We tested nearly 100 perfumes, and these were the best ones

A few spritzes of your favorite perfume can help set the tone for the rest of the day, which is why it’s so important to find one that speaks to you and helps you feel confident every time you wear it. To bring you the best, we tested nearly 100 perfumes for our Beauty Crush Awards and took meticulous notes on how each fragrance made us feel and reminded us of. We tested perfumes from all scent categories, and from there determined the best perfumes from each one: Fresh, citrus, floral, fruity, and woodsy.

TBH, there were many hits and misses, and with so many personal tastes it was interesting to see how different people reacted to different scents. Ultimately though, we unanimously decided that each of the below was the scene-stealer in its category.

Best Fresh Fragrance: Giorgio Armani Light di Gioia Eau de Parfum

“This perfume is perfect to wear when you’re traveling abroad and you want to feel like a sophisticated woman with danger behind her eyes… in a soft way…” is the way one of our HG testers very elaborately describes this scent. With notes of jasmine, gardenia, and warm woods, this perfume smells like summer in a bottle.

Best Floral Fragrance: Yves Saint Laurent Libre Eau de Parfum

This isn’t your typical floral perfume—instead of being overpoweringly feminine, this perfume describes itself as a warm floral, combining lavender essence and orange blossom with musk accord to strike a unique balance. “It’s a feminine and alluring aroma,” says one HG tester. “To me, it’s the perfect mix of wild, alluring, and composed—I keep the smaller bottle (30 milliliters) with me wherever I go.”

Best Citrus Fragrance: Acqua Di Parma Camelia Eau de Parfum

Combine camelia with musk, yellow mandarin, and a delicate tasting menu of soft spices and white florals, and what you’ll get is this delicious woodsy citrus scent. “It’s how I imagine the air would smell upon waking up in a rainforest— surrounded by trees, fresh flowers, and hanging fruit,” says one HG editor of the scent, and who wouldn’t want to evoke that atmosphere in their daily lives?

Best Fruity Fragrance: Burberry Her Eau de Parfum

This fragrance got praise from all our testers who unanimously agreed that its light and clean scent—made up of dark berries, jasmine, and musky amber—was refreshing. “It smells like getting out of the shower—fresh, clean, and relaxed. I love that it’s feminine without being overpowering,” says one HG tester. “It smells nostalgic, floral, and light. Also, it sprays out in a really fine mist which I love in a fragrance,” adds another.

Best Woodsy Fragrance: Maison Margiela REPLICA Coffee Break Fragrance

With notes of coffee, sandalwood, and cedarwood, this fragrance is the depiction of coziness in a bottle. “Fuzzy sweaters and rainy mornings—this is the type of scent you could reasonably explain away as your natural scent when asked what you’re wearing,” says one HG editor. It was unanimously loved by all our testers, who may or may not all be coffee snobs and know exactly what they’re talking about.