Не то чтобы мне были нужны духи каждый день, но иногда мне всё же хочется зайти в салон после работы.

It is a very common Russian pattern meaning something like it’s not really that ... but ... or not that ..., but ....

It does not completely reject the first idea. Instead, it softens it and says that the real point is in the second clause.

So here the speaker means:

It’s not as if I need perfume every day, but sometimes I still feel like dropping by the salon after work.

Because in this sentence не то чтобы works as a fixed expression, almost like one conjunction meaning not that.

So Russian normally writes:

Не то чтобы X, но Y

not

Не то, чтобы X, но Y

The important comma here is the one before но, because it joins two clauses.

This is one of the things that often surprises learners.

After не то чтобы, Russian very often uses the same past-form shapes that appear after чтобы, even when the meaning is not actually past in time.

So:

• Не то чтобы я устал = not necessarily I was tired, but rather it’s not that I’m tired
• Не то чтобы мне были нужны духи = not literally past-time I needed perfume, but it’s not that I need perfume

With нужен / нужна / нужно / нужны, the present tense normally has no visible form of быть:

• Мне нужны духи

But in this construction, the past-form auxiliary appears:

• Мне были нужны духи

So here были is part of the grammar of the construction, not a real past-time reference.

Because the pattern with нужен / нужна / нужны uses:

• the person in the dative
• the thing needed as the grammatical subject

So:

• мне нужны духи = I need perfume
• literally, something like perfume is needed to me

That is why you get мне, not я.

Because нужны agrees with духи, and духи is grammatically plural.

The forms are:

• нужен for masculine singular
• нужна for feminine singular
• нужно for neuter singular
• нужны for plural

Since духи is plural, the predicate must also be plural:

• мне нужны духи

In Russian, духи meaning perfume is a plural-only noun.

So Russian treats it grammatically as plural, even when English uses a singular mass noun.

Examples:

• Эти духи дорогие = This perfume is expensive
• Мне нравятся эти духи = I like this perfume

The singular дух does exist, but it means spirit, ghost, breath, or related things, not a perfume.

Here каждый день is an accusative of time expression, meaning every day.

Russian often uses the accusative without a preposition for repeated time expressions:

• каждый день = every day
• каждую неделю = every week
• каждое утро = every morning

In каждый день, the noun день is masculine inanimate, so the accusative looks the same as the nominative. That is why it may seem as if nothing changed.

Всё же means something like still, all the same, or nevertheless.

It strengthens the contrast with the first clause:

• Не то чтобы ... но иногда мне всё же хочется ...

So the speaker is saying:

Even so, despite that, I still sometimes feel like going in.

It is close in meaning to всё-таки, though the exact tone can vary a little.

Мне хочется is an impersonal way to talk about desire. It often sounds softer, more emotional, and more like I feel like...

Compare:

• Я хочу зайти в салон = I want to go into the salon
• Мне хочется зайти в салон = I feel like dropping by the salon

So хочется is often used when the desire is spontaneous, mood-based, or less forceful.

Again, the experiencer is in the dative:

• мне хочется
• ему хочется
• нам хочется

Зайти here means to drop in, to stop by, to go in briefly.

It is perfective because the speaker means a single, complete action: one visit, one stop on the way home.

Compare:

• зайти = to stop by once, to pop in
• ходить = to go, to visit repeatedly or habitually
• идти = to be going
• пойти = to set off / go

So хочется зайти в салон is very natural for I feel like dropping by the salon.

Because with movement into a place, Russian uses:

• в + accusative

So:

• зайти в салон = to go into / stop by the salon

Compare:

• в салон = into the salon, direction
• в салоне = in the salon, location

This is the standard motion vs. location contrast.

Because после requires the genitive case.

So:

• после чего? = after what?
• после работы = after work

The base form is работа, and the genitive singular is работы.

The core meaning would stay the same if you changed the order a bit, but the emphasis would shift.

In this sentence:

• иногда is placed early, so sometimes is highlighted
• всё же sits near хочется, which helps stress the concessive idea of still / nevertheless

For example, these are also possible:

• Но мне иногда всё же хочется зайти в салон после работы
• Но иногда всё же мне хочется зайти в салон после работы

Russian word order is flexible, but not random. It is often used to control emphasis, rhythm, and what sounds most natural in context.