IMHO: Best Budget Perfumes

Personally, the biggest compliment I get is when people tell me I smell good. I get all warm and fuzzy inside. It's a little bit sad, actually, but I put a lot of effort into it.
Although my brother tells me I smell like liquorice, it's fine. I like it :P

I tend to go for fresher, lighter smells in the summer and frutier, sweeter smells during the winter   monsoon. God I wish we had a proper winter in Chennai. No snow and all, just nippy cold winter.

Between me and my mum, we have quite the perfume arsenal. From the Victoria's Secret splashes, to the Cerrutis, the Diors and the Elizabeth Ardens, there is probably something for every mood and occasion.
They range from around a few hundred rupees to disgusting amounts that I'm sure neither of us is proud of (most of them are presents so it's FINE.)

I completely agree that the higher end ones have a ridiculous lasting power and sillage (this is basically the trail of scent that you leave that makes peoples heads turn and go WT*) but I have uncovered a few which are all under 1000 INR and I think are very good quality for the price and definitely last quite long.
So if you're just starting out your perfume collection and don't want to go straight into Parcos and drop a few thousands, these are some lovely ones that you can dabble with before you're ready to buy your big girl perfume :)

(I am going to do a men's perfume one because god, if all men smelled as good as some I know, the world would be a happy, happy place)

NOTE: Perfumes smell different on different people because of body chemistry, so I recommend always trying a perfume on your wrist, leaving it for a few hours and wander around the whole mall OR come back the next day and buy it so you truly know what it smells like on you. Never go by the papers test that they do especially if you're buying an expensive one. Paper isn't skin. 


1. Zara Silk - INR 890

The first perfume I bought from Zara. When I saw the price, I thought there was a 1 missing at the beginning. Or that something was wrong. 890 for 75ml WHAT. I grabbed it. Ran to the counter and asked the guy five times if that was the price. They started looking at me so weirdly after I asked them third or fourth time.
Anyway. A nice, light daytime perfume. A fresh floral scent, not to sweet.

Staying power: 4/5 It lasted a good 4-5 hours but did wear off almost completely after that.


2. Zara Tulle - INR 890

From the same line as Silk, comes this little beauty. This one is a lot sweeter and the staying power is considerably more than Silk. The top note is apparently melon, so that explains the fruityness. It's definitely not overpoweringly sweet, so I wear this pretty much all the time in the day.

Staying power: 5/5 Lasted all day. And my clothes smelled of it the next morning. WIN.

3. Marks and Spencers Sunny Daze mini - INR 700 (Approx)

I love the M&S minis. Some of them they get really, really right and you can just carry it around in your purse and keep spritzing. A real lifesaver for college and work. Some of them are really weird smelling, I'm not going to lie. But I love Sunny Daze. It literally smells like it sounds - a sunny, happy day. Sweet notes, reminds me of sunshine in a bottle. Cue Natasha Bedingfield :P. Well that's pocket but you get the idea. I am not sure if they've discontinued it ( they had another lovely one called Perfection) but DO go to M&S and check out the minis they have this season - they're really good for the price point (all under INR 700).

Staying power: 4/5 Lasts a good 5 hours. And the mini size makes it really convenient to carry around and re-spritz if you need to.

4. Victoria's Secret Fragrance Mist in Pure Seduction - INR 675-775 (Approx dollar conversion) or INR 700 - 1000 (Flipkart/Jabong)

I sent one of my close friends to VS in Singapore last year to pick one up for me and he came back with two (aw, bless him). I think you can judge the strength of your friendship with a guy if he's willing to avert his eyes (or not) and brave the raw sexy that is a Victoria's Secret store and come back with a body mist for you.
I LOVE THIS SCENT. I CANNOT TELL YOU HOW MUCH. As you can see, I'e used it a lot. I thought I would never love anything more than the Strawberries and Champagne one but god this is a close second. It smells like fresh berries in a bottle. I used to wear this all of last year in college and a couple of my classmates knew I was in the room purely by the scent. If you have someone in a VS retailing nation - please get this one. Or Strawberries and Champagne.

You can buy this one here (125ml) (it's on sale!) and the full size here (250ml).

You can get more of them here: http://www.flipkart.com/search?q=victorias+secret&as=off&as-show=off&otracker=start


Staying power : 4.5/5 It does vary though, I've had people who've said body mists do not last on them at all. But I tend to have it last the whole day. Tip - spray it on your skin more than your clothes. I find that it doesn't cling to fabric.

5. Bath and Body Works Fine Fragrance Mist in Sky - INR 840 (Approx dollar conversion) or INR 825 - INR 1300 (Flipkart/Jabong)  I was fortunate enough to get it on sale for, wait for it, the equivalent of INR 180.

Bath and Body are an another company that do great mists. I love this one which is basically violet and lily. Super fresh and summery. It smells like a perfume. The staying power I feel is a bit longer than the VS ones, and they tend to stick to clothes a lot more.

You can get them online (for less than 1k!) : http://www.flipkart.com/all/bath-body-works~brand/pr?sid=all 


Staying Power : 5/5 Again, same as the VS one. Varies. But if you're in India you obviously can't test but for the price you really can't go wrong. I recommend them :)

Well that wraps this up.
I do know that Westside, Fab India and a couple of other smaller brands also do body mists but I haven't really tried them out to know the staying power but I definitely will soon. If any of you have found alternatives, please comment and tell me where you get them from, cause I'd love to try them :)

Have a nice weekend :D