Summer’s Best New Scents Are Refreshing—And Perfect for Reemergence

This season perfumers dug deep, using personal points of inspiration, offbeat notes, and the occasional movie reference.

Summer’s Best New Scents Are Refreshing—And Perfect for Reemergence

The higher temperatures get, the harder it is to do anything beyond cozying up to your air conditioner unit. Still, few things are as gratifying as a cool scent on a hot summer day. Whether you’re using your perfumer as a refreshing spritz to beat the heat or enveloping yourself in a soothing aroma to de-stress, fragrance offers comfort, pleasure, and a momentary distraction from any weather-related woes. Summer 2021’s best new perfumes are crafted with warmth in mind, but they aren’t all single note, lemon fizz-fests. Perfumers dug deep, creating multi-layered concoctions with personal points of inspiration, offbeat notes, and the occasional movie reference. Arriving in stores just as customers are heading back out into the streets and engaging with society, these multi-faceted creations are ideal for the season and reemergence. 

Vyrao Verdant

Vyrao I Am Verdant

Wellness and fragrance can both lift your mood, but the categories usually remain separate. Vyrao, the new line from fashion insider Yasmin Sewell, attempts to change all that. Each of Vyrao’s perfumes is made via a collaboration with a master perfumer and energetic healer, who take plant-based remedies and use them to create scents that resonate on a deeper level. The aromatherapy approach means each Vyrao creation has a different purpose. “I am Verdant” is a mossy green aromatic intended to promote transformation and illumination through cyclamen and frankincense. Invigorating and clean, it calls to mind cut grass and the calm of a lush summer garden. 

Etat Libre d’Orange Remarkable People

Etat Libre d'Orange Remarktable People

Sometimes a fragrance’s name perfectly sums up its vibe; such is the case with Etat Libre d’Orange’s Remarkable People. The line famous for its outside-the-box ideas—scents made from food waste, collaborations with avant garde icons like Tilda Swinton—serves up another unexpected concept. Created with everyday heroes in mind, the smell focuses on bold notes. Champagne accord, grapefruit, and black pepper combine with fragrant molecule Lorenox (a lab concocted odor reminiscent of leather and amber) for a blend that feels celebratory, uplifting, and ideal for summer. 

Xerjoff Amabile

Xerjoff Amabile

Italian niche line Xerjoff is renowned for its unique gourmand scents and their wholly original take on foodie aromas. Apple is an underrated note, but its familiar sweetness adds charm to any fragrance. Amabile starts with a tart burst of Golden Delicious followed by pink pepper, vanilla, and a host of fruits native to the Mediterranean. The ultimate tropical punch, it will have you sniffing your wrist for hours at a time or grabbing hold of one of the brand’s unique (and unapologetically luxurious) velvet-covered bottles. 

This story originally appeared on: Vogue - Author:Janelle Okwodu