I Have Over 25 Perfumes, But I Use This $60 One from OUAI The Most

Have you ever heard someone say that they have a fragrance wardrobe? If so, did you immediately conjure up an image of a walk-in closet or grand armoire (The Chronicles of Narnia-style) filled with fragrances of all different kinds? While my fragrance wardrobe isn’t anything like that—it’s just a shelf cluttered with glass bottles—I’d still classify it as a wardrobe. That’s because I have over 25 of them. That number used to be much higher, but after some deep introspection and a severe lack of space, I whittled it down to a cool 27. Now, I realize that’s far more than one person needs, but I’m a beauty editor, and a large collection of beauty products comes with the territory. While I have a few long-standing favorites, including Phlur’s Missing Person ($96) and Ellis Brooklyn’s Vanilla Milk ($108), there is one perfume I tend to reach for most often, and it’s a surprising one at that. I’m talking about OUAI—you know, the brand founded by celebrity hairstylist Jen Atkin and most famous for its haircare products? Well, I’m here to say that its fragrance offerings are just as good. In fact, I can’t stop spritzing all four of the brand’s perfumes. Keep scrolling to read my full review of each one.

One thing I have to mention before waxing poetic about each individual fragrance is the price tag. Each fragrance retails for $60, and you get 1.7 fluid ounces. Considering most designer perfumes are double, if not triple, that price, it’s a pretty good deal. Personally, I’ve been obsessively spritzing them for about a week, and I haven’t even made a dent.

First, I had to talk about my favorite—the Dean Street fragrance. It’s inspired by London, and it’s described as a “fruity floral,” with top notes of mandarin, lemon, grapefruit, and apricot, middle notes of rose, magnolia, muguet, and violet, and base notes of amber, linden, blossom, and musk. Together, they create a scent that’s fresh, slightly sharp, and totally timeless.

Ever since trying it, I’ve been obsessed. In fact, I’ve worn it non-stop in the past week. It’s a fragrance I can wear every single day and never get sick of it.

This fragrance is inspired by the coastal town of North Bondi in Australia. As such, it layers beachy notes of Italian lemon, jasmine, bergamot, rose de mai, violet, and sheer white musk. To me, it’s the perfect warm, soft, and floral fragrance; it reminds me of a day at the beach—the slight scent of sunscreen, skin warmed by the sun, and a fresh breeze blowing off the water.

If you love a gourmand fragrance (which is just the fancy word for sweet and sugary scents like our old-school Victoria’s Secret and Bath & Body Works favts), this rose fragrance is for you. Notes of rose, champagne, and bergamot are balanced out by notes of cedarwood and white musk. It’s sweet, but it’s not saccharine. Think expensive bubbly, chocolate-covered strawberries, and a drive down the PCH to Malibu.

If your vibe is less LA and more Paris, there’s also a fragrance for you. This one, which was inspired by the City of Light, has a certain elegance and sophistication to it. It’s all thanks to a top note of violet, middle notes of gardenia and ylang-ylang, and a base note of white musk. It’s the fragrance I imagine Jane Birkin or Catherine Deneuve would reach for.