How to Smell Good Without Perfume: Experts Share 8 Key Tips (2024)

We love the instant energy boost that comes from a good fragrance, but sometimes that isn't the only thing you want on your mission of smelling great. Whether you have a headache, don't want to deal with extra products, or want to ensure your body is a fresh base for whatever you're putting on, learning how to enhance your natural scent without perfume is a little less straightforward, but it's absolutely worth it. From your diet to your shower routine, a handful ofdaily habits have a direct impact on your natural musk, and refining them can improve your scent without a single spritz. Keep reading for eight tips on how to always smell your best, straight from the fragrance experts.

Use Naturally Scented Skincare Products

While this is technically still using fragrance, integrating naturally scented products into your skincare and shower routine—think body washes, oils, and moisturizers—is a straightforward way to smell good without perfume. "Using body polish or scrubs in the shower serves a dual purpose of smelling good and hydrating your skin," says entrepreneur and DefineMe fragrance brand founder Jennifer McKay-Newton. If you've ever had someone ask what scent you use but realized you didn't put anything on that day, it was probably thanks to one of the other products in your routine.

Try Essential Oils

While this also may be considered a cheat, essential oils are another solution to smelling good without using perfume. "Playing around with safe dilutions of your favorite essential oils using a smart carrier oil as a base is a great way to support your physiological health, heighten your aroma game, and have a little fun," says certified aromatherapist and Shocks of Love founder Juan Felipe. "Lavender, geranium, and cedarwood are popular and accessible oils with strong health benefits and aromatic profiles. Dilute them with carrier oils such as almond, sesame, or jojoba oils—the latter of which is particularly good for all skin types, and naturally approximates your body's own sebum production—and you can easily, quickly, and more affordably make your own scents and massage oils."

Felipe also notes the range of great hydrosols or floral waters available on the market. "A nice spritz of rose water or cucumber mist is both refreshing and a welcome and functional fragrance to consider," he says. Here's a tip: You can also use these essential oils in your hair to make your strands smell fresh between wash days.

Remember to Wear Deodorant

There's a reason deodorant is a key product in almost everyone's daily routine—it contains ingredients proven to combat body odor (and even block sweat, in the case of antiperspirants), helping you to smell fresh whether you're wearing any fragrance or not. Whether you feel best with clinical strength or prefer one of the growing amount of natural options on the market, whatever works best for you is sure to help your natural scent.

Consider Adjusting Your Diet

According to Felipe, the foods we eat are highly correlated with the way we smell. "The cleaner, more natural, and sustainably harvested foods we consume, the less our guts have to work [to digest it all], and the more pleasant our natural scent becomes," he claims. But that doesn't mean you have to go on a strict, raw vegan diet: Felipe says that little changes, such as cutting down on processed foods and staying hydrated, will make a difference in your body's natural scent.

Matthew Milèo, a chemist, former Chanel in-house fragrance expert, and the founder of skincare brand Milèo New York, recommends crafting a green juice for a fresh start to your day. "Every morning I blend a mix [of] greens, which always include parsley and cilantro," he says. "Add lemon, lime, mint, chia seed, and any fruits to taste, and bam, your smelling-good smoothie is ready."

Try Showering at Night

If you tend to shower during the day, you may want to listen to Milèo's advice and save your shower sessions for the evenings so the day's sweat and grime doesn't have time to sit overnight. "Every night, I shower before bed so my sheets stay clean, and I always wake up refreshed and smelling good," he says.

Avoid Antibacterial Products

While an antibacterial body wash or cleanser seems like a quick fix to nip some of the causes of body odor in the bud, the truth is they can mess with your microbiome and kill the good bacteria as well, which can sometimes result in your natural scent getting worse. Instead, choose gentle products that cleanse your body without stripping it, as this will allow your skin to reach a point of balance.

Add Some Fragrance to Your Sheets

Showering at night and keeping your sheets clean goes a long way in helping you to smell good, but you can also enhance this by adding a touch of natural scent. "Before I change my sheets for the week, I spray floral waters like rose geranium, neroli, and rockrose, which always smell divine, to my bedding," Milèo says. "I also put a few drops of essential oils into the dryer while my sheets are drying.I put the drops right on the wool dryer balls so it distributes the oils evenly."

While any spray or essential oil will work to enhance the scent of your sleep space, pillow sprays make for an easy ritual while also potentially having other bedtime benefits. Notes like lavender, vetiver, and chamomile may help with relaxation as you drift off, but they'll also keep your sheets (and by extension, you) smelling great throughout the night.

Exercise More Frequently

While sweating more may sound counterintuitive to smelling good without perfume, Felipe says that exercising regularly is actually one of the most important ways to improve your body's natural musk. "The more you sweat out and irrigate your body's natural channels, the cleaner your baseline body odor will run," he explains. "Think of it as a detox that not only supports your stamina, but also your scent."