A Scent to Remember: the Best Perfumes for Summer
Don’t just photograph your summer, commit it to scent memory. Liberty shares the fragrances that perfectly capture the spirit of the season
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A Scent to Remember: The Best Perfumes for Summer
Don’t just photograph your summer, commit it to scent memory. Liberty shares the fragrances that perfectly capture the spirit of the season
By: Shannon Peter
Whether it’s the smell of your favourite childhood treat, the fragrant fumes of a scented candle, or the summer perfume of a passerby, there’s a reason why fleeting whiffs of certain smells can instantly transport you (figuratively, at least) to another time, place or mood. Scent is the only one of our five senses with a direct line to the areas of our brain associated with memory and emotion. All it takes is for a familiar smell to enter the nostrils, and clever receptors will shoot messages around the limbic system, digging up memories of the last time you smelled it.
So here’s an idea: why not hack the system? Why not capture a summer to remember with a summer scent to remember it by?
That means cherry-picking one of the best summer perfumes going – something bright, energetic and moreish – and wearing it every day between now and the end of September. For every beach day, garden party, wedding and festival the season has in store. Then, in years to come, you’ll be able to return to the bottle, and like the olfactory equivalent of a photograph, every future sniff will serve as a smile-inducing reminder of what a brilliant summer that was.
Ready to make some memories? Below, discover our edit of the best summer perfumes to scent the season ahead.
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For a Jet-Setting Summer
Infiniment Coty Soleil d'Ikosim Parfum, £195
Size: 75ml | Concentration: Eau de Parfum| Scent Family: Gourmand Floral
Going somewhere? Slip a bottle of this in your suitcase. With notes of orange blossom, neroli and vetiver, Soleil d'Ikosim is sunshine in a bottle. Sun-drenched and radiant: what more could you desire?
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For a Hot Girl Summer
Byredo De Los Santos, £200
Size: 100ml | Concentration: Eau de Parfum | Scent Family: Amber
With notes of amber, sage, plum and iris root, there is a certain earthiness to Byredo’s De Los Santos, but topped with a cloud of musk, it feels ethereal. It's the kind of summer perfume that only smells better, the longer you leave it on.
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For a Summer by the Sea
Veronique Gabai Sur La Plage, £250
Size: 85ml | Concentration: Eau de Parfum | Scent Family: Floral
Picture the scene: you’re snoozing on the sand after a long day in the sun, skin still salty from your hourly ocean dips, slathered in layer upon layer of sun cream. Veronique Gabai's Sur la Plage perfectly captures that blissful moment. Notes of salt water come topped with orange blossom, magnolia and jasmine. It’s the best bits of the beach in a bottle.
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For a Romantic Summer
Chloé Atelier des Fleurs Immortelle, £245
Size: 150ml | Concentration: Eau de Parfum| Scent Family: Floral
Hoping for a little summer romance? Start with Chloé's Atelier des Fleurs Immortelle. Based around the lush notes of the everlasting flower, with hints of seductive amber and smooth sandalwood. After all, nothing says romance like flowers.
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For a Sophisticated Summer
Le Labo The Matcha 26, £220
Size: 100ml | Concentration: Eau de Parfum | Scent Family: Woody
An elevated scent for those with elevated tastes, The Matcha 26 is like a big slurp of iced matcha, just in fragrance form. The creaminess of the matcha accord comes tempered by fig, vetiver, cedar woods and a splash of bitter orange. Delicious.
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For a Spritual Summer
Vyrao Witchy Woo, £135
Size: 50ml | Concentration: Eau de Parfum | Scent Family: Woody
If you're hoping to enjoy a summer of good vibes and high vibrations, perhaps Vyrao's Witchy Woo can manifest it for you. A bewitchingly deep and earthy scent, it blends notes of orris, rose, nutmeg, cinnamon and musk in a bid to make you feel your most powerful, creative self.
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For a Lush, Green Summer
Liberty LBTY. Adelphi Sun, £225
Size: 100ml | Concentration: Eau de Parfum| Scent Family: Verdant
A lush botanical rainforest, in perfume form. Liberty LBTY. Fragrance's Adelphi Sun bursts with citrus, delicate florals and fresh green notes, helping you imagine your way to somewhere tropical, whether you've booked your flights yet or not.
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For a Colourful Summer
D.S. & Durga Steamed Rainbow, £229
Size: 100ml | Concentration: Eau de Parfum | Scent Family: Fresh
While we hope to see few rainbows this season, there's nothing wrong with channelling their colourful energy, something that this fragrance does best. It's MO: blending ingredients of every colour of the rainbow, like violet, almond flower and mandarin. It's bright and joyful, everything you want your summer to be.
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For a Tropical Summer
Vilhelm Parfumerie Mango Skin, £185
Size: 100ml | Concentration: Eau de Parfum | Scent Family: Fresh
Escape to exotic climes by way of Vilhelm Parfumerie's Mango Skin. Yes, it's full of the fresh ripeness of a juicy mango, but that comes dotted with sharper blackcurrant and black pepper notes, as well as jasmine, patchouli, vanilla and pink sugar. It's transportive in the very best kind of way.
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For a Celebratory Summer
Editions de Parfums Frédéric Malle Outrageous, £215
Size: 100ml | Concentration: Eau de Parfum | Scent Family: Fresh
If you have months of dancing in festival tents ahead of you, might we suggest you do it doused in this Frédéric Malle scent? With notes of lime, green apple, grapefruit, mint and cinnamon, it's bright and vivacious, just the thing to get you in the party mood.
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