As a perfume-loving beauty editor whose daily comfort is catching a whiff of one of my favourite spritzes while going about my business, perfume longevity is one of my top beauty priorities. The best long-lasting perfumes for women not only smell great, they require just the one spritzing session for day-long wear.
Not only does this allow me a moment to indulge my best perfume during my 4pm slump, I’m also a serious overpacker regardless of the destination – from a quick trip to the post office to a 12-hour flight to the Thailand – so any perfume that doesn’t require taking a top-up out and about is a serious plus.
But to save you doing all of the investigative work yourself, here I’ve shared some of my go-to fragrances – and quizzed our team of beauty experts on their signature long-lasting women’s perfumes, too. Spanning every olfactory family, and including brands like Jo Malone London, Le Labo and Diptyque, these are the scents we deem the best long-lasting perfumes for women.
The best long-lasting women’s perfume deals
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18 of the best long-lasting perfumes for women, reviewed by our beauty team
Whether you’re a lover of perfumes with jasmine or prefer scents that sparkle on the skin, like that of a fruity perfume, there’s a long-lasting aroma to suit all preferences. To make your search easier, though, we’ve rounded up 18 blends – spanning brands like Issey Miyake and Byredo to more budget-friendly names like the best Zara perfumes – that are proven to stand the test of time.
Best floral long lasting perfumes
2. Gucci Bloom Eau de Parfum
RRP: £68 for 30ml | Notes: Rangoon creeper, jasmine bud and natural tuberose
Reviewed by: Amelia Yeomans
Why we love it: White florals intermingle with rangoon creeper, which gives it a slightly powdery edge that’s not too cloying. “Expect to smell like a fresh-cut bunch of bright and beautiful blooms, all day long,” says Amelia, summing up the nature of this long-lasting scent. “Despite the vivid floral smell, I find this perfume is for those who like a subtle, lingering scent that doesn’t overwhelm you, like some fresh, flowery blends tend to do.” It’s a great, elegant option for daily wear.
Best for: Those who have an affinity with florals and who especially love classic rose notes
3. Jo Malone London Silver Birch & Lavender Cologne
RRP: £118 for 100ml | Notes: English lavender, grapefruit, silver birch accord and oak
Reviewed by: Aleesha Badkar
Why we love it: “I’m not usually a lavender fan, but the heavy woods really ground this warming blend to prevent the namesake heart note from being too aromatic, while the fresh grapefruit opening lifts it into a sweet citrussy territory. It’s so delicious and fresh.”
Best for: those who avoid heavy, heady scents but still want an aroma that lasts and evolves throughout the day.
Best woody long lasting perfumes
5. Le Labo Santal 33 Eau de Parfum
RRP: £170 for 50ml | Notes: Cardamom, iris, violet, Australian sandalwood, cedarwood and musk
Reviewed by: Aleesha Badkar and Naomi Jamieson
Why we love it: Another viral sensation, Le Labo’s Santal 33 has a recognisable quality that sets it apart from other sandalwood-led scents. “It’s the definition of an autumn–winter scent as it gives off a spicy, leathery warmth,” says Naomi. “Here, rich floral notes of iris and violet give way to woody and musky hints that just make this fragrance so hypnotic. I’ve also found that it clings beautifully to clothes, especially knits. It never fails to make me feel chic, and I find I can still detect traces of it on my hair and wrists when I climb into bed, such is its staying power.”
Best for: Sandalwood fans who get excited about a good glass of red wine.
6. Zadig & Voltaire This is Us! Eau de Toilette
RRP: £66 for 50ml | Notes: Vanilla, cashmeran, patchouli and sandalwood
Reviewed by: Amelia Yeomans
Why we love it: With a little earthy patchouli, balanced with sweet vanilla, this Zadig & Voltaire fragrance packs universal appeal. “In my experience, this fragrance starts off light and powdery, but quickly becomes woody and richer as it dries on the skin,” says Amelia. “I find it to be a very clean scent that becomes more complex the longer you wear it. This makes it such a unique and exciting scent to wear, as hours after spritzing, you’ll be hit with wafts of different notes than when you first applied it.”
Best for: Those who love to keep people guessing with a mysterious scent.
Best spicy long-lasting perfumes
8. Jo Malone Dark Amber & Ginger Lily Cologne Intense
RRP: £102 for 50ml | Notes: Ginger, black cardamom, pink pepper, orchid, jasmine, sandalwood and patchouli
Reviewed by: Stephanie Maylor
Why we love it: “On t first sniff, you may be taken aback by the strong scent that conjures up spicy gingerbread with a hint of incense,” Stephanie says of this Jo Malone London Cologne Intense. “After a while, though, I found that this fragrance really settles on the skin and transforms into a warm, woodsy scent that’s comforting and cocooning.”
Who it suits: Those who love being snuggled up in cashmere blankets – and want a fragrance that reflects that.
9. Tom Ford Black Orchid Eau de Parfum
RRP: £150 for 100ml | Notes: Truffle, ylang-ylang, jasmine, bergamot, orchid, Mexican Chocolate, sandalwood, white musk
Reviewed by: Stephanie Maylor
Why we love it: This is an absolute classic, with rich appeal that makes it a great statement fragrance any time, or a sophisticated evening scent. “Winter, dusk, a little black dress – these are the things that come to mind whenever I smell Black Orchid,” Stephanie says. “This cult chypre has top notes of black truffle and jasmine with a hint of citrus. It is a bold, confident scent, with a touch of gothic about it.”
Best for: Confident souls who love all-black outfits and dark red nails.
Best fresh & clean long-lasting perfumes
11. Guerlain Aqua Allegoria Forte Nerolia Vetiver Eau de Parfum
RRP: £102 for 75ml | Notes: Neroli, fig accord, vetiver and tonka bean
Reviewed by: Stephanie Maylor
Why we love it: “This scent perfectly balances a tangy, citrussy top note of neroli with a warm and mouthwatering fig middle for an effect not unlike walking through an Italian garden in full bloom. Don’t be fooled into thinking the citrus-focused initial scent means this won’t go the distance. I found it clung to my skin all day and continued to greet me with wafts of creamy fig accord and neroli hours after spraying.”
Best for: Those who want to relive their favourite European holiday all day, every day.
12. Glossier You Eau de Parfum
RRP: £62 for 50ml | Notes: Iris, pink pepper, ambrette and ambrox
Reviewed by: Naomi Jamieson, Aleesha Badkar
Why we love it: The original Glossier scent is aptly named ‘You,’ for its uncanny ability to smell a little different on everyone who wears it (a point that has made it one of brand’s most iconic and best-selling products). “This fragrance is the definition of a skin scent, says Naomi. “On me, it smells very powdery and musky, with those hints of iris and ambrox shining through and lingering beautifully.”
Best for: Those who love change; it’s something of a mood ring, smelling a little different depending on the day and where you spray it
Best fruity long-lasting perfumes
14. Chloé Nomade EDP Naturelle
RRP: £69 for 30ml | Notes: Mirabelle, bergamot, lemon and orange, freesia, jasmine, oakmoss, white musk and sandalwood
Reviewed by: Stephanie Maylor
Why we love it: Oozing French girl appeal, this is a classic feminine scent. “Chloé’s Nomade is everything that I wanted a long-lasting perfume to be: slightly light and fruity on the first spray, then drying down to be sexy, woody, and lingering,” says Stephanie. “It is a classic Chloé scent, in that it’s understated – but it’s also the sort of scent that will have everyone asking what you’re wearing.”
Best for: Those who are hunting for a versatile signature scent with a classic feel
15. Frédéric Malle Portrait of a Lady Eau de Parfum
RRP: £190 for 50ml | Notes: Raspberry, blackcurrant, rose, sandalwood, incense, patchouli, amber and benzoin
Reviewed by: Stephanie Maylor
Why we love it:” A totally unique scent, I found it exceptionally hard to put this perfume into words. It’s opulent, lavish, and decadent. One sniff and you can imagine the type of woman who may wear this – confident and sophisticated.”
Best for: For those who want to a scent that paints the picture of elegance.
Best gourmand long-lasting perfumes
17. YSL Black Opium Eau de Parfum
RRP: £65 for 30ml | Notes: Pear, pink pepper, orange blossom, coffee, jasmine, almond, vanilla and cashmere wood
Reviewed by: Stephanie Maylor
Why we love it: “Black Opium is a modern classic that has amassed a sizeable fragrance fan base and for good reason,” Stephanie says. “It’s wearable, rich without being overpowering and many women’s signature scent for its timeless appeal. I would describe this floral gourmand perfume as sensual, dark, and mysterious, with an ingredients list that sounds a lot like a Starbucks order, with black coffee, almond and vanilla.”
Best for: Those who want a crowd-pleasing scent that draws compliments
18. Burberry Goddess Eau de Parfum
RRP: £95 for 50ml | Notes: Vanilla absolute, vanilla caviar, lavender
Reviewed by: Stephanie Maylor
Why we love it: This scent from Burberry is proof that, while the note brings a definite sweetness, vanilla scents don’t have to be all sickly – they can be soft and sophisticated, too. “This scent is up there with the best vanilla perfumes and is both bold and sexy,” says Stephanie. “It balances sweetness with a touch of spice, which I think makes it perfect for an evening perfume – and ideal for year-round wear too.”
Best for: Those who love vanilla scents but not when they’re overly sweet
How we tested the best long-lasting perfumes for women
A small selection of the long-lasting perfumes for women we tried for this guide
(Image credit: Fiona McKim)
As we say in all of our fragrance guides, perfume is a very subjective thing. But, luckily, one universal metric we can assess scents by is lasting power. So, to compile this guide, our team tested dozens of perfumes, from best-sellers to our own personal favourites, in order to determine which perfume lasts longest.
To do this, we gave each scent at least one full day’s wear and tested many of them in different weather conditions and environments. As well as assessing how long each perfume had stayed on the skin, we also took other factors like price, packaging, composition and potency into consideration – to determine which long-lasting fragrances are truly worth the investment.
How to choose the best long-lasting perfume
As for how to choose a perfume that lasts, there are a few things to keep in mind right off the bat. One is to consider the perfume as a pyramid, consisting of top, heart and base notes, the latter of which, Karen Harris, Head of Marketing at The Perfume Shop says, “form the foundation of the fragrance.” She adds that these base notes, “come into force around 30 minutes after integrating with the middle notes, and typically last six hours.”
There’s also the matter of concentration and the notes themselves, which we’ve outlined below…
1. Pick the right perfume concentration
“The perfume concentration is the blend of scented raw materials – namely oils, molecules, absolutes,” explains Harris. “The higher the percentage of concentrate, the more persistent the perfume.”
- Eau de parfum: The longest lasting; it can stick around for up to 8 hours.
- Eau de toilette: Tends to last 4–7 hours.
- Eau de Cologne: Will last around 2–3 hours.
2. Consider the fragrance notes
If you want your perfume to last, think about the notes you’re wearing. Citrus, green and some fruity perfume notes, for example, don’t tend to last as long as warm, woody blends (though there are exceptions). Look out for the following when shopping for fragrance.
- Floral: Jasmine, rose, lavender and patchouli can be found in several of the scents listed above. T they are quite powerful and very recognisable, no matter what they are blended with.
- Woody: sandalwood and cedarwood are both good examples of enduring notes. They are warm and are often used as a base note.
- Spicy: These include clove, pepper, cardamom, star anise and cinnamon – adding warmth and depth to scents.
- Fresh: Powdery florals like iris and zingy citrus notes like bergamot are known to offer distinctive, lasting aromas.
- Gourmand: Vanilla, milk, caramel and boozy notes like whiskey and rum are often good indicators of a long-lasting blend and are typically found as base notes.
- Amber: Amber perfumes often boast a very warm and woody base, which as mentioned are the types of notes that tend to linger well on the skin.
- Oud: This olfactory family also needs a shout-out as they are known for their heady impression and staying power. Oud perfumes are ideal if you gravitate towards very musky and spicy fragrances but it can be quite intense and overpowering.
3. Try it on
The best way to be assured of a perfume’s staying power, by far, is to test it. Whether you’re heading to the high street to seek out Zara’s best-selling scents or a fragrance counter for designer brands, be sure to test on your skin, rather than a blotter, to check how it plays with your body chemistry. Then, leave it for 24 hours to see how it dries down.
The scent type must also be factored into your decision. “If you take something light and airy, such as neroli, it’s a ‘butterfly’ extract, which basically means it flutters off quite quickly,” says fragrance expert and journalist Alice du Parcq. “Unless the brand can afford to add copious amounts of it into their scent, those lightweight, citrusy and floral perfumes will only last a couple of hours on the skin, regardless of price.
“However, a larger molecule such as vanilla, tuberose, some wood extracts and lots of beautiful synthetic musks take longer to evaporate from the skin,” she continues. “If you want a perfume that’s going to last, aim for those richer aromas that cling on for longer.”
Bottle size is also something to consider; it can be worth spending a little more on a larger option so that you can enjoy the aroma for longer – especially if it’s a scent you wear every day. Larger bottles are often cheaper per millilitre, too. Knowing where to spray perfume also helps. Your pulse points, like your wrists and either side of your neck, are the best place to spritz your scent – but don’t rub your wrists together, as this can break down the scent molecules.
Your long-lasting perfume queries, answered
Are expensive perfumes longer-lasting?
This question doesn’t have an entirely straightforward answer. When we put it to Jo Fairley, perfume expert and Editor of digital fragrance magazine The Scented Letter, her response was “yes and no.” Often, you’ll pay a premium for a scent that goes the distance, but that doesn’t mean you should necessarily splash out far beyond your budget.
“It’s not related to the brand, necessarily, but to the concentration of the scented oils in the bottle,” Fairley says. “An eau de toilette contains a larger dose of fragrant oils than a cologne. An eau de parfum is stronger, still, in terms of concentration. And the highest level of the all-important fragrant oils is in a parfum or elixir – these can often still be detected on skin 24 hours after applying. Although they’re always the most expensive version of a fragrance, I think they offer the best value in terms of staying power.”
By this logic, you could purchase an eau de parfum (EDP) from a cheaper brand and still enjoy just as much longevity as an EDP from a fine fragrance house. “There are plenty of ace affordable brands who do excellent long-lasting perfumes,” du Parcq adds. “Have a look at M&S Discovery Intense, Floral Street, Nuxe, L’Occitane and Beauty Pie.”
Why does my perfume fade so quickly?
Find your perfume seems to disappear moments after you’ve spritzed it? It could be down to a lack of moisture, specifically oil. “This very often happens when your skin is dry,” explains Fairley. “Perfume likes to cling to oil, so if you find that your scent is fading fast, either layer it over a ‘matching’ body product like an oil, cream or body butter, or an unscented body treat, applied to the neck and wrists.”
If your skin is well-nourished but you still can’t smell your signature scent, it might simply be that you’re accustomed to it. “We tend to become conditioned to a smell if we’re around it all the time,” says du Parcq. “It’s like when you walk into a kitchen and there’s a bowl of bananas – our brain recognises that smell instantly, and it’s really potent, but after about 10 minutes you can’t detect it any more. So if you’re spraying a tonne of perfume and you’re barely noticing it, then trust me, other people around you will smell it absolutely fine.
“Perhaps have a little break from that scent, put it into storage somewhere dark and cool so as not to ‘age’ it for a few months, and try something new,” she continues. “When you come back to that scent, your nose will be more responsive to it.” This is partly why so many perfume pros have a “fragrance wardrobe” with a rotation of several scents.
Our expert panel
Aleesha is Beauty eComm Editor at woman&home. She loves to make an impression with fragrance and her (slightly unreasonable) inclination to not smell like anybody else in the room means she constantly tests different scent profiles and keeps up-to-date with the newest launches every season. She’s drawn to woody, amber blends with subtle sweetness or that boast hints of sharp citrus, soft smokiness or salty, animalic notes.
For longer-lasting wear, she says: “Although I know you’re not really supposed to, I spray a light mist over my hair to keep my fragrances lingering every time I swish my head around throughout the day. But I make sure to do it from quite far away so that the chemicals don’t do too much damage!”
Woman&home‘s beauty editor, Stephanie, has almost 15 years of industry experience on everything from skincare to perfumes, the latter of which she’s afforded this guide. “My fragrance wardrobe is quite eclectic,” she says. “I’ve got fresh, almost-aquatic aromas I favour in the warmer months, then headier, ambery scents saved for evening. My summer go-to will forever be Estée Lauder Bronze Goddess.” To get the most out of your signature scent, Stephanie recommends layering it with the coordinating hair perfume (if it has one), naming Byredo’s Gypsy Water her go-to.
Naomi is a Digital Beauty Writer at woman&home, where she shares her expertise on makeup, skincare, nail trends and fragrance. When it comes to her own perfume preferences, Naomi loves powdery florals and warm woody blends; Diptyque’s Orphéon and Fleur de Peau, plus Le Labo Santal 33, feature on her list of all-time favourites. She looks for formulas that really melt into the skin to recreate a lingering sense of comfort.
To ensure her fragrance lasts all day? “I never rub my wrists after spraying them, instead, I let my perfume dry down fully,” she says. “And when I wear knit jumpers, I always mist the neckline a little, as I find scent really clings to the fibres – though do be mindful of staining.”
Amelia specialises in fashion and beauty, covering everything from fragrance and nail art trends to fashion weeks. Perfume-wise, Amelia is of the firm belief that no compliment beats being told you smell good. Her ideal scent? “Appealing yet distinctive. I tend to gravitate towards fresh, floral and peppery fragrances for the daytime. For evening, I stick to floral top notes but sweeter base notes, like blackcurrant or vanilla. YSL Libre has been my staple for years.”
Her long-lasting tip? “I always put a couple of spritzes on the top of my head and the back of my neck. It sticks to my hair for hours and those around you will inevitably get wafts of it.”
Alice du Parcq is an award-winning fragrance expert and journalist who has shared insights into finding a long-lasting signature scent with woman&home, as well as answering commonly-asked questions on price, longevity and why certain fragrances fade. Her Substack, The Perfume Playground, is well worth a subscribe for fragrance fans.
Jo Fairley is a perfume expert and Editor of the award-winning digital fragrance magazine The Scented Letter, who has shared expertise on why fragrances fade, as well as answering the age-old question of whether price equals longevity.
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