Fragrance is a go-to gift at Christmas but it can be risky. Choosing the perfect scent for someone isn’t easy and you could end up wasting your time and money if you get it wrong.

And this year, it’s been made even more difficult by COVID-19 restrictions, closing non-essential shops and banning perfume sampling.

But don’t fret. To help you be scent-savvy this festive gifting season, the fragrance experts at Lifestyle Packaging have been busy analysing the designer perfumes residents in over 120 UK towns and cities have been Googling this year to find the nation’s favourites.

If you’re buying a scent for a special woman in your life and she lives in Manchester, data shows her favourite perfume is likely to be YSL Libre. This scent is also the most-loved nationwide, with over half of all locations analysed googling YSL Libre more than any other.

Libre, meaning “free” in French, was only released by YSL in 2019, but it’s fast become a scent staple with its sweet yet sultry notes. Surprisingly, Libre has overtaken Chanel No.5 as UK women’s favourite perfume with 9,929 online searches every month.

The iconic Chanel No.5 is also a firm favourite among women in Manchester, coming in second place. A long reigning favourite among women worldwide, Chanel No.5 is very much a timeless, legendary fragrance, created by Coco Chanel herself in the 1920s.

Chanel No.5 is also the third most searched-for female fragrance in the UK, with an average monthly search volume of 7,610. But with a price tag of over £100 for 100ml, this Eau de Parfum is one of the most expensive on the shelves.

Gucci Bamboo and Marc Jacobs Decadence are joint third most-loved female fragrances in Manchester.

Gucci Bamboo is a woody floral fragrance with an eye-catching art-deco style glass bottle that nods to the fashion house’s signature design. With over 80 fragrances under its name, it’s no surprise to see a Gucci scent topping the list. In contrast, Marc Jacobs Decadence is an oriental scent, perfect for evenings and winter.

In the men’s perfume category, the woody earthy scent of Dior Sauvage is the undisputed favourite among men in Manchester and across the country – ranking first in all 121 UK towns and cities studied and receiving nearly 60,000 Googles every month.

Creed Aventus is Manchester’s second most-loved male designer fragrance and nationwide, with 35,900 online searches per month. The scent was created in 2010 by House of Creed to mark its 250th Anniversary. And it has a price tag to match, costing £280 for a 100ml bottle.

Ralph Lauren Polo is another firm favourite among Manchester men and has a cheaper price point.

In total, people in the UK perform on average more than 260,000 Google searches for the 20 most popular perfumes every month.