A good smelling perfume definitely sparks joy for me. Along with jewelry, choosing a perfume to wear each day was something I looked forward to greatly during my time at home the last year. Simple pleasures helped get me through! Over the years, I have acquired quite the perfume collection, and I find myself reaching for different scents based on the season, weather, and how I’m feeling, or how I want to feel. These five fragrances are the ones I find myself reaching for most frequently this summer. I would highly recommend them all! With that being said, fragrance is very personal, so I would always suggest getting a sample and trying them on your body before making the commitment to purchase one. My favorite places to purchase perfumes are fragrancenet.com, Ulta (when I have a 20% off coupon), and Sephora (during their annual sale). I also enjoy reading perfume reviews on Fragrantica.com and watching fragrance reviews on Youtube.
First up, is Dolce & Gabbana light blue eau intense. I have known about the original Dolce & Gabbana light blue for years, and honestly, it was never really the type of scent I prefer to wear on my body. To my surprise, I recently tested out the light blue intense version and fell head over heels in love. I sprayed it on a testing strip and could not stop smelling it. At that point, I went back to the counter and sprayed some on my body. I knew immediately this was one I wanted to add to my collection, and I was thrilled to discover after hours of wearing it the lasting power and performance were both great as well. This one is described as a floral fruity fragrance. I am very picky about fruity fragrances, and for me to be drawn to them, there has to be a depth and richness to them that helps ground the fragrance. This one has just that! Top notes include lemon and apples, middle notes are jasmine & marigold, and base notes are musk and amberwood. This is one where the descriptions just don’t do it justice. You simply need to give it a try and be prepared to be whisked away via smell to a sexy, summer vacation paradise.
Once the world slowly started opening up again after the pandemic, I found myself at Sephora with a friend smelling perfumes. (Oh, how I had missed the joy of testing out new scents!) I smelled a lot of them that day, but none were jumping out at me…that is until I tried Chloe Nomade. I had told the Sephora sales associate (who was recommending perfumes to me that day) that I tended to like rich, deep, unique and original smelling perfumes. At that point, she walked straight over to Chloe Nomade and told me to try it. I sprayed it on and there was definitely something unique about it. I put some on my arm, and then left the store with my friend. I continued to smell my arm and fell more and more in love with the scent as the day went on. Chloe Nomade is considered a Chypre Floral. Once again, chypre fragrences are not the ones I usually gravitate towards; however, I have no doubt that the basenotes of oakmoss, amberwood, white musk, and patchouli are what helped sell me on it. Something about it reminds me of two of my other perfumes I enjoy: Miss Dior Cherie and Chanel Coco Mademoiselle–it’s as if these two perfumes had a baby in the woods. Just try it. It’s good.
I love Mugler scents. If you know, you know. I have way too many fragrance loves to choose a “signature” scent, but if I absolutely had to choose, Mugler Alien would be way up on that list with Mugler Angel in a close second. Mugler makes a lot of flankers of both of these scents. Some I enjoy. Some, not so much. Although Angel Nova is a flanker of Angel, I don’t believe it should have been a flanker for that scent as it really doesn’t smell anything like it. Angel Nova is a scent that stands all on its own. When I first smelled this, I got a very strong whiff of berries. It was different than the other perfumes I have in my collection. Then, I smelled roses. But once again, the magic started happening during the dry down. This is when the warm, woody, oudy smells jumped out at me and the berries and roses became a beautiful, faint background. It is sweet and fruity, yet mature. This one is also strong and sexy. Just smell it.
I am generally not a fan of celebrity scents. In fact, I believe Ariana Grande Cloud is the only celebrity scent I own. I also am not a fan of this bottle (perfume bottles are often a work of art in and of themselves). This bottle I find a bit juvenile. However, the juice inside the bottle is like a sweet, creamy dose of cotton candy and marshmallows. Think whipped cream, vanilla, and pralines. It’s a bit musky as well. (For those familiar with Baccarat Rouge 540 Extrait, I definitely understand the comparisons. Is Cloud an exact dupe? No, but it has a similar vibe for a much more reasonable price.) If you like a good gourmand, this one is definitely worth a try.
Bobbi Brown Beach is one that has been in my collection the longest of these five, and I still reach for it regularly during the hot summer months. It smells like it’s name..think sea, salt, sand, orange blossoms, and coppertone sunscreen. In some ways it’s a simple frangrance, yet it’s an absolutely beautiful summer scent.
Do you have any of these perfumes? Which fragrances have you been reaching for this summer? Let me know your fragrance loves, and if you try out any of these, I would also enjoy hearing about your experience with them. As I mentioned, perfumes are such a personal preference, but their potential to evoke memories and wisk one away is universal.
***I am not affiliated with any of the brands mentioned above, but I wish I was!***
Leslie Kersha Living 