11 Fragrances That Won Our Hearts This Year

The deeply personal nature of scent makes fragrance a uniquely difficult category to judge. Everyone unconsciously brings their own unique scent memories and personal ties to certain aromas to the table. Many of us have signature fragrances that we’ve worn for years (decades, even) and don’t stray from.

In order to do this category justice, our testers had to set aside their biases and preferences to judge each scent on its merit — so any long-standing vendettas against rose or patchouli had to be shelved so each perfume got its fair shake. This year’s winners didn’t disappoint: They managed to not only surprise, but even convert a few loyalists and convince them to add a new scent into their rotation. From a floral aroma with real staying power to a fruity blend that managed to turn the head of a self-professed perfume snob, here are Bustle’s best new fragrances of 2025.

Best Candle

Rose is a decidedly polarizing flower among scent lovers, but there was nothing divisive about this lush floral candle from The Maker. Inspired by the private dining room at The Maker Hotel, it features notes of pink rose petals, golden amber, and blond patchouli that blend together to create a moody and seductive aroma that enticed our judges and had them lighting the wick over and over again.

Best Citrus Fragrance

A citrus scent that’s somehow both clean and audacious, this beauty from Noyz made us rethink lemon-based fragrances. With notes of Italian lemon, jasmine, and cedarwood, it mimics a “skin” scent without the usual musks we’ve come to associate with that category. It’s deeply personal, yet also lively and sparkling, making for a truly unique olfactory experience. “Wonderful everyday scent,” says BDG staffer Eileen Cain. “It’s not ‘too’ anything — I can wear it with anything. It has floral notes and definitely a stronger, sweet lemon scent... and it lasts!”

Best Floral Fragrance

We’re not sure if Kylie Jenner has her sights set on world domination or if she’s content with just conquering the beauty aisles, but with the way she keeps churning out viral hits for makeup, skin, body, and now fragrance, she’s well on her way to the latter. Cosmic’s sweet floral mix of star jasmine, blood orange, golden amber, red peony, vanilla musk, and cedarwood was a crowd-pleaser with our judges, who liked both its elegant bottle and slow-burning aroma. “I felt like it applied a bit subtly, yet every time I wore it, I would unexpectedly catch a whiff throughout the day, which was so nice,” says BDG staffer Kayla Isaacs. “I’m someone who really wants staying power with a perfume, so I really enjoyed those little catches of scent.”

Best Fruity Fragrance

With its notes of pear, cassis, lotus, rose, jasmine, musk, caramel, and vanilla, this fruity scent is like a grown-up version of the ultra-sweet fragrances we all used to love in our teenage years. Sparkling and bright, the musk and floral aromas help add sophistication without making it feel too staid. “I’m typically not a fruity fragrance gal, but this one is light and refreshing,” says BDG staffer Emma Chao. “It has fruity notes of lemon and pear but mellowed down with more earthy scents of cedar and musk, giving it a very gender-neutral, approachable scent. This is definitely going into my daily perfume rotation.”

Best Gourmand Fragrance

If you hear gourmand and automatically think of the sickly sweet scents of the early aughts, then you clearly haven’t encountered this complex perfume from Orebella. Ginger and cardamom add a spicy, tempting edge to cozy vanilla and warm woodsy notes to create a seductive gourmand that’s light-years away from the vanilla frosted cupcake batter scents of our youths. “I love this fragrance,” says BDG staffer Jillian Giandurco. “It’s spicy with subtle notes of chocolate as well. I’ve gotten a lot of compliments on it.”

Best Herbaceous Fragrance

There are so many things to love about this luxurious perfume from Gucci. Once you get past that absolute work of art that is the bottle, inside you’ll find a juice that’s just as much of a masterpiece. It expertly blends Sri Lankan black tea essence with night-blooming jasmine sambac absolute and white musk for a scent that plays with the harmony between light and dark to take your senses on a journey from dusk to dawn. “At first application, it’s musk-forward, but then it settles into this beautiful jasmine, floral scent, which I liked,” says BDG staffer Melanie Rivera. “It’s delicate with an edge.”

Best Home Scent

Part of California interior designer Becki Owens’ home collection, this summery scent is everything you want from a coconut fragrance. It blends the tropical fruit with vanilla bourbon for an island aroma that makes you think of cool ocean breezes and sipping piña coladas on the beach. We also love that it’s part of the high-tech Pura home fragrance diffuser, an app-controlled device where one vial will last for up to six weeks when dispersing for six hours a day, giving you a continuous scent experience inside your home without having to worry about the inconvenience or inconsistency of a candle or reed diffuser.

Best Musk Fragrance

Nobody does a musk quite like Narciso Rodriguez. For Her Musc Nude is a feminine and delicate take on the classic musk, mixing the iconic note with pink peppercorn, white jasmine blossom, damask rose, soft wood notes, Indonesian patchouli, and tonka bean absolute. “I love how musky this smells,” says BDG staffer Alissa London. “This is definitely my style of perfume.”

Best Perfume Oil

This warm floral perfume oil has notes of jasmine, succulent plum, vanilla flower, and sakura blossoms that wrap around you like a sultry embrace. “I’ve been obsessed with fragrance this year and have tried various scents and formats,” says Chao. “This perfume oil makes me feel warm and cozy, without being overly cloying or sweet. It’s an incredible winter scent that makes me want to curl up on the couch but also go on a date. I would 100% rebuy this for myself and friends based on its versatility and reasonable price point.”

Best Spicy Fragrance

A study in contrast, this unique scent by House of Bō starts as a delicate white floral aroma with notes of lychee, lily of the valley, and white saffron. But once you get through the floral top, it’s the heart of pink peppercorn laced with marshmallow and bergamot caramel mixed with cognac, ambergris, and white birch that gives it its spice and depth. A truly hedonistic scent that’s not for the faint of heart, our judges were mesmerized by its flirtatiousness.

Best Warm-Woodsy Fragrance

We’ve loved Victoria Beckham’s foray into the beauty world, and her fragrances are no exception. They have the same stealth wealth as her clothing line, and this warm and seductive scent — with notes of tobacco leaves, plum, vanilla, tonka beans, and cedarwood — took a dark and earthy twist on what we thought we knew about vanilla fragrance. “This is such a unique scent that really confused me at first, but I absolutely loved it,” says BDG staffer Rachel Chapman. “It has sweet vanilla with musky, woody notes and a bit of spice (very fitting coming from a former Spice Girl). Out of all the fragrances I’ve tried recently, this one really stood out and lasts almost all day. I might make this my go-to winter perfume, because it has that dark seasonal vibe.”

Photographs by Emma Chao