6 fragrances to wear in London

Today is a more light hearted post and something I’ve been thinking of doing for a while. I thought I’d talk about fragrances you might consider wearing in London. To come up with this list, I’ve considered some quirks and characteristics of London and decided which fragrances in my collection work best for them.

This isn’t necessarily a list of the most popular perfumes amongst Londoners today, it’s a list of perfumes that I think match the vibe of London.

How to decide on a perfume to wear for a trip to London?

When visiting London, you want a scent that will create memories and act as a reminder in the future of your time in the city. But you also want to feel comfortable wearing it. Here are four things to consider when choosing your perfect fragrance for a trip to London.

1. Consider how much your perfume projects and makes a statement. In London you’re more likely to be in big crowds or close to other people, whether it’s taking a wander down Southbank or catching the tube or bus. Taking this into account, you might not want your perfume to project very much in case others are sensitive to smells.
2. Secondly, London (or the UK in general) has quite changeable weather. One minute it could be completely chucking it down and the next brilliant sunshine. You’d want a fragrance to perform well in all weather and not feel too cloying or underwhelming at certain temperatures.
3. Third, I’ve picked relatively crowd pleasing scents. Similar to the first point, you’re going to be close to other people a lot of the time so wearing a fragrance with more challenging notes might not always be the best option. These fragrances are easy to understand and although some of them are quite unique, they’re not unusual in a way that might be unappealing to some.
4. Finally, I’ve considered fragrances that can take you from the daytime to night time. I think most of my picks are more suited to daytime wear but they can definitely take you through to evening drinks or are light enough that you can switch up your fragrance with ease.

Here are the 6 perfumes I’ve picked that I think embody a “London lifestyle”, will create nice scent memories, are easy to wear and versatile enough to carry someone through from tube journeys to pub drinks.

Burberry – Goddess

I don’t think I could start this list without including a fragrance from an iconic British brand. Burberry Goddess is such a lovely perfume that combines vanilla with lavender and a bit of ginger. It’s sweet but not overwhelmingly so and very crowd pleasing.

I’ve reviewed Burberry Goddess here.

Nest – Indigo

I’ve reviewed this fragrance in the past and to me it captures the moodiness of a grey day in London perfectly. It’s a fig based black tea fragrance that has some spice from cardamom and freshness from bergamot. Nest Indigo is very versatile but has moderate projection so you won’t be choking anyone out on the tube. Of course, I think if you’re in England a good tea scent doesn’t go amiss, and there are a few on this list.

You can read my full review of Nest Indigo here.

Kilian – Princess

Or the longer name of “I don’t need a prince by my side to be a princess.” Princess by Kilian is a matcha tea scent with some sweetness from marshmallow. I just find this one so likeable and unique. It is quite soft in terms of longevity and projection so you’re unlikely to offend anyone with this.

Vilhelm – Dear Polly

Another tea fragrance (are you seeing a pattern here?) Dear Polly is a black tea fragrance with a citrus top note from green apple and a smoky note. Dear Polly has moderate projection and longevity and I think it’s one that can see you through from day time coffee catch ups to evening drinks in a beer garden. It’s unique without being challenging.

You can find my full review of Dear Polly here.

Chloe – Cedrus

This is a light woody fragrance with some spiciness from cardamom and softened by musk. Although Cedrus by Chloe feels very light it’s one of those fragrances I feel that creates a scent bubble where it peeks out every now and then throughout the day. It feels very clean and pretty. It’s fresh enough to wear on the most humid of summer days in London, but the cardamom note gives it a bit of a kick.

Diptyque – Orpheon

Realistically there are many Diptyque fragrances I could have chosen for this as they’re known for their light fragrances. Diptyque’s Orpheon smells like fresh linen drying outside but it’s also more than that. It opens quite sharp with juniper but dries down to a powdery woody fragrance. It performs really well on the skin but is one of those scents where people will wonder whether you’re wearing perfume or have just stepped out of the shower and are now wearing luxurious freshly laundered clothing.

This is the scent I imagine effortlessly cool Londoners wear.

Perfumes to wear in London – final thoughts

I don’t think you can go wrong with a light, fresh scent for a day of exploring London. You don’t want anything too heavy, challenging or projecting and I think you can’t go wrong with a good tea scent, or something a bit edgy but soft enough that you’re not going to overwhelm those around you.

What do you think of my picks and what would you choose to wear for a day (and night) out in London?