First-time buyer* looking for a budget perfume
Hello all! I'm a 17 year old girl looking for her first 'big girl perfume.' I've tried some bath and body works sprays but a lot of the scents I've tried there... don't do it for me. That and I like the pretty perfume bottles you always see. Open to any suggestions within a range of up to like $45 CAD? flexible, though
Notes/scents I've found myself liking
- TEA, black tea especially. I love cozy scents, and living in a winter country I just love these cozy things. I'm crazy for the tea smell, I wish I could just bottle it. I've heard dear polly is amazing for this, but dear polly is also... dearly expensive
- citrus and aquatic notes, be they sea or petrichor, I love a fresh scent
- I adore peach scented anything. Also melon!
- woods. I particularly like sandalwood
- spicy or herbal notes, like clove and ginger, even basil! I'm desi so I just adore these scents, they smell like home! as such, I don't mind 'oriental' scents at all
- a 'moody' scent, whatever you might interpret this to mean.
- febreeze Hawaiian aloha air freshener
- bath and body works ocean for men (bought it for my younger brother but I sort of wear it more than him, but doesn't last long enough
Things I dislike in perfume
- Overly sweet scents, I find strong notes of caramel and sugar often make me queasy
- a very overpowering scent that punches you in the face
- an excess of vanilla, though I don't mind it in small tiny amounts
- an overly perfumey perfume, like "oh! that's... yup, that's perfume" such as Avon Far Away or Elizabeth Taylor Love and White Diamonds (which I do adore aside from that), with those
thanks in advance for yr help <33
Posted Jun 6, 2026, 9:34 PM UTC