#PerfumeTikTok says these are the top 13 viral fragrances to buy
Perfume comes alive on the skin and huffing a citrus scent can instantly change our mood. But on camera? It's basically invisible, which makes the fact that #PerfumeTikTok and #PerfumeTok have amassed 6 billion and 2.6 billion views respectively so fascinating. After all, makeup and skincare transformations are the types of visual content that TikTok normally eats up.
You can't see or smell perfume notes as they unfurl from the wrist, or experience first or even second hand their mood-altering effects via your phone or laptop. And yet, #PerfumeTikTok has become the perfume industry's closest ally and new playground for digital creators.
Instead of relying on the mystique of perfumes created in dusty old ateliers, TikTok is reinvigorating the fragrance market with content that makes scent cool and, crucially, accessible to a Gen-Z audience.
For the uninitiated, #PerfumeTikTok is an engaged community of fragrance lovers who share their best finds and trusted favourites in animated videos. Rather than focus on a signature soul mate perfume that you have to be monogamous to, it encourages you to flirt with other possibilities – from the expensive to super affordable – all without using fancy poetic perfume words.
Instead, content creators on #PerfumeTok give you an unfiltered snapshot into how a perfume smells and, all-importantly, whether it's worth the money. And it's working.
What perfumes went viral?
#PerfumeTikTok's biggest success story has to be Maison Francis Kurkdjian's Baccarat Rouge 540. Seven years after it originally dropped, the platform is still creating the kind of buzz around this scent that marketing teams bequeath on new launches with breathy ad campaigns. The smell has been described as “rich mom–approved” by Christina Najjar, known as @Tinx. Another, Dave McMillian, aka @itstop5dave, notes, that a woman wearing this scent is “making the ultimate confidence statement,” adding that it's “luxury and richness in a bottle.”
One could also argue that #PerfumeTok has played a not insignificant role in the enduring appeal of Narciso Rodriguez For Her, which turns 20 this year. A viral sensation, search for videos around the fragrance has hit a staggering 24.5 million views, giving a classic a new lease of life.
Unsurprisingly, celebrity perfume reviews are like catnip for the #PerfumeTok audience, too. Case in point: sharing his take on Billie Eilish's debut scent, Eilish, garnered @johngnzzz over 835,000 views. @professorperfume went viral with her recent review of Phoebe Bridger's favourite scent, Diptyque Orphéon, which has been viewed over 600,000 times. While views of videos about Ariana Grande's Cloud Eau de Parfum have exceeded 44 million.
TikTok content
"In general, celebrity fragrances have high tracking on social media but so do commodity fragrances and content on the best value for price,” John tells GLAMOUR.
Other content that translates into views is what he calls "perfumes to match moods, seasons, or aesthetics, like ‘Perfumes To Match The Wednesday Addams Aesthetic’." Coinciding with the success of the Addams Family spin-off on Netflix, search around the latter has hit 1.5 million views to date.
TikTok content
What TikTok perfume smells like someone you miss?
Probably one of the most asked questions on Google; the easy answer is Phlur's Missing Person Fragrance. One of #PerfumeTikTok's greatest appeals is that it allows more niche and Indie fragrances, such as Phlur, that would otherwise remain relative unknowns, to enjoy their moment in the beauty spotlight.
Missing Person remains one of the top trending perfumes on TikTok right now because it has been specially blended to “evoke the lingering scent of your lover's skin,” according to the brand's website.
So if you're struggling to pick a perfume, why not check out these fragrances that get the most love on #PerfumeTok?
Phlur Missing Person Eau de Parfum, £96, Selfridges
A haunting perfume designed to conjure up a missed loved one, it has reduced content creators such as Mikayla Nogueira to tears. At first spritz expect hushed floral notes before a soft landing of musk and blonde wood caresses the skin.
Save when you shop for viral TikTok perfumes with these Selfridges discount codes.
Fenty Beauty Fenty Eau de Parfum, £145, Harvey Nichols
With its flash of citrus, sensual musk and rose that smells warm, rather than of freshly snipped stems, it's no wonder Rihanna is name-checked as one of the best-smelling celebrities on the red carpet.
D.S.& Durga Debaser Eau de Parfum, £220, Liberty
‘Hot’ and ‘humid’ are words that spring to mind when you first catch a whiff of this scent. It hovers close to the skin largely due to a wet musk note, iris and dry blonde woods, but leaves the collarbone smelling warm and fruity, too, with ripe fig and coconut milk immediately transporting you to a hazy August day.
Yves Saint Laurent Libre Eau de Parfum, £59, LookFantastic
Instead of the usual smoky or camphor-like smell of lavender, this iteration is floral, with orange blossom, jasmine and vanilla as backing singers. According to master perfumer Anne Flipo, who created the scent, “it's radiant, bright and powerful, which is how I want the woman who wears it to feel.”
Save when you shop for viral TikTok perfumes with these LookFantastic discount codes.
Givenchy L'Interdit Eau de Parfum, £79, LookFantastic
An antidote to the anaemic smell of cotton-fresh laundry, there's a dark lustiness undercutting the white florals in this perfume. Patchouli and vetiver ensure this scent works best after dark.
Save when you shop for viral TikTok perfumes with these LookFantastic discount codes.
Narciso Rodriguez For Her Eau de Parfum, £52, LookFantastic
As ever with For Her perfumes, soft clouds of musk dominate while peach and rose add a velvety smoothness to the blend that feels perfect for both a daytime spritz and cocktail hour.
Save when you shop for viral TikTok perfumes with these LookFantastic discount codes.
Ariana Grande Cloud Eau de Parfum Spray, £40, Superdrug
This moreishly sweet gourmand scent laced with pear, creme de coconut, praline and vanilla orchid avoids being too saccharine thanks to the soft woody landing.
Carolina Herrera Very Good Girl Eau de Parfum, £58, John Lewis
Whether it's the mischievous stiletto bottle or the fruity floral juice inside, every flanker in this line has its own stans on TikTok. Here the combination of red currant, lychee, rose, and earthy vetiver smells like sipping a smoothie inside a greenhouse.
Save when you shop for viral TikTok perfumes with these John Lewis discount codes.
Tom Ford Lost Cherry Eau de Parfum, £265, Space NK
With cherry, tobacco, almond, and tonka bean, the blend is as nuanced as the name. Its fruity, spicy scent trail is guaranteed to elicit compliments.
Save when you shop for viral TikTok perfumes with these Space NK discount codes.
Eilish by Billie Eilish Eau de Parfum, £49, Harrods
Sugared petals, amber, cocoa, vanilla and spices join forces to create a lingering warm scent trail. Despite being classed as a gourmand scent it elegantly sidesteps being sweet or sickly.
Phlur Tangerine Boy Eau de Parfum, £96, Selfridges
Another hit (to the sound of 44.3M views) from the brand that brought us TikTok's viral Missing Person. Tangerine Boy opens with a jolt of lemon and ginger, followed by apple and sweet jasmine, before wrapping up with a grounding base of spicy amber and cool green moss that lingers comfortably whatever the season.
Parfums de Marly Delina Eau de Parfum, £210, Selfridges
Floral lovers rejoice! This fragrance is an unapologetic swoon of Turkish rose, lily of the valley and peony, undercut by warm vanilla. Enchanting, elegant and somehow swerves being too girlie.
Maison Francis Kurkdjian Baccarat Rouge 540 Eau de Parfum, £215, Net-A-Porter
With its warm woody base of cedarwood and fir resin, plus a dash of jasmine and saffron spice, this scent is big, bold and voluptuous yet it evades being timestamped like the power perfumes of the 80s.
