One of the greatest compliments we can ever receive is how good we smell. There’s no better feeling than walking down the street and being asked what we are wearing - and we’re not talking about clothes; we’re talking about fragrance! A good fragrance has a way of making our mark in any room we walk in without using any words. That’s why fragrance is the perfect gift to give ourselves and others. Dare we say it, it’s the gift that keeps on giving.
Although fragrance is a great gift to pass along to our loved ones, it can also be tricky to decide which one to give, especially if you’re a perfume lover who gets compliments all year. There is an abundance of top fragrance brands with incredible notes to match. Depending on their preference, these notes can sit differently with each nose, which can make the buying process a bit overwhelming. The only solution to this dilemma is to do your research on the best fragrance to gift.
We’ve compiled the best fragrances on the market to help you make the right choice this holiday season. These products have a mix of warm and floral notes to satisfy any sense of smell. Most of this selection is also Black-owned, helping us give back to the communities that serve us the most.
This holiday season, you can feel confident about the fragrance you purchased and who you purchased it from.
FORVR Mood I Am Her
Any product purchased from the iconic brand of Jackie Aina will always be a mood, and this goes for her fragrance too. The I Am Her fragrance is a warm and spicy scent filled with red velvet, pear, and Oud notes. Embrace your feminine energy with this incredibly sensual fragrance.
Chris Collins Lost In Paradise
Wouldn’t we all love to get lost in paradise at any moment? Well, now we can! Chris Collins' Lost In Paradise fragrance makes us one spray away from the getaway of our dreams. This fresh scent is an island paradise with coconut, peach skin, and salted musk notes—the perfect scent for feeling those summer vibes all year long.
Fenty Beauty by Rihanna Fenty Eau de Parfum
Rihanna stole our hearts and pockets when she came out with Fenty Skin and Beauty; now she’s back with a fragrance that has us all in a chokehold. The Fenty Beauty fragrance is a staple, with reviews raving about its unisex complimentary scent. Warm and floras are balanced together to be welcoming for everyone. In addition to this, the product notes are magnolia, musk, and Bulgarian rose.
Naked Beauty Modern Magic
Brooke DeVard has us tuned into her podcast every week, and now she has us locked in on her new fragrance. The perfume was inspired by her move to California, which allowed her to enjoy the beauty around her. The Modern Magic perfume is a piece of California with its delicate neroli, green tea, and sandalwood notes.
Moodeaux Worthy
Want to let your loved ones know how worthy they are to you? Gift them the Worthy fragrance by Moodeaux. This fragrance is unisex, vegan, and cruelty-free, making it the perfect gift for anyone. The notes of this fragrance are also a massive plus for the holiday season. It comprises vanilla woods and relaxing lavender to give you peace and a taste of the holidays.
Kimberly New York Diaspora
When it comes to luxury fragrances, no one does it like Kimberly New York. Their Diaspora fragrance is beloved for its vibrancy. Like the name [Diaspora], the product stays true to an island vibe, carrying pear, crisp apple, Jamaican rose, and champagne. One spray of this perfume will make you want to take a trip to the islands.
Dossier Ambery Vanilla
We understand that fragrance can be a great gift and break the bank at the same time. Investing in a Dossier fragrance can be a great way to add a hint of luxury while still saving money. We highly recommend the Ambery Vanilla fragrance by the budget-friendly brand. YSL Black Opium inspires the product and carries mandarin, pear, pink pepper, and licorice notes. These ingredients give off a warm and sensual scent for those who appreciate a nighttime scent.
Dossier Floral Sandalwood
If a dark, sensual scent isn’t for your loved one, try going for floral scents. Dossier also has a great selection of budget floral scents that won’t break the bank. Their fragrance, Floral Sandalwood, mimics Amyris Femme by Maison Francis Kurkdjian's Amyris Femme. Similar to the luxury fragrance, it carries notes of pear, tangerine flower, and violet.
Prada Paradoxe Eau de Parfum
Love your loved ones a little extra this season with a luxury fragrance. Prada Paradoxe perfume is a household staple that is here to stay. This fragrance intensifies the warmth of your body, making it long-lasting while staying warm on the coldest days. Its top notes are jasmine, followed by Ambrofix for the middle, and moss accord on the base. Fall in love with a taste of luxury every time this perfume is in use!
Initio Parfums Prives Atomic Rose
Atomic Rose is a perfect fragrance that can be used all year and on almost any occasion. The notes include Italian bergamot, Bulgarian rose, Turkish rose, Egyptian jasmine, and vanilla Madagascar. These notes are all natural and have an explosive balance of day and night. No longer do you have to worry if a scent is day or night appropriate; wear it whenever, wherever.
Libre Yves Saint Laurent
This perfume can barely stay on the shelves without the girls purchasing it immediately. That’s because the scent is truly magnetic to anyone you're walking past. Libre is made with the following notes: lavender, orange blossom, and musk accord. It is also available for a refill, so you no longer have to use the popular fragrance sparingly.
Salt & Stone Santal & Vetiver Body Mist
Santal & Vetiver is a rich scent at an affordable price. For less than $50, your loved one can indulge in Australian sandalwood and amber aromas. A gentle wave of warm wood gives you the feeling of sitting by a fire on a summer night. This perfume is inviting yet grounding for everyone.
Bella Vita Honey Oud
How great would it be to smell like the dessert we ate at dinner? We can be sweet enough to eat with Bella Vita’s scent, Honey Oud. This great Amazon find is made with honey, vanilla, and bergamot. Remind your loved ones how sweet it is to have them in your life with this incredibly delicious scent.
Brown Girl Jane Dawn
Lighten up the mood with Brown Girl Jane's fresh scent, Dawn. Allow the raspberry blossom, amber, and vanilla notes to take over the room and uplift your mood. The formula gives a rich velvet scent and is praised for its versatility. Wear it today, tomorrow, or any day. No wrong can be done when this scent is in full effect.
Maison Louis Marie No.14
I'm ending this chapter with a rising fan favorite—No.14 by Maison Louis Marie. This perfume is praised for its beautiful floral scent. Available in full and travel sizes, it is described as warm and floral with notes of jasmine, Bulgarian rose, and vanilla. We believe this fragrance is a perfect send-off for the holidays and a look forward to spring.
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Skylar sees things differently. At the time, she was shooting content on her iPhone. Temi came into the picture with a new perspective, an understanding of tech, and, eventually, a camera. “He doesn't give himself enough credit,” Skylar says. “He wasn't just my tripod. He wasn't just standing behind the camera and going ‘click.’ He was giving advice. He was giving me insight to how I could look at things from a different perspective. And I was like, 'Oh, he’s an artist.' I think it was maybe a heartbeat of that kind of energy of like, ‘Baby, can you take this picture?’ And it turned so quickly into, we're partners. We can work together in a way where we're advancing each other's creative thinking.”
The pair often says they’re two sides of the same coin. Skylar is an Aquarius. She attended art school, paints, and loves poetry. She’s more than happy to let the couple’s management firm and agency, Kensington Grey, handle their admin work. And, she loves to sleep in. Temi, on the other hand, wakes up early. He’s a Virgo. He loves a to-do list and regularly checks in on the couple’s brand partnerships spreadsheet to make sure everything is on track.
Because his storytelling was steeped in his love of technology, he didn’t always think of himself as a creative person. “Where I [am] the dreamer who wants to pluck things out of the sky and spend all day with my head in the clouds, Temi [is] so good at grounding me and helping me figure out how to make things make sense on paper. We just work together in such a complimentary way,” Skylar says.
It’s been more than six years since Brooklyn-based couple Temi and Skylar started dating, and nearly four since they cemented their working relationship. On TikTok and Instagram, the couple’s travel, fashion, and home content regularly rack up hundreds of thousands of views. They’ve worked with brands such as Coach, Aesop, Away, and Liquid IV, bringing their vibrant perspectives to every campaign they execute. Still, nearly two years since both Temi and Skylar committed to full-time content creation and creative directing, the couple says their romantic connection remains their priority.
“We told each other we would much rather go back to full-time jobs and preserve our relationship than to be full-time freelancers, barely getting a night's rest [and] barely kissing each other because we're so busy shooting,” Skylar says.
Working from home can make it hard to separate work from personal life for any entrepreneur. It can be even more challenging when your business partner is also your lover. Temi and Skylar had already used couples therapy as a tool to help them effectively communicate with one another. When they ran into challenges while working together, their therapist helped them set physical boundaries to help combat the issues.
"We told each other we would much rather go back to full-time jobs and preserve our relationship than to be full-time freelancers, barely getting a night's rest [and] barely kissing each other because we're so busy shooting."
“It actually took us doing very specific physical things to create boundaries between work and play in our relationship,” Skylar says. “So, for instance, we will only have conversations about work when we're out of bed or we're at the table or in the office. Initially, when we started, we had to light a candle to say that, 'Okay, this is a space where we're connecting, we’re not talking about work.' We needed really hard boundaries at the top. And then it became a little bit more organic.”
The boundaries have been crucial to implement, especially because the couple began working together so naturally. When the pair first met, Skylar was NY-based a social strategist for BuzzFeed and was using content creation to drive business to her lingerie company. She was shooting her own content. Temi was working for Microsoft in D.C. He’d recently traded in his DJing equipment for a camera. “I've always loved taking pictures,” he says. “Even when I was a kid, my African mother would wake me up at 3:00 a.m. [during a] party, and be like, 'Come take the family picture.'”
Growing up, Temi says he watched his parents support each other and be the true definition of partners. He knew he wanted the same for his own relationship. But, the couple also wanted to make sure they were being financially responsible. The pair didn’t quit their traditional jobs until they’d saved up two years' worth of their cost of living. And, Temi received his Master of Business Administration from New York University with the knowledge that it could either help him advance in his corporate career or be applicable to his business with Skylar.
Temi and SkylarCj Hart @hartbreakToday, they say their working relationship is more of a “quiet dance.” They still implement some of the boundaries they learned in therapy, but they also lean into their natural strengths and deep love for one another. When we speak, Temi has planned a date for the couple to see Princess Mononoke in 4K IMAX and added it to their Notion so they can factor it into their busy schedules. “I fully plan to date for the rest of my life,” he says.
Skylar says the couple doesn’t just wait for date nights to check in with one another, though. This often happens in the mornings, after Temi has made her peppermint tea and poured himself a cup of coffee. When they ask each other how they slept, she says, it’s not just a “nicety.” It’s a genuine question meant to foster connection.
“A lot of it happens during the day in the midst of work. We'll stop and we'll hug. Or we’ll slow dance in the kitchen,” she says. “Sometimes it's hard to set a whole date night when you have 7,000 things going on. So, we must grasp these moments and check in when we can. And I think it's become so organic to us that I actually didn't even realize how often we do it. But all day long, we're like, 'Are you good? I felt like your energy shifted,' because we're best friends, we just know. We just feel it happen.”
What’s better than being in love? Building wealth while doing it. Watch Making Cents here for real stories of couples who make money moves together.
Featured image by Cj Hart @hartbreak