7 Best Summer Perfumes

I wanted to share my favorite summer perfumes that I have on rotation right now. I wear about 5-8 core fragrances per season. I like to switch up my scents with the seasons because hot temperatures call for lighter fragrances. This list of fragrances is inspired by the summer season with beachy scents, light florals, zesty citrus, tropical, and herbal notes. Each of these scents offer you an excursion. It instantly boosts my energy and mood and transports me on a vacation.

Smelling my perfumes uplifts my spirts so I even wear them to work from home. I don't feel the need to save my fragrances for special occasions. Fragrance is more than an accessory to my outfits, wearing fragrances daily is part of my self-care routine. You automatically look good when you smell good.

In the summertime I apply perfume on my wrists, neck, inside of elbows, and behind my knees for when you walk past people who are sitting. You should never rub your wrists together after applying perfume, you will rub off the top notes. You can also spray your hair if you like. Scent is our most powerful sense when it comes to memory.

You can purchase samples of these perfumes from one of these stores: Lucky Scent, Scent Split, or Decantx. The fragrances on this list are all niche fragrances which to me are more unique than most of the designer fragrances you find at Sephora. Your fragrance wardrobe should have a mix of both designer and niche fragrances. There are some fragrances that are so over played that they are extremely basic and you're going to fade away into the crowd if you wear them. These perfumes all have a stunning scent trail. I hope you find a new favorite perfume from my list.

Floral

Aerin Mediterranean Honeysuckle
I would call this a sparkling grapefruit scent. I was really drawn to this fragrance because I have scent memory from my childhood of smelling honeysuckle bushes. The perfume is a blend of citruses with the lovely sweet nectar of honeysuckle, perfect to wear on your Mediterranean vacation. It has notes of bergamot, grapefruit, honeysuckle, tuberose, honey and jasmine. I know it's hard to buy perfume online, so get the mini size. It's a great size to travel with! You'll get so many compliments on it. Granddaughter of Estee Lauder, Aerin makes the most beautiful realistic floral scent perfumes.

Rose Atlantic
A NYC based fragrance house that also makes candles, I visited their store last time I was in NYC. The scent is incredibly fresh and it's nice to have a summer scent that isn't sunscreen or coconut. It smells like a sea breeze flowing through a rose garden with tomato leaves and dune grass; it's a juicy and a salty rose. I'm picky about roses in perfume and this is not overly perfumy, but rather photorealistic. Top notes are Rose Petals, Lemon and Bergamot; middle notes are Rose, Salt, Lime (Linden) Blossom and Grass; base notes are Sea water, Musk and Oakmoss.

Gourmand

Liquides Imaginaires - Blanche Bete

Relapsed in 2021 the notes are milk, ambrette seeds, tuberose, jasmine, incense, vanilla, cacao, musk and tonka bean. Smells like a sophisticated piña colada or Palmer's cocoa butter lotion. It's milky in that you get the sweet, savory, and frothy milk notes while heavy on the coconut and rich cocoa butter. This lactonic beauty is a very beautiful creamy musk that smells very clean and feminine while also fluffy, warm and inviting. It was love at first sniff for me!

Citrus

Etat Libre D'Orange - You or Someone Like You

Picture a fresh grassy scent of mint leaves, squeezed limes and fragrant tomato leaves. It's crisp and so refreshing, you'll smell very clean. Notes are Mint, Grapefruit, Bergamot, Green Notes, Cassis, Rose and White Musk. It unisex and stays close to the skin. This smells a little similar to another favorite of mine Jo Malone - Blackberry & Bay which is a much stronger/herbal green scent so I'm enjoying the lighter Etat scent. You can purchase Etat samples from their website. This fragrance is so unique and captivating that people will notice.

Nishane - Wulong Cha
A fresh and long lasting tea fragrance with heavy citrus notes. This bright scent has notes of bergamot, orange, tea, fig and musk. While most citrus scents don't last long, this one lasts 6 hours.

Xerjoff - Torino21

The newest bottle in my collection, its a unisex green fragrance released in 2021 with notes of Mint, Lemon, Basil and Thyme, Black Currant, Lavender, Rosemary, Jasmine, Lemon Verbena and Musk. Some say it smells very similar to to Etat Libre D'Orange - You or Someone Like You but this is less minty and more lemony. It's not a herb garden, but very uplifting.

Tropical

Montale - Intense Tiare

Tiare is Tahitian gardenia and the official flower of the country. This is my favorite coconut suntan scent, it's beautiful, feminine, bright tropical, creamy white floral scent. It has notes of sweet ylang ylang, jasmine, rose, and vanilla. It's the perfect perfume to wear to the beach. I bathe myself in this fragrance in the summer!

Montale sells a Discovery Kit of 5 sample sized perfumes of your choosing for $25. Their perfumes have great sillage on your skin lasting many hours! I'd recommend trying Intense Cafe, Crystal Flowers, Rose Night, and Roses musk.

ylang-ylang (which some say smells like banana)

Jaune Oud Intense This perfume retails for $415 for a 50 ml bottle and $695 for a 100 ml bottle and the fragrance doesn't last that long. Thus, I bought this dupe when it was on sale. This is vacation in a bottle! It has notes of pineapple, Monoi (an infused perfume-oil made from soaking the petals of Tahitian gardenias (Tiare flowers) in coconut oil), and ylang-ylang in a musky base. Imagine a mix of tropical flowers with fruit but its not too sweet. The scent is quite similar to Intense Tiare however Jaune Oud Intense smells opulent, expensive and heavy. This tropical, floral scent is so sexy and a masterpiece! I feel so beautiful when I wear it! The word jaune means yellow in French. This is such a happy, warm, yellow scent. Wear this unique fragrance on your European vacation to make the nights magical while giving off a beautiful scent trail. It's a definitely a statement piece that you want to have in your collection that is stunning, intoxicating and will turn heads.

Tiare

Layer Your Perfume to Last All Day

I really like this Jasmine/Gardenia body oil. It moisturizes your skin, smells amazing, gives your skin a nice sheen, and is a good base layer before perfume to make your perfume last longer. It's also strong enough to be a perfume on its own. It's made from all natural ingredients.

Korres Jasmine Bodywash smells amazing! It comes in a jumbo container.

Honorable mention for my Tom Fords' which I have a love hate relationship with. Eau de Jasmine Rouge which is a lighter version of the regular Jasmine Rouge. It's more citrus forward and a watery jasmine but longevity is poor. Soleil Blanc is one one TF's most popular summer frags as it's a salty oceanic scent with notes of pistachio, coconut and Ylang-Ylang. Think expensive sunscreen. I wear this when I wear all white and latter on the matching shimmering gold body oil but it's not a love fragrance for me. Everyone else loves it so I keep giving it another chance. lol

I know you probably want me to rank these fragrances and it's really hard so I tried to think of what I wear the most. Keep in mind I have never finished a bottle of perfume. Fragrance is so subjective so it's really all about what you like. So never buy a perfume bottle without buying a sample first. You have to test on your skin to see how it smells on you, how it develops over time and how long the scent lasts.

1. You or Someone Like You (This is my second summer owning it and half the bottle is gone)

2. Jaune Oud Intense (This is so sexy on a hot summer night)

3. Blanche Bete ( I finished a 5ml travel size so I bought the full size on sale)

4. Mediterranean Honeysuckle (My old standby, a classic)

5. Blackberry & Bay (this is so herbal I think most people wouldn't like this, but I love it but I have to be in the mood for it, it's not an everyday scent)