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When it comes to the best perfumes for grown-up women, body mists have been a historically overlooked category. This is likely because they’re so closely associated with our most cringeworthy teen years.
Body mists ruled the 2000s and, like many millennials, I remember trying to convince my mum they were a worthy—nay, essential—investment. While Victoria’s Secret’s Bare Vanilla Body Mist was dizzyingly out of reach, the supermarket aisles were a candy store full of promise. Impulse “Vanilla Kisses”, which retailed for around $5, sat high on my wishlist, along with “True Love”, Australia’s answer to Bath & Body Works. I saved up my pennies and smuggled them into my room. They were usually confiscated when my mum caught wind of the migraine-inducing whiff of saccharine musk and aerosolised vanilla.
Over the past five years, as FragranceTok has flourished, I’ve watched body mists quietly reclaim their place in the fragrance conversation. Sol de Janeiro was the first prestige brand to give body mists a viral facelift, turning their now-iconic Cheirosa scent into a cult body spray. More followed. On TikTok, collectors now display shelves of brightly coloured bottles with pride—the hashtag #bodymistscollection is one of the biggest fragrance trends on the app appears in over 9.3 million posts.
CHANEL
N°1 De Chanel L’eau Rouge Revitalising Fragrance Mist
JULIETTE HAS A GUN
This Is Not A Hair & Body Mist
Still, these mists largely seemed suited to entry-level fragrance enthusiasts, those without the will, income or inclination to spend hundreds on prestige perfume. My own favourite, Smokeshow by Wilhelm Parfumerie, is a distinctive blend of leather, rose, saffron and rare agarwood. It rings in at $454, and I dread the day it runs out. I didn’t expect to find a worthy day-to-day substitute in the body mist aisle.
PHLUR
Peach Skin Hair & Body Mist
EVEREDEN
Supernova Fragrance Mist
But slowly, here at ELLE, we’ve seen the tide shift. Our editor Angela Law has gone through three full bottles of Glossier’s cult You EDP, but the brand’s new Body Hero Spritz in Sandstone has found a regular place in her fragrance wardrobe. Meanwhile, I’ve been charmed by the arrival of Phlur into the Australian market. When their body mists landed on my desk alongside the brand’s Eau de Parfums, I was struck by how…grown-up they felt—from the minimalist packaging with weighted caps to the complex, layered compositions inside.
JO MALONE
Nectarine Blossom & Honey Body Mist
GLOSSIER
Sandstone Body Spritz
A spritz of Peach Skin beneath Smokeshow, which I favour during winter, gave the woody scent a bright, spring-leaning lift. The smokiness gave the fruity mist a grown-up edge, while the peach, coconut and caramel notes brought sweet heat. These aren’t just top-up sprays—they’re intentional additions to your fragrance wardrobe.
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Legacy luxury brands are taking note. Tom Ford’s Lost Cherry and Tobacco Vanille now come in all-over body sprays. Chanel and Dior have released their own elevated interpretations. Selena Gomez’s brand Rare Beauty, in its first foray into body care, made its body mist the hero product—blending skincare ingredients with the emotional experience of fine fragrance.
Phlur founder Chriselle Lim told ELLE Australia that applying fine-fragrance principles to body mists is a way to offer customers the best of both worlds. “I grew up in the early 2000s and have slightly traumatising memories of body mists because they bring you back to your teen years,” she says. “When I saw the trend coming back, it still carried that reputation—it felt like it was for a younger generation. I told my team, if we’re going to launch body mists, our EDP customers need to want them too.”
DIOR
Miss Dior Body Mist
SALT & STONE
Bergamot & Hinoki Body Mist
Phlur’s mists, she explains, are designed to be sophisticated and wearable. “We use our rockstar noses to create and collaborate on the mists. They’re just in a lighter concentration, airier, more casual. But they’re still rich in identity. You can layer them over your EDPs or wear them solo. There’s a sense of freedom and personalisation that today’s customer is really drawn to.”
Lim notes that younger customers in particular want their fragrance to reflect their identity, and that mists offer playfulness and flexibility. “They want to be their own perfumers, mixing and creating their own concoctions.” With lower concentrations, you can mix and match to suit your mood and preference without receiving complaints from your coworkers.
TOM FORD
Lost Cherry All Over Body Spray
SOL DE JANEIRO
Chierosa 62 Perfume Mist
Her personal pairing method? Look for a common note and layer from heaviest to lightest. She recommends Vanilla Skin, one of Phlur’s bestselling mists, over Father Figure, a gender-neutral Eau de Parfum built around fig. “They both have sandalwood as a base, so they layer beautifully if you want something warmer and richer.”
These elevated scents have more than earned a spot on our desks, in our gym bags—and tucked into our beach totes all summer long.
BY ROSIE JANE
White Tee Body + Hair Perfume Mist
ELLIS BROOKLYN
Marshmallows Hair And Body Fragrance Mist
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