You probably don’t need a ‘summer scent.’ Not really. I suspect you are perfectly happy to use your usual – or, if like me you’re a little bit indecisive, one of your usuals – throughout the balmier months.
But it is a thing, switching to a different scent to mark a period of time. And, though it sounds like BS, it isn’t – scent really is a direct and potent way to access memories, and I wholeheartedly buy into the idea of choosing something to accompany a special occasion to marry the scent and memory.
I’ve written about this countless times so you probably don’t need yet another run down of my special scent memories – this blast is just a nudge to say the time is now in case you too want to switch your scent up.
Here are some suggestions of my favourites of the summer launches that aren’t just the usual sugary or floral dross in case you’re after something new //
Creed Love in White Summer, £115 / Look, I have a real thing about Creed (you surely know by now how I feel about old school brands), but even through my usual haze of love I can see that this is a bit special. Kind of floral, kind of fizzy, a dash woody, Creed are pitching this to summer brides and I can totally see why – it’s hugely uplifting and doesn’t feel weighty in the slightest, but will hang onto skin very well indeed.
Goutal Paris Bois d’Hadrien / The first Goutal fragrance, Eau d’Hadrien, came out in 1981, and Annick’s daughter Camille is paying homage to its legacy with this new scent. It has a bit of the citrus vibe of Eau D’Hadrien, but with added heat and depth – think slightly overripe juicy oranges and lemons warmed by the sun combined with pine and a teensy tiny bit of smoke. It’s also a little more suggestive that EDH, hinting more at the night to come than its predecessor.
Trish McEvoy 9 Oud Perfume Oil, £175 / There’s a distinctly ripe nature to this perfume oil, with swollen berries and fattened vanilla pods comprising the body of this scent, while some peonies, bergamot, and sandalwood round things out a bit. As a whole, it calls late summer with its final sweet and slightly melancholy notes to mind. Also, there is something undeniably sensual about a perfume oil, what with the act of pressing it to skin and letting it slightly roll on wrists or down the neck. That said, this is not one to travel with as the little glass bottle has a stopper that doesn’t screw on.