Perfume List: My Favorite Summer Scents, Part II

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This is part II of my reviews of my library of scents for the summer.

It is more than probable that by the end of this summer I will have made new additions to this list of favorites especially so since I have decided that perfumes were like movies, able to set a mood, an atmosphere, and easily consumptible in succession in the space of a day. A good dry down should last longer than a film though. This is on the reception side.

On the creative side, I have come to think that the best artistic analogy for perfumery is cuisine. Keeping this idea in mind I understand better why perfumes can be variations only of a core recipe idea, rather than unique works of art. At the same time, it may well be that perfumery experiences unique constraints and deals with a different material altogether. It will probably take decades to sort this out.

The Cour de Cassation in France has recently decided that perfumes did not merit copyright protection and that authorship in perfumery was a shaky idea. I think that they reached this conclusion because they laid great emphasis on the traditional heritage of French perfumery, the idea that all this know-how was accumulated over the centuries and that it has become part of the texture of society. Therefore perfumes, like recipes, should be reproduced with variations in accordance with your taste and the raw materials at hand.

The uniqueness of a scent may well lie in the search and the finding of uniquely harmonious proportions, the creation of a superior recipe to be appreciated by the finest of palates and the quality of the material used. But, just like one's taste for food can be eclectic and is influenced by one's personal history, one may well love both simple tastes, even childish ones, and more complex ones.

Since the mega hit that Angel by Thierry Mugler was and still is, and the development of gourmand scents or notes as a result, the association between food and perfumes has become closer. And now, oenologists like Ginestet create perfumes because they see the intimate parallel existing between wine and fragrance.

So after this excursus which may explain why one may want to taste different variations of the same type of food or perfume, here is my list:

11- Favorite Fruity Summer Scent

Eau Fantasque by Fragonard

Yvresse by Yves Saint laurent

Fou d'Elle by Ted Lapidus

Roma by Laura Biagiotti

Innocent Summer Flash by Thierry Mugler

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12 - Favorite Spicy scents

L'Autre by Diptyque

Eau de Réglisse by Caron

Quadrille by Balenciaga

Oriental Lumpur by Les Néréides

Opium in parfum

Opium Fleur Impériale

Egyptian Garden by V'Tae

Ginger Essence by Origins in eau de parfum

Bois des Iles by Chanel

Youth Dew Amber Nude by Estee Lauder


13 - Favorite Summer Floral scents

Narcisse Chloé by Karl Lagerfeld

Coeur d'Eté by Miller Harris

Carnation by Mona di Orio

Le Maroc pour Elle by Andy Tauer

Fidji by Guy Laroche

Paris by Yves Saint Laurent

Oscar by Oscar de la Renta

Anaïs Anaïs by Cacharel

Fleur de Fleurs by Nina Ricci

L'Air du Temps by Nina Ricci

Nahéma by Guerlain

Nocturnes parfum by Caron

Monyette Paris

Flower by Kenzo

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14 - Favorite Summer Amber

Ambra di Nepal

Ambre Sultan

Youth Dew Amber Nude

15 - Favorite Summer Greens

Chanel no 19

Silences by Jacomo

Ma Griffe by Carven

Vent Vert by Balmain

Dilmun by Lorenzo Villoresi

Grass by Gap

Heure Exquise by Annick Goutal

Norell

Le Chèvrefeuille

Mint Deva by The Body Shop

Private Collection by Estee Lauder

16 - Favorite Summer Leather

Dzing! by L'Artisan

Salvador Dali pour Homme

Carnation by Mona di Orio


17 - Favorite Summer wood

Green Grass & Sunshine by V'Tae

Lux by Mona di Orio

Kisu by Tann Rokka

Le Maroc pour Elle by Andy Tauer

Salvador Dali pour Homme

Hervé Léger by Hervé Léger


18 - Favorite Tea Scent

Le Chèvrefeuille by Annick Goutal

19 - Favorite Beach Scent

Azurée Body Oil Spray by Estee lauder

20 - Favorite Incense/Sandalwood

Samsara by Guerlain in Eau de Toilette only

Monyette Paris

Kisu

Hervé Léger

21 - Favorite Eau de Cologne

Eau Impériale by Guerlain

Cologne à la Française by Institut Très Bien

Please click on the following link if you wish to consult My Favorite Summer Scents, Part I

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10 Comments | Leave a comment

  1. Brava. Fantastic list and wonderful article. I think it's interesting you list le chevrefeuille as a tea scent. Maybe I just loooove tea scents, because I love that one and Yuzu Rouge, which I think is correctly categorized as tea.
    Anyway, thanks for your greatness.
    I am continuing to explore summer scents in spite of the lack of a real summer here.

    Cait
  2. Cait,

    I should probably blush at this point:) Let it be known that I did not pay you to lavish so much positive energy on me, LOL!

    Le Chèvrefeuille develops very much as a tea scent on my skin, although at other times, the green notes come forth better. Perfumes are indeed unpredictable little creatures on our skins.

    New England's summer are quite hot, yet capricious. It rained for several days lately. Today is a beautiful sunshiny day, at last.

    I am very keen on trying the new Bond no9 and now I must say also that my mind is set on the function "catalogue of summer scents", LOL!

    Mimi
  3. Great list and very interesting comparison of perfumes and recipes. I am reminded once again that I must smell Private Collection and Salvador Dali pour Homme.

    Elle
  4. I love your extensive list, H! I can't wait to try MH Coeur d'Ete.

    Hugs!

    violetnoir
  5. Super-wonderful lists! Especially the spicy one, love everything there. I am thrilled to see Eau de Reglisse since I am so madly in love with it these days :-)

    Marina
  6. This was an incredible, very thorough list. Wow. So many things to discover in there! I've not ever tried Nocturnes in parfum - how does it differ from the edt in your opinion? Thanks!

    Katie
  7. Elle,

    I feel more and more this connection between the art of cuisine and the art of perfumery. I'd be interested to compare their respective histories.

    They are indeed worth smelling.

    Mimi
  8. Thanks R!

    Coeur d'Eté is beautiful, you must try it!

    Mimi
  9. Thanks Marina!

    Eau de Réglisse is one of the new perfumes that did not let us down! It's beautiful and sophisticated.

    Mimi
  10. Many thanks Katie!

    Nocturnes the parfum is deeper, richer, more mysterious. The eau de toilette or eau de parfum (?) is very good though.

    Mimi

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