Now that summer is over, I can look back at my stash and see what I wore the most. This summer was different than summers before. We moved to a place with no A/C and the summer was hotter than average. The new place has this special ability to trap heat (bet it won’t do that in the winter!) so many nights, I was trying to fall asleep in a place where the thermostat was reading 88º. I also take mass transit (up to eight buses daily) and most city buses lack A/C. This summer I was all about “clean” and “fresh”, finding myself wearing citrus scents that I usually neglect. Everything felt so “heavy” this summer. I really just wanted to wear light, soapy scents.
On the milder days in early and late summer, I found myself wearing things that fit into two themes: Clean Musks and Serge Lutens.
12. Jul et Mad Aqua Sextius EDP – It’s a nouveau aquatic that is fresh, mineral and green. I enjoyed this more than I ever thought I would. Full review.
11. Smell Bent Sunshine EDP – It’s a happy orange creamsicle over sandalwood incense. I wore it at night over MBeze Sweet Sanura body oil. Full review.
10. Sage Diamond Perfume Oil – Here’s another that I wore at night over clean, musky body oils (see above). Diamond is a crisp, clear musk. Full review.
9. Serge Lutens De Profundis EDP – I say that De Profundis is like a really glamorous funeral. I really love this blend of cool greens and cool florals. Full review.
8. Serge Lutens Bais de Soie EDP – This cool floral is one of my favorite perfumes. It’s a cold iris. Full review.
7. Serge Lutens Fille de Berlin EDP – Another cool floral, this time a sheer rose with a hint of cardamom. Full review.
6. Mulhens 4711 Cologne – It really doesn’t get much more boring than this but when one wants light, sheer and fresh, this stuff will always get the job done. Full review.
5. Serge Lutens Clair de Musc EDP – Well, here’s my crossover of clean musks and Serge Lutens.
4. Clarins Eau Dynamisante Cologne – Herbal, fresh and “clean” with a nice amount of patchouli. One I’ve been wearing in hot weather since I was a teenager.
3. Jean Naté EDP (vintage) – I layered this over Jean Naté shower gel, body lotion and powder. This is just my “summer clean smell” that I wear on those days where you feel like you need to take four showers just to be presentable to the world. Jean Naté is “classic clean” to me. I wore this so much and I was really surprised to see what a small “dent” I put in this bottle. Full review.
2. Thierry Mugler Cologne – It’s a weirder eau de cologne. Another one of my “go-to”s when it is hot and gross outside.
1. Balmain Monsieur Balmain EDT – This was like the summer of Balmain for me. This is a lemon chypre with glowing neon lights. Pretty much the only thing I could “stomach” on most days due to the heat. I started with a full bottle and now have about 1/4 left. Full review.
Overall, this is a really different “most worn” sort of list for me. But, it totally fit with my life this summer. I’m ready to move on. I’m starting to crave richer scents. And don’t worry. I’m fine. I’m now back to my usual roses and ambers.
What did you find yourself wearing the most of this past summer? Any surprises? Old favorites or new favorites?
For me, this was the summer of flowers. I was never big on florals before, but roses and tuberose caught my imagination. I wore a lot of Roses de Chloe, Armani’s Rose Alexandrie, By Kilian Beyond Love and Madonna’s Truth or Dare. I also wore a lot of my summer standards i.e. Chanel 19 and Chanel Cristalle. Here in South Florida we had a horrid hot and rainy summer, so I needed something that I wouldn’t suffocate in.
That was me last summer! I was crazy about flowers (Beyond Love too). Cristalle is one of my favorites of all time. It’s crisp, perfect for hot weather and I think it does well in humidity too. When I lived in the South it was one that I wore frequently in the spring/summer.
Hopefully autumn weather will be better!
I wore the heck out of Liz Zorn’s Ochre Orris. Very light, clean and super inoffensive. It’s still hot here. I tried Tom Ford’s Velvet Orchid, it’s nice. Still too hot to wear without air-conditioning.
I agree about Velvet Orchid. I stowed my sample away to try again (perhaps review) in the cooler weather. I knew it was one of those that I would HATE if I tried in the summer heat, so I wanted to give it a fair chance 🙂
I know it’s awful to try to sleep in the heat. And holy heck, 8 buses! I use public transportation in Chicago, but you are clearly the champ. Your list makes perfect sense. I really enjoy your most worn lists! Happy Fall! 🙂
8 buses makes me a fool, you’d think I’d just give in and drive but apparently I’d rather sit in traffic next to strangers than by myself in the car.
I’m so happy it’s fall!
Hi! This is a great list, and I know what you mean about the summer in the city. Just want cool, clean and presentable.
This’d it’s my first year wedding a wardrobe of perfumes, and I played around a bunch.
J Lo Still was an easy, reliable wear. So was Hermes Kelly Caleche. It’s strange, I wrote something different almost every day, , and now I can barely recall what I wore. Huh!
Stupid phone.
Wedding = wearing…
Dang phones. At least “wedding” instead of “wearing” sounds more poetic than many other autocomplete alternatives!
That was my theme 🙂
I have such a special place for J Lo Still, I feel like I love it more than I should. But, it’s just so pretty, I can’t help how I feel 🙂
If I didn’t make an “effort”, I wouldn’t remember either.
I just missed that hot summer! I moved to the Bay Area in the middle of May and have been adjusting to this weird weather, but my sister and friends said the same thing about how crazy hot it was. (I used to live in WS)
So here, my fragrances were all over the board. I’d hear reviews about light and citrusy scents like the ones on your list but I wasn’t compelled because it wasn’t that hot here. So I rotated between samples, florals, and my usual unisex everyday office appropriate stuff. I went nuts at one point (still shake my finger at myself) and bought several bottles from Escentual. Um yes, blind buys. I cannot divulge how many bottles because I just cannot, but about half worked out and there were a couple of surprises. So my summer scent list had absolutely no theme and I’m hoping this place has some kind of autumn weather soon to bring the randomness under control 🙂
The only one from your list that I’ve tried is SL Fille de Berlin. I tried to like it. Tried it 3-4 times. But given the trouble I have with strong spicy rose scents (e.g. POAL), it’s no surprise that I felt like I was choking. Even a little tiny spray from my sample was too much. Seeing you describe it as sheer makes me think I have an over abundance of rose receptors in my nose. Oh well!
Keep in mine it’s only “hot” without a/c 😉 I’m in Nashville visiting right now and it’s in the 80’s BUT they keep the a/c going in the low 70’s all the time, you can’t tell. Oh, well. I still think it was hot 🙂
You don’t have to tell, we’ve all been there. I tell people not to blind-buy but I also admit that I’ve bought some really great things “blind”.
Some people are super “sensitive” to rose, it’s a polarizing note. I’m such a rose person that I wonder what I would consider “too much” and oh, yeah, I just remember Tea Rose by Perfumer’s Workshop. So when people tell me about their rose “issues”, I always think about how I perceive Tea Rose and then immediately “get it”.
I feel ya! My house has no AC and summer was hell. And yes, it loses this magical heat-trapping ability in winter.
I actually put most of my perfumes in the refrigerator so I was wearing them less often because apparently I suffer from “out of sight, out of mind” mentality. But the ones I would most reach for were Olivine’s She belongs there, ysl’s cinema, MJ’s daisy dream, and d&g light blue escape to panacea which I always think of as escape to panera.
I’ve tried this too, the fridge thing, and yes, I forget about them as well. It’s like “What the heck is next to this jar of cornichons???”
Speaking of, that D&G, I think everyone’s mind goes there with that one!
I wore Atelier Cologne Orange Sanguine, Vero Profumo Mito, Frederick Malle Lys Mediterranee, Ormonde Jayne Frangipani, Serge Lutens Fleurs de Citronnier, and Neela Vermiere Bombay Bling. I need to try Balmain Monsieur Balmain EDT–that sounds perfect!
So many great things in your summer rotation!
It was one strange summer. I keep breaking into a sweat walking a few blocks downtown. I kept asking “Am I having hot flashes?” Am I the only one? The jeans with stretchy-stuff are not for this weather. We have a room air conditioner in the bedroom, but I can’t sleep with it on–the noise drives me nuts. My husband, on the other hand, is oblivious.
This summer I wore PdE Azremour, Iskander and Equistrius. The light L’eau d”Ambre and Ambra for my amber fix. No. 19 and a little Coco (sultry at night). Some Nu, Jasminora , Velvet Rose and Frapin Speakeasy round it out. Along with eau du nothing.
Just moved my heavy ambers, leathers and such to the front. Broke out Cuir Ottoman tonight–very nice.
Never was one for limiting myself to “seasonly” perfumes, but this summer
I’m that person. I don’t know when it happened, but it happened. I’m the sweater in like 70 degree weather. Oh, well.
Sounds like a good rotation. (I love Velvet Rose!)
I don’t like to think of it as limiting 🙂 I’m really “seasonal” in all aspects of my life. I eat certain dishes in the winter, the summer, etc. I just look at it as another way to look forward to all the different seasons and time passing.
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