The Best Soapy Perfumes That'll Make You Smell Fresh And Clean 🫧
Coming clean with my love for the smell of bubble baths and refreshing showers
I love the smell of cleaning agents. I sniff these products each chance I get: Mr. Muscle All-Purpose Cleaner (the green variant), Breeze Hypoallergenic Laundry Detergent, and Snuggle Fabric Conditioner. I also like the freshly showered smell, specifically the combined scent trails of my shampoo, conditioner, and body wash.
Maybe it's the Filipina in me that led me to choose scents that remind me of soaps. We Filipinos are obsessed with smelling clean. Living in a tropical country, we can’t control how much we sweat. (Unless we’re lucky to be in an air-conditioned room 24/7). Our remedy? An obsession with hygiene, body sprays, and baby powder.
I'm not sure about the pulse for soapy scents for fragheads. Nevertheless, I find it easy to pick up the perfumes that give me a clean, soapy scent whenever I get ready to leave the house. My default fragrance right now is Clean Warm Cotton.
What makes a perfume a soapy scent?
A classic bar soap will instantly come to your mind when you get a whiff of a soapy fragrance. Think Dove, Ivory, or your favorite shampoo packaged in a bottle of perfume. These scents have powdery musk notes and hints of floral aldehydes.
According to Perfumerism on YouTube, these fragrances are also called “skin scents.” Byrdie states that these perfumes owe their subtle, clean smell to a synthetic molecule called Iso E Super. This unique ingredient is a mix of wood and musk notes.
The best thing about clean scents? You don’t need to fit a certain aesthetic to wear it. Plus, soapy, second-skin fragrances are, in my opinion, the prime choice for a signature scent that’s truly you.
Read on for the cleanest-smelling fragrances to add to your perfume collection.
The Best Soapy Perfumes To Try If You Love Clean, Fresh Scents 🚿
Clean Warm Cotton Eau de Parfum ☁️
Smells like: Freshly laundered sheets, fabric conditioner, or shower gel. It’s a unisex fragrance that’s great for layering with other perfumes.
Clean Warm Cotton Eau de Parfum, Php3,900, Rustan's
Ouai North Bondi Eau de Parfum 🌊
Smells like: The Ouai hair care line! (I got obsessed with their signature scent ever since I tried their leave-in conditioner.)
Ouai North Bondi Eau de Parfum, Php4,500, Sephora PH (Currently out of stock)
Jo Malone Peony and Blush Cologne 🌺
Smells like: A soft, powdery floral scent. A fragrance to turn to if you want to smell like a girl who goes to a farmer’s market to buy freshly baked pastries and a pretty bouquet.
Jo Malone Peony and Blush Cologne, Php6,850, Greenbelt 5
Maison Margiela Replica Bubble Bath Eau de Toilette 🛁
Smells like: The name says it all—this perfume will remind you of relaxing bubble baths. It is the definition of a clean, soapy scent.
Maison Margiela Replica Bubble Bath Eau de Toilette, Php9,350/50ml, Rustan's
Maison Margiela Replica Lazy Sunday Morning Eau de Toilette ☀️
Smells like: Fresh laundry then slowly settles into a subtle, clean musk. Think baby cologne but for grown-ups.
Maison Margiela Replica Lazy Sunday Morning Eau de Toilette, Php5,150/30ml, SM Makati
Narciso Rodriguez for Her Eau de Parfum 🧴
Smells like: Baby lotion with hints of rose. 10/10, a feminine fragrance that can be great as an everyday perfume. I like mixing this with other floral scents, too!
Narciso Rodriguez for Her Eau de Parfum, Php8,000/100ml, Rustan's
Tom Ford Soleil Blanc 🥥
Smells like: Coconut shampoo that takes you back to the early 2000s. This can also be a great summertime scent.
Tom Ford Soleil Blanc Php15,800, Rustan’s
What are your favorite soapy scents?
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