Sunset Hour Scents for Poolside Parties | Choose Your Perfect Holiday Fragrance

WORDS BY: PARFUM MUSE    |    ESTIMATED READING TIME: 5MINS 

 

Whether you’re heading off somewhere tropical and hot for a late summer break, planning on spending some (or all) of the festive season on a Caribbean island, or simply want to bring the sunshine with you wherever you go, summery scents are the finishing touch for any outfit.

Poolside and garden party fragrances can be as light and airy or rich and sultry as you'd like. However, many people find that more refined, sweeter scents work brilliantly in warmer weather when heavier fragrances feel a little overpowering.

We're talking about holiday perfumes and summer fragrances that elevate your mood, match your style and personality, and even banish the post-holiday blues when you’re back to your usual routine.

Recommendations for Summer Scents That Last 

The first thing to think about when selecting a holiday or summer fragrance is the type of perfume that will prove to be an investment—without lower-quality ingredients that dissipate rapidly in the heat and lose all their potency within an hour or two.

Unfortunately, higher levels of humidity mean that some scents will evaporate faster than they might in cooler weather. In more humid environments, the higher moisture in the air can also affect the staying power of your perfume.

Happily, there are a few secrets you can use to your advantage to protect premium and luxury perfumes from wearing down swiftly after application:

• Storing perfume bottles in their original boxes and away from direct sunlight – especially away from windowsills or anywhere else that becomes particularly warm.

• Adding a couple of desiccants to your luggage or make-up bag can safeguard make-up, perfume and jewellery from moisture throughout your travels or in your usual drawer.

• Perfumes with a higher concentration will last much longer in the sun—choosing an eau de parfum or stronger blend like perfume oil works better than an eau de toilette.

Another option, if you have a signature summer scent you can't do without, is to choose a perfume that has an accompanying body oil or cream. Infused with the same accents and ingredients, body care products can improve the durability of the fragrance, however late you stay out after the sun has gone down. 

Great Fragrances to Wear in Exotic Holiday Destinations 

Onto to the fun of choosing fragrances, and the trick to amazing holiday and summer perfumes is to think about the top notes that give that immediate kick of scent and the base notes that linger and often provide a foundation for brighter, lighter accents to stand out.

The Sunset Hour Perfume Concentrate by Goldfield & Banks is a good example, with a scent profile that begs to be worn in warmer climes, including desert peach, pear and Italian mandarin top notes, a centre of delicious coconut, mango and jasmine, and a base of richer vanilla, caramel and cashmere wood.

Of course, everybody is unique, and you might already have an intense fragrance that speaks of humid tropical evenings or pool parties at your favourite beauty spot.

Oud for Greatness Neo Eau de Parfum is a fantastic pick for nights out abroad, with a powerful, intoxicating scent profile with fir balsam, agarwood and bergamot that feel slightly spicy and woody, although with a subtle Lavender Orpur® note that adds a touch of calming florals.

You can also select scents just as you'd pick your go-to outfits for lakeside dining, lounging by the sea, or enjoying a breezy oceanside lunch – looking at fresh, clean, cheerful scents. 

We'd suggest another Goldfield & Banks fragrance for summer sailing trips or visits to the lakes for an elegant and luxurious scent that you can wear all day.

Pacific Rock Moss Perfume Concentrate has the depth that won’t fade fast in hotter weather, but mimics the scents of the sea, with lemon, aquatic accord, rock moss, sage and cedarwood that works brilliantly all day, with extra layering for intensity during the evening hours.

Picking Perfumes that Mimic the Ambience of Summer

If you don’t have any exotic overseas travel plans or live in a part of the UK where warmer weather tends to be in short supply, that by no means indicates that you can’t bring the summer to you!

Scent can stimulate our olfactory senses and provide a boost to our mood, similar to the sense of energy and vitality we often get on those first days of spring, when an invigorating summer breeze smells like cut grass and excitement, or when relaxing after a long, hot day at the beach. 

Typical accents that are inherently summery work well any time of the year, including citrus, jasmine, freesia, amber, hibiscus, coconut and gardenia. Here are a few recommendations from the Parfum Muse team: 

• Wood Jasmin Eau de Parfum from BDK Parfums is a little sweet and mysterious, with plum and peach top notes accompanied by deep, floral heart accents and base notes including Somalian incense, Madagascan vanilla and Indonesian patchouli.

• Elie Saab’s Le Parfum Essentiel Eau de Parfum is light, gentle and vibrant, with orange blossom, mandarin essence and gardenia offset by patchouli and cedar.

• Bloomastral Parfum by La Maison J.U.S is a fragrance inspired by Jasmine Galant de Nuit – the richly-scented jasmine which flowers only at night. The perfume is crisp and floral, with osmanthus, jasmine and sandalwood.

Home fragrances can also work incredibly well at evoking a sense of summer and freshness, with the Petali Di Tiare’ Room Diffuser from Laboratorio Olfattivo a stunning scent that comes in a sophisticated, pared-back bottle that will look great on any mantelpiece.

Based on the fragrances of a paradise island, the diffuser is sweet and floral without being sickly, with a fruity coconut base note, jasmine and ylang-ylang that fills a space with a summery, graceful scent.

The Lord Howe Diffuser by Eight & Bob is another excellent contender, one of a collection designed to replicate favourite landscapes from around the world. With many of the classic summer accents, including geranium, pepper, grapefruit, gardenia and jasmine, it will ensure you feel in full summer mode, even when the skies are grey.