Well, we’ve made it to Midsummer; though for many of us in the U.K it only really feels like the start of proper summer, weather-wise! Therefore, to maximise the feel-good factor and bring on the sunshine, we are choosing scents that radiate light, warmth and happiness (no matter what the weather happens to be doing. We invite you to join us in wearing the following fragrances as a kind of scented spell, to prolong brightness…
Penhaligon’s Solaris
The fragrant counterpoint to Luna, their olfactory tribute to the moon, Solaris is sun-filled, an ode to the sun that opens to blackcurrant, lemon and neroli, caresses with radiant white flowers – tiaré, ylang ylang, jasmine – and softens to sandalwood, vanilla and cedar. Categorised by Penhaligon’s as an ‘aromatic fougère’, we’d herald it rather as the first ‘solar fougère’ – and a very smile-making new fragrance family that is…
£85 for 30ml eau de parfum penhaligons.com
Juliette Has a Gun Sunny Side Up
Close your eyes and imagine an impossibly perfect beach: warm sand, warm skin, an omnipresent hush of crystal waters massaging brightly coloured pebbles and your own deep, contented breaths. Sunny Side Up is all blissfully relaxed limbs glowing with the retro-smelling scent of suntan oil, the softness of the blanket beneath you and a waft of vanilla ice-cream on the breeze as the sun dips its toes in the ocean. Bliss!
£100 for 50ml eau de parfum harveynichols.com
Maison Tahite Cacao in the Sun
A shiny cocoa, like a tasty voyage to a scented elsewhere. A tropical island. A sunny beach, where fruits and flowers walk hand in hand with sweet and enveloping notes. A light yet sensual fragrance that wards off everyday stress and brings to the skin a carefree, holiday mood. A welcoming, pampering and reassuring perfume. A gourmand fragrance for those who love travelling with their minds…
€98 for 100ml eau de parfum maisontahite.com
Vyrao Sun Rae
Already mourning summer passing us by? Console yourself with this gloriously uplifting scent – infused with ‘a supercharged Herkimer diamond crystal for clarity and to boost energy levels’, the brilliant Lyn Harris creates her own magic from a ZING! POP! FIZZ! of citrus explosions that feel like you’re being beamed above the clouds with every spritz. Turmeric and black pepper adds warmth while bergamot, lemon, and aqueous ginger sparkle like bottled sunshine throughout.
£135 for 50ml eau de parfum libertylondon.com
Try the first fragrances in VYRAO’s collection in travel-size form via their High Five Discovery Set
AKRO Rise
Offering a sense of hope for grey months when ‘days are getting shorter, nights are getting longer and you just wish summer could have lasted forever,’ AKRO say, adding that although ‘we can’t promise to keep the weather good, we can bring you a little hit of summer whenever you want.’ Rise awakens idyllic beach memories and offers wafts of pina colada, via coconut water, juicy pineapple and sandalwood’s silken woodiness.
£160 for 100ml eau de parfum fenwick.co.uk
Written by Suzy Nightingale