Perfume shopping can be a tad overwhelming, and this year hasn’t been making it any easier on us. There’s a lot of newness to choose from, but we’re here to help make things a little easier by sharing our favourites. Whether you love a cooler version of your favourite floral, or prefer a gourmand like chocolate or vanilla, there’s something for everyone (and every budget).

Lancôme Idôle

Deploy the pink grenade and release one of the best floral fragrances of our lifetimes. This perfect everyday perfume is wrapped around a classic rose heart with rose water that lightens up a creamy base of vanilla and white musk. It also has notes of juicy pear, bergamot, jasmine, cedar and patchouli. It’s a guaranteed new classic – and the super-slim refillable bottle featuring a rose gold hue is pretty chic as well. We love how it lays on our dresser like a piece of modern sculpture!

R1,020 for 25ml, R1,340 for 50ml or R1,590 for 75ml from Lancôme boutiques and counters

Gucci Guilty Love Edition Pour Femme

Like the wildly popular original that inspired it, this new limited-edition oriental floral-chypre fragrance is both uplifting and comforting. A tribute to the vintage character of the Narcissus flower, it’s housed in a delicate muted pink bottle with a mix of opaque and frosted glass. The recipe includes bergamot, grapefruit, raspberry and narcissus top notes, followed by violet and jasmine sambac heart notes, and balanced with patchouli and mineral amber as its base. It’s sophisticated but still hits the spot.

Available exclusively from Edgars

Christian Dior Miss Dior Rose N’Roses

Can anyone ever tire of Miss Dior? The right and only answer is no, and luckily, the fragrance just added to its family. Lighter than its predecessors but still just as sweet, this is the closest to a freshly cut rose scent you can get. The fragrance depicts dew-drenched centifolia roses, freshly picked in the south of France (so fancy!). Even if you aren’t so keen on roses, it’s enough to make you a fan with other notes such as white musk and zesty bergamot.

R1,595 for 50ml or R2,285 from Christian Dior boutiques

Yves Saint Laurent Libre

Just like the bottle featuring sexy golden chains and an asymmetric black lacquered cap, this modern take on a classic fougère has a striking feel. What starts out as a pretty, juicy citrus accord of mandarin slowly evolves into something a bit moodier with Moroccan orange blossom and diva lavender, which help spotlight the freshest floral notes. It ends with a clean mixture of cedar and white musk. It’s off-kilter girlishness – a year-round stable for anyone and everyone.

R1,060 for 30ml, R1,570 for 50ml or R2,050 for 90ml from Edgars, Woolworths, Foschini and Truworths

Berdoues Collection Grands Crus Guaria Morada

We won’t sugarcoat it (pun intended): The latest addition to this travel-inspired range of unisex scents is super-sweet. Made with orange from Brazil, amyris from Haiti and patchouli from Indonesia, this sweet floral fragrance with a colourful motif on the back of the bottle makes us feel like we’re journeying into the heart of the Costa Rican landscape. The aforementioned notes are paired nicely with ylang-ylang, orange blossom, pear and vanilla to make this floral sensory experience really lovely.

R1,595 for 100ml from selected Foschini and Truworths

Jo Malone London Lavender & Coriander Cologne

Have you ever wanted to just roll around in those Insta-famous lavender fields in England? If you have yet to accomplish that on your bucket list, this fragrance from The Herb Garden Collection might be your next best bet. Lavender doesn’t always have to smell sweet and floral: In this aromatic spicy fragrance it’s combined with coriander and tonka bean to calm the senses and soothe the soul. Spritz on some of this cosy, relaxing scent and take a nice, deep inhale!

Available from Jo Malone boutiques and Woolworths

Women’Secret Coconut Temptation

A cocktail of tropical fruits and pineapple with a long-lasting dry down, we’d drink this stuff if we could! Blended with flowers such as jasmine and tuberose that leave a finish based on woods and juicy coconut, this fragrance will take you to an idyllic paradise. It’s sensual, sweet and delicious: Melted caramel reveals a happy addiction inside this bottle, while the bonbon-shaped bottle, we must admit, adds a little something extra to the whole experience.

R199 for 40ml from Foschini

Lancôme La Vie Est Belle en Rose

Deep down, we’re all giddy little girls who want to smell like all sweet things. Like an indulgent French dessert, the newest member of the La Vie Est Belle family has just the right amount of sweet. Powerful, heady notes of bergamot and red fruits intermingle with lush, rich ingredients like rose and peony. How fabulous does that sound? The result is a luminous scent that’s sweet as praline pie but also perfectly lovely for a grown-up evening out.

R1,990 for 100ml from Edgars, Woolworths, Foschini and Truworths

Gucci Bloom Ambrosia di Fiori

It would be a crime to save this intoxicating jasmine fragrance for some hypothetical big night out. We wear ours just about everywhere, feeling fancy as hell and ready for adventure. Inside the lacquered burgundy glass bottle with a soft pink label is an artistic feat of noble and rare flowers. Jasmine bud extract, tuberose and Damascena rose make a sharply exciting entrance that in time simmers down for a smouldering musky finish.

R1,815 for 50ml or R2,365 for 100ml from Edgars, Woolworths, Foschini and Truworths