How to be ready for Summer
By Marcus Mitropoulos
3 minute read
As summer rolls around, now is a great time to start evaluating our collections as fragrance enthusiasts. As a Canadian, around mid-April is when the weather begins to change and I realize that I slowly can’t wear my ‘strong’ fragrances.
If you have any questions regarding what makes a fragrance suitable for the summer and why you can and can’t wear certain scents, check out my last article here!
Two major problems for frag heads in the summertime is choosing what fragrance is perfect, and how to make sure it lasts throughout their day. Here are some of the best tips and tricks to make sure you smell the best for the longest on a hot summer day.
Ways to smell cool when heat is the only thing on your mind
High heat calls for different tactics. The first issue that stems from most summer fragrances is longevity. The vast majority of citric and aquatic fragrances are not powerhouses when it comes to longevity. But damn they’re good in high heat!
One simple and easy trick to increase fragrance longevity is to rub good quality, unscented lotion onto your skin. Specifically, where you will be applying the fragrance.
This technique allows the fragrances to seep deeper into your skin, allowing the fragrance to project farther and last longer. Another hack for longevity is spraying directly onto your clothes.
Is overspray overkill?
One tactic that has been a topic of debate recently is over spraying. This term ranges from fragrance to fragrance. A Tom Ford fragrance may only need 6-8 sprays, but Dolce & Gabbana The One? 20+ sprays is what is recommended by some influencers.
Personally, I believe experimentation is the key to finding out the longevity of a fragrance. I recently purchased Armaf Club De Nuit Milestone (fantastic clone)!
I began by spraying this fragrance five times. I found the longevity to be around 6-8 hours, with a fairly moderate projection. After slowly spraying more on I found a nice sweet spot in which the scent lasts for 8+ hours easily, whilst projecting to the passenger seat of my car for a good few hours.
This experimentation is great during quarantine as instead of ruining strangers’ noses, I am merely exposing my roommates to over spraying!
Summer Superstars
In a perfect scenario, your collection has a nice rotation of citric, aquatic and office-ready fragrances. These are all great for summertime as they are inoffensive and tend to be crowd-pleasers.
Two great examples would be Dolce & Gabbana Light Blue Intense and Bulgari Aqva Amara. Light Blue is the undoubted king of the summertime but... Aqva Amara Pour by Bvlgari gives it a run for its money!
This summer staple has notes of Mandarin orange, seaweed and patchouli which are prominent throughout its duration. Its effervescent sea notes take you and the people around you on a journey through the Atlantic.
If you want to be unique this summer, make a blue fragrance your signature scent. Everyone talks about Dior Sauvage, Bleu De Chanel and YSL Y EDP. Especially with the new release of YSL Y Ea Parfum. But, Versaces blue scent, Dylan blue, is an underrated and very affordable scent on discounters.
This spicy, fresh out of the shower scent features patchouli, grapefruit and black pepper. I believe that this is the perfect fragrance for the summer as it grasps onto the staple notes for a summer scent, whilst incorporating scents that are prominent in the arguable king of the blue, Dior Sauvage.
Conclusion
If you went ahead and read this article in its entirety, I hope you enjoyed it and learned some techniques and tactics for how to tackle fragrance for the summer. As well, if you have $50 kicking around, pick up Dylan Blue. I promise that you won’t be disappointed.
Marcus
