If there’s one fragrance brand that has really made an impact, it’s Phlur. It launched in the US in 2015 but crossed the pond in 2022, releasing a steady stream of scents that sent the internet into a frenzy. Its signature – and typically unusual – “missing person” scent reportedly sold out in five hours of its launch in the US.
The brand creates fragrance mists and eau de parfums, and as you might expect, the fragrance mists are the more affordable option, with small bottles starting from £25. The eau de parfums are more expensive, with full-size 50ml bottles setting you back £99.
Designed to be layered, the eau de parfums and hair and body fragrance mists still pack a punch on their own. There is a scent profile and fragrance for every taste. Whether you prefer softer and subtler aromas, sweet and fruity scents, or you’re looking for the perfect spritz for the summer months, there’s a scent to suit.
But with so much on offer – and abstract, nondescriptive names like “father figure” and “not your baby” – it can be tricky to figure out where to start. That’s why I spent weeks testing all 23 of Phlur’s perfumes and drawing up a shortlist of my absolute favourites. The top spot goes to Phlur heavy cream for its sweet, gourmand scent, but if that’s not your thing, I’ve found several great options.
How I tested
With 23 scents to choose from – at time of writing – I wore each of the fragrances for several days, applying them to my wrists, pulse points and hair. I assessed each of them on the following criteria:
- Notes and on-skin aroma: I noticed the distinct notes and how well they blended to create the overall fragrance profile of each scent.
- Staying power: You don’t want a fragrance that fades within minutes of application, so I timed how long the scent lasted on my skin from morning to evening.
- Potency: Though unfair to compare body mists and eau de parfums, as the latter last longer and have a stronger throw, I made a note of the strength of the scents and whether they were on the lighter or heavier side.
- Feel: I assessed how the formula felt on my skin and if these fragrances caused any irritation.
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The Independent’s product reviews section, IndyBest’s testers examine a range of products without bias to see if they really work.
Ellis Cochrane is a beauty writer who has tried, tested and recommended a huge range of beauty products, from bath oils to scalp scrubs, Color Wow haircare and chemical peels. As with all of the products in our reviews, all of the Phlur perfumes Ellis recommends have been put through real-world, hands-on testing.
The best Phlur perfume and body mists for 2025 are:
- Best overall – Phlur heavy cream hair and body fragrance mist: £38, Selfridges.com
- Best floral scent – Phlur rose whip eau de parfum: £88, Spacenk.com
- Best sweet scent – Phlur strawberry letter eau de parfum: £99, Spacenk.com
- Best fresh scent – Phlur father figure eau de parfum: £99, Spacenk.com
- Best summery scent – Phlur beach skin hair and body fragrance mist: £38, Selfridges.com
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Phlur heavy cream hair and body fragrance mist
Best: Phlur fragrance overall
Size: 88.7ml, 236.5ml
Why we love it
- Perfect gourmand scent
- One of the best Phlur scents for layering
This is the fragrance I find myself reaching for more than any of the other fragrances from Phlur. If you like gourmand, almost edible scents, this fragrance mist combines the scent of my favourite sweet treats. It combines marshmallows, salted caramel, oranges, vanilla mousse and, of course, whipped cream. It’s one of the most delectable scents that I’ve ever come across, but it’s not too cloying or overly sweet, either.
It has a lightweight quality but lasts for hours when spritzed onto the skin or hair, so you can layer it with some of the brand’s other fragrance mists or eau de parfums, if you so please. I layered it with quite a few of the fragrances below to add creaminess to them, so it’s become an excellent multitasker in my fragrance repertoire.
Buy now £38.00, Selfridges.com
Phlur father figure eau de parfum
Best: Fresh Phlur fragrance
Size: 9.5ml, 50ml
Why we love it
- Unisex
- Reminds me of a spa
Father figure is a fantastic option for those who prefer a fresher or masculine-leaning scent. It has a crisp and clean quality, and its blend of patchouli, jasmine and skin musk gives it a spa-like feel.
Because of its earthy and fresh notes, I typically reach for it during rainy weather, and I’ve found it also works particularly well on crisp autumn days. Father figure reminds me of the original Glossier you (£70, Spacenk.com) once it starts to dry down. If you’re already a fan of that fragrance or looking for something similar, I recommend giving this one a try.
Buy now £99.00, Spacenk.com
Phlur beach skin hair and body fragrance mist
Best: Summery Phlur fragrance
Size: 88.7ml, 236.5ml
Why we love it
- Summer in a bottle
Take note
- Travel size frequently sells out
This one is perfect for a holiday. Beach skin combines a few of Phlur’s beachiest aromas – coconut skin (£25, Spacenk.com) and vanilla skin (£32, Spacenk.com) – into what is essentially summer in a bottle.
With top notes of tiare blossoms, salty air and bergamot, and base notes of pink pepper and sandalwood, alongside a heart note of coconut milk, it is immediately reminiscent of a warm day spent at the beach, in the best way possible. If you already own or are looking for an alternative to holiday scents like Ouai’s St Bart’s hair and body mist (£27.20, Lookfantastic.com) or Sol de Janeiro’s cheirosa 59 (£24, Spacenk.com), I have a feeling you will adore this one.
I’ve tested it all summer long – both on its own and layered with the likes of vanilla skin (£32, Spacenk.com) and peach skin (£38, Selfridges.com) – and I simply can’t get enough of it. Again, as it is a fragrance mist, it only lasts a few hours before you need to reapply it, but I didn’t mind this too much, as I just topped it up before I headed out for dinner after a day at the beach.
Buy now £38.00, Selfridges.com
Phlur strawberry letter eau de parfum
Best: Sweet Phlur fragrance
Size: 9.5ml, 50ml
Why we love it
- One of the best strawberry-based perfumes that I’ve tried
Take note
- Doesn’t last as long as some of the other Phlur fragrances
Strawberry letter has a special place in my heart, as it was the first Phlur fragrance that I ever tried and prompted me to make a visit to my local Space NK when the brand first launched at the retailer back in 2022. Despite being someone who loves all things strawberry-related, I was a little surprised that I hadn’t tried a strawberry-based fragrance until this one, but after just one spritz of it, it immediately won me over.
Testing it again years later, it still holds up. If you were ever put off super sweet scents in your teens, this is a much more complex take on a sugary and fruity fragrance. You get a hit of strawberry, but this is mixed with plum, apple blossom, sugared amber and tonka beans, which makes for a seriously sweet, yet still subtle scent.
The only downside is that it doesn’t last as long as some of the other Phlur fragrances or other perfumes in my collection, which is a bit of a shame. I think it might be because it starts so strongly that you notice when it has started to fade. If you don’t mind this, or reapplying it throughout the day, then this might not be too off-putting. Alternatively, I find that pairing it with one of the Phlur fragrance mists makes it last a bit longer. Unsurprisingly, it pairs perfectly with heavy cream (£38, Selfridges.com) for that strawberries and cream experience, while vanilla skin (£99, Spacenk.com) adds a touch more gourmand.
Buy now £99.00, Spacenk.com
Phlur rose whip eau de parfum
Best: Floral Phlur fragrance
Size: 9.5ml, 50ml
Why we love it
- Can take you from day to night
- Not as overpowering as some rose based or floral scents
I’ve always found it tricky to find a floral fragrance that doesn’t feel overpowering or artificial. As a result, I mostly avoid them, with rose-based scents being especially off-putting for me. I was a little concerned that rose whip wouldn’t work for me, but I was quite pleasantly surprised after giving it just one sniff, and it’s quickly become one of my most-worn scents.
Instead of hitting you over the head with roses or a bouquet of florals, it has a sultrier feel, with several interesting notes – adding unexpected twists to a classic scent profile is something Phlur does really well. There are blackcurrant and osmanthus heart notes and amber, musk and cashmere wood base notes, so while the rose top note is definitely there, it’s also cosy. The almost woody scent means it works well for any occasion.
I initially assumed that it would only be a nighttime scent, or one for special occasions, but it carries you from day to night with ease. On top of that, it layers well with some of the other Phlur fragrances, with the combination of heavy cream and rose whip being one of my absolute favourite combinations.
Buy now £99.00, Spacenk.com
Phlur soft spot eau de parfum
Best: Powdery Phlur fragrance
Size: 9.5ml, 50ml
Why we love it
- A nice everyday fragrance
Take note
- Subtle scent may not work for everyone
For those who prefer a subtler or more powdery scent, look no further than soft spot. Unlike some of the other Phlur fragrances, the notes – I can smell a hint of vanilla, amber and even a slight whiff of faint florals – blend to create a comforting aroma, rather than one note in particular standing out, making this one of the subtler eau de parfums.
It doesn’t overwhelm the senses either, great if you don’t want anything too strong or punchy, but it lasts for several hours despite being one of the more subdued scents. So, if you’re looking for a go-to daytime or everyday fragrance that you could wear to the office or as you’re running errands, this dries down on the skin beautifully without being too over-the-top.
Buy now £99.00, Spacenk.com
Phlur peach skin hair and body fragrance mist
Best: Fruity Phlur fragrance
Size: 88.7ml, 236.5ml
Why we love it
- Ideal for the warmer months
- Great longevity (especially for a fragrance mist)
While Phlur has quite a few fruity fragrances to choose from, it’s one of their latest releases, peach skin, which seriously wowed me. Quite a few fruity fragrances I’ve tried in the past have lacked complexity, but that certainly wasn’t the case here.
An excellent option for the warmer months, it has a strong, juicy peach fragrance combining notes of sandalwood, plum and bellini. It sounds overly sweet, but it’s not; it makes for a warm and absorbing scent unlike anything I’ve tested before, and I appreciate that it’s not too sickly or juvenile. Plus, out of all the Phlur fragrance mists, this was amongst the best when it came to staying power, as I didn’t feel the need to reapply it as often as with the others.
Buy now £38.00, Selfridges.com
Phlur vanilla skin eau de parfum
Best: Vanilla Phlur fragrance
Size: 9.5ml, 50ml
Why we love it
- Comes in an eau de parfum and a body mist
Vanilla fragrances are incredibly popular, and it’s hardly surprising that Phlur has leaned into this trend with a number of vanilla-based scents. Even though its newly released vanilla nectar (£25, Spacenk.com) and vanilla smoke (£25, Spacenk.com) mists are well worth trying, with each giving the classic scent an unexpected twist, my tests found that vanilla skin is the best true vanilla scent.
Available in both an eau de parfum and a fragrance mist, as well as a matching deodorant, this is far from your typical sickly sweet vanilla aroma. It actually smells like vanilla, not artificial vanilla. It has a wonderful creaminess that lifts it beyond being just one-note, and while it’s particularly summery, the depth makes it easy to wear all year round.
Buy now £32.00, Spacenk.com
Phlur missing person eau de parfum
Best: Musky Phlur fragrance
Size: 9.5ml, 50ml
Why we love it
- There’s an accompanying hand cream, body lotion and body oil
Take note
- Loses its scent more quickly than the other eau de parfums
If you like a musky scent, missing person is a great option. Often viewed as Phlur’s signature scent, it has plenty of admirers.
With a skin-like finish, it smells quite different depending on the wearer, making it another fantastic unisex choice. While I appreciate the warmth of its notes, it is one of the lighter formulations, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. However, for me, it was the quickest scent to fade out of all the Phlur eau de parfums, which was pretty disappointing.
Because of this, I would compare it to an eau de toilette rather than a traditional eau de parfum. You can, of course, layer it with the matching body lotion (£36, Spacenk.com), hand cream (£20, Spacenk.com) and body oil (£45, Spacenk.co.uk), but you shouldn’t really have to do this to get the desired impact. I do, however, adore the missing person candle (£101.17, Amazon.co.uk), which is much punchier.
Buy now £99.00, Spacenk.com
Phlur golden rule eau de parfum
Best: Elevated Phlur fragrance
Size: 9.5ml, 50ml
Why we love it
- Complex scent profile unlike any other perfume I’ve tried
Take note
- Might be best suited to special occasions
From the bottle alone, you might be able to tell that this is one of Phlur’s more sophisticated and luxurious scents. It’s quite a complex scent profile, and while some fragrances in this review are easy to imagine from the constituent notes, this one is quite hard to put into words. It blends a range of interesting notes to create a fragrance I’m not sure I’ve smelled before, which is a feat in itself considering how many perfume products I’ve tried over the years.
There are pink pepper and mandarin top notes, which give off an almost spicy and heady feel, paired with base notes of orange flowers and jasmine to add a floral touch, alongside creamy vanilla and coconut milk heart notes. It’s flowery but not overly so.
Overall, it wears well throughout the course of a day and, because of its composition, it actually shifts as the day progresses, with it drying down to more of a muskier and elevated scent. My only critique? It’s so complex that I found I haven’t been reaching for it as often as some of the other Phlur fragrances. It’s complicated nad mysterious, perfect for a special occasion, but perhaps not everyday wear.
Buy now £99.00, Spacenk.com
What is the best Phlur fragrance?
Taste in fragrance varies from person to person, but Phlur truly has something for every preference. While heavy cream was my overall personal favourite, there are plenty of excellent options. Floral fragrance fans will no doubt appreciate the distinctive rose whip, while those wanting a fresh or beachy fragrance should try out father figure and beach skin, respectively.
However, every fragrance in this list is a winner. Some of the products I test end up being donated or returned straight away, but I’ve almost exclusively been wearing Phlur fragrances ever since I started this review.
For more recommendations, read our review of the best perfumes for women
