Building the perfect summer wardrobe is, in itself, a tall order, but have you tried picking out a new fragrance? Not only has the number of options available for men expanded greatly in recent years, but a new generation of boutique brands has entered the fray, offering everything from a scent that smells different on everybody, depending on how it reacts with your pheromones, to perfumes scented with cannabis (more on that later).

And that’s before we get to the nitty gritty of trying to tell the difference between top notes, base notes and everything in between (which, if you’re wondering, are usually referred to as heart or middle notes). Rather than befuddle you with terminology and technicalities, we enlisted the help of Mr David Seth Moltz, the nose behind Brooklyn-based brand D.S. & Durga, which he founded with his wife, Ms Kavi Moltz, more than a decade ago, to offer some pointers. With 76 and counting formulations under his belt, he knows his stuff.

The first step, he says, is to find your signature. “I like communing with the heat and humidity in summer,” he says. “Doubling down with heavy resinous amber, oud or patchouli-type fragrances. Somehow it feels appropriate.” That doesn’t mean you should restrict yourself to heady, hazy scents, particularly if they don’t feel suitable for the occasion you have in mind.

Moltz believes you can never have too many options in warmer weather and advises adding lighter colognes with citrus notes, which are great Monday-morning pick-me-ups, to your perfume wardrobe, as well as trying what he calls “sailor colognes”, such as D.S. & Durga’s St Vetyver, which pays tribute to Caribbean sea farers and the islands’ exotic flora.

There’s also a case to be made for stepping out of your comfort zone every once in a while. It is summer, after all, and taking risks, whether in the way we dress or the scents we wear, feels seasonally appropriate, particularly after the lack of opportunity last year. “I love flowers on a man,” says Moltz. “It’s very confident and displays the beauty of the natural world that we often associate with women.” Look out, in particular, he says, for perfumes that include old-world jasmines, rose and orange blossoms. “They’re nice on summer nights,” he says.

With his advice in mind, we’ve picked out five spectacularly summery scents to add to your grooming routine as the weather gets warmer.

If you want to feel like you’re summering on the Riviera (and who doesn’t?), then D.S. & Durga’s Italian Citrus should be your go-to. “It’s all white suits, giant colourful Napoli ties, Vespas and cocktails by the coast with its endless groves of the finest citrus fruits in the world – bergamot, cold-pressed lemon, chinotto, blood orange and mandarin,” says Moltz. “It is a sophisticated citrus cologne that lasts all day and pairs well with a suit at night as well.”

We can understand if you feel a little apprehensive about dousing yourself with a perfume that lists cannabis among its middle notes, particularly if you’re planning on returning to the office any time soon. You shouldn’t discount 19-69’s Chronic so easily, though. The cannabis accord that anchors this scent is subtle, herbal and zippy and smells nothing like the backseat of a camper van or student flat. Hits of citrusy bitter orange and zesty grapefruit make it a faultless daytime scent.

Perfumer Byredo has tasked itself with translating feelings into fragrance – hardly an easy undertaking. Mixed Emotions, which was released in the chaos of early 2021, is the result of an attempt to make sense of our recent trials and tribulations. The outcome is surprisingly comforting and uplifting, with top notes of ripe blackcurrant, cassis and maté, a South American drink steeped from the leaves of a holly plant. The addition of smoky Ceylon tea makes it the olfactory equivalent of a security blanket.

A musky scent such as ambergris is usually put to use in heady, wintry scents, but Laboratory Perfumes, a boutique outfit based in Hampshire in the UK, has created a particularly fresh concoction in Amber. A few spritzes and you might feel like you’re taking a brisk stroll along the British coast – precisely what the brand had in mind when it designed the fragrance. Its versatility is perhaps its greatest strength. This scent will easily take you from day to night.

As Moltz explained, floral scents are unfairly maligned in the world of men’s fragrance and, as far as we can tell, there’s no logic to it. Who wouldn’t want to smell as fresh as a daisy? Or, rather, a rose, in the case of Le Labo’s cult cologne of the same name. Sensing men’s trepidation, the brand created this fragrance with the express aim to enhance the famous Grasse rose’s masculine side, bolstering it with woody cedar and a spicy hit of cumin for a complex finish. Wear it on warm evenings.