A New Scent For Summer

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A New Scent For Summer

Words by Mr Anish Patel

24 May 2017

From Byredo to Diptyque, the freshest fragrances this season.

Your winter fragrances have had a good run. Rich, woody and spicy, like an olfactory hot toddy, they got you through the winter freeze and cooler months. But with spring well and truly sprung and holidays on the horizon, it’s time to switch things up a bit. Confine those heavier scents to the back of the bathroom cabinet and invest in something zesty and refreshing or light and mossy.

So, to help guide your transition and ensure you smell your best throughout the months ahead, we’ve rounded up seven of the best summer-appropriate fragrances. Pick one, or two, and spritz all the way to September.

01. Escentric Molecules

Escentric 04 EDT

This futuristic fragrance by Escentric Molecules is centred on Javanol, a man-made sandalwood-like molecule, only with superior staying power when compared with its naturally occurring counterpart. There’s also grapefruit and pepper in the mix, here, but it’s marijuana – you read that right – that makes this concoction really intoxicating. When mixed with zesty lime, juniper berries and pink pepper top notes, the effect is both woody and balsamic. It’s the perfect fragrance for a balmy evening. Spray on pulse points for maximum effect.

02. Byredo

Gypsy Water EDP

When lemon makes an appearance in a summer fragrance, it’s usually to offset a strong note or sober it up if you will. In the case of Byredo’s Gypsy Water, the lemon is soft and sweet, with a hint of vanilla, a juxtaposition that gives the scent a creamy, almost edible quality. The heady base gives way to top notes of incense, pine, orris and sandalwood, which create a distinctly bohemian vibe – hence the name.

03. Le Labo

Rose 31 Perfume Oil

New York perfumery Le Labo uses handpicked rose petals from Grasse in Provence for this soliflore fragrance (showcasing one particular ingredient in all its glory). When creating it, founders Mr Fabrice Penot and Mr Edouard Roschi were determined to creative a potent fragrance that transcended the flower’s coquettish and feminine connotations with a hit of spicy cumin and warmth of a woody cedar note. Take note (sorry): just a couple of drops of this paraben-free oil will last until dawn, should you be the type of gent who often finds his evenings carrying on into the early hours.

04. Laboratory Perfumes

Samphire EDT

Vivid, refreshing and coolly aromatic, Samphire by scent specialist Laboratory Perfumes is an olfactory invocation of the brackish British seashore and its sandy banks, where samphire (aka sea asparagus) likes to take root. With a dewy composition, it doesn’t actually contain any samphire, but melds herbal scents of basil, rosemary and lavender with a simple base of moreish oakmoss and classic musk creating the notion of a freshly mown lawn of a country house on the coast.

05. Sisley - Paris

Eau D’Ikar EDT

The d’Ornano family behind Sisley - Paris are guardians of the traditional perfume-making practices and have spent more than two decades perfecting their first fragrance for men (how’s that for a labour of love). Drawing inspiration from the Greek myth of Icarus – the fabled figure who flew fatally close to the sun – they called upon Grasse perfumer Mr Vincent Ricord to create a warm, grassy fragrance that’s rich with lentisk (a Mediterranean shrub) and notes of bitter orange, iris and green cistus. It’s noble and elegant, a bit like the family who created it.

06. Diptyque

Philosykos EDT

Founded in 1961 on Paris’ Boulevard Saint-Germain, Diptyque sources the finest raw materials to create its complex scents. Developed by accomplished nose Ms Olivia Giacobetti, Philosykos is an intoxicating ode to Greece’s fig groves and is suited to year-round wear. Sweet, delectable notes of fig leaf, warm coconut and green fruit are offset by woodier base notes of white cedar and bark. The serene, almost meditative, quality of this fragrance makes it ideal for those who like to maintain an air of mystery.

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