From the designer to the extremely cheap ones, Indian women love to collect perfumes more than wear them. I understand because I do too. So from the collections of Indian women, I have gathered these insights and built a list of the most iconic perfumes that Indian women love to wear and hope to add to their collection.
Note that this list is not my recommendation to you, and I haven’t tried them all, rather, it’s what you will easily find in an Indian woman perfumer lover’s wardrobe. These are the perfumes that spark conversations, garner adoration and women love to repurchase over the years.
- Libre by Yves Saint Laurent
The first sniff of YSL Libre was a turn-off for me. It smelt like overbearing cheap quality fragrance oil.
But the whole perspective did a somersault when my sister started wearing it. Ever since she first wore it, I kept asking every time what she was wearing because it smelled sophisticated and beautiful.
This is one fragrance that makes me understand why fragrances must be given time to evolve, unfurl, and narrate their unique stories over time.
- Crystal Noir by Versace
This is a personal favourite. Also, a perfume my sister wears which means I will never wear it. Any perfume-lover lady should have this scent in her wardrobe.
This easily can be a date-night fragrance, but some say it can be an office fragrance. I don’t know – the scent sounds powerful to me. Powerful as in not an over-cloying fragrance but as in that it’s not a subtle or mute fragrance. So office wear is not what I think of. But I would still understand if you wore it during the day.
This is also a comparatively cheaper scent.
If you are gonna wear it, you will have heads turned or get compliments. So if you want to avoid attention, this is not for you.
- Narciso Rodriguez for Her EDT by Narciso Rodriguez
I wouldn’t say having a Narciso Rodriguez perfume is a must, but if you like Narciso Rodriguez and are into musky scent, this one is a must. This is a top favourite of mine.
I also have three other Narciso Rodriguez decants, and while I love them all differently, For Her EDT is a whole new thing for me.
It’s a scent that makes me realise why exploring a world of scent is rewarding. I know that for some it’s nothing exciting, or extraordinary but I will always cherish this fragrance even if it someday takes a backseat among my other favourites.
While this might not be the fragrance in many women’s wardrobes, its EDP version which comes in Pink colour may be another beautiful addition.
- Viva la Juicy by Juicy Couture
Classic. Classic scent and classic bottle design. A lot of people own it. I don’t own it, and I probably never will.
Viva La Juicy is nothing if not sweet, and I dare call it a linear scent. But I can see why sweet scent lovers would want it, and even the packaging design – which reeks ornate to me – might adorn the wardrobes of women who know how to style it.
I don’t think they wear it as much as they own it.
- Vanilla 28 by Kayali
Personally, I haven’t tried it yet, but I have been very interested in trying out Kayali fragrances for a long time. Especially Vanilla 28 and Eden Apple. The accords of this perfume interest me wholly, especially because it has warm spicy and amber accords.
Very sought-after by Indian women, Kayali fragrances come in beautiful minimalist design bottles and have been super hyped even before it was launched in India by major shopping sites like Myntra and Nykaa.
While Vanilla 28 might not claim the top spot for die-hard vanilla enthusiasts, they definitely do want them in their wardrobes.
- Good Girl by Carolina Herrera
Everyone is a good girl when they wear CH Good Girl, and good girls can be sexy. This could be easily your signature scent, and once you have this, you don’t have to collect perfumes for every occasion. The reason is mostly that it can be a basic scent and not appeal to
Of course, I think if you are gonna wear it to the office, you’ll have to tone down on the number of sprays a little.
- Coco Mademoiselle by Chanel
Coco Mademoiselle by Chanel is an old-design fragrance in my opinion, but not as old as Shalimar by Guerlain. And as an Indian, it reminds me of something. I just cannot put my fingers on it. I can tolerate this fragrance just fine, mostly because I know how well-known it is in the fragrance community, and understand what’s so great about it.
At first, this smells super fresh to me. Like guys wearing gel on their hair after a bath, or just to look fresh. But the dry down is the most tolerating part. Nonetheless, it is a well-blended fragrance and can easily be one of the most sophisticated scents in your wardrobe. Just one reminder: Don’t judge it just yet.
- My Way by Giorgio Armani
This definitely has been everywhere in ads. People buy it a lot. This white floral scent is feminine, and nobody is going to wonder why you ever have it in your collection.
Having said that, I wouldn’t say every perfume-wearing woman has this in their collection, but a perfume lover probably has this in their collection even though it gets neglected among others.
Personally, I do not think it’s a must-have scent.
- Pure XS For Her by Paco Rabanne
Of course, it’s the perfume liquid itself when we purchase a perfume, but is it? I mean look at this bottle, isn’t it the most sexy, sexy and yet intimidating design ever?
If I had this bottle, I would keep it even if I didn’t use the perfume because of its beautiful design.
A quick view of the notes of this perfume says that it has popcorn notes. The perfume itself is marketed and defined as sexy, evocative, provocative, erotic, and along the lines of those. Those adjectives may be the same thing, but they are probably just trying to warn you that you get what you buy.
But I fail to understand where popcorn fits in this erotic narrative. And that probably is the only reason I will need to try out this fragrance.
- SKINN by Titan Women
A respected and trusted perfume range in India, SKINN hardly disappoints. I am not mentioning one particular perfume from this range because they don’t necessarily stand out on their own but as a range itself.
They have 5 in this range namely, Celeste, Pristine, Nude, Sheer, and Amalfi. Among these, I have heard a lot about Celeste, Sheer and Nude, and I’m almost regretful that I haven’t tried them myself.
But they have now launched a discovery set which is priced lower than Rs 500, so I’m definitely gonna be ordering it soon enough.
Having a perfume from the SKINN range truly is a smart move because it’s a quality product that has been standing tall for many years in the Indian perfume industry.
- Angel by Mugler
Angel by Mugler is not a new scent. You don’t have to be a new-age modern woman who follows scent stories on the internet or reels to find that this is a scent you want in your collection.
Anyone who has been wearing designer fragrances for many years now, probably already has this in their collection. This has been suitably sitting on and loved by Indian women for many years, and if you decide to own it and add it to your collection today, it is still not too late.
- Olympéa by Paco Rabanne
I have seen in many sales posts over Facebook groups, or other online communities that this perfume is in super demand. I think I also saw a YouTube short of a music video, where the girl is dancing with this perfume. I also see this often when people share their fragrance collections.
I never had it, not even a decant, but something about the whole bottle makes me think of a hot summer when I accidentally wore it and wanted the scent to get off of me. And I felt like it was not for the summer, but turns out it is suitable for the summer.
Takeaway
I love the fact that this whole list does narrow down to one single type of perfume DNA, and women of India are truly exploring every type of scent that is offered by the market.
I have also seen many women accepting the dupe of their high-end designer counterparts, and talking about them excitedly.
While I am pretty sure I am missing many other popular perfumes, but I will keep the list short for today.
