Every Marc Jacobs daisy perfume ranked by a beauty expert

The bestselling range extended to include ts latest ‘wild’ edition earlier this year

Lucy Smith
Beauty writer
Thursday 03 October 2024 11:01 BST
The scent collection now has more than 10 iterations
The scent collection now has more than 10 iterations (The Independent)
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Marc Jacobs daisy first launched back in 2007, but since then the single scent has expanded its horizons with a range of sweeter and muskier iterations. So much so, that now in 2024, the daisy collection extends beyond a whopping 10 variations.

From the first addition to the range – daisy eau so fresh (£62.40, Lookfantastic.com) in 2011 – to the latest that launched this summer, – daisy wild (£68, Lookfantastic.com) – each scent stays true to its floral namesake, presenting spritzers with notes of everything from jasmine to rosebud and, of course, daisy tree petals.

Naturally, if you’re on the hunt for a new fragrance, it can be overwhelming knowing where to start, especially with ambiguous terms like ‘whimsical’ and ‘complex’ floating around. Here at IndyBest, we’re on-hand to get to the crux of each fragrance, breaking down the notes in a manner that will translate through your device screen. So sit back and scroll on for our honest, unfiltered reviews.

How we tested

We tested six of the Marc Jacobs daisy scents

Ranking the daisy fragrances based off both our initial reactions and those after a full day’s wear on the skin, we paid attention to the written scent notes versus our takeaways; which aromas were most potent; which perfumes did or didn’t have good staying-power; and any changes to the scent when applied on skin. Keep reading to see how we got on.

Marc Jacobs daisy eau so fresh

marc jacobs daisy perfumes review daisy eau so fresh indybest
  • Best: Overall
  • Size: 125ml
  • Top notes: Grapefruit, raspberry, green leaves and pear
  • Heart/middle notes: violet, rose, apple blossom, lychee and jasmine
  • Base notes: Musk, plum and cedarwood
  • Our scent takeaway: Soapy, sugary florals
  • Why we love it
    • Doesn’t have an overly sweet element that would give it an age limit
    • Has day-to-night versatility
    • More atypical than daisy original’s all-round floral feel

Sweeter than the original daisy aroma but with the same soapy, fresh laundry undercurrent, daisy eau so fresh is very much what it says on the tin: a lighter and more airy edition of its OG predecessor.

What does that mean? To describe the scent anecdotally, eau so fresh is the crisp and sunny winter morning to daisy’s midday sun.

Its sweetness affords it evening wear versatility and, if you prefer a heavier night-time scent, it would layer well with Mugler alien (£104, Lookfantastic.com).

We were impressed with its longevity on the skin, not to mention the fact that it dries down to a more luxury-smelling scent (in the sense that it’s harder to desribe and not merely ‘rose’ or ‘vanilla’) with the younger raspberry notes dissipating as the day goes on.

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Marc Jacobs daisy

marc jacobs daisy perfumes review daisy eau de toilette indybest
  • Best: For versatility
  • Size: 50ml
  • Top notes: Berries
  • Heart/middle notes: Violet and jasmine
  • Base notes: Sandalwood
  • Our scent takeaway: Soapy, citrusy florals
  • Why we love it
    • Versatile in terms of wearing for day, night, summer, winter etc.
    • Potent and lasts on skin for a good number of hours (maybe three-four)

It’s estimated that daisy generates more than £200 million in revenue each year and we really can see how. If florals are your bag then daisy is the perfect way to emanate springtime freshness without being pidgeonholed to the March-June months.

The scent is clean, warm and slightly zesty, but holds a deeper sweetness, too, to take you from day to night.

Again, like eau so fresh, it has good staying power and, like all the daisy perfumes, seems to lose its berry top notes as the day progresses. This, we might add, is not a disservice to the scent as we feel it allows for more age universality.

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Marc Jacobs daisy eau so intense

marc jacobs daisy perfumes review daisy eau so intense indybest
  • Best: For over 40s
  • Size: 50ml
  • Top notes: Strawberry and pear
  • Heart/middle notes: Honey and rosebud
  • Base notes: Vanilla and moss
  • Our scent takeaway: Heady honey rose, much like the heart notes
  • Why we love it
    • Dries down less intensely sweet than upon first spritz
    • Earthiness of moss eeks out as it sits on skin for a more wearable finish
  • Take note
    • The strawberry and pear top notes are cheaper smelling, but they do fade

Amping up the sandalwood, daisy eau so intense is essentially a warmer iteration of the well-loved Marc Jacobs fragrance.

It’s also sweeter, with honey and vanilla, though we’d say the honey is the leading scent in this instance. Strawberry and pear are the initial bursts on the nose upon spritzing; however these do fade away to leave a less sweet aroma that’s more suited to an older profile.

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It’s certainly rose orientated, though not the kind you’d associate with your grandma. On the contrary, here the floral whiff affords the scent a more five-star hotel quality.

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Marc Jacobs daisy love

marc jacobs daisy perfumes review daisy love eau de toilette indybest
  • Best: Evening perfume
  • Size: 50ml
  • Top notes: Cloudberries (similar to blackberries)
  • Heart/middle notes: Daisy petals
  • Base notes: Cashmere and driftwood
  • Our scent takeaway: Floral vanilla
  • Why we love it
    • Sweetness of top notes dissipates with skin contact
    • A subtle whiff of orange makes it perfect for the winter months
  • Take note
    • More of an evening-specific scent
    • We didn’t detect the warmth from the driftwood

Slightly similar to Sol de Janeiro’s latest 76 fragrance but with the elevated air of an eau de toilette versus a perfume mist, daisy love keeps the rosey aroma of eau so intense but brings in the clean, powder freshness of daisy and eau so fresh.

Love feels an appropriate title for this scent, with its sweet yet slightly seductive nose. The latter feeling can be credited to the cashmere, which we feel adds a vanilla-y gourmand.

Ultimately, it takes bits and bobs of each daisy iteration, melding them together to create a final product that feels like Marc Jacobs’ answer to daisy at night.

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Marc Jacobs daisy wild

marc jacobs daisy wild deal Indybest
  • Best: For under 20s
  • Size: 50ml
  • Top notes: Banana blossom
  • Heart/middle notes: Jasmine and macadamia
  • Base notes: Sandalwood and vetiver root
  • Our scent takeaway: Sugary hard candies
  • Why we love it
    • Scent lasts on skin well
    • Layers with smoky/musky older fragrances well
  • Take note
    • Not very age universal, we’d say this is a young scent for teens

The latest addition to daisy’s repertoire, daisy wild is a sweet and youthful fragrance.

While you might think of the term ‘wild’ as something more earthy and botanical, Marc Jacobs’s approach to ‘wild’ is all flowers and springtime meadows.

A top gift for teenagers, wild is like walking into a sweet shop and, specifically, reminds us of foam bananas. It’s an excellent first foray into perfumes and the bottle – complete with flowery green stems protruding into the top – is young adult-approved.

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Marc Jacobs daisy ever so fresh

marc jacobs daisy perfumes review daisy ever so fresh indybest
  • Best: Sweet scent
  • Size: 30ml
  • Top notes: Mandarin, mango and pineapple
  • Heart/middle notes: Rose and orange blossom
  • Base notes: Cashmere wood
  • Our scent takeaway: Peach chewy sweets
  • Why we love it
    • A good party scent
  • Take note
    • Not very fresh
    • Mango is a tad overpowering, though this does settle

Last but not least, daisy’s ever so fresh is the perfume embodiment of the orange and red sour peach-flavoured fizzy foam sweets.

Much like wild, it feels youthful and is the sort of sweet burst you might want to accompany you to a party.

It’s potent and an instant scent uplift, and while we feel it’s too overpowering for all-day wear, it has its place in the fragrance space as a layered evening top up. In fact, we think it would pair nicely with YSL black opium (£53.60, Lookfantastic.com).

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The verdict: Marc Jacobs daisy perfumes

While the original daisy is a timeless five-star scent, the eau so fresh iteration pipped it to the post with a touch more versatility of wear and also value for money. At the time of writing eau so fresh’s 125ml quantity is £1-£2 cheaper than daisy original’s 100ml, essentially giving shoppers 25ml extra of the same strength eau de toilette for free – now that’s girl math. For us, daisy’s wild and ever so fresh editions were a tad on the younger side for our late twenty-something tester, though that’s not to say we can’t appreciate their worth in the fragrance space.

Ultimately, your timeless picks boil down to daisy, eau so fresh and eau so intense, with daisy love pulling up the rear as an excellent evening edition.

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