Top 10 Summer Fragrances

The day is wonderfully serene, helped by the fact that I am away from my computer, my cell phone and a massive pile of work that is supposed to evolve into a dissertation. The surface of the river is reflecting the sun shine, with the waves breaking up rays into small gilded pieces. I swim across the dark water to reach a big stone where I strech out, enjoying a contrast between the cold water and its warm rough surface. The river provides a respite from the heat that seems to be suffocating the city. The smell of the water is sweet, with the wind bringing the scent of tall pine trees near the beach. Even the sun seems to attain a smell as it hits the skin—soft, dry and ambery. If there is a reason to like summer, then it is for the perfect moments like these.

While heat and humidity never made summer very appealing for me, summer scents are among most memorable. They are the scents of the gardens in full bloom, of hot stones and summer drinks sipped slowly while sitting at a small café. The essence of summer is in the scent of cool watermelon eaten on the beach as well as in the scent of hot asphalt and dusty leaves. As for a perfect summer fragrance, certain perfumes work particularly well in the summer, either because they are transparent citruses that chill the skin or luscious flowers that blossom in the warm air. My list (in no particular order) encompassed both:

1. Annick Goutal Eau d’Hadrien

2. The Different Company Divine Bergamote

3. Guerlain Eau Impériale

4. Comptoir Sud Pacifique Tiaré

5. Hermessence Poivre Samarcande

6. Serge Lutens Fleurs de Citronnier

7. Parfums 06130 Yuzu Rouge

8. Guerlain Aqua Allegoria Anisia Bella

9. Chanel Cristalle Eau de Toilette

10. Parfums de Nicolaï Juste Un Rêve

If you would like to see more Top 10 Summer Fragrance lists, check out An Alabaster Brow, Blogdorf Goodman, Bois de Jasmin, Brain Trapped in Girl's Body, C'est Chic, Koneko's *Mostly* Beauty Diary, Life in Paris, Make a Mental Note, Now Smell This, Ombligo!, Seldom Nice Nowadays, Self-Styled Siren, She'll Be Feverish After So Much Thinking, and This Bananafish Smells Like Leaves.

Comments

[Anjali]

What a fabulous idea for all of you to get together and post your lists like that! I love your listing -- adore Divine Bergamote, and so rarely run across anyone who likes CSP Tiare!

My own top ten summer fragrances (ha, in case anyone actually cares) would probably run along the lines of: Acca Kappa Calycanthus, Hermes Rose Ikebana, TDC Divine Bergamote, TDC Jasmin de Nuit, CSP Tiare, Elizabeth W. Sweet Tea, OJ Champaca, CdG Kyoto, Castle Forbes Eau Deux and Sage Machado Carnelian.

[parislondres]

Great List dear V!! Love most of these too!

Hope you are well.

xoxo

[Katie]

That's such a lovely list, V. You know, I do think that 90% of the fun of this is us being able to just read each others lists! I almost mentioned SL's Arabie, because it's dastardly wrong on me in winter, but it's fricking brilliant as it warms outside. However, I decided against it since I do believe I am in fact the only one that happens to!

[Robin]

Great list V! We both mentioned Divine Bergamote & Cristalle, and sort of laughing here that we both specified the latter in Eau de Toilette!

You have several other of my favorites that I didn't list: Anisia Bella, Yuzu Rouge & Citronnier.

[annie]

V: You have such spectacular and lovely taste.

Anjali: I was going to put Champaca but I used up my bottle a while ago. That scent is so perfect for hot weather. I will have to seek out Acca Kappa!

[Laura]

Really interesting list, Vee--I tend to go simple and linear in summer, though with OG as my new love, the linear quality is going by the wayside a bit. The SL you list is the one I most nearly liked--the topnotes are stunning. The SL base just doesn't suit me, for some strange reason.

[Campaspe]

Good morning dear! a list as artistic and high-styled as you are. I also picked Fleurs de Citronnier; and to think I disliked it when I first tried it! I didn't put anything discontinued on my list, except In Love Again which you can still get anywhere. So no Tiare, though it is without a doubt one of the great summer perfumes.

Have a beautiful day!

[Tania]

Marvelous list, and I'm happy to see some I had to leave off mine. It was hard to prune down to ten, no doubt. But good to see Yuzu Rouge, Eau d'Hadrien (or as we like to call it, Yo Adrian), and Anisia Bella on yours.

[Anya]

I am so humbled by the incredible collections of perfume all the readers on the blogs have collected. I have never had the opportunity to sample many of these niche perfumes; the name fascinate me, and y'all have such acute perceptions as to the notes and compositions it's amazing.

That said, my puny entries to the list include Mugler's Cologne, the discontinued BenAndre (similar to L'Eau d'Hadrien), Vanille Abricot (many say it's a warm weather scent, but I find it persistent and non=evolving in the summer heat in Miami, which is good), and many of my own sheer perfume creations, or a simple homemade tincture, like the Michaela alba flower one, or (yum!) my ambrette seed, cardamom leaf, or tonka bean tincture. Since they have no fixatives, I have to dab them on frequently, a summer ritual I enjoy, esp. when they're taken from the fridge ;-)

Other than the VA, I can't stand anything sweet in the summer; it seems all of my Caribbean neighbors favor a sweet fake jasmine perfume with a middle note that mimics grape jelly - it's the ubiquitious Miami street scent :-P

[BoisdeJasmin]

Anjali, your list is lovely! I could take anything off it to add to my own. I adore CSP Tiare, which was a gift from our F. (hirondelle). It is just perfect--rich, sweet flower, with a tinge of coconut and vanilla. I have not found Aloha Tiare to be a substitute for it.

[BoisdeJasmin]

Dear N, thank you! It was so difficult to put this list together, as I am sure you know. :)

Hope that your week is going well.
xoxo

[BoisdeJasmin]

Katie, you should have mentioned Arabie! Now, I have not tried wearing it in hot weather for the fear that the experiment will go horribly wrong and I would end up detesting the fragrance given a poor association. However, I can also imagine why it might work, for the same reason as why lush florals can work really well in the summer.

[Campaspe]

Yo Adrian ... I am ROFLMAO. I am imagining the blank look on Camille Goutal's face if she heard you call it that.

[BoisdeJasmin]

Robin, thank you! I do not like Cristalle EDP nearly as much as the EDT. EDP is too sweet for me. So many of the fragrances just had to be left out though.

[BoisdeJasmin]

Annie, thank you for such a sweet compliment. Coming from you, it is especially flattering.

[BoisdeJasmin]

Laura, I know that you are not that friendly with SL. I do agree that the top notes of Fleurs de Citronnier is what makes it such a standout among all of the light summer fragrances.

[BoisdeJasmin]

Morning, dear F! Thank you for the compliment. I love CSP Tiare too much not to include it, discontinued or not. Moreover, it is a cherished gift. :)

Fleurs de Citronnier works so wonderfully in the summer, I hardly ever reach for it in the winter. However, since our southern summers last till about October, it is not an issue for me.

Have a great day!

[BoisdeJasmin]

Tania, I will join F. as I laugh out loud at Yo Adrian. That is just hilarious, but very spot on.

Pruning was tough, especially since I wanted to have some variety. I have just too many favourites, what can I do?

[BoisdeJasmin]

Anya, you have such a magnificent collection of tinctures and essences, I am humbled. You are a lucky woman to have real plumeria and various kinds of jasmine in your own yard! Those are the best summer scents.

I would love to try your own creations. I can only imagine how interesting they must be, given the wonderful essences you have.

[mireille]

wonderful! You've made me re-crave Eau d'Hadrien! xoxo

[BoisdeJasmin]

M, thank you. It is my quintessential summer fragrance.
xoxo

[koneko]

Beautiful, elegant list of fragrances! I have heard so much about Fleurs de Citronnier... and I actually have the mini... I haven't smelled it yet though! And Divine Bergamote sounds wonderful!

[BoisdeJasmin]

Thank you, dear M! I would love to hear your thoughts on Fleurs de Citronnier. It is such a beautiful fragrance. I will be posting a review tomorrow.

[Diane]

Hello dear! I love your list, as it reflects how you can appreciate a diverse range of contemporary creations, yet still treasure the classical. We both selected Divine Bergamote and Citronnier and I couldn't agree more about how summer-appropriate they are. Of course, I love many of the others. Allow me to draw especial attention to Juste Un Reve, since I don't think it gets enough props. I adore it.

[Atreau]

What a great list that is just as beautiful as you are V!

I also love Anjali's list! I love, love, love TDC's Jasmine de Nuit!

LMAO! I'm never going to look at Eau d’Hadrien without thinking "Yo, Adrian!"

[LuciaC]

What a beautiful list! I think the Yuzu Rouge was a brilliant idea and I must locate my sample to re-test in this ultra hot weather. We matched on Divine Bergamote. It is as divine as you are! Hugs.

[BoisdeJasmin]

Diane, you are so right about Juste Un Rêve. It is a beautiful and underappreciate fragrance. PDN line, in general, is not that particularly well-known. Thank you for a compliment. I love your list, another varied and wonderful compilation!
xoxo

[BoisdeJasmin]

S, you are very sweet. I agree with you, Eau d'Hadrien will never be the same for me. :)

[BoisdeJasmin]

Dear Lucia, thank you. I think that you will find Yuzu Rouge to be perfect in this weather. Of course, Divine Bergamote is an amazing fragrance, evanescent, but gorgeous.
xoxo

[Sali]

Oh, I love your Top 10 list. I didn't know you can do very sweet white floral-gourmands but there it is--CSP Tiare, one of my favorites. I'll also take 1, 6 and 7, and now I'm nostalgic for Chanel Cristalle. ;-)

[BoisdeJasmin]

Sali, thank you. :) I always discover that my taste span a greater range than I think. I like sweet florals, as long as they are sweet fruity-florals, and even then it depends on a fruit-flower combination. As for Cristalle, it is a perfection!