I’m a beauty expert – the best perfumes to pick up on the high street that smell so good but won’t break the bank
Smelling great just got even easier thanks to Beauty Editor Tara Ledden’s affordable new picks
This time last year I wrote a feature on the growing affordable fragrance market, and since then, the offering has boomed.
So I thought it was about time I shared some of the new, inexpensive perfumes that have knocked my socks off.
I love perfume. My stash takes up a full shelf in my flat and I can’t bring myself to get rid of the ones I don’t wear any more – even those long past their best have memories attached to them.
Despite being a hoarder, I’m still extremely fussy, and for a new perfume to make it on to my shelf it has to have a unique scent – I don’t like it when people can recognise the fragrance I’m wearing.
And while the price of just about everything else is skyrocketing, there’s never been a better time to take a punt on a cheaper perfume.
First up, Ted Baker. If you’ve tried one of its perfumes in the past and hated it, you need to give it a second chance.
To me, Ted Baker Celeste, £25 for 50ml EDT, is the best of the Floret range – the others being Mia, Amelia, and Polly.
It’s green, woody and serene, and if the ethereal women in Renaissance paintings wore perfume, it would smell something like this.
High-street fave Next’s fragrances have undergone a similar glow-up in the form of the aptly named Fragrance Collection, so make a beeline for its new, paired-back bottles.
My favourite from the line-up is Next Fragrance Collection Early Morning Sunshine, £12 for 30ml EDP, which has herbal, bright citrus and warming ginger notes, which create the scent equivalent of those first few moments when you wake up and open the blinds, before chaos ensues.
Helpfully, you can get the Discovery Set, £6, which includes all six scents of the range in 1.5ml tubes – a great way to work out which one’s your favourite, especially if you’re buying online as there are no descriptions of the scents on the website.
They’re all likeable enough that you’ll be able to leave any you wouldn’t buy the full size of in your handbag for on-the-go top-ups. Plus, you can get matching candles for all of the scents – a nice touch more pricey brands often do.
If you’ve not heard about Marks & Spencer’s Discover Intense range, you’re in for a treat.
The line launched around 12 months ago and was an instant hit.
Earlier this year, M&S expanded the range to include a set of what would be described as more traditionally masculine scents, and if you’re a fan of Discover Intense Orange Blossom & Amber, £12.50 for 100ml EDT, you need to go and sniff the new, fresher Discover Intense Wild Amber & Mandarin, £12.50 for 100ml EDT.
It’s the perfect summer update if you want to notice your perfume but not feel suffocated by it.
For something as equally summery but more subtle, Discover White Coconut, £10 for 100ml EDT, is one of my fave high-street perfumes.
It transports you to a high-end hotel in the south of France – all pristine white surfaces, expensive air-freshener and tropical-smelling suncream.
While we’re on the high street, if you’re lucky enough to have an & Other Stories nearby, the whole cosmetics range is worth a browse, but the newly launched & Other Stories Rose Revival, £28 for 50ml EDT, is an especially worthy mention as it’s floral without being saccharine.
Clarins Eau Extraordinaire, £26 for 50ml, is a similarly subtle floral scent that’ll still entice those who don’t like florals, thanks to the warm edge reminiscent of golden hour in spring.
If you sit on the other end of the spectrum and have an insatiable sweet tooth, you’ll love Caudalie Ange Des Vignes, £31 for 50ml EDP.
Created by Anne Flipo, who has worked with just about every major brand you can imagine, it’s incredibly sugary and in your face – and I guarantee it will be a hit with any teen girls in your life, too!