There is a Tang dynasty story about a consort, a fast horse and a basket of fruit. In the late Tang poet Du Mu's poem "Passing Huaqing Palace", a rider raises dust on the road, the consort smiles, and only she knows the lychees have arrived from the south. Historians dispute whether it really happened, and the poem is usually read as a criticism of the emperor. What survives is the picture: a whole court looking at dust, and one woman who knows exactly what is coming.

 

Lychee is the first thing in Very Good Girl, and I like that it has that much history behind it. Carolina Herrera launched the fragrance in 2021, after Good Girl, the midnight blue stiletto bottle that the brand says first stepped onto the scene in 2016. The Very Good Girl perfume is what the house calls an ambery fruity woody, with red currant and lychee at the top, rose in the heart, and vanilla bourbon and vetiver underneath. The brand describes it as the flirtiest Good Girl of them all, and the bottle is the same stiletto with a red-lacquered interior and a gold heel.

 

The trick is to treat the family as a ladder. Very Good Girl Eau de Parfum is the first rung. Very Good Girl Glam Eau de Parfum adds a sparkling cherry, and Very Good Girl Elixir with Cherry & Vanilla is the brand's most intense and daring version, with black cherry, bitter almond and cocoa. Good Girl Eau de Parfum is the original for anyone who wants to start at the source, Good Girl Blush and its Elixir with Rose & Patchouli lean pink, and Good Girl Jasmine Absolute brings jasmine forward. The Good Girl Body Lotion is the quiet extra, for wearing the scent without spraying it twice. The collector editions of Good Girl and Good Girl Blush and the Blush gift set are the same scents in giftable form, and the Good Girl Blush Body Mist is the light way to wear the pink side.

Fruit notes show their hand in the first ten minutes, which is why a blotter tells you less than a morning does. Spray the fruity perfume on a card or your wrist, leave the house, and smell it again at lunch. The drydown is where you find out whether you will finish the bottle.

 

Anyone who loves the lychee and red currant of Very Good Girl will find the same instinct running through this grid. Viktor&Rolf Flowerbomb Pretty Peony has peony and strawberry in the name, and it is the sweetest of the group. Kilian Paris Her Majesty is peach and rose, more grown up and a little regal. Ralph Lauren Romance with pink pepper and rose is the most wearable of the group for an office. INFLUXIOUS High Life sets blueberry against hibiscus, and Armani Beauty Power of You leads with passion fruit.

 

SKYLAR Pomegranate Princess, Borntostandout Indecent Cherry and KAYALI Eden Juicy Apple are the playful ones, the bottles I would gift to a friend who says she does not wear perfume and then steals yours. For the cherry crowd, KAYALI Lovefest Burning Cherry and PHLUR Cherry Stem sit closest to the Elixir, YSL Black Opium Over Red brings cherry and coffee, and Burberry Her Parfum is the cherry-led one.

 

A pairing I like: a fruity perfume on the wrists and something rosy on the neck, so the two meet when you turn your head.

 

What I would skip: a sweet fruity bottle in a packed, warm room. Those are the notes that get louder in the heat.

A red mouth is a decision you can see, so I pick the lipstick first and the perfume second. A perfume in the same mood should agree with it, not argue.

 

Charlotte Tilbury Hot Lips and K.I.S.S.I.N.G. are the classic red pair, and I would carry the second for the night. Hourglass Satin Creme Lipstick in Red 0 is the satin finish, and the Soft Matte from the same line is the idea without the shine. Juvia's Place The Reds Cherry Velvety Matte is the obvious partner for a cherry scent, with the name doing the work for me. Sephora Collection Cloud Blurred Matte and Prada Monochrome Soft Matte Blur both blur the edge for people who do not want a sharp line.

 

Sisley Paris Phyto-Rouge Velvet I save for an evening when you want the lipstick to feel like part of the outfit.

 

Wear a red lip with Very Good Girl Elixir, since the black cherry and the colour are close cousins, and a soft matte with the regular Eau de Parfum for something lighter.

 

The Hourglass Soft Matte and Prada Monochrome are the softer rosy options if red feels like too much.

 

What I would skip: a new red lipstick on the night of a big event without trying it in daylight first. Colours read very differently under restaurant lighting.

Body care goes on first, perfume last, and only one scented product in the middle. Too many fragrances and the perfume loses its shape.

 

Vanilla is the base of Very Good Girl, so vanilla body care is the natural match. PHLUR Vanilla Skin Body Oil is the simple one. CYKLAR's Vanilla Verve In-Shower Body Oil Balm with Ceramides and Sensorial Body Wash for Moisture Barrier make a matching pair for the shower, and Fenty Skin Vanilla Flowers Allover Body Mist is the top layer for quick days.

 

Layer it under the perfume: the vanilla body oil on damp skin, then one spray of Very Good Girl on the pulse points. The scent comes across as one long thought, not two.

 

What I would skip: a vanilla body oil, a vanilla mist and a vanilla perfume all in one outfit. Choose two and let the third go.

My advice is to begin with the original Very Good Girl, because it is the plain version of the idea, with lychee, rose and vanilla all visible. Glam is for the night out, Elixir is for the colder months, and the rest of the grid is for the days when you want the same mood in another shape.

 

Buy the Eau de Parfum, try it for a full day, and add a red lipstick when you feel brave. Yang Guifei had her lychees delivered by horse. You only have to walk to a counter. If you want to keep browsing, I also put together Sol de Janeiro Perfume and How To Shop Perfume By Scent Family Instead Of By Note.