10 Best Classic Perfumes for Women and Men [2024]

When a perfume is said to be classic, it means it has a lot to offer. In the first place, such a perfume is timeless. That is, it is not bounded by time or period. This is to say that the perfume is suitable for users of different ages and, hence, can never be out of date.

Classic perfumes are also superior in quality and can equally be worn to any kind of occasion. They are revolutionary too because they bring in ground-breaking changes into the perfume industry.

In summary, classic perfumes are the best perfumes anyone can have. This article will present the ten best classic perfumes for women and men so that you can make your choice.

Best Classic Perfumes of all time

• Jo Malone London Lime Basil and Mandarin
• Juniper Sling by Penhaligon
• Tom Ford Ombre Leather
• Le Labo Santal 33
• Under the Lemon Tree
• Ariana Grande’s Cloud
• Oud Wood Perfume
• Flowerbomb by the Viktor & Rolf
• Giorgio Armani Acqua Di Gioia
• Jacques Guerlain Shalimar

Read the best Classic perfumes in full details below

1. Lime Basil and Mandarin Cologne by Jo Malone London

Lime Basil and Mandarin by the Jo Malone London brand is an amazing classic perfume for men and women. This unisex perfume was launched in 1999 and it was created by Jo Malone herself. It has citrus, aromatic, herbal, woody, green, and fresh spicy scents.

The fragrance opens with bergamot, lime, and mandarin orange notes, which give way for the iris, basil, lilac, and thyme middle scents. The perfume finally dries down to patchouli and vetiver base scents.

Lime Basil and Mandarin has moderate projection but it can last up to six hours on your clothes and skin.

2. Juniper Sling Eau de Toilette by Penhaligon’s

Juniper Sling by Penhaligon’s is another amazing classic perfume for men and women you can find out there. This unisex vibrant woody spicy fragrance was launched in 2011 after it was created by Olivier Cresp.

It has aromatic, woody, fresh spicy, warm spicy, sweet, citrus, amber, and musky key scents but it opens with a blend of cinnamon, angelica, orange, and juniper berries scents.

By the time this first waft of scents quietens down, you can capture the scents of leather, orris root, pepper, and cardamom emerging from the perfume.

Finally, the blend of amber, sugar, cherry, and vetiver notes will be released to keep you company. Juniper Sling is also a mild perfume but it can last up to 6 hours on you.

3. Ombre Leather Eau de Parfum by Tom Ford

Ombre Leather by Tom Ford is a unisex classic perfume you wouldn’t want to miss. This perfume was created by Sonia Constant and launched by the Tom Ford brand in 2018. You may need to know that this perfume is loved by men more than women even though it was designed for both genders.

This could be a result of its mysterious polarising quality, which makes users want to use the perfume despite having the urge to stay away from it.

Ombre Leather has moderate projection despite lasting more than ten hours on clothes and skins. This means you will smell like cardamom, jasmine, leather, moss, amber, and patchouli all day.

If you want a woodsy classic perfume for women and men, Ombre Leather by Tom Ford is the best bet for you.

4. Santal 33 Eau de Parfum by Le Labo

Santal 33 by Le Labo remains one of the best classic perfumes for women and men because of its simple but complex fragrance. This woodsy classic perfume was created by Frank Voelkl, who happens to be one of the world’s best senior perfumers, and launched in 2011.

The scents of the perfume are so well blended that it is almost impossible to tell them separately.

However, when you wear Santal 33, you will smell like a blend of amber, iris, leather, Australian sandalwood, musk, cardamom, Virginia cedar, iris, violet, and papyrus. This unisex classic perfume is strong and loud and will last more than 12 hours on your clothes and skin.

5. Under the Lemon Trees by Maison Margiela REPLICA

Under the Lemon Tree is one of the classic perfumes for women and men launched by the Maison Margiela brand in 2018. The perfume opens with a blend of lime, cardamom, and petitgrain scents, which later dry down to coriander, mate, and green tea middle notes.

A few hours after wearing this perfume, you will notice that it has released a blend of white musk, rock rose, and cedar scents. Under the Lemon Tree does not have a very strong projection but it is also not a mild perfume. Nevertheless, it can last up to 6 hours on your skin and clothes.

6. Cloud by Ariana Grande

The flacon of this perfume can tell you how classic the fragrance is. Ariana Grande’s Cloud is a sensual floral fruity gourmand classic perfume that was created by Clement Gavarry and launched in 2018.

This feminine perfume opens with a blend of lavender, bergamot, and pear notes, which dry down to vanilla orchid, coconut, whipped cream, and praline scents.

Finally, the perfume releases its third blend of scents, which gives off woody and musk notes. Cloud by Ariana Grande has moderate longevity, which means it can last up to 6 hours or more on your skin and clothes.

Its projection is also moderate, so you don’t have to worry that the perfume may be too strong for you because it isn’t.

7. Oud Wood by Tom Ford

Oud Wood is another classic perfume for women and men that was given to the world by the Tom Ford brand. This amber woody fragrance was created by Richard Herpin and launched in 2007.

If you use it, you can feel its woody, oud, sweet, warm spicy, powdery, aromatic, vanilla, fresh spicy, amber, and balsamic scents.

However, these fragrances are blended so well that you can hardly detect them separately. But if you focus much on the scents, you can detect the scents of oud (agarwood), sandalwood, Brazilian rosewood, Tonka bean, amber, cardamom, Sichuan pepper, vetiver, and vanilla in the perfume. Oud Wood can last up to 7 hours or more on you and the fragrance is mild too.

8. Flowerbomb by Viktor & Rolf

Flowerbomb by the Viktor & Rolf bran is an explosive feminine classic perfume you need any day you want to smell like a garden of beautiful flowers.

This perfume was created by four outstanding perfumers – Olivier Polge, Carlos Benaim, Domitille Michalon Bertier and Dominique Ropion – and launched in 2005.

It opens with explosive bergamot, osmanthus, and tea notes, which dry down to more explosive middle notes, which saturate the wearer with the African orange flower, freesia, rose, jasmine, and orchid scents.

The final blend of notes the perfume releases are vanilla, patchouli and musk scents. Flowerbomb can last up to 10 hours but it has a shocking mild projection. Remember, this is a classic perfume for women.

9. Acqua Di Gioia by Giorgio Armani

The Giorgio Armani Acqua Di Gioia brand launched this aquatic floral classic perfume for women in 2010 and immediately won the hearts of many adventurous classy women.

Acqua Di Gioia was created through the teamwork of three world-class perfumers – Loc Dong, Dominique Ropion, and Anne Flipo – to capture the experiences Armani had during his summer holidays on the islands of Pantelleria and Antigua.

The perfume opens with a blend of Amalfi lemon and mint notes and dries down to the blend of pink pepper, peony, and jasmine notes.

The last blend of scents activated by the perfume offers brown sugar, French labdanum, and Virginia cedar notes. Acqua Di Gioia lasts up to 6 hours on clothes and skins but its projection is mild.

10. Shalimar by Guerlain

In 1925, Jacques Guerlain, the founder of Guerlain Inc, a French perfume house, created a classic perfume to honour the legendary love shared between Emperor Shah Jahan and his wife, Mumtaz Mahal.

This was why he called the perfume Shalimar, which is the name of Mumtaz Mahal’s favourite garden.

Shalimar gives off citrus, woody, amber, vanilla, balsamic, smoky, powdery, animalic, leather, and warm spicy scents when worn. It opens with a blend of Mandarin orange, cedar, lemon, bergamot, and other citrus scents, which dries down to a perfect blend of rose, jasmine, vetiver, patchouli, and iris notes.

The base fragrance of Shalimar is a blend of musk, Tonka bean, sandalwood, civet, opoponax, leather, vanilla, and incense notes. As expected of a classic perfume that captured the undying love shared between an emperor and his young wife, Shalimar can last up to 12 hours or more on your clothes and skin.

You may also need to know that the projection is quite enormous. This means that the fragrance is suitable for those that love strong perfumes.

ALSO READ: 10 Best Uplifting Perfumes

Conclusion

Of course, there may be some other classic perfumes of all time for women and men out there but we are not sure whether any of them can beat the ones we selected here for you.

You can go ahead to make your choice but remember to go for the perfume that meets your taste. Finally, when you want to buy any of these perfumes, do so in good shops, where you are sure to buy the genuine ones.