Perfume Days in a Summer Haze
It’s that time again. After the lockdowns and the isolations of 2020, Summer '21 is set to be booming all over. The BBQs are back! The parties are being prepared! The exhibitions and festivals have already begun and are promising to be better (and safer) than they ever were before!
When the time comes for Summer ’21 to begin for real, you want to be ready and smelling your freshest for when they begin. This is a list of highly recommended Summery scents, reviewed for you.
Thierry Mugler – Alien
This mysterious and enchanting fragrance has a dark freshness that will last as long as your day does. Soft amber tones are brought to life amid woody notes, which give it depth, and a sweet, Summery jasmine smell. The contrasts between these flavours gives a rich and distinctive scent. The striking packaging complements the contents perfectly. The dark, elegant, violet bottle with gold-coloured embellishments and the reversed logo tells you this is something deep and different – and something you want to try for yourself.
Joop – Joop Homme
Warm, floral and summery, this is everything the summer should be about. A sensual fragrance with oriental flavours, this classic has stood the test of time and some, with three decades under its belt, and is still a popular choice today. The base is a mixture of vanilla, tonka bean, sandalwood, patchouli and honey, giving a soft start with a sweet kick, and this is combined with florals at the heart and vibrant, fruity scents, like mandarin and lemon, at the top. The classic, round-edged-rectangle bottle is clear and allows the watermelon-coloured contents to show you what it is, a fruity little gem.
Calvin Klein – Euphoria
Euphoria is an exotic fragrance with hidden depth. This fragrance is sweet, deep, floral, fruity and feminine, it’s a long-lasting fragrance with a lot of flavour to it. Top notes of pomegranate, passion fruit and raspberry are laid over orchid and lotus, which softens the tang. Sweet and woody base notes, like amber, patchouli, mahogany, vanilla and violet give it a warm and inviting centre with a spicy edge that makes you want more. The bottle is chic and elegant, rounded silver with just a hint of the contents at the sides and a bold silver lid – just like the contents, this bottle knows its audience and loves to tease them.
DKNY – Be Delicious
Like its older sister, Delicious, Be Delicious is heavily apple-inspired and retains the round, apple-looking shape as well as the apple colouring, this time in a bright green with a chrome topper – and even with its own little fruit sticker on it. The scent is sweet, light and lovely with soft, fresh scents like amber, sandalwood and lily of the valley teamed up against the lively apple, fresh cucumber and grapefruit to give a sparkly little fragrance that will dazzle every time you smell it. Get fruity this summer with Be Delicious!
Boucheron – Jaipur, Homme
This warm and spicy fragrance is the result of a good number of contrasting scents, with cardamom, lemon and lime at the forefront. The middle notes of cinnamon, carnation, jasmine and rose help temper this while the tonka bean, patchouli and cedar at the base really set the scene for the end product. It’s a strong and sensuous scent, masculine but not overpowering and with impressive longevity. The bottle has a regal feel, with frosted glass topped by a stopper of royal blue and gold and in a crown-like shape.
Paul Smith – Extreme Man
This exciting fragrance has a lot of layers and the experience they add up to is spectacularly fresh and fruity. A base of rose wood, tonka bean and musk is a strong foundation for the centre notes of nutmeg, geranium and rosemary, which give a pleasantly spicy air. Top notes of lemon, lime and bergamot pack a really freshening punch and this is what draws you in to sniff further. This woodsy-wonder has summer in its centre and style in its soul. The beautiful bottle is a classic oblong with the Paul Smith multicoloured stripes all around the edges.
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YSl – Libre
A dramatically floral dream, Libre, the latest scent from YSL, is a fragrance of depth, layers and surprise. Inspired by ideas of freedom for modern women, its base notes of vanilla, ambergris and cedarwood are built upon with increasingly intense florals like lavender, orange blossom and jasmine and infused with tangy blackberry and orange. This strong and long lasting scent is vibrant and distinctive and the packaging is everything you’ve come to expect from a brand as luxurious as YSL, with a square, frosted bottle wrapped in an elegant gold bow and logo.
Rihanna – Riri Crush
The younger sister of the spectacularly popular Riri, Crush had big shoes to fill – and it filled them with ease. Sweet and sassy with a sparkling edge, Crush is a dazzling scent. Base notes of musk, cedarwood and patchouli pave the way for the floral/fruity heart of pink rose, ylang ylang and a mix of sweet and tangy red berries. Top notes of bergamot, sweet mandarin and pink pepper open this fragrance and give it that sparkle. The bottle is a classic potion-style, identical to Riri’s but embellished with gold details.
Prada – Luna Rossa for men
This fragrance was inspired by sailing and is named after a boat (The Red Moon) which sails in the American Cup competition. A fresh, tangy, citrus flavour is tempered by mint and sage, bringing the citrus back down to earth. Released in 2012, this is a fairly young one but has been popular since its release. The packaging suits this perfectly, with clean, clear glass and topped with embossed metal in chrome, the bottle means business and so does the fragrance.
If the circumstances of the last 12 months have taught the world anything, it is surely that nothing should be taken for granted and that every opportunity should be seized with both hands. With that in mind, try something different this Summer. Try as many you can; after all, the more you try, the more you can add to your list of favourites, and any you don’t fancy can simply remain on the shelf.
