view from Central Park Reservoir in New York City ©Hernando
The summer solstice draws near (June 20, 2021); it is the symbol of life, renewal and great potential. After enduring isolation due to Covid 19, summer 2021 feels like a new beginning- a promise. For New Yorkers, we learned yesterday that we are at 70 percent vaccinated, and life can resume “normally.” The team of ÇaFleureBon are a diverse group—our editors live all over the world and while lockdown travel restrictions are still in place in some countries, we find hope and joy in our favorite summer 2021 fragrances.
©Ermano spending a short summer 2021 vacation in Porto Cesaro
Masque Milano Ray-flection (Alex Lee) 2020: Another tough working year is over and finally seems this pandemic is taking a break, hopefully forever. I am taking my first short vacation in quite some time in beautiful Salento, Puglia and I couldn’t wait to bathe in sunlight, sea and wellness. Inspired by an imaginary alien flower, Masque Milano Ray-flection created by Alex Lee literally smells of sunlight. When I spray it, I can’t help but thinking of aliens like in the movie Cocoon, exuding that miracle light giving health and energy as you bathe in rejuvenating waters. The honey-dripping floral softness of Ray-flection radiates solar aldehydes and well-being. It illuminates you and that is perfect for Summer 2021. Notes: Mandarin essence, sparkling aldehydes, cardamom pure Jungle Essence TM, mimosa absolute France, violet leaf absolute, solar rays accord, beeswax absolute, cedarwood essence, musk accord.
– Ermano Picco, Editor
collage by Marianne©
Parfums M. Micallef Pomelos (Jean-Claud Astier and Geoffrey Nejman) 2002: As I walk under a linden tree, the hang time of its scent is unreal, a precious gift from the thick summer air. But those moments are rare; I need a comrade to battle New York’s summer. Parfums M. Micallef Pomelos is that friend in arms. It doesn’t pierce the heaviness like many citrus perfumes do, rather it lifts it for me as I move through my day. Notes of grapefruit, rhubarb, and cedar open the canopy, but soft florals keep it aloft. After I’d worn the perfume for a while, I met my first pomelo in the flesh. It was sweeter, milder, and less bitter than grapefruit. I realized then that the note of pomelo is what makes the perfume float rather than pierce. Linden trees, melting Italian ices, and M. Micallef Pomelos make my summer in Brooklyn. Notes: lemon, grapefruit, tangerine, jasmine, rose, lily-of-the valley, sandalwood, cedar, white musk
–Marianne Butler, Sr. Contributor
Vinson Images Street photography India Holi festival
Neela Vermeire Creations Bombay Bling (Bertrand Duchaufour) 2011: “I’ve got sunshine in a bag” – sang Gorillaz in their almost two-decade-old earworm “Clint Eastwood”. In that spirit, let me rave about “Bombay Bling! by Neela Vermeire Créations – a thick, delicious slice of summery joie de vivre, bursting out of a beautiful bottle. Created in 2011 by Bertrand Duchaufour, Bombay Bling is THE choice for hot summer days with its fresh, bright mango (the best one I have ever smelled), the exuberant and fizzy overdose of tropical fruity brightness, and the perfectly pitched chorus of florals mixed in with just the right amount of spicy and sensual accords. Top notes: mango, lychee, blackcurrant, cardamom, cumin, cistus; Heart notes: rose accord, turkish rose, jasmine sambac absolute, madagascar ylang-ylang, white floral accord of tuberose, frangipani, gardenia; Base notes: patchouli, tobacco, white woods, sandalwood, cedar, vanilla
-Nicoleta Tomsa, Senior Editor
nigella damascena via wikipedia
Providence Perfume Co. Love-in-A-Mist (Charna Ethier) 2016: New England summers can try the patience of a saint – and I’m no saint. Come summertime, I crave the bucolic: fragrances which summon the olfactory environment of flowers, fruit, forest, meadow. To this end I highly recommend Charna Ethier’s celestial Love-in-a-Mist. Charna has composed many beautiful fragrances, but for sheer beauty AND availability (Love-in-a-Mist is still in production, thank heavens), you can’t really beat this one. It’s a meadow perfume – right down to the sweet sandalwood base which is festooned with wildflowers, clover, and the sweet piquancy of pink pepper with its dry woody undertone. Mimosa’s soothing, slightly fuzzy indolic presence mimics the buzzing of honeybees. The honey they make is evoked by Nigella damascena, aka love-in-a-mist, which possesses many facets including those of beeswax, strawberries, grapes and amber; it’s gently animalic. If you can’t lie in a meadow, Love-in-a-Mist is the next best thing for summer 2021. Notes: love-in-a-mist, mimosa, pink peppercorn, sandalwood, sweet clover
– Ida Meister, Deputy Editor and Natural Perfume Editor
EGE promotional ad
Nishane Ege (Ilias Ermenidis) 2020 is an explosion of yuzu fruit for the ultimate fresh sensation to kick off the summer of 2021! This olfactory trip to the Aegean Sea is as refreshing as it is unique. A heart comprised of basil and mint creates an aromatic appeal that figuratively drops you in the middle of the Mediterranean where you are surrounded by lush peninsulas with luxuriantly growing foliage. A conclusion of olibanum greets you gently with its lemon and pine nuances for the decrescendo of the summer’s memorable olfactory soundtrack. One spray of Nishane’s Ege will transport you to your ideal vacation destination and that is what summer fragrances at their best can do. Notes include: yuzu, violet leaves, anise, basil, green cardamom, mint, olibanum, licorice
– Steven Gavrielatos, Video Content Contributor
Sunset at Delphi (photo via athensprime.gr)
Manos Gerakinis Omen (Miguel Matos) 2020: During the blazingly hot days of Summer, I naturally gravitate towards cooling, thirst-quenching fragrances – the summer nights, however, are a different matter… It’s mostly then that I long for deeper perfumes that will nonetheless feel appropriate for the season, and Omen by the Greek House of Manos Gerakinis is just that: a summer-friendly aromatic/leather composition embellished by fruity, herbal and woody touches, in which the innate elegance of the brand’s founder meets the idiosyncratic creativity of perfumer Miguel Matos. A crisp, juicy green apple defines the unexpected opening, garlanded by pungent bay leaf, minty agathosma and leathery saffron (all of them natural treasures of Greece), while the woodiness of fir balsam promises a shaded forest oasis. Soon enough the suave, smooth leather accord develops, rich in coumarin and glowing in light amber. What constantly breathes fresh air to Omen is a cloud of fluffy musks, whose interaction with the ambergris note evokes the sea breeze carried all the way up to Mount Parnassus – and right into the heart of the Temple of Delphi. Notes: Apple, Saffron, Bay Leaf; Fir Balsam, Jasmine, Buchu (Agathosma); Leather, Amber, Musk, Tonka Bean, Oud, Ambergris.
– Despina Veneti, Senior Editor
Rugby Church photo by Lauryn
DSH Perfumes Royal Grey (Dawn Spencer Hurwitz) 2019: When the heat becomes overbearing, what is more delicious than a tall glass of chilled iced tea? How about four teas – Earl Grey, mate, and two variations of green tea – splashed with a dollop of milky vanilla and with a zesty squeeze of citrus? Dawn Spencer Hurwitz’s lovely, refreshing Royal Grey cologne makes a welcome change from the inevitable array of citrus and aquatic fragrances that dominate warm weather fragrances. With its blend of different teas, bridged by sandalwood and rose, Royal Grey achieves a dimensionality that many tea fragrances lack. After its citric opening, the quartet of teas stretch out in different directions over time, becoming alternatively astringent, pungent, anisic, nutty. Royal Grey is a wonderful amalgam of afternoon tea notes. Spray liberally, forget the heat, close your eyes, and lie back and think of England.This is what summer fragrances should be. Notes: Earl Grey natural (Accord), Earl Grey tea infusion, ruh khus, ambrette seed, Australian sandalwood, vanilla absolute, black tea, Bulgarian rose otto, damask rose absolute, green tea absolute, gunpowder green (botanical accord), patchouli co2, yerba maté absolute, bergamot.
–Lauryn Beer, Sr. Editor
photo by Neringa©
Atelier Des Ors Pomelo Riviera (Marie Salamagne, 2019) is a scented billets-doux from Côte d’Azur is the olfactive epitome of a vacation under the limitless blue sky and the gentle rippling movement of the Mediterranean sea waves at your feet. The luminous heart of the fragrance is woven through with garlands of jasmine petals unfurling gently in the crisp early morning breeze, radiating its heady fragrant splendour. But it is the pearlescent beauty of the orange blossom that steals the show with its intense, head spinning magic – so luminous and at the same sultry; rendered with harmony, balance, unforgettable, insouciant elegance and just a touch of that unmistakably French je ne sais quai….Notes: Grapefruit, Jasmine , Bergamot, Orange Blossom, Salt, Rose, Cedar.
–Neringa Svobutaite, Contributor
Photo of Corsica in the summer taken by Olya in 2018
Vilhelm Parfumerie Mango Skin (2008) is the olfactive equivalent of a mouthwatering summer cocktail, the feeling of sweet juices, dripping down your chin as you are biting into a ripe mango. This is a summer craving. A succulent mango blended with freshly muddled blackberries, surrounded by tropical lushness of jasmine and black lotus. I didn’t know I needed it until I sprayed it. It was originally inspired by the South Africa, which is still on my bucket list of places to visit, but it transported me back to the summers I used to spend in Corsica, a time of carefree vacation mode and zero responsibilities. There is not an ounce of seriousness in this fragrance, its all fun and pink sugar confetti in the dry down. I do however enjoy a little dirty patchouli that peaks through in the base and brings the concoction to a perfect balance, like a perfectly executed cocktail. I certainly enjoy indulging in this liquefied summer solace, after everything we bravely faced last year we all deserve a little sip of summer. Notes: Blackberries, Mango, Black Pepper, Orris, Black Lotus, Jasmin, Patchouli, Vanilla, Pink Sugar.
–Olya Bar, Contributor
photo by Michelyn©
Villa Des Parfums Toujours Espoir (2018): What does optimism smell like? After a year of flagging spirits, perfume and the people in the fragrance community brought me joy and a semblance of normalcy during eight months of self-isolation. Now, in the summer of 2021, I find myself reaching for easy going floral fragrances that smell bright and breezy reminding me of the flowers blooming in my neighborhood. Photography has become a new hobby for me and being surrounded by the beauty of nature is a reminder that better days are ahead. It’s uncanny how my surroundings here in NYC are bottled in Villa des Parfums Toujours Espoir (Always Hope) from Grasse. The silken, sunlit pink petals of roses and peonies intertwine then unfurl surrounded in verdant greenery. The soft drydown of skin musk and sandalwood remind me of a loving embrace. Simply beautiful can be simply wonderful too. Proceeds from every sale of Villa des Parfums fragrances goes to support the work of the nonprofit Parfums de Vie, both in the original mansion and now in the new Parfums de Vie Education and Literacy Center, a safe, supportive place for children and young people to flourish and grow in the perfumed city of Grasse. This is what optimism smells like and this is its power… to change lives.
Notes: Peony, pink pepper, citrus, jasmine, rose absolute, gardenia, patchouli, Indian sandalwood and musk.
–Michelyn Camen, Editor-in-Chief
From our beloved Neela Vermeire we have 60 ml of Neela Vermeire Creations Bombay Bling in the USA, EU, UK for a registered reader
Grazie Mille to Masque Milano for 35ml of Ray-Flection for one registered USA, EU and UK
Thanks to Charna Ethier we have a draw for a registered reader for a 5ml rollerball of Love-in-a-Mist USA only
photo by Despina
Manos Gerakinis is offering a travel spray of Omen for one registered in the USA and EU
not pictured in the ten ml
Thanks to Dawn Spencer Hurwitz of DSH Perfumes we have 10 ml EDP of the 100 percent botanical Royal Grey Cologne for one registered in the USA
Merci (et Bonne Anniversaire to founder Nicole Derieux) Villa des Parfums we have a draw for one 50 ml Eau de Parfum of Toujours Espoir for one registered reader in the U.S. or UK or EU
Thanks to the generosity of Martine Micallef and Geoffrey Nejman of Parfums M. Micallef, we have draw for one 100 ml bottle of Pomelos for one registered in the USA. EU, UK
photo by Olya ©
Thanks to the generosity Europerfumes/Eden Square, we have a 100 ml tester bottle of Mango Skin for one registered reader IN THE USA ONLY.
To be eligible for our Best Summer 2021 Fragrances draw, please leave a comment with what your favorites of our choices were, where you live and as many as you would like to win and why. YOU MUST BE REGISTERED TO BE ELIGIBLE, click here Draw closes June 20, 2021.
PLEASE NOTE ATELIER DES ORS AND NISHANE ARE NOT FOR DRAW
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