The perfume bottles in my collection are steadily growing. I think I’m in the double digits now. I wear them at bedtime, I test them out for work and I refresh my scent throughout the day. I’m constantly looking for new and innovative fragrances that stop people in their tracks—and I live in NYC, so quite literally on the MTA tracks. I want heads to be turning, questions to be asked about what I’m wearing and for people to look to me as their personal parfum connoisseur. All this to say that my compulsion for collecting perfumes cannot be curbed, so when a buzzy fragrance brand like Phlur enters the chat, I absolutely need to check it out.

Founded in 2015, Phlur explores every inch of the fragrance space, concocting everything from fruity floral numbers to woody citrus scents and anything in between. Though each scent smells wildly different, they’re made to layer, so you can create new alluring elixirs. And since many of the perfumes share one or more olfactory notes with one another, the complementary notes create a sense of harmony within the entire line.

I’ve been seeing the brand trending on social media for several years now, always alerted that Vanilla Skin is out of stock *again* or that Heavy Cream is a new fan fav. More recently, they’ve come up with another five brilliant formulas (I’m looking at you, Rose Whip), so I decided to take matters into my own hands and try out the entire line.

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How I Chose the Best Phlur Fragrances

While testing out each of the fragrances, I looked at the following:

• Current popularity - Are they best sellers or popular online? Have they been trending on TikTok or Instagram?
• Approachability - Does it contain notes that are generally overwhelming to the nose?
• Strength - Will it stay on your body for long periods of time or does it fade too fast? Does it cling to clothes or other items like bedding or furniture?
• Universality - Would most people like it if they smelled it? Could it be worn by nearly everyone?

Here is my personal ranking of 22 Phlur fragrances.

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