Summer Scents

What I wore on my summer vacation, 2011

Summer is its own perfume category. Hot humid days cry out for cooling colognes; languid summer evenings beg for pretty florals; garden-fresh green notes just seem so right and if you can't get to the beach, you can always smell like one. On my staycation this summer, I hung around the city during some of its hottest days. Away from the restrictions of the office, I was free to spray on whatever and as much as I wanted. So here is list of what I wore to beat the heat.

Cologne

Santa Maria Novella Acqua di Colonia
I first tried this in the spring on a trip to Rome. I was looking for a perfume that was quintessentially "Italian" and that would help me cope with the heat while we traversed the hills of Rome by foot. Acqua di Colonia fits the bill. It was originally created in 1533 by Dominican friars for Catherine de Medici. Its cooling combination of citrus, herbs and flowers feel as good as stepping into the Trevi Fountain on a hot day.

Floral

Penhaligon's Orange Blossom
A favourite of mine for sleeping in year round, this light, airy take on orange blossom starts with a pink pepper and end with a whisper of vanilla and wood.

Bvlgari Bvlgari Pour Femme
The perfect pretty floral perfume for a casual summer evening in a barely-there dress and sandals, Bvlgari Pour Femme is a carefree violet, rose and jasmine with a warm amber base.

Beach

Parfumerie Generale - Bois Naufragé
My beach in a bottle. This simple combination of wood, salt and ambergris makes my skin smell like I just went swimming in the ocean. The driftwood note and the salty-sweet skin note of ambergris combine with a pale "green plus coconut" fig-like note to make it seem like just the barest trace of suntan lotion is left on my skin under the salt.

l'Artisan Parfumeur - Ananas Fizz
Grapefruit and pineapple make this perfume a fizzy but not too sweet refresher. I find it somewhat balsamic and floral. When I wear it people say I smell like the beach.

Creed - Virgin Island Water
Virgin Island Water always makes me smile. Coconut, rum, lime and creamy ylang ylang smell like a tropical cocktail in paradise.

Green

Eau d'Italie - Jardin du Poete
The smell of fresh basil is one of the best things in summer. In Jardin du Poete, refreshing bitter orange and grapefruit shine down on the bright green of basil and cypress like a garden at high noon. Moody green angelica, musk and vetiver bring you down to earth in that same garden at dusk.

Parfumerie Generale - Papyrus de Ciane
This is a good example of how perfume tastes can change over time. When I first tried this scent last year, I wasn't really into it. Now I adore it. The main notes are galbanum, neroli, incense, labdanum, vetiver and a gorgeous dark, mossy Mousse de Saxe base. Not really a "fresh" green scent, but more of a dry, smoky, resinous green, I know Papyrus de Ciane will continue to be one of my favourites right into fall.

So what are you wearing this summer to beat the heat?



Photo: Chasing Water I by andreaffm

Bvlgari - Eau Parfumée au Thé Vert

A refreshing glass of clear green tea with lemon and jasmine petals

Launched in 1992, Eau Parfumée au Thé Vert was Bvlgari's first eau de cologne. It was created by  Jean-Claude Ellena, who is now the in-house nose for Hermes. (See also my review of Un Jardin sur le Nil.)

Chandler Burr has a great story New York Times Magazine about the creation of EPTV. Bvlgari wanted a fragrance to sell in their stores to promote their brand but never envisioned the huge success that EPTV would have. With EPTV, Ellena created one of the first real "tea" notes in perfume. Bvlgari now has an entire line of perfumes that include tea notes.

Ellena is the master of sheer in perfumes. Throughout EPTV, you have the feeling of clear, green-tinged liquid, something sparkling and refreshing. It seems to glow from within with a cool, pale green light, like a piece of jade.

EPTV starts with lemon and gentle spices and then the smell of green tea. It's quite dry, refreshing and light and the tea carries that slight edge of bitterness that tea leaves have. As the heart notes open up, gentle florals appear like having flower petals dropped onto the top of your tea. I catch the smell of orange blossoms briefly and then a sheer white floral scent, like jasmine but not heavy or indolic at all, floats above the green tea. The drydown is a pleasant clean musk and sheer woods.

EPTV is a real unisex scent and the perfect refreshment for a summer day.


House: Bvlgari
Nose: Jean-Claude Ellena
Notes: Top notes are coriander, orange blossom, mandarin orange, bergamot, cardamom and lemon; middle notes are jasmine, lily-of-the-valley and bulgarian rose; base notes are sandalwood, amber, musk, green tea, precious woods and cedar.(Fragrantica) pepper (bulgari.com)


Photo: Doctor Swan