The 20 Perfumes TikTok’s Black Fragrance Experts Love

Every product on this page was chosen by a Harper's BAZAAR editor. We may earn commission on some of the items you choose to buy.

Don't be surprised if you’re flooded with compliments after adding these scents to your collection.

Beauty is one of the most powerful—and instantaneous—ways to claim your space in the world. One sector of the beauty community profoundly aware of these self-care connections are the fragrance enthusiasts who convene on TikTok, also known as #PerfumeTok. So we’re checking in with four fragrance fans making waves on the platform about their respective connections to perfume culture and the scents they constantly reach for that we should know. Below, they share their top recommendations.

Maiya Nicole could spend hours chatting about the art of smelling wonderful. After years of honing her skills in different areas of the fragrance industry, Nicole is helping create impactful systemic change. The bubbly fragrance stylist, beauty educator, and creative director of fragrance at L’amour De Soi is cultivating a vibrant community around perfume with Black Girls Smell Good.

FOLLOW ON TIKTOK

"It's a beautiful, fresh, citrusy amber with mandarin and patchouli. For anyone looking to expand their olfactory palette or step away from the usual designer scents into niche, this is a great starting point."

"It's a woody vanilla with lots of amber and this really expensive, spicy oud. It's warm, it's sexy, it's sweet. You get something different in its biggest projection versus when someone's right up on your skin, which becomes like a warm vanilla sugar at the base notes. It can definitely be a unisex scent, and I love the idea of sharing a scent with whoever your partner is."

"Get into this: coffee beans, praline, warm milk, amber, and rose. It's so decadent and warms on the skin. There's also this earthy undertone underneath all of that rich coffee. This is one of my main-character scents—I don't believe in having a signature scent. I have the main characters in my collection, and then we have supporting characters."

"I didn't think I’d like this one after reading the notes, because I love gourmands and absolutely hate really green fragrances—I don't want to smell like grass and forest; that's not what I’m into. But, oh, my God! It completely surprised me after I tried a sample. It's filled with marshmallow, milk, cinnamon, some resin, and the green notes (cedarwood, petitgrain) develop in a softer way. The vile for that sample was bone-dry within 24 hours."

"It's this tonic-almond-cookie kind of scent. It has almond milk, musk mallow, vanilla, tonka bean. People get so caught up on Love, Don't Be Shy because of Rihanna, but pay attention to her sister. Rolling in Love is that girl."

Cyra Riley knows perfume can help people embody various vibes and explore their creativity. It's a form of "really fun invisible dress-up," she says, jokingly giving an example of the requests her TikTok followers send her way: "Can you help me find something that’ll make me smell like a sexy vampire?" If you enjoy hearing about a range of scents for different moods—or you’re looking to follow fellow gourmand lovers—Riley has you covered.

FOLLOW ON TIKTOK

"It's a really cute, warm floral that's a little bit sparkling. Everybody loves it. It kind of smells like candy, and you can wear it any season, any occasion. I even wear it to the gym or dinner. It really is an all-in-one and makes you smell like a put-together lady."

"It's so edible and boozy, it puts you in that nighttime seductress sort of mood. Whenever I’m around a guy or on a date, I want to smell edible. Angels’ Share, for sure, is my number one recommendation. It's a hit amongst everyone I recommend it to. Pro tip: In addition to your pulse points, spritz your navel and ankles."

"This is the scent I reach for when I want to feel sophisticated and elegant. It's a vanilla that doesn't smell like your typical cupcakey vanilla. It's powdery; there's some spice in there like coriander and nutmeg. It also leaves a really nice scent trail. Every time I put it on, I feel like I belong at some sort of ball in a floor-length gown or that I’m, like, this powerhouse CEO businesswoman in a pantsuit and red-bottom heels."

"It's categorized as a gourmand, which is my favorite, but I didn't think I’d like it because the notes were a little bit iffy. It has things like lavender, blood orange, cinnamon, so I was like, how is that going to smell together? But I got a sample, and I fell in love immediately. It smells like warm caramel and lemon pound cake. It makes me hungry just thinking about it. It's so spicy and sweet and pretty."

"It's just one of those staple girly scents. It has jasmine and bourbon vanilla. It's so sparkling and also mouthwatering. It reminds me of a spoiled diva. When I smell it, I want to go get a blowout and have a huge shopping spree, and then get cocktails and just do all the spoiled-girl things. I’ve gone through two or three bottles."

The 20 to 25 minutes Vania MicKelle invests in her daily fragrance routine is a special part of nurturing her self-esteem and practicing self-care. MicKelle's passion for perfumes, which she credits her godmother with, sparkles when sharing TikTok and YouTube gems, like where to find solid perfume oils and scent impressions, vlog-style scent musings, and how to layer perfumes with scented soaps, shower gels, body oils, and lotions.

FOLLOW ON TIKTOK

"That's my baby right now. I think it's great for bright, bubbly personalities. People who like to engage and talk with people. That person you come around and you get in a good mood."

"I believe she is a signature-scent worthy. There's something intimate and sensual about the perfume that I really like. It sits closer to the skin, so you’ve got to be close to fully experience it. I love to wear it with the vanilla and tuberose cream from Taraji P. Henson's bodycare line. It's so good."

"It's so sophisticated and complex. I still haven't perfected what to pair it with, because you can't wear anything with her. She's on her own, and you have to let her be herself, because she's gonna to do it anyway."

"It leans a little masculine, more masculine than I would even pick for myself, but then there's this sweetness that comes in. Not that any perfume is limited to a particular gender, but just to give an idea scent-wise. The prominent notes are on two opposite ends of the spectrum, but they come together and work beautifully—and it lasts all day."

"No one escaped the difficulty of 2020, but there was also a lot of emotional turbulence that happened in my life that year in addition to COVID. Buying perfumes and building my collection helped me get out of that space. Burberry Her was my first big-girl perfume purchase. When I first got it, I didn't like it. I wore it a lot that year just trying to get rid of it, because I didn't care for it, and then gave it a break. I came back to the perfume about a year later, and I couldn't get enough of the smell. I absolutely loved it. I don't know what happened.

"It was instantaneously nostalgic for me—I remember where I was living when I wore that perfume, the music I was listening to. Everything about where I was comes back to me every single time I wear that perfume. I didn't realize I was creating and ingraining memories while wearing the perfume. It will forever be a repurchase."

You will have a bounty of body wash, hair perfume, and fragrance reviews—as well as step-by-step techniques—with Nia Kajumulo on your feed. Kajumulo, who was first inspired by her mother's penchant for collecting fragrances, has grown into a trusted online voice on PerfumeTok. She enjoys how perfume can be a door to self-exploration, connecting with people with similar scent preferences and sharing recommendations—after all, in the fragrance realm, one person's "so good!" is another person's "absolutely not."

FOLLOW ON TIKTOK

"It's one of my favorite scents right now for everyday life. It's such a soft, kind of powdery scent, but not your typical powdery scent that's more mature. It's very fresh, very cute. It stays on for a long time, but it's not intense to the point where everyone can smell you when you’re walking around. It's like whoever's close to you can smell you. I love to put Vaseline or Aquaphor on my pulse points, and then spritz the perfume onto there, because it’ll last longer when it has something to cling on to. And then, I’ll finish up with a hair perfume I use that has less alcohol."

Martine Thompson is an artist and writer. She's passionate about exploring mental health, TV & film, perfume, and different facets of beauty culture.

The Best Under-Eye Patches to Hydrate & Brighten

Hailey Bieber on Rhode's Next Glazed Skin Favorite

The 13 Best Skin Tightening Creams

The Best Face SPFs Worth Adding to Your Routine

Iris Law on Her Versace Fragrance Campaign

Making Peace With Going Gray

Eva Longoria Wore This $10 Lipstick at Cannes

The Best Hair Growth Vitamins That Actually Work

Christina Ricci on Embracing Her Authentic Self

22 Moisturizers With SPF Your Skin Will Love

Maison Francis Kurkdjian Perfumes You Need to Try

The 22 Best Anti-Aging Moisturizers