I Reviewed the Most Popular Victoria’s Secret Perfumes So You Don’t Have To
Victoria’s Secret seems to be a ubiquitous influence on so many American women’s experiences with commercial, mainstream femininity. Found in almost every mall across America, it's probably that place where every young woman went to purchase one of her first bras. Much like its merchandise, the stores are pretty, frilly, and pink; they're invitingly dimly lit, with tiered displays of three-for-$30 underwear that looked like cotton-blend wedding cakes. The glossy, modern, rococo decor screamed "affordable luxury."
The Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show is generally a glitzy catwalk-turned-circus full of supermodels, pop stars, and of course, incredibly extra lingerie that no one can actually purchase, framed by wings so spectacularly wide they would never even be able to fit through the doorway of any bedroom. But after the filming of this year's show was followed by backlash at the lack of trans models cast, the company’s chief marketing officer, Ed Razek, was asked if he thinks the company should follow the shift in fashion to be more inclusive. He responded to Vogue, “It’s like...shouldn’t you have transsexuals in the show? No. No, I don’t think we should. Well, why not? Because the show is a fantasy.” Girl, yikes.
While Victoria's Secret's fashion branch is finding itself a pop-culture pariah, how can we forget its fragrances, which arguably are the backbone of its beauty offerings? For those who couldn't find a comfortable bra in those pink-striped dressing rooms, finding a fragrance that appealed to a suburban fantasy of lingerie-clad love was a much more pleasurable experience.
Victoria’s Secret perfumes find their home on many vanities all over the world. And there are plenty, so no matter what you prefer, you can sniff around the store and find something you love, no matter what your gender is or is not. As much as I hate gendering fragrances, its scents are unapologetically feminine, playful, flirty, sexy, and celebrate everything that being a woman encompasses — which is, of course, everything.
I reviewed the eight best-selling fragrances at Victoria’s Secret to discern what makes them the award-winning, nostalgia-wafting, mall-perfume juggernauts that they are.
Courtesy of Brand1/81. Bombshell
Bombshell is the number-one top-selling fragrance at Victoria's Secret and the only one with a bottle that directly references the iconic pink-striped bag.
Notes:
- Purple Passion Fruit
- Shangri-La Peony
- Vanilla Orchid
Since this is the brand's hero fragrance, I tried it first. It's not exactly up my alley when it comes to scents, but I can see why it's loved by so many. It's packed full of sterile white florals that combine to smell like something else altogether. On me, it smelled soapy, effervescent, and a little aquatic, like a bubble bath.
This fragrance, while not earth-shattering, is a solid standard. It takes the familiar structure of a fruit, a floral, and a base of vanilla, and spins them together in a way that makes the peony the focal point, the passionfruit giving it a little bit of dark depth, and vanilla to smooth it out. It's nice. Bombshell is a good go-to for any time of the day or year and is probably the most amenable to fragrance newbies and archivists alike.
$55 (Shop Now)
Courtesy of Brand2/82. Tease
We've smelled this before, but that's not altogether a bad thing. It's fruity, juicy, and has a bit of musk — a welcome change from the florals that Victoria's Secret has so often put out.
Notes:
- Black Vanilla
- Frozen Pear
- Gardenia
Pear is one note that I feel is criminally underused in fragrance, so it's nice to see a scent that's built around it. Tease, like a pear, is sweet, juicy, but not too much of either — it's just right. It's another scent that uses the fruit/flower/wood-musk structure, though letting the more fruity, playful notes get a moment to shine. This feels like a contemporary celebrity scent, which to most wouldn't be a sell, but as it just so happens, I love celebrity scents.
$55 (Shop Now)
Courtesy of Brand3/83. Tease Rebel
Tease Rebel, a flanker of the former, takes what Tease started and puts a rebellious spin on it.
Notes:
- Violet Leaf
- Wild Rose
- White Leather
With the notes of violet and rose, Rebel Tease could easily be overpowering, as both flowers tend to take a front seat in scents. This is still true of this one, but they remain to stand out without weighing you down. The inclusion of leather gives the scent even more depth, and a welcome dark, velvety feel overall, which works as a nice change to the statement florals. The whole thing could be a big miss, but it works very nicely. Rebel Tease feels purple, gauzy, very clean. It's a floral scent, for sure, but a welcome new take on something we've all smelled before.
$55 (Shop Now)
Courtesy of Brand4/84. Crush
OK, Crush is cute. The name is perfect. Plus, the bottle design is very cool. There's no cap to pop off, you simply twist the top up to reveal the atomizer, and you can actually use the puff to spray it onto your skin. Small detail, but for someone like me that owns a billion fragrances, this detail stands out.
Notes:
- Pink Peppercorn
- Peony
- Ashok Flower
Crush is immediately pleasant on the skin, wears really nicely, and has a '90s feel to it. What do I mean by that? I don't know, but it reminds me of a glitter lotion I got with my Caboodles Barbie when I was little, but in a good way. Anyway, it's fruity, sweet — rubbery? Like the way that I imagine Britney Spears smelled in her red PVC catsuit in the "Oops...I Did It Again" music video.
$55 (Shop Now)
Courtesy of Brand5/85. Very Sexy
With a name like Very Sexy, the bar is already set high. Sexily high.
Notes:
- Vanilla Orchid
- Clementine
- Wild Blackberry
You know those pop songs that are so formulaic that you can barely hear them because you can kind of hear them everywhere in the background? (Like, say, "Black Magic" by Little Mix?) This is the fragrance version of that. It's not bad, but it's not memorable. It kind of just smells like a textbook conventionally-hot-girl perfume. I actually think this would be especially good if they marketed it as a fragrance for everyone. I'd really love to smell this on a man other than myself. On me, it's fruity with a lot of caramelly amber and musk.
$55 (Shop Now)
Courtesy of Brand6/86. Love
You know what? I love Love. It just got me from the get-go with these notes.
Notes:
- Juniper
- Apricot Blush
- Boyfriend Tee
"Boyfriend Tee" — lol. I hate notes like that, insofar as I am a complete sucker for them.
The scent itself is a green, fruity scent that feels young but not immature. It's bouncy, a little sweet, a little tangy, like a gummy worm, but one of the opaque ones. You know when you suck all the tartiness off and then get to the sweet? (Wow, never mind.) No, but I love this. This also would make a great scent for all genders. It would smell as great on you as it would on your dumb boyfriend. Plus, the bottle is a treasure. It's a kind of handheld art deco moment with a powder-pink enamel bottle top and a clear enamel cap topped in black. It's sophisticated and beautiful — ugh, I love it. Great for anyone, any time of the year. It's playful, it's winking, it's perfect.
$55 (Shop Now)
Courtesy of Brand7/87. Love Star
Love's flanker, Love Star, is like the grown-up version of the original fragrance. The overachieving big sister, who your parents are always like, Why can't you be more like Jessica? about.
Notes:
- Rose Gold Apple
- Lily
- Night Air
So as you can see, Victoria's Secret is getting generous with these nondescript notes. "Night air" — is that a good thing? Like, where do you live? I kid. Fragrances are supposed to be aspirational and fanciful with the ability to take you away, and that's what Love Star does. It smells like a humid, wet night with a lot of expectation — like prom night. It's sexy but not overtly sexy; it's not trying too hard. Maybe it's the night version of Love. Is it as good as Love? No, but what is? It is its own animal and a good second chapter to the story that Love started.
$55 (Shop Now)
Courtesy of Brand8/88. Heavenly
So Heavenly looks like it would be another textbook perfume — but it's not. It is bomb.
Notes:
- White Musk
- Sandalwood
- Vanilla
- White Peony
Oddly, it smells a lot like the original Marc Jacobs for Men, which happens to be my original favorite summer scent. Heavenly is light, beachy, and sweet without being fruity. It's just the perfect cocktail of pleasant, lovely lightness that feels breezy, summery, and great for all year, but especially for summer.
$55 (Shop Now)
