European Summer Scents

Drifting ever so slightly away from the wintery comforts of musks, powders and spices and embracing lightly sparkling fruity essences- think citrus, coconuts and berries. We aren’t moving entirely away from our signature notes, however. The modern summer scent takes elements of woods and autumnal scents and gives them a summer heart. Fragrances that change with the season, but still feel like us.

From tequila sunrises through to balmy nights, these are the scents we’re misting over our sundrenched summer skin this season.

When we first think of a European Summer, we think luxury, and what is more luxurious than the House of Dior? Miss Dior Eau de Parfum boasts sensual Grasse Rose wrapped in fresh notes and woven with a lively Rosewood. Keeping memories of long afternoon strolls through the Parisian Tulleries fresh in our mind.

For a brand only in their infancy, Melbourne born Mihan Aromatics have masterfully blended all that we love about summer scents in Sienna Brume. Inspired by days spent lazing beside Fitzroy pool, coconut, sea salt and cucumber evoke memories of long afternoons spent seaside, sun on our skin and perhaps a creamy cocktail in hand.

A more literal interpretation of salty summer skin, Jo Malone’s Wood Sage and Sea Salt sees sea salt dance with fresh grapefruit, drying down to the familiar fragrance of woody, musky mallow and driftwood.

Citrus is the main player in Jo Malone’s aptly titled Orange Bitters, a sparkling, effervescent fragrance that allows bitter orange and mandarin sink into a heart of citrus and plum before drying down into the warmth of sandalwood and glistening gold amber.

Creamy coconut delivers a summer sensibility to woods and musks that take centre stage within D.S. & Durga’s Radio Bombay. What is a predominantly woody, powdery, balsamic scent has becomes reminiscent of the Bandra heat that serves as the eau de parfum’s inspiration thanks to the inclusion of peach and coconut notes.

There’s something about fresh, green notes that feel inextricably linked to an Australian summer- damp earth beneath the splutter of a sprinkler, freshly cut grass and bare feet skipping across the lawn during a game of backyard cricket. Philosykos, a green, milky fragrance by Diptyque, sees green notes of fig leaf, grass and cedar mingle with fresh, summery coconut and fig.

Another Diptyque eau de parfum, Do Son, makes for the perfect summer scent for those who favour florals. Tuberose, the opening note, serves as a lighter, creamier alternative to heady roses, while a heart of orange leaf and pink pepper give the fragrance a hint of fizz and playfulness.

Byredo deliver a lesson in layering citrus top notes over a woody, aromatic base in Bal D’Afrique, a scent inspired by the African culture embraced by Parisians in the late 1920s. This fragrance sees notes of Amalfi lemon, bergamot, black currant and African orange flower sit atop black amber and Moroccan cedarwood.

Bergamot is utilised once more by Byredo within Eleventh Hour, opening on the citrus fruit before settling into a plum and fig heart before sinking deeper into the heady woods and warm spices of cedar, cashmere wood and rum.