Delina EDP

This works. I've worn Delina to six different occasions over the past month and gotten unsolicited compliments every single time. The litchi-rose combination should be basic but somehow isn't — it projects about 4 feet for the first three hours, then settles into this sophisticated floral that still registers as intentional after 9 hours on skin. My yia-yia would call this 'a rose for smart girls.'

Let me be clear: this isn't groundbreaking perfumery. But it's efficient seduction in a bottle. I tested it during a 78-degree day in the city and it stayed balanced — sweet enough to be memorable, complex enough to keep people guessing. The vanilla and cashmeran in the base prevent it from going full candy shop, which is where most rose-fruit combinations crash and burn.

The price stings at $185 for 75ml, but the performance justifies it. I use two sprays maximum and still get asked 'what are you wearing?' I was in a client meeting last week where... actually, never mind. Point is, this delivers on its luxury positioning. Is it everywhere now? Yes. Do I care when it works this well? Not really.

Look, I'm going to tell you something that might sound like advertising copy but genuinely isn't: this is the fragrance that made me understand why women get territorial about their scents. My mate's girlfriend wore this to a wedding last summer and I watched three separate people ask her what she was wearing. Three. At a wedding where everyone's supposed to be looking at the bride, not following some rose-litchi cloud around the reception like we're all moths.

The brief here is clearly 'sophisticated princess energy' and...it actually lands? That Turkish rose isn't your nan's garden centre situation — it's got this litchi sweetness that stops it being stuffy, plus enough vanilla to make it properly addictive. I've caught whiffs of this in lifts, on the tube, walking past women in Canary Wharf, and it projects for hours without turning into one of those 'everyone knows you're coming' situations. Nine hours of performance, which frankly puts most men's fragrances to shame.

The only issue (and I cannot stress this enough) is that it's everywhere now. It's like the fragrance equivalent of everyone having the same haircut — brilliant execution, zero points for originality. Plus at £180 for 75ml, you're paying luxury prices for what's essentially become the new Flowerbomb. But if you want guaranteed compliments and don't mind smelling like the best-dressed woman in every room...honestly, worse problems to have.