The Baby Bat's Guide to the Best Perfumes for Goths

There’s magic in perfume. It’s effervescent and fleeting, but it leaves a lasting impression. Like magical practice, it uses elements of nature blended in just the right way to evoke the desired effect. A great fragrance casts a spell.

If you’re new to the world of perfume or goth culture (or both!), we’re here to help you find your ultimate magic potion.

Dark Fragrance Notes

A good gothic perfume features deep, dark, spicy, and smoky fragrance notes. As with clothes and makeup, there are no hard and fast rules for what is “goth”—you’ll know it when you smell it. If a scent reminds you of mossy graveyards, candlelit altars, or mysterious ghostly maidens, you’ve found a keeper!

Notes to look for include: incense, woods, patchouli, clove, tobacco, amber, resin, musk, rose, jasmine, leather, moss, lavender, gardenia, vetiver, oud, smoke, myrrh, tea, and spices.

Brown glass dropper bottle with pink roses on a white background

Budget-friendly Perfumes (Under $25)

Auric Blends Egyptian Goddess

Musk and powdery florals are the most prominent notes in this popular, warm fragrance oil for the body. It stays close to the skin all day for a subtle hint of scent. A hug in a bottle.

To explore a dizzying array of other excellent, inexpensive perfumes, check out OilPerfumery.

Burke & Hare Devil's Night

This fragrance oil features notes of clove, leather, and woody cedar. A hint of sweetness gives this gothic fragrance a surprising touch of warmth, making it one of the best perfume oils for expressing your inner darkness.

Vampfangs No. 1 – Immortal

The first in a dark and mystical line that includes twenty fragrances, Immortal is a bewitching blend of patchouli, myrrh, and rose. With so many appealing scents in this Salem, Massachusetts brand’s collection, you won’t be able to stop at just one.

Lunar Light Co. Autumn in the Graveyard

As far as we’re concerned, October can never come fast enough. Now you can get that crisp fall feeling all year round with Autumn in the Graveyard, a pleasing, vegan-friendly blend of cloves, smoke, pine needles, and autumn leaves. This natural fragrance oil is also available as a nourishing hair potion.

Perfume bottle with dried flowers on a textured surface

Mid-range Perfumes ($25-$50)

Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab Snake Oil

This nuanced perfume oil is the signature scent of artisan perfumer Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab. A dark, sensual fragrance at heart, it balances sugared vanilla with rich patchouli, vegetal musk, and spice for a heady concoction that’s as addictive as any roadside patent medicine. (Their eclectic collection of candles, scent lockets, jewelry, and apparel is well worth a browse as well.)

Amorphous Perfume Cathedral Noir

This dark, complex fragrance oil opens with smoky intensity that fades to reveal juniper and cedar incense, candle wax, lilies, and myrrh resin. It evokes the smoke-stained walls of a gothic cathedral, looming with shadow and mystery.

For those looking for a dark, hypnotic women’s fragrance oil, try Joan of Arc, a smoky, metallic leather scent reminiscent of the battlefield. Moss and cedar mingle with scents of the deep forest for an empowering aura.

Sea Witch Botanicals Quoth the Raven Solid Perfume

This invigorating blend of citrus, clove, and spicy cinnamon will transport you to Poe’s library. When will you want to leave? Nevermore!

For another solid perfume in a seductive floral, give Lush LUST a try. It’s got enchanting jasmine, sandalwood, and rose all tied up with a soft ribbon of vanilla.

Enfleurage Rose Attar Roll On

This rose fragrance oil is an intoxicating blend of Moroccan rose, Damask rose and sandalwood in a base of pure jojoba oil. The rose essence is spicy and rich with all the delicious complexity of a fresh-cut flower. Attar is a variety of highly concentrated, long-lasting perfume for women and men popular in India and the Middle East. With all-natural extracts, this rose attar lets one of the best perfume scents in the repertoire take center stage.

If a delectable amber fragrance oil is what you’re looking for, try Attar Bazaar Persian Amber.

Woman holding a perfume bottle in a field

Luxury Perfumes ($50+)

Serge Lutens De Profundis

This perfume whose Latin name means “from the depths” was inspired by Oscar Wilde’s prison writings—it doesn’t get much more goth than that. Radiant and mysterious, this fragrance is dominated by a soft, funereal note of fresh-cut flowers evoking the famous green carnation Wilde used to wear on his lapel. Spicy green florals give way to sweet incense for a complex drama of scent.

For another elegant perfume that combines a ravishing floral with smoky incense, sample Terry de Gunzburg Rose Infernale. Here, dark, opulent rose mixes with earthy vetiver and smoke for a scent that can easily be worn by men and women.

YSL Black Opium

Black Opium is velvety and seductive—there’s nothing shy or tentative about this sexy perfume for women. The sparkling top notes of pink pepper, carnation, and orange blossom fade into luscious jasmine, vanilla, and coffee. Earthy patchouli dominates this shadowy composition, making it one of the best perfumes with patchouli on the market. Intense and vibrant in its darkness, this fragrance is an experience that won’t soon be forgotten.

For another magnetic scent crafted around patchouli, consider Kenzo Jungle L’Elephant. This fragrance weaves cumin, clove, ylang ylang, and mandarin for a mouthwatering bite of spice.

Amorphous Perfume Witch House

This intoxicating brew will sweep you away like a night flight of sorceresses. Earthy and sweet with a ghost of spice, Witch House features notes of burning sage, resinous black patchouli, plum wine, and honey, revealing a heart of stone fruit as it unfolds. A dark perfume that is as tempting as the door to a witch’s cabin.

For a masculine spin on the smoky woods and sweet spice notes in this fragrance, try Viktor & Rolf Spicebomb, considered to be one of the best perfumes for men.

Serge Lutens 5 O’Clock au Gigembre

This unisex fragrance by Serge Lutens is full of evocative, autumnal notes—Earl Gray tea, ginger, warm spices. It’s like being curled up in a Victorian library researching the occult. Its exotic amber heart reveals itself as the composition unfolds, and an undercurrent of woody patchouli balances the sweeter elements for a scent that is at once nostalgic, comforting, and deliciously dark.

For an equally cozy, multilayered perfume with notes of silky iris, tea, sandalwood, and dark leather, try Neela Vermeire Creations Niral.

Goth Persona Recommends: Samples and Decants

Luxury perfume doesn’t have to break your budget! We recommend purchasing samples or decants (small travel size bottles decanted from a regular bottle) from a site like The Perfumed Court or Scent Split before you buy a full-size bottle of an expensive fragrance. Decants cost around $15-$30, allowing you to decide on the best perfume for you. In some cases, a 5 mL decant is the perfect size for a scent you enjoy but don’t plan on wearing every day.

These are just a few examples from the universe of dark, romantic perfumes to add to your gothic wardrobe. Whether you’re looking for a signature scent or an array of options, this guide should get you on your way to living deliciously.