The 14 Best Summer Fragrances Are Set To Take You On An Olfactory Journey

Price: $256AUD

What we think: One of our favourite summer fragrances, Jo Malone London Wood Sage & Sea Salt Cologne is the ideal unisex scent. Salty and aromatic with just a hint of sweetness, it does well at capturing that distinct salinity you taste in the air when visiting a coastal town (sans fish smell). The only drawback to Jo Malone London Wood Sage & Sea Salt Cologne is its longevity; despite spraying generously we found we needed to reapply it during the day.

“This is my go-to office cologne during the summer thanks to its gentle projection and crowd-pleasing qualities. While I wouldn’t ordinarily recommend blind buying (it’s always best to trial a new cologne first), Wood Sage & Sea Salt Cologne is one of the few fragrances that appeals to everyone without being anywhere near ‘basic’.” — Theo Rosen, journalist

Brand: Jo Malone London
Olfactory family: Aromatic Aquatic
Scent notes: magnolia, rose de mai, rose damascena, patchouli, amber

Price: $270AUD

What we think: The time is rife to smell like a sexy vegetable (seriously, it’s very in right now) and this water-based scent by French fragrance house Officine Buly is the ideal way to do it. An olfactory encapsulation of tomato girl (or boy!) summer, it features an unexpected yet wholly welcome blend of golden tomato (yes, yes, we know it’s technically a fruit!), currents, rosemary, and bergamot.

“If you’re sensitive to conventional fragrances, a water-based scent is the way to go. I love generously spritzing this one by Officine Buly; it makes me smell like a salad in the best possible way.” — Tanisha Angel, editor

Brand: Officine Buly
Olfactory family: Fruity Aromatic
Scent notes: inca fruit, boreal currant, fresh plant stems, rosemary, bergamot

Price: $297AUD

What we think: When it’s hot and muggy outside, sometimes you simply want to smell clean. We’ve found that many perfumes that market themselves as fresh and clean err on the overly green or aquatic side of things. Byredo Blanche isn’t one of those fragrances. An olfactory ode to the colour white, Byredo Blanche emulates the scent of freshly washed laundry; with white florals, rose, and aldehydes making for a pure and refreshing yet cosy skin scent.

Brand: Byredo
Olfactory family: Floral Aldehyde
Scent notes: aldehydes, rose, peony, violet, musks, sandalwood

Price: $210AUD

What we think: When it comes to Hermès fragrances, most people recommend the maison’s Terre D’hermes. While the flagship woody spicy scent is indeed a classic, we’re partial to the vegetal and herbal notes of Hermès Eau de Basilic Pourpre. A comparatively new addition to the Hermès fragrance lineup, it’s a fresh, verdant scent that sees peppery purple basil further enlivened by bright bergamot and geranium.

The purple basil is relatively gentle but the verdant notes are strong here, with Hermès Eau de Basilic Pourpre having a slightly sweet, herbal tea-like quality. As with many verdant, herbal fragrances, the longevity of Eau de Basilic Pourpre isn’t the best, meaning you’ll likely need to reapply this during the day (we did).

“I bought this for my boyfriend and then proceeded to steal it for myself because I loved it so much. The perfect blend of spicy and herbal.” — Arabella Johnson, beauty editor

Brand: Hermès
Olfactory family: Aromatic
Scent notes: bergamot, purple basil, geranium, patchouli

Price: $258AUD

What we think: The strong aquatic and marine notes in Goldfield & Banks Pacific Rock Moss make it the quintessential Australian summer scent. Redolent of hot days spent cliff jumping into the cool water, it sees a marine accord meet moss, sage, lemon, and cedarwood to create a patently refreshing scent.

“A lot of the most popular aquatic fragrances can start to feel a bit samey, but Pacific Rock Moss offers something different, offering a hyperrealistic beach scent rather than generic ‘water’. It’s also cool to see a fragrance house look locally for inspiration, with the moss, sage, and salt contributing to a distinctly Aussie scent that’s a refreshing change from the slew of summer scents that look to the Med.” — John Deckard, publisher

Brand: Goldfield & Banks
Olfactory family: Aromatic Aquatic
Scent notes: coastal moss, lemon, sage, geranium, cedarwood

Price: $183AUD

Designed to reflect the essence of ink on paper, Diptyque L’Eau Papier is a gentle, intimate scent that’s a viable summer perfume for those who aren’t looking for marine or verdant notes.

What we think: This is absolutely not a traditional summer scent, but that’s why we love it. It combines soft white musks, blonde woods, and powdery mimosa with a unique rice steam accord to create a delicate, contemplative skin scent with soothing and calming qualities.

Brand: Diptyque
Olfactory family: Woody Floral Musk
Scent notes: white musks, rice steam, mimosa, blonde woods

Price: $49.99AUD (for 800ml!!)

The oldest perfume still in production, Mülhens 4711 has retained the same formula for over two centuries.

What we think: If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. A zesty blend of bergamot, lemon, orange, petitgrain, and neroli with hints of lavender and rosemary, it has formed the blueprint for many of the most popular contemporary eau de colognes of today. Light and watery, it stays on the skin for a mere couple of hours and is designed to be liberally reapplied; something made easy by its generously sized bottle and almost laughably inexpensive price point. Oh, and it’s kinda a dupe for Tom Ford’s Neroli Portofino. The more you know.

“I first smelled Mülhens 4711 in Cologne, Germany (i.e. the birthplace of cologne) and—despite it being several times the price of bottles here and taking up precious check-in luggage space—simply had to pick up a bottle thanks to its indelible mark on the fragrance industry. Despite being produced well over two centuries ago, it still hits the mark today. Tom Ford who?” — Tanisha Angel, editor

Brand: Mülhens
Olfactory family: Citrus Aromatic
Scent notes: lemon, bergamot, orange, lavender, rosemary neroli, petitgrain

Price: $425AUD

Vibrant notes of bergamot and pink pepper are laced with seductive Goan jasmine and underscored by cedarwood and musk in this olfactory interpretation of a royal greenhouse.

What we think: Pure, romantic, sensual, and just a little animalic, this is a celebration of jasmine in its truest sense. While it’s on the pricier side, Santa Maria Novella Gelsomino is undeniably elegant and a fragrance we go back to every time we want a sophisticated summer fragrance.

Brand: Santa Maria Novella
Olfactory family: Floral
Scent notes: bergamot, tangerine, pink pepper, jasmine, cedarwood, musk.

Price: $235AUD

Take an olfactory journey to the Mediterranean with Maison Margiela Replica Under The Lemon Tree.

What we think: An alluring fresh verdant citrus scent, Maison Margiela Replica Under The Lemon Tree pairs lime, coriander, and tea leaves with cedarwood and a touch of must. Like the majority of Maison Margiela Replica fragrance, it’s successful in translating its source material into fragrance form, effectively evoking the vibe of dozing off under a lemon tree on a summer afternoon (regardless of how many miles you are from the Med).

Brand: Maison Margiela Replica
Olfactory family: Citrus Aromatic
Scent notes: lime accord, petitgrain, cardamom, coriander, mate, green tea, cedarwood essence, cistus, white musk

Price: $575AUD

Tom Ford Vanilla Sex is a vanilla scent that’s sexy, not sex that’s vanilla. Just to clarify.

What we think: Sweet gourmands aren’t usually good summer perfumes as the combination of saccharine notes and hot, humid days can give them a cloying quality, however Tom Ford Vanilla Sex manages to evade this fate by leaning into the lesser-explored seductive, glamorous qualities of vanilla. Perfect for hot summer nights, Vanilla Sex features vanilla tincture and vanilla absolute, which intermingle with marzipan, tonka, and sandalwood to form a positively delectable scent.

Brand: Tom Ford
Olfactory family: Amber Vanilla
Scent notes: vanilla absolute, vanilla tincture, tonka bean, ultravanil, sandalwood

Price: $375AUD

What we think: The olfactory equivalent of quiet luxury, Penhaligon’s Solaris is a delicate, elegant white floral scent. Mature and refined without feeling staid, it features an uplifting blend of blackcurrant, neroli and jasmine flowers, lemon, vanilla, and sandalwood. White florals and a touch of citrus are strongest here, resulting in an optimistic fragrance well-suited to the warmer months.

Brand: Penhaligon’s
Olfactory family: Citrus Aromatic
Scent notes: neroli, lemon, blackcurrant, jasmine, ylang ylang, vanilla, sandalwood

Price: $279AUD

Inspired by a city in Sicily, Via Dei Mille Dolce Kaos is a paradoxical scent, meaning ‘sweet chaos’.

What we think: This is one of our favourite green, aromatic fragrances. A sweet, slightly sexy opening of bergamot and mandarin aromatic fig, cistus, cypress, geranium to form a deep, intense fragrance with balsamic, amber notes. The citrus and fig notes on the opening are the highlight here, but it dries down into a pleasant base of soft herbal and marine notes.

Brand: Via Dei Mille
Olfactory family: Citrus Aromatic
Scent notes: bergamot, mandarin, fig, labdanum, geranium, cypress, patchouli, amber

Price: $279AUD

Bottling up the best parts of the beach, Maison Margiela Replica Sailing Day is an invigorating ocean fragrance. Clean and refreshing, Sailing Day is one of our go-to summer scents, taking you to the seaside with breezy notes of seaweed, ambergris, iris, and juniper. 

What we think: Another excellent office cologne, the clean and refreshing notes of Sailing Day make it one of our go-to summer fragrances. Its breezy, saline notes of seaweed, ambergris, iris, and juniper evoke a seaside holiday.

“There’s something so addictive about the salty quality of this one.” — Esmé Duggan, journalist

Brand: Maison Margiela
Olfactory family: Aromatic Aquatic
Scent notes: coriander, iris, juniper, red pepper, rose, salicylate, seaweed, ambergris, amber wood, cedar

Price: $148AUD

What we think: Fresh and wearable, Chloé Rose Tangerine blends Chloé’s signature clear rose note with the citrus note of tangerine, as well as verdant blackcurrant and base notes of cedarwood and white amber to create a distinctly feminine and elegant summer scent. 

“In a word: lovely. I was sent a bottle of Chloé Rose Tangerine when it was first released in 2020 and while I remember liking it, it soon fell down in my fragrance rotation in favour of more niche fragrances. I rediscovered it (in my own vanity!) a few weeks ago and have been exclusively wearing it since. It’s honestly just so easy to love; it opens with a hit of citrus which quickly settles down into a soft rose scent. It wears close to the skin, which is how I prefer a summer perfume to be. It mightn’t be as nuanced as some of our other picks, but it’s very easy to love.” — Tanisha Angel, editor

Brand: Chloé
Olfactory family: Floral Fruity
Scent notes: tangerine, white rose, blackcurrant, cedarwood, amber