I Wore a Different Fragrance Every Day for a Month—These 12 Vanilla Perfumes Proved Elite

Best Overall Vanilla: Byredo 1996 Eau de Parfum
Best Sweet Vanilla: Kilian Love, Don&#8217;t Be Shy Eau de Parfum
Best Woodsy Vanilla: Henry Rose Queens &amp; Monsters Eau de Parfum
Best Fruity Vanilla: Lancôme Idôle Eau de Parfum
Best Salty Vanilla: Juliette Has a Gun Vanilla Vibes

Harper Rose21 hours agoLast Updated: 2 April 2025

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I Wore a Different Fragrance Every Day for a Month—These 12 Vanilla Perfumes Proved Elite

Growing up, the bottles of body sprays, lotions, butters, and eau de toilettes that lined my bathroom vanity were far sweeter than a dessert-filled episode of The Great British Bake Off. My rotation typically included the latest launch from Bath & Body Works; Britney Spears’s Fantasy (or Curious); a pure-sugar scent that, not surprisingly, was called Pink Sugar; and anything else glossy magazines like Seventeen, CosmoGirl, and Teen Vogue advertised. If it smelled like a frosted bakehouse cookie with sprinkles or the Cinnabon stand at the mall, I was, without a doubt, wearing it.

I’ll always love unapologetically sweet scents, but now, my tastes have graduated to fragrance blends that are warm and woodsy or grounded with spices, leathers, or classic florals. That said, signature sweet notes like vanilla are often at the heart of my all-time favorite perfumes. They’re just far less overpowering.

Being a beauty editor, I always have an overflowing stock of perfumes, so I decided to start a little experiment earlier this year. Instead of sticking to my signature fragrances, I went on a perfume-wearing spree, if you will, in which I wore a different scent every day for about a month, taking note of which formulas I liked best and which blends won me the most questions, comments, and compliments. In review, I noticed something intriguing: The top 12 scents all had a common, not-so-secret ingredient, vanilla (a result that very much proved my hypothesis that vanilla is still relevant post–seventh grade and outside the kitchen).

Below, I’m sharing the top 12 best fragrances I’m currently obsessed with and which never fail to earn me compliments from strangers and loved ones alike. Keep scrolling! The best vanilla perfumes lie just ahead.