Fragrance Family: Woody
Best Fragrance
Best Candle
Paddywax Checkmate
Black Fig & Olive
Best Celebrity Scent
Eilish by Billie Eilish
Don't let the violet in the name fool you.
Aerin Beauty Cedar Violet Eau de Parfum ($135) is much more of a warm, earthy scent than a floral. In fact, it doesn't contain any flowers at all. The key note in this perfume is actually the leaves from a violet plant, which smell almost cucumber-like. The brightness helps balance out
the richness of cedarwood and amber, creating a fresh, woody combo that
works for practically every season.
For full transparency, we fell in love with the hand-painted, checkered vessel first — we have big plans to reuse it on our desks — but it's the scent of the Paddywax Checkmate Black Fig & Olive ($38) that kept us coming back. The notes of green olive, bright lemon, and sweet fig sound like they belong more on a cheese board than in a candle, but when combined with the warmth of musk, poplar wood, and tonka beans, you get a muted woody scent with zero charcuterie smell.
At first spritz, singer Billie Eilish's
brand-new fragrance Eilish by Billie Eilish ($68) reminded us of the intro
to "Happier Than Ever." It's soft and sweet thanks to the blend of rich cocoa, creamy vanilla, and sugared petals. Then, after a couple minutes of wear time, it dries down and settles into a richer, tougher amber musk, much like the pop-punk second half of the song.
Aerin Beauty Cedar Violet
Eau de Parfum
Best Perfume Oil
Nest New York South Pacific Sandalwood Perfume Oil
If Nest New York South Pacific Sandalwood Perfume Oil ($98) is your first experience with a fragrance oil, here's what you need to know. The refreshingly spicy scent — thanks to the combo of earthy vetiver with creamy sandalwood and fresh violet leaves — lasts a surprisingly long time; it's more concentrated than its eau de parfum cousin; and the nourishing baobab-oil base makes it totally customizable.
Our favorite way to use it: a few drops
mixed into our body lotion for an
all-encompassing cozy aroma.
Editorial nail artist
Miss Pop
![](https://media-s3-us-east-1.ceros.com/popsugar/images/2021/07/08/49c95348339adffd8507e0e4d87f8785/misspop-joelbarhamd-winter2016-pressphoto1.jpeg)