Not your typical summer fragrances

Watercolor by Cristina Alejos

I have been down a rabbit-hole these past few days, in search of the perfect companion for my tropical vacation this summer. I wasn't disappointed! There are plenty of options out there, for every income and every taste. To preface this, I must say I'm a little difficult when it comes to fresh fragrances: I tend to prefer heavier scents that make a statement, and I am sort of a vintage-style scents lover. I profoundly dislike cardamom, lemon is a no-no, and lavender usually is too masculine for me. I prefer floral, musky scents with the occasional citrus kick, but I avoid the usual tropical flower and fruit. In consequence, these aren't your typical summer fragrances. Here we go, in no particular order:

1. Granado - Rosa Damascena

OK, this comes in a huge bottle: even 100 mL of an eau de cologne is too much for me. I have been on a rose kick since last year, so I hope this has that intense (or well, freshly intense) rose scent I crave for. The brand also offers shower gels and lotions of the same scent, and I am so excited to try this all together!

2. Berdoues - 1902 Freesia & Coton

I imagine this as a delicate floral, powdery cloud with notes of freesia (duh), musk, cashmere blonde woods and some light citrus to bring some sparkle. I really enjoy cotton notes in perfumes for spring and summer, and usually Berdoues doesn't disappoint with respect to fresh fragrances, so I hope I will like this.

3. Chanel - Paris Venise

I usually find neroli, petit-grain and orange blossom too harsh, or at least on my skin. So, with the addition of tonka bean and vanilla I hope it won't be the case! I do like orange, for example, but find orange-centric fragrances too masculine for my specific taste so this is the next best thing. And don't even get me started on lemon! My boyfriend and, by transitivity, I, find it too toilet-cleaning-supply-ish: that's why most of the other fresh fragrances are out of the question for me.

4. Guerlain - Aqua Allegoria Mandarine Basilic

But worry not, dear friend, there's still some citrus to explore! I love, love, LOVE juicy mandarin scents. I tend to avoid bitter, green unripe citrus fruits scents, and this is not like that. I have a sample of this fragrance, so I can actually give a review: in some way, the basil gives a coriander-like human-skin muskiness that I find comforting.

5. Goutal - L'Île au Thé

Another mandarin scent, even though I don't have any sample nor have gone to test it in person. Tea fragrances seem to smell fresh by consensus, even if it's a hot drink, and reviews say this particular fragrance is "sparkly", "a little bit herbal", and "inoffensive" which is exactly what I'm looking for.

6. Fragonard - Jasmin Perle de Thé

I love jasmine, even in its dirtiest forms, so finding a fragrance for summer that contains it is a dream come true. I suppose the flower won't be as indolic as I'm used to, and that along with tea it will be greener than I usually wear, but I'm eager to give this a try.

7. Olibanum - Ambrette

Here we enter into the clean musk territory, with a strong contender: ambrette seed and olibanum resin (frankincense, if I'm not mistaken). For some reason, I find incense rather cooling instead of warming, so together with a vegetal musk it is the recipe for success.

8. Le Couvent - Mimosa

When thinking summer, I think of not-so-classic florals and musks. So, I naturally gravitated towards mimosa: reviews say it smells like the real thing, a honeyed but very subtle floral brightened by some zesty bergamot and backed up by cedar. I suppose there are some other notes, but the notes pyramid doesn't reveal anything else.

9. Fragonard - Lilas

Hurry up, this is a limited edition scent! I saw that some of us Parfumo users love lilac, with its spring-time freshness and delicate powderiness. I associate the fragrance to fresh linen in my mind, so that's why such a spring-themed perfume is tropical appropriate to my nose. I had the pleasure to try it in store, and needless to say, it is very pretty.

Of course, L'Occitane offers a number of fresh fragrances that are worth it, but I haven't been personally in a store to try them and none appealed me from the notes. So, now I have to try or retry each one of these perfumes, and I will keep you updated!