Scent is such a personal and vital addition to your overall style and wardrobe. Yes, scent. How many times have you been out and about and someone walks by you, leaving a lingering scent that makes you want to run up to them and ask "what perfume are you wearing?" Smells have the ability to leave their mark in the most beautiful ways when you choose the right perfume for you, which is why I wanted to share my personal favorites — some of the best perfumes for women you can find at Nordstrom.
I most recently added Matière Première's Radical Rose to my rotation, and you'll find it below alongside the seven longtime favorites I keep reaching for year after year. If you've been looking for a new signature scent or hunting for the best fall perfumes, I highly recommend starting your search at Nordstrom because of their vast and varied fragrance selection — it's where I discover almost every perfume I end up loving.
How to Shop for Fragrances Online
Tip #1
Learn and become familiar with the fragrance families (floral, fresh, woody, and amber) so you know which one you gravitate toward naturally. This will help eliminate a lot of options when you’re browsing online.
Tip #2
Have an understanding of how “notes” work. There are top notes (i.e. scent that is evident as soon as you spritz your first spray), middle notes (i.e. scent that really unfolds 10 to 15 minutes after you’ve applied the perfume), and base notes (i.e. the heavy scent notes that bring up the rear, allowing your perfume to last longer on your skin).
Tip #3
Go through your current scents and consider what’s missing. You may want a fragrance from each family to create a full scent library, or you may be loyal to anything amber. Test out what you already have to determine which way you want to go.
Okay, with all that out of the way, let's dive into my go-to scents. For a lot of people, there is no such thing as just one perfect perfume. Sometimes it works out like that, but a lot of the time, it's nice to have a few you can choose from depending on the day, mood, and vibe you're going for, and all eight of these cover that.
radical rose
matiere premiere
If you love rose but want something with more depth and warmth, Radical Rose is the one. Matière Première packs the highest dosage of rose absolute of any fragrance I've come across, and the result feels romantic and unexpected all at once. The notes in this Radical Rose perfume are:
Top: chili pepper berries, saffron
Middle: rose centifolia absolute
Base: patchouli
The pepper berries and saffron give the rose a bright, spicy edge while the patchouli settles into something warmer and woodier as the day goes on. It's become my go-to rose fragrance as the weather starts to turn.
mojave ghost
byredo
If woody, romantic scents laced with sandalwood naturally attract you, you will die for this perfume by BYREDO. During the spring and summer, this is my daily go-to because it combines all the elements I love in a scent. The notes in this Mojave Ghost perfume are:
Top: ambrette, Jamaican nesberry
Middle: violet, sandalwood, magnolia
Base: chantilly musk, crisp amber, cedarwood
The ghost flower this perfume is named after grows and thrives in the unrelenting heat of the Mojave desert, which makes the scent just as rare as the flower itself.
baccarat rouge 540
maison francis kurkdjian
If you’re into perfumes at all, you’ll instantly recognize this name. It’s a very popular perfume for women, and what you could classify as a “cult favorite.” Spoiler alert: it’s just as gorgeous as everyone says it is.
Top: saffron
Middle: cedarwood, jasmine
Base: ambergris
It’s also expensive, so I use this scent sparingly and mostly during the fall/winter because the notes are much warmer and have a layer of spice to them. With jasmine, saffron, cedarwood, and ambergris, the smell is like a floral, woody breeze coated with amber, AKA beautiful. People often search for Baccarat Rouge 540 at Sephora but I’m here to let you know it is not sold there. You can find it at Nordstrom, and you can even opt for a Baccarat Rouge 540 travel size bottle to test drive it before you fully commit!
rose of no man's land
byredo
Another perfume from BYREDO that I consider a daily option all year round is Rose of No Man’s Land. The notes in this perfume are:
Top: pink pepper, Turkish rose petals
Middle: raspberry blossom, Turkish rose absolute
Base: papyrus, white amber
I love how fresh this perfume smells. It has the sensuality built into it with the white amber and pink pepper, and the rose petals and rose absolute deliver a garden of fresh, lively fragrance. BYREDO is one of my favorite perfume brands for women because every scent they make is unique and stunning.
rose 31
le labo
Bet you thought you would see Santal 33 on this list, didn’t you? While I love the cult classic, I love Rose 31 by Le Labo more. But, in truth, Le Labo (which is all cruelty-free, by the way. Not 100% vegan though) doesn’t make a bad perfume. What’s more is that, while perfumes tend to be targeted more toward women, Le Labo is proudly unisex and worn by men, too!
Top: rose absolute, cumin
Middle: vetiver, cedar
Base: amber, cistus, musks
Rose 31 is an intricate mix of rose with a number of other notes you’d never think to put together including rose absolute, cumin, vetiver, musks, cedar, agarwood, olibanium, amber, guaiacwood, and cistus. In short, it’s complicated and attention-grabbing in the best way.
oud & bergamot
jo malone
I have had a bottle of this fragrance on hand for years and years. It’s one of my OG perfumes. Because of the smoky, mysterious scent of oud wood (one of my absolute favorite scents in any format, by the way), I reserve this Jo Malone cologne for fall and winter.
Top: bergamot
Middle: cedarwood
Base: oud
The top note is bergamot, the middle is cedarwood, and oud is what finishes out this fragrance and makes it instantly recognizable. If you’re looking for a signature scent people will remember you for, this could be a perfume you really like.
replica jazz club
maison margiela
While this is classified as a “cologne,” it isn’t just for men. This eau de toilette is another nighttime favorite that I don’t reach for often but, when I do, always makes a statement. The fragrance description given by Maison Margiela is “heady cocktails and cigars,” and that is very accurate.
Top: pink pepper, primofiore lemon, neroli oil
Middle: rum absolute, clary sage oil, java vetiver oil
Base: tobacco leaf absolute, vanilla bean, styrax resin
Think a dark cocktail bar with worn-in leather bar stools, a cigar room in the back, and a sexy date night with your SO!
santal 33
le labo
This wouldn’t be a complete perfume post if I didn’t include Santal 33. Like I stated up top, I like Rose 31 more but that doesn’t mean I don’t like Santal 33. I have a smaller bottle of this that I don’t use often, but when I do, I’ve found it’s a conversation starter because nearly every red-blooded woman can name this scent from a mile away!
Top: violet accord, cardamom
Middle: iris, ambrox
Base: cedarwood, leather, sandalwood
It’s rich, it’s woody, and yet feminine all at once. It’s a cult favorite for a reason!
Best Perfumes by Scent Family
Not sure which fragrance family speaks to you? Here's how my 8 picks break down — a helpful reference if you're building out a full scent library or hunting for something in a specific vibe.
| Scent Family | My Picks | Best For |
|---|---|---|
| Floral | Radical Rose, Rose 31, Rose of No Man's Land | Romantic, feminine everyday wear |
| Woody | Mojave Ghost, Santal 33 | A warm, grounded signature scent |
| Amber | Baccarat Rouge 540 | Fall and winter, statement wear |
| Smoky & Gourmand | Jo Malone Oud & Bergamot, Replica Jazz Club | Nighttime, date night, cold weather |
A Note About Perfume Expiration Dates:
It’s often asked if perfume expires? The answer is yes, but that “yes” could span anywhere from 1-10 years! On each box of perfume, there should be a PAO label (Period After Opening) that starts with the letter M (for “month) which indicates the amount of months your fragrance will last. Pro Tip: Take a Sharpie, and write the month and year on the bottom of all your cosmetics so you know exactly when they were opened.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you find your signature scent?
Start by getting familiar with the four fragrance families — floral, fresh, woody, and amber — and pay attention to which ones you naturally gravitate toward. From there, test scents on your skin (not on paper) and give each one at least 15 to 20 minutes to develop, since a perfume smells completely different once the top notes fade and the middle and base notes come through. Your signature scent should feel like you the moment you put it on and still feel like you three hours later.
What's the difference between eau de parfum and eau de toilette?
The main difference is the concentration of fragrance oils. Eau de parfum has a higher concentration, so it lasts longer on your skin and projects more — usually six to eight hours. Eau de toilette is lighter and typically wears for three to five hours, which makes it a nice option for summer or for a fragrance you want to reapply throughout the day. When in doubt, eau de parfum is the better investment if you want a scent that lasts.
How long does perfume last on your skin?
Most eau de parfums last six to eight hours on skin, while eau de toilettes wear for three to five. Where you spray matters too — pulse points like your wrists, neck, and behind your ears hold fragrance longer because they're warmer. To make any perfume last longer, moisturize your skin first (dry skin doesn't hold scent well) and avoid rubbing your wrists together after spraying, which actually breaks down the top notes faster.
What perfume lasts the longest?
In my personal rotation, Baccarat Rouge 540 and Matière Première Radical Rose have the strongest staying power — I can still smell both on my skin at the end of the day. In general, eau de parfums with heavy base notes like amber, oud, patchouli, and sandalwood tend to last the longest because those molecules are larger and evaporate more slowly. If longevity is your top priority, look for a fragrance built around those base notes.
Is Baccarat Rouge 540 worth the hype?
Yes — but with a caveat. It genuinely is as beautiful as everyone says, with a warm, floral, amber-woody scent that lingers on your skin for hours and turns heads. That said, it's expensive enough that I recommend testing it in a travel size first before committing to a full bottle. If you love warm, spicy florals for fall and winter, it's absolutely worth the investment. If you tend to prefer fresh or lighter scents, it may be too heavy for your everyday.
What's the best perfume for fall?
Fall calls for warmer, spicier scents with more depth than what you'd wear in summer. My personal fall picks from this list are Matière Première Radical Rose for a warm floral moment, Baccarat Rouge 540 for something amber and cozy, and Jo Malone Oud & Bergamot for a smoky signature scent. In general, look for perfumes built around notes like oud, amber, sandalwood, patchouli, saffron, and cedarwood — those are the notes that feel right when the weather turns.
My Favorite Fragrances
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September 17, 2026
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