterations of jasmine, you'll love this crisp and clean perfume from iconic fragrance house Jo Malone London. As the brand says, think of this as your bottled equivalent of "a sun-drenched morning in an English country garden."
Promising customer review: "It is a perfume that makes you feel calm, fresh and very unique in its scent. I'm a perfume fanatic but no perfume has ever fascinated me so much, I really hope it will never be discontinued again. If you are looking for a fresh scent, i strongly recommend you to try it!!!"
Key Notes: Marigold, jasmine sambac, benzoin, ylang-ylang, amber, and vanilla.
Promising customer review: "This is such a beautiful, sophisticated fragrance that lasts. I have had women and men stop me to ask what scent I am wearing."
Aerin Ikat Jasmine Eau de parfum
Key Notes: Tuberose fleur, jasmine Egypt infusion, jasmine sambac, and honeysuckle.
Exotic, velvety, and fresh, this fragrant perfume is one of the best for jasmine lovers. Comparably, it's a bit more affordable than some of its fellow bottles, and the elegant melding of jasmine sambac and jasmine Egypt infusion makes it extra special.
Promising customer review: "It stays light, sweet, and fresh long after the dry down. It never turns powdery or stale, the way so many other florals do."
Key Notes: Sicilian bergamot, verbena, jasmine, orange flower, neroli petals, musk, sandalwood, and vetiver.
Promising customer review: "Smells chic, expensive, effortless. I really like the opening which has a hefty amount of citrus and verbena. A little green and has a spa-like feel."
Ex Nihilo Jasmin Fauve Eau de Parfum
Key Notes: Lily of the valley, lily, orange blossom, jasmine, tuberose, animal accord, and ambrox.
Ex Nihilo's collections of Parisian-created scent concoctions are positively intoxicating, and Jasmin Fauve is the ultimate hybrid between blooming floral and raw leather. As the brand describes it, this jasmine perfume is "a journey into the center of a poisonous white flower, where only its diaphanous veins would be revealed." Intriguing, no?
Promising customer review: "I have been wearing this a lot, and I absolutely love it. It’s my confident fragrance for when I’m in an excellent mood and want to feel like I’m on top of the world."
Key Notes: Galbanum, angelica root, green mandarin, sambac jasmine absolute, iris absolute, rosyfolia, vetiver, patchouli, and powdery accord.
Diptyque Olene Eau de Toilette
Key Notes: Wisteria, honeysuckle, jasmine, and narcissus.
This masterful jasmine perfume from the legendary French brand Diptyque epitomizes the word dreamy. Dripping with floral inspirations drawn from Venetian gardens, it's sweet, delicate, and entirely lovely. "This scent evokes the secret gardens of Venice, the flowery groves, and the plots of wild grass behind the low walls between the canals," notes Diptyque on its website.
Promising customer review: "I bought this as a present for a friend cause I knew she liked it but after she sprayed it on me I loved it so much. It smells so fresh and light. I would definitely buy this for myself in the future. It’s beyond lovely. I have nothing but good things to say about this fragrance."
Key Notes: Tuberose, orange blossom, jasmine, and marine accord.
Promising customer review: "It smells so good. I get compliments all the time. I think it’s the best perfume I’ve bought!"
D.S. & Durga Jazmín Yucatan Eau de Parfum
Key Notes: Passion flower, bergamot, jazmín yucateco, sambac, clove, snake plant, vetiver, and copal.
D.S. & Durga is one of our all-time-favorite perfume brands, and this tropical interpretation of a classic jasmine perfume is one of the best we've ever smelled. This is not your average jasmine perfume, folks. According to the brand, one sniff should evoke visions of a tropical jungle complete with crocodiles, shaded temples, limestone ruins, snake plants, and humidity, making it the perfect addition to your summer fragrance wardrobe.
Promising customer review: "This is a jasmine that is easily wearable by men and women a like. This is not your typical bouquet of synthetic jasmine that EVERY brand seems to push (like the one that your grandma would wear!) Jazmin Yucatan is a warm, wet, lush, and green jasmine-like you just stepped out of the jungle and crushed some fresh Jasmine and rubbed it on your skin."
Key Notes: Oleander, cabreuva rouge, grapefruit pith, white lily cream, Egyptian jasmine, alabaster violet, ambrette seed, vanilla, and fog.
Promising customer review: "This is blended beautifully, which is typical of DS&Durga fragrances; the sweetness from the whipped cream and vanilla and powdery notes from the violet add a lovely dimension to the swamp lily top notes. I think you have to like indolic flowers to really vibe with this, but thankfully I do."
Ellis Brooklyn Myth Eau de Parfum
Key notes: Ambrette seeds, jasmine petals, and musk.
Inspired by "clean sheets and sun-warmed" skin, this subtle fragrance is nothing short of tantalizing. It will make you smell straight out of a storybook.
Promising customer review: "I’ve been loving this scent so much. I’ve gotten so many compliments ever since I started using it. It smells so nice and luxurious. It’s a pleasant scent and not overwhelming at all and it lasts on all throughout the day. I love it."
Key Notes: Neroli and petitgrain.
Promising customer review: "It starts out as a fresh orange blossom scent which hangs on but somehow softens down to this lovely soft lightly sweet but not overwhelming scent. I have never worn something were so many people asked me what I had on."
Viktor & Rolf Flowerbomb Eau De Parfum
Key Notes: Orchid, freesia, rose, jasmine, osmanthis, patchouli, and vanilla.
Perfect for anyone who wants to smell like a bouquet of flowers truly exploded all over you. This fragrance is ultra feminine and iconic.
Promising customer review: "I have finally found my ultimate go-to scent, and it's an absolute delight! This perfume embodies everything I crave in a fragrance - a delicious aroma that isn't overpowering and carries an enchanting lightness that lingers gently throughout the day."
Key Notes: Bergamot, black currant, gunpowder accord, orange flower, jasmine sambac, tonka bean, benzoin, vanille, and patchouli.
Promising customer review: "I was a huge fan of the original Flowerbomb, but this has become my new favorite! It’s sweeter than the original, but the gunpowder accord gives it a sexy edge you don’t get with the original."
This article was originally published at an earlier date and has been updated.