The best perfume oils provide a singularly intimate fragrance experience—and smell is, itself, a rather intimate sense. This line from Angels in America has always stuck with me: “Know what a smell is? It’s made of the molecules of what you’re smelling. Some part of you, where you meet the air, is airborne. Little molecules of you…up my nose.”
Vogue’s Favorite Perfume Oils:
In This Story:
There are many ways to make one’s molecules, as it were, more fragrant. But of all the types of fragrance, the best perfume oils have the most contact with the skin. “Unlike traditional sprays that disperse into the air, perfume oils are applied directly to the skin, giving you a more direct and refined fragrance experience,” Haisam Mohammed, founder and creative director at Swedish fragrance house Uniform, tells Vogue.
Oils are best applied in a rather intimate setting, as well. “I always recommend applying perfume oil directly to pulse points on the skin after bathing or a shower,” says Linda G. Levy, president of The Fragrance Foundation. “That is when the skin is moist for best absorption, allowing the skin to soak up the scent.”
Ahead, find an edit of the perfume oils that Vogue editors and industry insiders reach for time and again.
Nest Turkish Rose Perfume Oil
- Why We Love It: Levy gravitates towards Nest’s perfume oils and the sense of wanderlust they impart. “I love these scents,” she says, adding that her favorites are Turkish Rose and Seville Orange. “They transport you to where [Nest founder] Laura Slatkin discovered the aromas in her travels.” Tinged with notes of black plum, saffron, and blonde woods, the Turkish Rose oil centers on Rosa Damascena. The ingredient is derived from rosebuds that are handpicked from Turkish farms at dawn, when the flowers are most fragrant. With a blush hue—itself evocative of a sunrise—the oil comes in a glass bottle with jewel-inspired design.
- Notes: Rose, black plum, saffron, blonde woods
- Size: 1 fl oz
Gucci The Alchemist’s Garden Ode on Melancholy
- Why We Love It: In a display-worthy jar inspired by Italian pharmacies, Gucci’s oil enhances the scent of any fragrance in The Alchemist’s Garden, the brand’s first haute perfumerie collection. “Each fragrance [in the collection] is linked to a memory—a walk in the forest, a tour in the center of Rome when the mimosas are in bloom, the purity of the rose just before its harvest in the field… Just play with the scent to find your favorite, as an alchemist would work to find the gold formula,” perfumer Alberto Morillas told British Vogue. The warm and woody Ode on Melancholy mixes notes of patchouli, sandalwood, cedar, and cypriol.
- Notes: Woods, cypriol, sandalwood
- Size: 0.67 oz
Costa Brazil Aroma Em Óleo
- Why We Love It: Levy describes Costa Brazil’s unisex oil as “portable zen.” As it rolls on, the scent unleashes notes of white jungle flowers, crushed leaves, and spicy resins inspired by the Brazilian rainforest at dawn. Designed to quiet the mind, enhance focus, and instill a feeling of grounded calm, the aromatherapeutic blend is akin to forest bathing in a whiff. What’s more, it’s dermatologist-tested and made with fatty-acid-rich and hydrating Patua oil. The scent is a go-to for Vogue’s senior beauty and wellness editor Margaux Anbouba, who wrote: “It smells incredible on everybody—the natural notes of citrus, spices, and waxy leaves interact with each body’s natural chemistry to smell completely sexy.”
- Notes: White jungle flora, patchouli, sandalwood, vetiver, amber
- Size: 0.32 fl oz
Maison Francis Kurkdjian 724 Scented Body Oil
- Why We Love It: Some of the French fragrance house’s most beloved scents, including its Baccarat Rouge, have been made into lightweight body oils that give the skin with a subtle glow. Levy’s pick is the 724 scented body oil, a unisex mix of white florals, aldehydes, and musk. The compulsively sniffable scent reminds me simultaneously of fresh laundry, a flower garden, and an ocean breeze—picture, if you will, a clothesline of crisp white dresses drying in the Italian sun. The spray-on scent has a skin-softening base of sweet almond, macadamia, argan, and apricot kernel oils.
- Notes: Aldehydes, Italian bergamot oil, white floral accord, Egyptian jasmine, sandalwood accord, white musk
- Size: 2.36 oz
Byredo Gypsy Water Roll-On Perfumed Oil
- Why We Love It: Another go-to for Levy, Byredo’s roll-on oil offers a travel-friendly version of Byredo’s gypset-spirited scent. With the hypnotic smell of a moonlit forest gathering, Gypsy Water lets off notes of pine needles, juniper berries, incense, and sandalwood. The Scandinavian scent enchanted Vogue contributor Maya Singer the instant she discovered it (or more accurately, sniffed it out—on the wrist of a supermodel friend.) “I felt so special wearing Gypsy Water,” Singer wrote. “I loved the way it made me smell, like a bergamot-and-vanilla incense stick.”
- Notes: Bergamot, lemon, pepper, juniper berries, incense, pine needles, orris, amber, vanilla, sandalwood
- Size: 0.25 oz
Frédéric Malle Portrait of a Lady Hair & Body Oil
- Why We Love It: Frédéric Malle’s bold rose is another favorite of Levy’s—and one of Vogue’s top perfumes of the year. Also available as a silky hair and body oil, the scent grounds Turkish rose in earthy notes of patchouli, sandalwood, and frankincense. Splashes of blackcurrant and raspberry add tinges of forest-floor zest. At once woody, crisp, and fruity, the oil comes in a glossy black bottle that won’t need to be quickly replaced: Just a few drops are enough to soften the skin, add shine to the hair, and create a rose-spiked trail of intoxicating scent.
- Notes: Rose, red fruits, cinnamon, benzoin, incense, patchouli, sandalwood, castoreum
- Size: 6.8 oz
Perfumehead Room No. Roll-On Oil Extract
- Why We Love It: Inspired by a clandestine rendezvous at the Chateau Marmont, Perfumehead’s spicy, woody scent layers nutmeg and bergamot with black tea and palo santo. It dries down with the scent of vanilla-laced leather, and has hints of balsam and milky musk. The scent makes me feel like I’m in a leather-clad library, reading something slightly scandalous (illicit love letters between two Laurel Canyon musicians?) by candlelight.
- Notes: Bergamot, orris butter, black tea, palo santo, cashmere wood, leather, vanilla, milky musk
- Size: 10 ml
Diptyque Satin Oil for Body and Hair
- Why We Love It: As its scent unfurls, Diptyque’s dry oil seems to radiate rays of sun. With notes of jasmine, ylang-ylang, and saffron, the silky spray brings a subtle gleam to the skin and hair. Perfect for summertime—or for an olfactory pick-me-up on a winter afternoon—the glow-enhancing potion absorbs quickly and can be reapplied throughout the day. Transporting tip: Light Diptyque’s Jasmin candle as you apply the oil, and feel like you’re taking a stroll through a garden on a Grecian island.
- Notes: Nude musk, rose
- Size: 7.5 ml
By/Rosie Jane Rosie Perfume Oil
- Why We Love It: My favorite second-skin scent never fails to elicit compliments. The sheer musk has a shower-fresh smell with just a touch of sweet rose—like a steamy bathroom with a vase of fresh flowers on the windowsill. It plays well with other fragrances, taking on an irresistible sweetness when paired with the vanilla-and-hinoki-wood-laced Dulce. However, the hypoallergenic scent can be worn on its own—after all, brand founder Rosie Jane Johnson designed the oil to channel sleeping in the nude.
- Notes: Nude musk, rose
- Size: 7.5 ml
Nemat Amber Fragrance Oil
- Why We Love It: I cannot shop at Whole Foods without popping into the beauty aisle to roll on this Tinkerbelle-sized perfume. The grocery-store gem has fragranced less pedestrian situations and pulse points, too: Billie Eilish and Kristen Bell are also fans. With a warm, second-skin scent, the amber oil adapts to each individual’s body chemistry to create a singular scent on anyone who wears it. Plus, it lingers for hours.
- Notes: Amber
- Size: 0.5 fl oz
Maya No. 1
- Why We Love It: Countless scents bottle the fragrance of a beach vacation, but Maya No. 1 smells less like tropical drinks and suntan lotion, and more like the weightless feeling that sets in after you’ve been out of office for days on end. (Perhaps this is why Vogue’s senior editor Talia Abbas restocks her bottle every time the frantic holiday-shopping season rolls around.) With notes of coconut water, sandalwood, white musk, and vanilla orchid, the sunbaked scent channels the feeling of swaying in a hammock after yoga on the beach, meditating to a soundtrack of crashing waves. Pro tip: apply the oil to the pulse points, then rub it between the hands and scrunch it into the hair for longer-lasting scent.
- Notes: Coconut water, sandalwood, amber, white musk, vanilla orchid
- Size: 10 ml
What is a perfume oil, and how does it differ from a traditional perfume?
“Perfume oil is a highly concentrated form of fragrance, free of alcohol, which is common in traditional perfumes,” says Mohammed. “This makes the scent richer and often longer-lasting. It’s less about a big, bold statement and more about a clean, lasting scent that evolves naturally with your skin throughout the day.”
