There’s a particular romance in walking through Oxford’s cobblestone streets. Those wrapped in the echo of centuries of scholars who came before you. My Oxford Year, the Netflix adaptation of Julia Whelan’s novel, captures that energy with a bittersweet story of literature. There is the charm of fleeting love, and self-discovery. 

For many Gen Z readers and watchers, what sticks isn’t just the plot, but the aesthetic, the academic scarves. The beautifully annotated poetry, the sound of rain against centuries-old glass. It’s a whole mood, one that overlaps perfectly with the “book girl” aesthetic taking over TikTok, Pinterest, and #BookTok corners of the internet.

And if moodboards are about visuals, then perfume is about atmosphere. Scents are the invisible accessory that transforms a cardigan into a memory. A simple cup of tea turns into a story, or a night of studying into something cinematic. NovoGlow’s women’s collection offers fragrances that slip seamlessly into this Oxford-inspired, bookish aesthetic. Each bottle feels like a chapter, each spritz like a stanza.

The Allure of the Book-Girl Aesthetic

Before diving into scents, it’s worth pausing on what the “book-girl” aesthetic even is. For Gen Z, aesthetics aren’t just style, they're lifestyle micro-worlds. The book girl is soft but intellectual, whimsical yet grounded. She loves annotated novels, thrifted cardigans, coffee-stained lecture notes, and long walks where imagination is as important as reality.

In My Oxford Year, Ella embodies this aesthetic almost by accident. She’s a young woman balancing ambition and tenderness, trying to live inside poetry while also navigating the messiness of real life. For anyone who’s ever tucked a dried flower into the pages of a book, scribbled favorite lines in the margins, or romanticized studying at a café, this vibe feels familiar. Perfume completes that aesthetic because it transforms surroundings into memory: a novel might carry words, but a scent carries feeling.

Library Elegance: Paris For Her

A Soft Glow of Floral Sophistication

There’s a scene every book lover knows: a hushed library, where the air is equal parts old paper, polished wood, and anticipation. Imagine wearing a fragrance that doesn’t overpower the room but settles into it with grace. That’s Paris For Her (inspired by Chanel Coco Mademoiselle).

This perfume opens with sparkling citrus before unfolding into layers of jasmine and rose, finally grounding itself in warm patchouli and vetiver. It’s the kind of fragrance that feels timeless like quoting Virginia Woolf or pulling a cloth-bound book off a shelf that’s older than your grandmother.

For the book-girl aesthetic, Paris For Her is not just a scent; it’s an atmosphere of intellect and grace. It’s perfect for evenings of reading under candlelight or café study dates where you want to smell like someone who carries whole novels in her back pocket.

Sunlight on the River: Blue Sky

A Breath of Freedom and Whimsy

Oxford isn’t just its libraries; it’s also its riverbanks, where students take punts and the air is tinged with grass, water, and sunlight. Blue Sky (inspired by Dolce & Gabbana Light Blue) captures that part of the Oxford story.

Its notes are bright crisp apple, delicate jasmine, and bamboo against a backdrop of amber and cedar. The fragrance feels light, airy, and carefree. If Paris For Her belongs in the library, Blue Sky belongs outdoors on a breezy afternoon, reading in the sunlight with a notebook balanced on your knees.

Gen Z readers often split their days between heavy academic loads and a craving for fresh air. Blue Sky becomes that bridge it smells like you’ve stepped outside of your responsibilities and into a chapter that was meant for joy. In My Oxford Year, it’s the scent of punting on the Thames, laughing, and forgetting the weight of essays for a moment.

Café Conversations: Daicy Pour Femme

Whimsical Yet Grounded

Some of the most powerful moments in My Oxford Year happen in casual settings: conversations over tea, laughter in pubs, and the vulnerability of words shared when no one else is listening. For those moments, Daicy Pour Femme (inspired by Marc Jacobs Daisy) feels like the right fragrance.

It begins with playful wild berries and violets, then matures into velvety jasmine, finally settling into sandalwood. The scent is youthful but not childish, romantic without being overwhelming.

This fragrance aligns beautifully with the book-girl aesthetic because it balances whimsy and seriousness. It’s what you’d wear when jotting down ideas for your thesis in a café, secretly watching the stranger across from you, or rereading Jane Austen while the rain taps gently against the window. It’s fresh ink on paper, but with a ribbon tied around it.

Autumn Intensity: Valuable for Women

Warmth in the Season of Change

Oxford in autumn is arguably its most poetic: golden leaves scattered across cobblestones, the cool bite of air, and the feeling that everything is shifting inside and out. Valuable for Women captures this bittersweet transition.

With pink pepper, black currant, and gardenia layered over bourbon vanilla, guaiac wood, and cashmeran, it’s a scent that feels rich and enveloping. There’s sweetness, but also depth. Lightness, but also an undercurrent of melancholy.

For Gen Z readers, autumn often feels like the season of self-reflection, the time to start new books, new chapters, new beginnings. Valuable for Women is the fragrance of curling up in oversized sweaters, scribbling in your journal, and letting yourself feel the fullness of every moment. In My Oxford Year, it’s the scent of Ella walking under Oxford’s trees, holding love and loss in the same breath.

Resilience and Legacy: Verse Pink Crystal Intense

Strength with Velvet Undertones

My Oxford Year doesn’t shy away from heartbreak. The twist Jamie’s illness and the shadow it casts forces Ella into a confrontation with grief and resilience. If there’s a perfume that mirrors this quiet strength, it’s Verse Pink Crystal Intense.

Juicy yuzu and pomegranate open the fragrance with brightness, but it quickly deepens into peony, lotus, amber, and mahogany. The result is complex: hopeful yet grounded, luminous yet solemn.

This is the fragrance of legacy, the idea that even when chapters close, the story remains. For Gen Z readers who resonate with themes of mental health, resilience, and self-discovery, this perfume captures that balance of fragility and strength. It’s not about smelling pretty; it’s about smelling like someone who carries their story with grace.

Why Perfume Matters to the Book-Girl Aesthetic

Gen Z loves to curate identity through aesthetics, and perfume has become the secret weapon of that curation. It’s invisible but unforgettable, subtle but powerful. For the book girl, scent is as much part of her toolkit as her tote bag or annotated novels.

Perfume transforms studying into romance, everyday errands into cinematic moments, and heartbreak into something you can carry like poetry. In a world where Instagram and TikTok constantly seek the next aesthetic layer, fragrance is the finishing touch that turns a moodboard into a lifestyle. NovoGlow’s women’s collection stands out here: the scents are affordable yet luxe, inspired by high-end fragrances but crafted for everyday accessibility. For Gen Z students balancing budgets with style, that’s the sweet spot.

Living Your Own Oxford Year

The beauty of My Oxford Year lies in how it blends the ordinary and extraordinary essays and romance, ambition and heartbreak, prose and poetry. NovoGlow’s perfumes mirror that. They’re not just scents, but little stories you can wear, ways to turn your day into a narrative.

Paris For Her whispers of libraries, Blue Sky carries the breeze of outdoor afternoons, Daicy Pour Femme adds whimsy to your café rituals, Valuable for Women holds the warmth of autumn, and Verse Pink Crystal Intense keeps resilience close at hand.

For the Gen Z book girl, wearing these scents is like annotating life itself adding fragrance as a margin note to the stories you’re writing every day. Whether you’re curled up with a novel, stepping out for class, or living your own Oxford-inspired romance, NovoGlow perfumes let you carry a piece of story with you.

Romance Between the Pages

Perfume is memory. Perfume is a story. Perfume is the invisible ink that ties moments together. My Oxford Year may be a film, but its spirit the longing, the learning, the love can live on in the scents you choose.

Gen Z readers don’t just consume books; they live them. They build aesthetics around them, share their moods online, and turn pages into lifestyles. With NovoGlow perfumes, that bookish dream becomes multisensory. It’s not just what you read or what you wear, but how you smell.

So the next time you slip a ribbon into your favorite novel, pause. Imagine what perfume would linger on its pages years later. That’s the Oxford year you can carry, bottled in NovoGlow.