This past week we have had some of the hottest days of the summer, and what I crave is a summer fragrance. Yep, you read that correctly, me – the one who wears what she wants when she wants regardless of season, weather, time of day, gender designations, religion, race, political affiliations, food preferences – whatever.   That’s all I know. I want to wear a summer fragrance: but which one?

Le Muguet de Rosine is a special edition fragrance launched in 2015 in honour of La Fête du Muguet. One whiff of it on my skin was so enchanting that I couldn’t walk away without it.

 Inoubliable Elixir Patchouli grabs your attention with an opening of patchouli that’s boozy, sweet, and potent. It’s a real show-stopper. As it blooms, the patchouli’s camphourous and mentholated nuances make an appearance.

A warm, spicy note of pepper opens L‘Original. The pepper isn’t sharp or bracing but has been manipulated in such a way that it smells green and herbal to me. It’s combined with a note of damp wood, like the smell of water flowing over tree branches that evoke the scent of the rainforest.

Rhinoceros opens with sour, aromatic bergamot and a boozy note of rum matched with an astringent note of leather.

After My Own Heart isn’t about notes and pyramids; it’s about the olfactory experience of lilacs: the leaves, the flowers and the stems all at once. It dries down to a soft, powdery floral scent that is wistful, romantic and a true harbinger of spring.

   Songe d’Un Bois d’Eté translates into ‘dream of a summer wood’, which explains why the heavy-sounding ingredients are transformed into a refined, beautiful, woody scent that showcases Middle Eastern notes in a very French way.

Photo - perfumeniche - Violas As often happens with fragrance, La Violette stirs up my sweet childhood memories of Easter celebrations, family, food, and housework.

Patchouli by Santa Maria Novella is the full-on patchouli experience. It opens with a raw, sharp, camphourous note that has dark, rich, and dirty undertones that are decidedly masculine.