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While linen sprays can turn a bed into a cozy, fragrant cocoon—perfect for dreaming of lavender fields—Allure editors believe that the skin deserves a splash of bedtime perfume, too. Spritzing on a dreamy scent just before turning off the lights can elevate a nighttime ritual, promote better sleep, and provide a chicly fragranced sense of calm. No wonder our editors’ bedside tables have book stacks and perfume bottles competing for space.
“Our sense of smell is the most primal of our senses, as our olfactory system bypasses the neocortex, or thinking brain, and goes directly to our limbic system, which is the primal part of the brain that holds memory and emotion,” says Sarah Horowitz-Thran, owner and chief perfumer of Sarah Horowitz Parfums in Newbury Park, California. “By linking a scent with the experience of calm, peace, safety, or sensuality, you allow yourself to separate from the craziness of your daily life and sink into the softness of your nighttime self. A good bedtime perfume can calm the nerves, quiet the brain, and set the stage for your dreams.” Not to mention, you’ll smell like a dream.
Our Top Picks
- Best Musk: Diptyque L’Eau Papier Eau de Toilette, $135
- Best Floral: Ouai Melrose Place Eau de Parfum, $64
- Best Sweet: Dime Beauty 7 Summers Eau de Toilette, $52
- Best Classic: Chanel No. 5 Eau de Parfum, $143
- Best Skin Scent: Byredo Blanche Eau de Parfum, $230
- Best Fresh: Charlotte Tilbury Calm Bliss Eau de Parfum, $150
- Best Gourmand: Phlur Vanilla Skin Hair & Body Mist, $38
- Best Fruity: Le Labo Bergamote 22 Eau de Parfum, $235
- Best Luxury: Perfumehead Room No. Extrait de Parfum, $395
Frequently Asked Questions
- How is a bedtime perfume different from your usual perfume?
- What fragrance notes are considered to be relaxing?
- Meet the Experts
- How we test and review products
- Our staff and testers
While traditional sleepytime notes like lavender and chamomile can promote restful sleep, our favorite bedtime perfumes also have unexpected splashes of champagne, a smidge of whipped cream, and other notes that make slumber infinitely sweeter.
Ahead, find the best scents to unwind to, whether you’d prefer to drift off to the smell of pink roses, white musk, sandalwood, or the same sparkling aldehydes that lulled a certain blonde legend to sleep.
Best Musk: Diptyque L’Eau Papier Eau de Toilette
Allure commerce producer Sarah Hoffmann holding Diptyque L’Eau Papier Eau de Toilette
Why it’s worth it: If you can think of nothing dreamier than crawling into bed with a stack of good books, consider elevating the whole experience with a spritz of Diptyque’s most bookish perfume. Inspired by the smell of paper, the white musk is infused with notes of steamed rice, mimosa, and blonde wood. The calming French scent is sure to deliver more literary dreams—perhaps you’ll even dream up an idea for a bestselling novel.
Tester feedback: “I'll be the first to admit that having a designated 'bedtime perfume' is a little silly, but I'll also be the first to argue that if a little ritual brings you joy and relaxation, you should do it! Diptyque's L'Eau Papier is a subtle, musky scent that brings me peace of mind before bed,” attests commerce producer Sarah Hoffman. “I've come to associate the blonde woods, rice steam, and mimosa flower notes with winding down. Even if I'm feeling a little antsy after a long day, changing into some comfy pajamas and spritzing on this scent instantly calms me down. I also spray my sheets and pillows with it too...try it before you judge.”
Best Floral: Ouai Melrose Place Eau de Parfum
Allure shopping market editor Angela Trakoshis holding Ouai Melrose Place Eau de Parfum
Why it’s worth it: We all deserve a chic bouquet and a sip of something bubbly at the end of every day—non? Ouai’s peony-pink perfume puts a splash of champagne and a medley of flowers into a scent that adds a celebratory spin to winding down for bed. Infused with, roses, jasmine, bergamot, musk, and cedarwood, the scent embodies the feeling of falling into bed after a garden party that dwindled long past sunset. The brand recommends applying the scent to freshly bathed skin, which makes it a shoo-in for a pre-bedtime ritual.
Tester feedback: “When I'm asleep, I like to smell light and floral; that's why I read for Ouai's Melrose Place,” says shopping market editor Angela Trakoshis. “In my dreams, I hope to transfer to a less stressful world full of flowers, think a chic garden get-together with Martha Stewart. Sometimes I go there, sometimes I don't, but I always go to bed smelling good—a win for me!”
Type: floral | Key notes: champagne, pink peppercorn, berry, lychee, sandalwood, peony, rose, freesia, jasmine, bergamot, white musk, cedarwood | Sizes: 1.7 oz. 0.34 oz
Best Sweet: Dime 7 Summers Eau de Toilette
Allure social media manager Bianca Richards holding Dime 7 Summers Eau de Toilette
Why it’s worth it: To drift off to sleep with a smile, spritz Dime’s summery perfume onto your pulse points. Then slip on your sleep mask, take a few deep breaths, and drift off to dreams of a blooming pear orchard under a sea of whipped-cream clouds. With key notes of juicy pear, vanilla orchid, and blonde woods, the bright, budget-friendly scent is also spruced with whipped cream and sweet coconut. It lingers on the skin for hours, and might even help you wake up feeling more upbeat.
Tester feedback: “I was surprised to learn that wearing fragrance to bed isn’t as common as I thought. Bath & Body Works body mists have been a staple in my nighttime routine since I was young, but as I’ve gotten older and become more mindful of how certain fragrances can act as endocrine disruptors, I’ve been searching for cleaner alternatives that still offer that cozy, fresh feeling,” says Allure social media manager Bianca Richards. "Enter Dime’s 7 Summers—my perfect nighttime scent. It’s sweet, feminine, and uplifting, and I’d even call it a dupe for Ariana Grande’s Cloud, but with longer-lasting wear and cleaner ingredients.
Type: woody gourmand | Key notes: juicy pear, vanilla orchid, blonde woods, lavender blossom, whipped cream, sweet coconut | Size: 1.7 oz
Best Classic: Chanel No. 5 Eau de Parfum
Why it’s worth it: In a 1952 interview with Time, Marilyn Monroe famously said: “What do I wear to bed? Why, Chanel No. 5 of course.” Nearly as iconic as Monroe herself, Chanel’s sparkling floral scent hasn’t gone out of style in the century-plus since its 1921 launch. The classic perfume melds aldehydes with notes of May rose, jasmine, and citrus before settleing into a cozy, ready-for-bed base note of bourbon vanilla leaves.
Tester feedback: “Classics are classics for a reason, and if you've never smelled Chanel N°5...well, I'm actually jealous that you get to experience this beautifully balanced blend of jasmine and sandalwood for the first time,” Allure features director Dianna Mazzone Singh says, speaking to the everlasting allure of the scent.
Type: floral | Key notes: aldehydes, May rose, jasmine, citrus, bourbon vanilla leaves | Sizes: 1.2 oz, 1.7 oz, 3.4 oz
Best Skin Scent: Byredo Blanche Eau de Parfum
Why it’s worth it: Byredo’s flower-laced fragrance is an Allure editor favorite for skin scents—that is, scents that linger close to the skin, taking on a distinctive, ephemeral quality as they meld with an individual’s body chemistry. Inspired by clean textiles grazing bare skin, the scent was made for lounging in crisp white sheets. With opening notes of white rose, pink pepper, and aldehyde, the perfume dries down into a cozy, ready-for-dreamland base of blonde woods, sandalwood, and musk.
Tester feedback: “It smells like a recently-washed sweater I’ve worn for a couple of hours—clean, but with just a hint of my natural humanness peeking out underneath,” says Allure commerce writer Jennifer Hussein. “At first spritz, it has a powdery punch of soapy aldehydes and floral rose, but as it settles in, a warm blend of musk and sandalwood creeps through and gradually takes over.
Type: floral | Key notes: white rose, pink pepper, aldehyde, violet, neroli, peony, blonde woods, sandalwood, musk | Sizes: 1.7 oz, 3.4 oz
Best Fresh: Charlotte Tilbury Calm Bliss Eau de Parfum
Why it’s worth it: Enhanced with molecules specifically designed to boost certain emotions—including joy and magic—Charlotte Tilbury’s fragrance collection offers made-to-order moods in a bottle. Calm Bliss, a dreamy scent spiked with lavadin oil, watery accord, and white musks, has a fresh and mellow fragrance that will make your shoulders drop at first whiff. Its packaging, a jewel-like blue bottle engraved with a golden lotus, looks like it was plucked from a fantasy apothecary in the night sky.
Tester feedback: “It reminds me of that euphoric feeling of taking a shower and resting after a long beach day,” Allure social media manager Bianca Richards says of the aquatic-tinged scent, which she described as a fusion of masculine and feminine notes.
Type: fresh | Key notes: lavadin oil, watery accord, white musks | Sizes: 0.34 oz, 3.38 oz
Best Gourmand: Phlur Vanilla Skin Hair & Body Mist
Why it’s worth it: Spritz on this Best of Beauty Award winner for a decadent bedtime treat. With notes of vanilla, sandalwood, pink pepper, and jasmine, the hair and body mist wraps you in a creamy and cozy olfactory blanket, tucking you in for a night of sweet dreams. Wearing the mist to bed feels like falling asleep in a posh patisserie—is there any more perfect way to end the day?
Tester Feedback: "Vanilla Skin couldn't be a better name for this mist," says associate beauty editor Annie Blay-Tettey. "It's sweet and light, giving gourmand warmth while maintaining a natural musk that doesn’t make it too sugary."
Type: gourmand | Key notes: vanilla, sandalwood, pink pepper, jasmine | Sizes: 3 oz, 8 oz
Best Fruity: Le Labo Bergamote 22 Eau de Parfum
Why it’s worth it: One of Allure’s favorite perfumes, Le Labo’s bergamot scent has a fresh, fruity, compulsively sniffable quality. And when it comes to bergamot, the more you sniff, the better—especially at bedtime. Bergamot essential oil has been linked to stress release, better sleep, and increased alertness come morning. In this sparkling scent, the sleep-promoting note is wrapped in orange blossom, amber, cedar, and musk. The overall effect is warming and luminous, like spritzing on a beam of moonlight.
Type: fruity | Key notes: petitgrain, grapefruit, orange blossom, amber, bergamot, vetiver, cedar, musk | Sizes: 0.5 oz, 1.7 oz, 3.4 oz
Best Luxury: Perfumehead Room No. Extrait de Parfum
Why it’s worth it: Designed to channel a love affair at a vibey hotel, Perfumehead’s woody, spicy scent has all the notes of an illicit bedtime story. Opening with tension-taming bergamot and nutmeg, the perfume is also spiked with black tea, palo santo, and cashmere wood. “This is inspired by a long day in bed at the Chateau Marmont and has notes of palo santo, vanilla absolute, and a super creamy, milky musk in the base,” says Horowitz-Thran. “It’s decadent and a bit sexy, but also skin-like. Such a luxury.”
Type: woody-spicy | Key notes: bergamot, nutmeg, orris, black tea, palo santo, cashmere wood, leather, vanilla absolute, milky musk | Sizes: 1 oz, 1.7 oz, 3.4 oz
Frequently Asked Questions
How is a bedtime perfume different from your usual perfume?
According to Horowitz-Thran, the difference between a bedtime perfume and a regular perfume comes down to intention. “Applying your fragrance at any time will affect your mood and set the stage for your interactions, but applying your fragrance at bedtime—with intention—is a luxurious daily ritual that can separate the work day from the time that is reserved just for you,” she says. She adds that the best bedtime perfumes serve to heighten the atmosphere of a “safe, sensual place for you to quiet your mind and allow yourself to dream.”
What fragrance notes are considered to be relaxing?
“There are the traditional notes of lavender, sandalwood, and chamomile that have long been used to soothe and calm, but with bedtime fragrances, I love the additional notes that are cozy, creamy, and warm,” Horowitz-Thran says. She adds that notes like vanilla, almond, and tonka bean blended with white wood are ideal for bedtime, as they can also promote relaxation. In general, she recommends opting for “something that feels like a soft, sheer second skin” for the final spritz of the day.
Meet the Experts
- Sarah Horowitz-Thran, owner and chief perfumer of Sarah Horowitz Parfums in Newbury Park, California
How we test and review products
When Allure tests a product, our editors look at it from every angle in an effort to best serve you. We review ingredients, scrutinize brand claims, and, when necessary, examine peer-reviewed scientific and medical studies. In addition to testing each and every product that's included in each and every review, we rely on experts who shape their fields, including dermatology, cosmetic chemistry, and medicine, to help us vet the ingredients and formulas.
For our list of the best bedtime perfumes, we considered each product's performance across five primary categories: product ingredients and efficacy, packaging, fragrance, texture, and product wear. Every product was determined to have excelled in each category by our editorial team, which is composed of in-house writers and editors as well as contributors—along with special consideration from a fragrance expert. To learn more information on our reporting and testing processes, read our complete reviews process and methodology page.
Our staff and testers
A beauty product is a personal purchase. You might be searching for a face cream to address persistent dryness or a new nail product to add to your Sunday self-care routine; you may simply be browsing around for the latest launches to hit the hair market. No matter what you seek or your individual needs and concerns, Allure wants to ensure that you love anything we recommend in our stories. We believe that having a diverse team of writers and editors—in addition to the wide range of outside testers and industry experts we regularly call upon—is essential to reaching that goal.
After all, can we really say a skin-care product is the "best" for people over 50 if the only testers we've solicited opinions from folks who have yet to hit 30? Can we honestly deem a high-end diffuser worthy of your hard-earned cash if it's never been tested on curls? We're proud that our staff spans a wide range of ages, skin tones, hair textures, genders, and backgrounds, which means that we are able to fairly assess any beauty product that comes into the beauty closet.
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