14 All-Time Classic Men’s Summer Fragrances
Summer might be the time we all shop for shades, shorts and sunscreen, but it’s also the perfect time to grab a new scent. We’re not just saying that to make you buy another bottle of the smelly stuff. There are some very good reasons for switching to a different, lighter fragrance as the mercury rises.
The ingredients or ‘notes’ that make up a bottle of pulling sauce react differently in heat, intensifying and dispersing faster, which means that heavier scents loaded with oud can become overpowering.
Grooming science aside, when it’s hot out we also want to smell (and feel) clean and fresh; a task quite hard to do when reeking of musk, vanilla or amber, but much easier with the help of Sicilian lemon grove.
The question is: what to wear? Well, here are 14 all-time classic summer fragrances that will always be worthy of a sniff, and the others they smell like to help you pick the right one.
Terre d’Hermès
Few truly stand-out fragrances have emerged in the last decade or so, with most brands choosing to update old wins (which become known as ‘flankers’) rather than create something unique.
Of course, there are exceptions to this rule. “In my opinion, Terre d’Hermes is one of, if not the best men’s fragrance to come out in recent years,” says Grant Osborne, founder of online perfume resource Basenotes.
Earthy, woody and spicy, with notes of grapefruit, pink pepper, geranium, cedar and vetiver, it’s deliciously fresh yet warm and sensual. This is a true grooming hall-of-famer.
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- Davidoff Horizon Eau De Toilette Spray
Tom Ford Neroli Portofino
People salivate over Tom Ford fragrances almost as much as they do over the designer’s impeccably-cut suits. And with good reason.
Proving that you don’t need to be decades old to be considered a classic, 2011’s Neroli Portofino is an expertly balanced (and bottled) blend of lemon, mandarin, myrtle and Egyptian jasmine.