ByteBoop

Close your eyes and pretend it’s a Sunday night. You’ve taken a long bath or hot shower, washed and conditioned your hair, moisturized your entire body, and maybe even applied a face mask or a peel. You’re about to pull on your softest, comfiest pajamas and slide into crisp, freshly washed sheets to unwind with a book or movie. Does anything sound better? Um, no. 

But wait; something’s missing! No, it’s not a warm cup of herbal tea or a pet to cuddle with, although those things enhance the experience tenfold. It’s perfume—a bedtime perfume, to be exact.

Most of us apply fragrance in the morning before leaving for work or school and either don’t reapply or add a spritz or two at midday or before our evening plans. The theory behind wearing a bedtime fragrance is that it’s solely for wearing in bed; sure, you can also wear it during the day, but the most popular bedtime scents are as soft, subtle, and comforting as your favorite faded sleep shirt. (You know the one.) Ahead, we unpack the trend’s resurgence, plus the best perfumes to wear to sleep.

The Trend

Though the art of bedtime perfume is nothing new (Marilyn Monroe famously wore Chanel No. 5 to bed), the practice gained major traction on TikTok, as users shared their “get unready with me” routines before bed, which often end in a spritz of a specific “bedtime perfume.”

We wear perfume for myriad reasons: to match an outfit, create an aesthetic, remind us of a happy memory, attract attention, or chill out. Why wouldn’t you wear a fragrance at bedtime, especially if it’s a pivotal part of your routine? “A lot of people like to act like [fragrance] is not important, but it’s totally important. You’re wearing it to be perceived in the world,” says Emma Vernon, host of the Perfume Room podcast. 

“You can use aroma as therapy. If every time you smell this one scent, it makes you think of somebody you love and makes you happy—[and] it doesn’t have to be because that molecule has a proprietary function— you can use perfume that makes you think of people, places, and times, and that’s nice to do before bed.” Vernon also likes to “play with other applications” of scent at bedtime, specifically citing body oil as a personal favorite. You could also experiment with lotion, body powder, or perfume oils.

The Best Bedtime Perfumes

The best bedtime fragrance for you is one that makes you feel calm, cozy, and content, so there’s not a one-size-fits-all perfume that will make everyone in the world want to cuddle up and drift off. However, many of the most frequently mentioned scents share some important aromatic DNA.

First off: You don’t want your bedtime perfume to be too loud or heavy. Bedtime perfumes speak in whispers not shouts. Lightweight scents and fragrance enhancers designed for layering like DedCool’s Milk Layering and Enhancer Fragrance and Juliette Has a Gun’s Not a Perfume are ideal for this situation, as they’re soft and gentle but still feel like you’re wearing something. “Your skin but better” fragrances like Glossier You and its new little sister, You Doux, are well-suited for bedtime, and even fancy baby fragrances from brands like Dior and Bvlgari make a cameo. By Rosie Jane’s musk-and-rose Rosie Perfume slips over skin like a ballerina-pink silk slip, while Byredo’s beloved Blanche Eau de Parfum, enhanced by soapy aldehydes, feels like putting on a crisp cotton nightgown straight off the clothesline.

Musk perfumes are perfect for bedtime, as they smell both squeaky-clean and like warm skin. Popular picks include Le Labo’s whispery metallic Another 13 Eau de Parfum, Clean Reserve’s aptly named Skin, and Narciso Rodriguez’s satiny musk scents fit the bill here, as does a good old-fashioned Jovan Musk from the drugstore. For a more straightforward “clean” scent, like the scent of freshly washed hair and laundry right out of the machine, try Ellis Brooklyn’s soft woody Myth Eau de Parfum, with notes of ambrette, jasmine, and musk or Maison Margiela Replica’s Lazy Sunday Morning, which was inspired by lounging on clean sheets. 

Not all bedtime scents need to be squeaky-clean or musky. If you prefer something sweeter, Nemat’s “IYKYK” Vanilla Musk Fragrance Oil is plush and inviting and will linger on the pillow for days. A spritz of Ariana Grande’s ozonic gourmand Cloud Eau de Parfum would be a lovely choice to drift off with; you can close your eyes and pretend you’re falling asleep on a fluffy bed in the sky. 

Some brands are taking the concept of a bedtime scent to the laundry room with perfumed detergents, including DedCool’s Dedtergent line, which includes a few of its fragrances, including the amber vanilla Taunt, and its collab with the haircare brand Ouai. The Laundress just launched a line of laundry care specifically for sleeping, with notes of sandalwood and jasmine meant to help you chill in luxury. It’s literally called Beauty Sleep, so go on and get yours—with the help of a bedtime perfume, of course.