Worldwide, the song performed weakly in official charts, peaking at number 76 in the United States and within the top 70 in Australia, Canada and Ireland.

[4] He continued to praise Spears' vocals, commenting that "she sings it beautifully and it has a real sincerity to it.

And it's outstanding -- I think people are not only gonna be surprised but also see another side of Britney.

[9] "Perfume" is an '80s-influenced synthpop power ballad, which Spears described as "incredibly special to me because it hits close to home, and I think the story is relatable to everyone.

"[12][13][14] Produced by will.i.am, Chris Braide, and Keith Harris, the instrumentation infuses an orchestral piano, soaring strings and bubbling synthesizers.

[16] Melodically, "Perfume" is written in the key of E♭ major, and is set in the common time with a moderately slow tempo of 80 beats per minute.

"[12] Spears told the Associated Press the song was about her split with Jason Trawick in January 2013, and commented, "I think it will make girls not feel alone in this situation.

[20] Marc Hogan of Spin gave a generally positive review of "Perfume", complimenting Spears for conveying "the type of emotional vulnerability" that is not evident on most of her hit singles.

[18] Robbie Daw of Idolator praised the song's lyrical content, however stated it "wouldn't exactly reshape Top 40 radio".

[20] Jason Lipshutz of Billboard thought the song allowed Spears to momentarily discard the confident exterior of 'Work Bitch' and express vulnerability over 'paranoid' feelings about her romantic interest,"[20] while Katie Atkinson of Entertainment Weekly deemed the song "in the vein" of the singer's early ballads "Don't Let Me Be the Last to Know" (2000) and "Everytime" (2003).

[20] Joe Wilde of Contactmusic felt "Perfume" was similar to "Lucky" (2000), and deemed it "a much more delicate release" when compared to "Work Bitch".

[21] Los Angeles Times journalist Mikael Wood noted that "Spears goes unexpectedly soft" on the song, adding that "she's pleading, not commanding.

[27] On November 16, 2013, the song stayed for one week at number 41 on the Belgian Wallonia Singles Chart.

[29] "Perfume" experienced success on the Spanish Singles Chart, peaking at number 13 during the week of November 10, 2013.

Spears stated that she was "so stoked" to be working with him again, and that they had "a lot of success together & there is nobody I trust more with this super personal song".

[36] It begins with several scenes of Spears and her lover (played by Alexander Kjellevik) out of a motel and then on its roof drinking beer, inside a van, walking on the street, bathing in a pool, resting on a bed in her bra and panties and some hugs in the desert sunset.

After the first part, Spears is wearing lingerie inside a bathroom, putting on her Fantasy perfume and looking at the mirror, when an iPhone 5S sounds and displays Cindy's name.

Spears then watches from a truck as her lover joins Cindy on a gas station in the desert.

"[36] Billboard's Chris Payne praised the director for staying true to the lyrical content, weaving a tale of jealousy and an ill-fated engagement ring along with the "contemplative" song.

He finished the review saying "It's a video that captures the highs of a passionate relationship, but also plenty of the lows, which define it in the end.".

[38] On December 5, Kahn tweeted that the final version of the video is "extremely different" from the original edit, adding: "Don't get me wrong.

[39] Following this, a Spears fan tweeted a link to a Petition urging RCA to release the director's cut; the petion's goal is to reach 1,000 signatures.

[44] The song was performed for the first time during Spears' Las Vegas residency concert Britney: Piece of Me, which began on December 27, 2013.

[45] MTV's Sophie Schillaci elaborated that Spears offered a "heartfelt" rendition for the song, but pointed out that without dancing or pyrotechnics to distract, it was clear the sound was not different from the original version on the album.

[47] Following her break-up with her boyfriend David Lucado later that month, Spears temporarily removed the song from the setlist for a few shows in favor of "Alien".