Looking for summer in a bottle? The latest warm weather perfumes have something for everyone, from the scent of clean laundry drying on the line to the refreshing tang of a cooling sorbet and sultry nights under the jasmine.
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Laundry day
There’s something about the smell of fresh sheets, laundry on the line and soap lather — and now the perfume world has latched on. The much-awaited Acne Studios par Frédéric Malle collaboration (£200 for 50ml EDP, cultbeauty.co.uk) evokes the best of laundry day, airy freshness and powdery fabric softener — it’s the sort of scent you want to bury your face in and breathe deeply. Maison Francis Kurkdjian Aqua Universalis (£175 for 70ml EDT, selfridges.com) is a similar haven for clean-smelling enthusiasts. The citrus is sharp on first spray but the scent quickly settles into something soft and sweet. Or, fresh from Miami, there’s Binaurale Incident Light (£140 for 50ml EDP, goodhoodstore.com), a luminous, slightly woody soap scent that smells like the inside of an airing cupboard. Much nicer than it sounds, trust us.
Not your granny’s gourmand
If the word gourmand (that’s a fragrance that smells edible and sweet) makes you think of cloying vanilla and sickly caramel, you’re not alone. For every beautiful iteration, there are myriad others that are quite obnoxious. The new generation, though, are sophisticated and sweet — but subtle about it. From Infiniment Coty Paris is Encore Une Fois (£195 for 75ml EDP, infinimentcoty.com), which is decadent and alluring, blending smooth (like, really smooth) vanilla with a hint of booze. For a smokier, more masculine gourmand, Miller Harris has Soufflot (£180 for 100ml EDP, millerharris.com), a fresh take on what a unisex yet sweet perfume should be. It’s nutty and dark, muddling rich hazelnut and chestnut with tobacco. Bold and sensual too, it’s not for the faint-hearted — if you like Maison Francis Kurkdjian’s Baccarat Rouge 540 or Tom Ford’s Tobacco Vanille, there’s a good chance you’ll fall for this. If you gravitate towards woodier scents, Experimental Perfume Club Pistachio Haiku (£165 for 50ml EDP, experimentalperfumeclub.com) keeps the earthy sweetness of pistachio but also has jammy fig and hazelnut.
Homegrown
Comparing fragrances to a kitchen garden feels twee, but veg-inspired scents are on the up and smell anything but. First, a succulent burst of basil leaf, French lavender and vetiver in Perfumer H’s new offering, Dandelion (£130 for 50ml EDP, perfumerh.com), a heady mix of blooming flowers, budding shoots and seeds. Next, a soon-to-launch gem from the Somerset-based indie brand Ffern, simply called Summer 24 (£99 for 32ml EDP), arriving at the end of next month (the brand releases four limited-edition perfumes a year to align with the seasons and first dibs go to those on its membership ledger, who also get a discount. Get yourself on the waiting list now). This one is warm and plush, combining herby fennel seed, bay leaf and blood orange. It’s spicy thanks to notes of pink peppercorn, with bright flashes of citrus-laced sunshine from the grapefruit, green mandarin and lemon rind. Or for something that smells like fat berries ripe for the picking, Gabar No III Swim (£120 for 50ml EDP, gabarworld.com) is a concoction of blackcurrant bud, wild fig and vetiver, but is crisp and green without sacrificing any jamminess.
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Meditation station
OK, something a little more woo-woo. The founder of the new brand Bibbi, Stina Seger, says that each of its nine perfumes came to her while meditating — some the physical representations of spirits that visit her, others manifestations of energetic forces that surround us. Just nod and then pick up Swimming Pool (£225 for 100ml EDP, libertylondon.com), a heady, herbaceous scent, full of basil, spearmint, eucalyptus, geranium and wet grass. It’s somehow spicy and sharp but intensely refreshing and will be perfect for cutting through the (hopefully) stifling heat this summer. Then to two new scents named for the extraterrestrial and unknown … First, Charlotte Tilbury Cosmic Power (£130 for 100ml EDP, cultbeauty.co.uk), a warm cocoon of spices — cinnamon, black pepper and bergamot all vie for attention. Next, Kylie Cosmetics Cosmic Kylie Jenner (£55 for 100ml EDP, boots.com), which you’re urged not to dismiss too hastily on account of its creator. It’s spicy with a kick of citrus, helped by top notes of blood orange and star jasmine.
Club Med
Sink into the haze of a summer day spent en la playa with the new Loewe x Paula’s Ibiza collaboration, Cosmic (£90 for 50ml EDP, loewe.com). Juicy without being juvenile, the scent combines crisp pear, ripe mango and cypress resin — delight personified, or perfumified, even. The new Moschino Toy 2 Pearl (£45 for 30ml EDP, moschino.com) is similarly holidayesque, akin to that first lick of cooling sorbet. It’s tart and acidic, with lashings of lemon top note, plus powdery freesia and green woodiness from the vetiver and cypress. For something earthier, L’Objet Kérylos (£200 for 100ml EDP, l-objet.com) blends grapefruit, yuzu and galbanum (an aromatic, bitter resin) with sandalwood and musk. Finally, a Baltic-inspired (place not temperature) scent from the Dalston-based perfume outfit Gallivant: the new, limited-edition Nida (10 £170 for 100ml EDP, gallivant-perfumes.com), which captures the essence of a sun-soaked artists’ colony on the Lithuanian coast. Luminous and warm, with floral and amber notes (iris and jasmine), it’s made fresh and radiant with mandarin and tea. A holiday in a bottle, we think.
Social scent-sations
Throw TikTok a bone (read: beautiful perfume) and it will make an overnight sensation of it. Take Parfums de Marly Delina (£245 for 75ml EDP, parfums-de-marly.com), a heady rose that soared to sell-out success thanks to the 49 million videos posted about it. (That’s more than five times the population of London, FYI.) Now there’s a limited-edition bottle, adorned with a climbing rose (£255 for 75ml EDP). The celebrity hairstylist Jen Atkin’s cult brand Ouai is also doubling down on its viral successes, releasing a Hair & Body Mist (£26 for 97ml, from July 1) in its moreish, tropical St Barts scent. Finally, an American import that is about as hyped as it gets: the DedCool Xtra Milk (£71 for 50ml EDP, spacenk.com). Warm, cosy, creamy and clean, it has the staying power of a power perfume without any of the brashness.
