I have a confession: Since starting my career as a beauty journalist, I've acquired quite a collection of fragrances over the years. Due to the nature of the job, I've been lucky enough to receive lots of expensive fragrances, from Byredo to Jo Malone, and I've developed quite high-end taste. It was only when standing in the lines of some of my favorite high-street stores recently that I took notice of the affordable fragrances available. And in recent years, they have seriously upped their game.
While we love treating ourselves to premium fragrances, we also love finding an affordable gem to add to our perfume collections.
With brands such as Jo Loves (founded by fragrance royalty Jo Malone) pairing with stores like Zara, affordable fragrances have shed their sickly sweet reputation and become seriously sophisticated. In fact, you can probably find a perfume dupe on the high street—or at least something very similar—for the most popular fragrances nowadays. So you don’t always have to break the budget to smell expensive. Whether you like clean-smelling fragrances or fruity scents or want to find your signature perfume on a budget, high-street brands H&M, Marks and Spencer, & Other Stories, The Body Shop, and Zara are really leading the way for more affordable perfumes.
To help you find your new high-street fragrance, I've found the best sellers from each store and put them to the test, matching them and their notes to their more expensive counterparts. And I have to say, these are now permanent fixtures on my fragrance shelf alongside my premium favorites
The Best Affordable Perfumes, Listed
- Marks & Spencer Seat Salt & Neroli Eau de Toilette
- & Other Stories Neon Rush Eau de Toilette
- The Body Shop British Rose Eau De Toilette
- Vacation Vacation Eau de Toilette
- Zara Energetically New York Eau de Parfum
- The Body Shop White Musk Eau de Toilette
- Zara Red Temptation Summer Eau de Toilette
- Pharmacia Blush d'Orchidée Eau de Parfum
Best Salty Fragrance: Marks and Spencer Sea Salt & Neroli Eau de Toilette
Scent Type: Aquatic citrus
Key Notes: Neroli, mandarin, sea salt, musk
I'll hold my hands up and say that I've previously overlooked Marks and Spencer's fragrances, and it was only when I started writing this article that I came across the diverse collection that it has. Sea Salt & Neroli is an M&S bestseller, and I can totally see why. It smells so much more expensive than its $16 price tag suggests, and it's one of the best salty fragrances I've found. It's salty yet refreshing—like slicing open an orange or sipping a zesty, salt-rimmed margarita. If Tom Ford's Neroli Portofino and Jo Malone's Wood Sage & Sea Salt cologne had a baby, this would be it.
Product Details: 3.4 oz perfume bottles
Smells Similar To:
Scent Type: Fresh citrus
Key Notes: Tunisian neroli, orange flower, Italian bergamot, jasmine, Sicilian lemon, amber, wild celery
This citrus scent is reminiscent of sitting on the breezy Amalfi Coast with an Aperol spritz aperitif in hand. The top note of bergamot mingles with mandarin orange, lemon, and bitter orange for a zesty spritz before drying down with herbaceous lavender, rosemary, and myrtle. It then paves the way for delicious African orange flower, neroli, and jasmine. The warm base notes of amber, ambrette, and wild celery are subtle yet beautiful. It's no wonder it's such a popular fragrance.
Product Details: 1.0 oz and 1.7 oz perfume bottles
Scent Type: Fresh aquatics
Key Notes: Ambrette seeds, sea salt, herbal sage
This is one of my favorite Jo Malone London scents. It's aquatic smelling, like a brisk walk along the British coastline on a windy day. The sea salt notes are tempered with earthy sage, which is ideal if citrus scents aren't usually your thing.
Product Details: 1.0 oz, 3.4 oz, and 1.7 oz perfume bottles
Best Gourmand Fragrance: & Other Stories Neon Rush Eau de Toilette
Scent Type: Gourmand fruits
Key Notes: Clementine, ruby cherry, pink pepper, frangipani, wild orchid, jasmine sambac, tonka beans, vanilla beans, liquid musks
Fruity fragrances aren't usually my thing, but when my nose caught this, it reminded me of Tom Ford's Lost Cherry. This has top notes of sweet ruby cherry and pink pepper, which dry down to a sensual mix of florals such as frangipani, orchid, and jasmine sambac. The base notes include tonka bean, vanilla, and musk, which make this fragrance very long-lasting for its reasonable price tag. Many of these notes also feature in Tom Ford's Lost Cherry, but it comes in at a fraction of the price.
Product Details: 1.7 oz perfume bottle
Smells Similar To:
Scent Type: Sweet gourmands
Key Notes: Black cherry, tonka bean, jasmine sambac, Turkish rose, almond
Jammy cherry and syrupy liqueur notes are juxtaposed with with Turkish rose and jasmine sambac, making it a sweet fruity scent that also smells sensual.
Product Details: 1.0 oz, 1.7 oz, and 3.4 oz perfume bottle
Best Floral Fragrance: The Body Shop Rebel Rosebud Eau de Toilette
Scent Type: Fresh florals
Key Notes: Rosewater, bergamot, tangerine
If you're a fan of rose fragrances, then I implore you to try this fragrance from The Body Shop. Far from your nana's powdery rose scent, this is beautifully moody and modern. It's warm and floral with long-lasting wear throughout the day. It's also certified vegan, and 87% of the ingredients are of natural origin.
Product Details: 3.3 oz perfume bottle
Smells Similar To:
Scent Type: Warm florals
Key Notes: Clove, damask rose, praline, oud
Heady Damask rose is enveloped in smoky oud and warming clove, which makes this fragrance intoxicating in the very best way.
Product Details: 1.7 oz and 3.4 oz perfume bottle
Scent Type: Woody fruits
Key Notes: Rose, red fruits, cinnamon, benzoin, patchouli, sandalwood, castoreum
Turkish rose, cinnamon, and amber make this fragrance a modern-day classic.
Product Details: 0.34 oz, 1.7 oz, and 3.4 oz perfume bottles
Best Solar Fragrance: Vacation Vacation Eau de Toilette
Scent Type: Fresh solar
Key Notes: Petitgrain essence, coconut water, coconut milk, bergamot, solar musk, banana, pineapple, pool water, sea salt
I've previously written about my love of fragrances that smell like expensive sunscreen, and this fits the warm, sun-kissed scent criteria. You only have to read the reviews of this affordable perfume to see its appeal. It's a solar floral that instantly takes you to days spent at the beach. It reminds me a lot of Estée Lauder Bronze Goddess and Tom Ford Blanc de Soleil.
Product Details: 1.0 oz perfume bottle
Smells similar to:
Scent Type: Solar floral
Key Notes: Amber, coconut milk, sandalwood, mandarin, Sicilian bergamot, jasmine, magnolia petals, orange flower buds, lavender
A fragrance classic for a reason, this instantly transports you to the beach. Zesty Italian bergamot unfurls into jasmine sambac, coconut, and frangipani before drying down to cashmere wood, musk, and alluring amber.
Product Details: 1.7 oz perfume bottle
Scent Type: Fresh gourmands
Key Notes: Coco de mer, ylang-ylang, cardamom, amber
Smells like sailing on a luxurious yacht in the middle of the Mediterranean surrounded by sparkling seas. Solar florals combine with creamy coco de mere and warm amber.
Product Details: 1.0 oz, 1.7 oz, and 3.4 oz perfume bottle
Best Spicy Fragrance: Zara Energetically New York Eau de Parfum
Scent Type: Warm spices
Key Notes: Cardamom, jasmine, sandalwood
Jo Malone herself (who has since gone on to be the founder of Jo Loves fragrances) has created fragrance wardrobes for Zara, and I'm obsessed. This particular one is part of the latest collection, which is inspired by cities around the world. In my opinion, this smells very similar to Le Labo's cult-favorite Santal 33. It has notes of expensive-smelling sandalwood and smells fresh and aquatic to me, much like a clean-smelling fragrance. It's the ideal kind of perfume to wear day to day.
Product Details: 3.4 oz bottle
Smells Similar To:
Scent Type: Warm spices
Key Notes: Australian sandalwood, cedarwood, cardamom, iris, violet, wood alloy, ambrox, leather accord, musk
Loved by fashion insiders and beauty editors alike, this fragrance has notes of sandalwood and cardamom, which give it its clean-smelling scent.
Product Details: 0.5 oz, 1.7 oz, and 3.4 oz perfume bottle
Best Musky Fragrance: The Body Shop White Musk Eau de Toilette
Scent Type: Musky floral
Key Notes: Lily, ylang-ylang, galbanum, basil, jasmine, rose water, oakmoss, amber, vetiver, peach, musk
This is The Body Shop's best-selling fragrance, and during the '90s, it cemented its status as a cult scent. It's still as loved today thanks to its timeless notes of vegan musk, aldehydes (which give fragrances that clean scent), and a soft floral touch of jasmine. When I smell this, it reminds me of those clean, fresh-out-of-the-laundry types of scents that make you smell like you but better.
Product Details: 1.0 oz bottle
Smells Similar To:
Scent Type: Fresh woods
Key Notes: Iso E Super (aroma-molecule)
The Body Shop's White Musk has a similar effect to Eccentric Molecules Molecule 01. Much like how White Musk uses musk to make your skin smell like you but better, this reacts differently on everyone to enhance your natural scent.
Product Details: 3.4 oz perfume bottle
Scent Type: Musky floral
Key Notes: Jasmine absolute, cotton flower, white musk
White Musk smells very much like Juliette Has a Gun's Musc Invisible. Notes of cotton flower and musk make these two fragrances sisters.
Product Details: 3.3 oz bottle
Best Amber Fragrance: Zara Red Temptation Summer Eau de Toilette
Scent Type: Amber fruits
Key Notes: Lychee, raspberry, rose petals, peony, amber, praline, musk
This is another standout from Zara's growing fragrance collection. It's a beautiful rich gourmand fragrance that still smells sweet yet sophisticated. Jasmine, saffron, and amber notes smell similar to the likes of Maison Francis Kurkdjian's Baccarat Rouge 540.
Product Details: 3.0 oz perfume bottle
Smells Similar To:
Scent Type: Amber florals
Key Notes: Jasmine, saffron, cedarwood, ambergris
Rich amber is paired with sweet florals in this iconic fragrance.
Product Details: 1.2 oz, 2.4 oz, and 6.8 oz perfume bottle
Best Fruity Fragrance: Pharmacia Blush d'Orchidée Eau de Parfum
Scent Type: Floral woods
Key Notes: Orchid, jasmine, orange, heliotrope, raspberry, sandalwood, driftwood, amberwood
Upon smelling this, it instantly reminded me of Marc Jacobs's Daisy and even a little bit of Chanel Chance Eau Tendre. This easy-to-wear floral smells like a springtime day spent under blue skies. Expect to smell notes of star jasmine, heliotrope, raspberry champagne, orchid, orange, and sandalwood.
Product Details: 1.0 oz perfume bottle
Smells Similar To:
Scent Type: Fruity floral
Key Notes: Wild berries, white violet, jasmine, sandalwood
Marc Jacobs Daisy is a fresh floral, which smells similar to Blush d'Orchidée.
Product Details: 1.6 oz, 3.3 oz, and 6.7 oz perfume bottles
Scent Type: Fruity floral
Key Notes: Grapefruit, jasmine absolute, quince, rose essence, white musk
A radiant, fruity-floral scent that is so wearable and chic.
Product Details: 1.2 oz, 1.7 oz, 3.4 oz, 5.0 oz perfume bottle
This article originally appeared on Who What Wear UK at an earlier date and has since been updated.
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