There isn’t a day on this earth that I don’t want to smell like an expensive career girl in New York City. I want to smell so good that when I waft by someone, coat draped delicately over my shoulders, tote bag perched artfully in the crook of my arm, passersby will gasp at how amazing I smell and follow me as I trot along and tap me on the shoulder and say ‘OMG what are you wearing?’ and I smile knowingly before whispering it into their ear and blowing them an air kiss as I walk on. In reality, the only time anyone taps me on the shoulder nowadays is to move out of their way at their train stop. But, there have been a few times when my perfume has caught people’s attention, namely when I’m in the office or at dinner and on the rare occasion, someone I don’t know will ask me what I’m wearing to my delight, and my favourite times this happens is when I’m wearing a high street fragrance.
I have converted so many of my family to M&S’s incredible scents and Zara’s scents are some of the best on the high street, plus they are so affordable. The brand’s Red Temptation scents are the brand’s bestsellers, with the original being coined an alternative to Maison Francis Kurkdijan’s beloved Baccarat Rouge 540. But personally, my favourite and the scent that I have had the most compliments on from the range is Energetically New York.
Maybe it’s because it allows me to live the aforementioned fantasy of NYC but the scent just makes me smell and feel cooler. When I have worn it, I’ve had friends and colleagues think I’m wearing cult classic Le Labo Santal 33. It has the same warm, woodiness to it but the difference is that Energetically New York has the twist of the floral freshness of Jasmine that sits at the heart of the scent but then as it dries down the rich, warm, woodiness lives on.
Being an eau de parfum, the scent clings on for a while (the best part of a working day) so you get a decent wear time for a scent that costs just £17.99. It’s not a shouty scent either so I do like to layer it with other scents to make it a bit bespoke and a bit more expressive but whether you lean into the floral side or the woody side the outcome is super sophisticated.
Keeks Reid is the Beauty Director at Cosmopolitan UK. While she loves all things beauty, Keeks is a hair fanatic through and through. She started her career in beauty journalism in 2013 as editorial assistant at Blackhair and Hair magazines working her way to Acting Editor of Blackhair magazine at 23 years old. She spent much of her career working in trade hairdressing media at Hairdressers Journal, Salon International and the British Hairdressing Awards. Which is why she is a regular contributor to Cosmo's Curl Up franchise. Now, alongside her Cosmo work, she presents, creates content on social media and works with a range of beauty companies; from magazines and websites to beauty brands and salons.
