In 2008 the Fragrance Foundation gave Marc Jacobs' Daisy two FiFi Awards, one for the scent and one for the bottle. That second award tells you a lot. Daisy launched in 2007 with a cap of white daisies, and it looked nothing like the serious glass bottles around it. It was composed by Alberto Morillas, the Firmenich perfumer whose earlier work includes CK One, and he has composed every Daisy formula since.

I think that is why Daisy has lasted. It never tried to be grown-up. It smells of strawberry, violet leaf and jasmine over soft musk and woods, which is to say it smells like a nice day, and there is something disarming about a perfume that does not want to be mysterious.

Marc Jacobs perfume today mostly comes down to two families. Daisy is the bottle with flowers on the cap, and it stays bright and daytime in all its versions. Perfect is the one with the cluster of charms on top, and it is warmer and a little louder, built on daffodil, almond milk and cashmeran.

Here is a test I like: spray one on each wrist, then go about your afternoon. Do not decide at the counter. Whichever wrist you keep lifting to your nose by dinner is your answer.

The first grid is the Daisy family. The second is Perfect, including two sets that make it easy to try before you settle on a full bottle.

Every Daisy shares the same bones, a bright fruity top and a soft floral heart, so the differences are about mood rather than character. Think of them as the same friend in different outfits, and almost all of them are daytime scents, which is what makes Daisy such an easy first perfume.

The original Eau de Toilette is still the one to smell first: strawberry and violet leaf, jasmine and other white florals in the middle, a warm sandalwood finish. Eau So Fresh is the sunnier, pinker one, with raspberry, wild rose and plum. Daisy Dream is the lightest and airiest, blackberry and lychee over white woods, and it is the one I would wear on a hot day. Daisy Love is cozier, with cloudberry and cashmere musk settling into driftwood.

Then the Eau de Parfums, which are richer. Ever So Fresh brings mango and rose water over cashmere woods and is made to last. Eau So Intense is the sweetest, strawberry and honey with a green edge of moss. Daisy Wild is the surprise: it is built around banana blossom, a note the brand says had never been used in prestige perfumery, with jasmine and vetiver. The Wild Intense version adds amber and sandalwood, and it is the one I would choose for autumn evenings.

Here is a tip for a family like this: smell them in pairs, never all eight at once. Your nose gives up after three or four, and everything starts to smell like berries.

What I would skip: layering two Daisys. They are close enough that you get a muddier version of both.

Perfect is Daisy's older, more confident sister. Where Daisy is fruit and petals, Perfect is built on a strange and lovely combination: tart rhubarb and daffodil, softened with almond milk and finished with cedarwood and cashmeran. It smells a little like a bakery next to a flower stall.

The Eau de Parfum is the original and the one to try first, daffodil over a soft, skin-close musk. The Eau de Toilette is the lighter daytime version, with pink peppercorn and cedarwood, good for an office. Perfect Intense adds night-blooming jasmine and roasted almond over sandalwood and is richer and more textured. Then the two deep ones: Elixir warms the rhubarb with golden amber woods and vanilla bean, and Absolute is caramelized fig, jasmine absolu and amber, the one I would wear with a black coat in December.

Just Perfect is the newest take and the sweetest. Strawberry, passion fruit and raspberry up top, caramel and jasmine in the middle, vanilla and an amber sorbet accord at the base. If Daisy Eau So Intense is your favorite, start here.

The two sets are the practical way in. The three-piece set pairs a large bottle of the Eau de Parfum with a body lotion and a pen spray, and its own instructions say to smooth on the lotion first and spray over it. The mini duo is a full size plus a travel size, so one can live in your bag.

What I would skip: Elixir or Absolute on a hot summer afternoon. Save the deep ones for cold weather and evenings.

I think the best Marc Jacobs perfume is the one that matches the hour, not the one with the prettiest bottle. Daisy is a daytime scent in every version, bright and easy and hard to get wrong. Perfect is for evenings, dinners and the colder half of the year.

If you only buy one, smell both on skin, not paper, and wait an hour. The top notes are what win you over at the counter, but the dry-down is what you actually live with. Whichever one still smells like you after lunch is the one.