Top 10 Best Citrus Summer Fragrances | Most Complimented Fragrances
– I’m Brian Sacawa. You’re watching “He Spoke
Style,” and today, we’re taking a look at 10 citrus fragrances
that are perfect for summer. (relaxed R&B music) First up, we have Acqua di
Santa Maria Novella Profumo. Santa Maria Novella is a luxury apothecary in Florence, Italy, and is
credited with being the oldest pharmacy in the
world, and this fragrance is right here in Santa Maria
Novella’s oldest fragrance, commissioned in 1533 by
Catherine de Medici. Top notes are Calabrian bergamot, Sicilian lemon, and neroli. Heart notes: lavender and rosemary, and a base note that they
call an Oriental sweet note. Now, for me, this is about
as classic as it gets in terms of citrus fragrances.
I would say that this is pretty close to perfection if not perfect. It’s not too sweet. It’s not overpowering. It’s got a round and complete profile for this style of fragrance. It kinda just
becomes a part of you. It’s subtle, but it’s there, and that’s what I look for in a fragrance like this. Going to the pool, going to the beach, after the pool, after the beach, this is the perfect fragrance
for a summer day like that. I get about three to four hours with this, and it becomes a very nice
skin scent as it dries down. Next, we have another classic
of the genre, I would say, the original eau de cologne, 4711. Now, I know that this is
considered two things: one, a drugstore fragrance. It was very cheap. This bottle I have right here
was, like, $25 on Amazon, and two, a German old lady fragrance. You’ve told me that in
the comments before, and I’ve just confirmed it with Justus when we were recording our last podcast.
So, let’s get to the notes, which are going to sound familiar. The top notes are bergamot, lemon, and orange. Heart notes: lavender and rosemary, and base notes are
neroli and bitter orange. Now, of all the fragrances
I’m gonna talk about this in this video, this one is
probably the most similar to the Santa Maria Novella. There are some differences, though, that are worth pointing out. To me, 4711 is a little more
forward and lacks the elegance and refinement of the Santa Maria Novella. It’s also, to my nose,
a little less sweet, even though I don’t
find Santa Maria Novella to be all that sweet either,
and I think that is because of the bitter orange note that we have. Now, I featured this fragrance
once before in a video, and one thing I mentioned is
that I didn’t think it lasted very long, so I’m gonna
revise that slightly today.
As a citrus fragrance,
yes, it doesn’t have excellent longevity, but
I’ve been wearing this a lot recently, and I’ve noticed
that it does become a nice skin scent as it
dries down over time. Now, if you’re looking
for that very classic eau de cologne scent, and let’s say you’re between the Santa Maria Novella and 4711, all things being equal,
if the price is a concern, I would go for the 4711. Turning to something very interesting and with a lot more complexity now, and that is Arquiste’s L’Etrog.
It’s classified as woody,
powdery, citrusy, and green, and that’s exactly how the notes read. The top notes here are Calabrese citron and bergamot, Sicilian lemon, and myrtle. Heart notes: Smyrna date
fruit, North African jasmine, and pistachio tree resin;
and base notes are vetiver, patchouli, and Lebanese cedarwood. Like all Arquiste fragrances, L’Etrog has a very evocative description,
which is meant to summon the wooden cabins
and citrus fruit harvest in medieval Calabria. It’s great when there’s a story like that, and it’s even better when
the fragrance matches that story exactly, which
is certainly the case here, and across the whole Arquiste portfolio. In addition to the listed notes, I always get a hint of lime. Now, I love this fragrance
because it’s light, yet it’s complex, which is hard to do with a fragrance like this, I feel. It’s a very interesting
and unexpected summer scent and a cool interpretation
of a citrus fragrance. Four to six hours on my skin. Here we have Musgo Real Spiced Citrus. Now, the Musgo Real brand has
been around since the 1930s. It’s a Portuguese brand, Claus Porto.
Classic, gentlemanly
types of fragrances, and they also still sell soap on a rope. This is called an exotic Oriental Fougere, so, as you can imagine,
it’s got a little bit of that barbershop fragrance
kind of smell to it. The top notes are lime,
coriander, lemon, and verbena. Heart notes, they say, are spices, and base notes are
woody notes and incense. I would say
this leans more toward the spicy side of the name
rather than the citrus side. I would most certainly put
this in the Fougere realm.
It is very masculine in
that old-school gentleman kind of way and not your
typical citrus fragrance. Up next to Penhaligon’s,
we have Bayolea. I know if I said that wrong,
someone will correct me. Please do. Now, among the 10 fragrances
we’re talking about in this video, I would say
that this one is probably the most unique and weird, so notes. The top notes are lemongrass,
mandarin, and tangerine. Heart notes: cardamom, black
pepper, neroli, and lavender; and base notes are cedarwood, sandalwood, musk, moss, patchouli, and amber. You’ve got the citrus notes
on top, and you smell them right off the
bat, but this is more of what I would call a citrus aromatic. Those heart notes of
cardamom, black pepper, and lavender come to the fore and start to blossom
and develop over time. I would say that
they honestly take over, and you aren’t left with much of the citrus once this
starts to dry down.
It is long-lasting, I would
say a good eight hours or more, so the best way I can describe this fragrance is to
say that it is quirky. Here’s one that’s a true classic, Eau Sauvage by Christian Dior. So, this was introduced in 1966 and was Dior’s
first fragrance for men. Top notes include lemon, bergamot, basil, lavender, and a hint of cumin. Heart notes are jasmine, rose, carnation, patchouli, and sandalwood. Base notes oakmoss,
vetiver, musk, and amber. A citrusy
fragrance, but is also very fresh. On the surface, it can seem like a very, very simple fragrance, but
when you spend more time with it, you realize that it has a lot more depth and a lot
more complexity to it. Lasts quite a while on
my skin, I would say five to eight hours, believe it or not. Now, when you’ve got a classic like this, there’s really not much more
to say, but the one thing I do wanna point out is that not only is this a fantastic
fragrance, but you have the added benefit of just
an elegantly designed bottle and presentation as well.
Next up, we have Selection Verte from the Creed Private Collection. This one does come with a hefty price tag, though in my opinion, it
is very much worth it. We’ll talk about why I think
that is in just a moment, but first, let’s get to the notes. With the top notes,
you’re going to find neroli, citrus, and pepper. For heart notes, we have
peppermint and herb notes, and base notes: ambergris.
So, I always feel like there’s a very elegant quality
to Creed’s fragrances. There’s a lightness and almost
kind of transparency to them, and then just that perfect
blending of all of the elements where it’s making something much greater than the sum of all of its parts. This one here, Selection Verte,
is a prime example of that. It is a citrus fragrance, but
it is not one-dimensional. It’s elegant, it’s complex, and
it’s just so perfectly done. Now, the other reason I would
put this on a little bit of a higher level is that it lasts, and that is most likely
due to the ambergris in the formulation, so a few sprays of this in the morning
really will last me all day. Here is a real staple of many people’s summer fragrance collections:
Acqua di Parma Colonia. As I said before, you can see
by the label’s shape that I’ve had this for quite a while, and it travels a lot with me.
Honestly, it isn’t summered if I’m not wearing this at some point. Let’s get to the notes. Top notes: lemon, sweet
orange, and Calabrian bergamot. Heart notes: lavender, Bulgarian rose, verbena, and rosemary; base notes are vetiver, sandalwood, and patchouli. Some say it is the scent
of classic 1930s Italy. It’s light, it’s carefree, it’s glamorous, it’s sophisticated, and it’s
elegant in its simplicity. It has those kinda
glamorous overtones in part, I think because it was
supposedly a favorite scent of style icons like Cary Grant, Gregory Peck, and David Niven. It starts with a real
blast of sweet lemon, but you do get those
notes of lavender, rosemary, and verbena. I don’t want to say that it
thins out, but it takes on a much different quality
in about the first 30 to 60 minutes that you have this on. Not long-lasting
at three to four hours, but honestly a must-have
citrus summer fragrance. www.flightschoolusa.com
Next up is Zegna’s Italian Bergamot from the Essenze Collection,
which, as you might recall, I included in my list of picks for the best black tie
or formal fragrances. Let’s get to the notes,
and they are very simple. Top note of bergamot,
heart note is rosemary, and base notes are neroli and vetiver. This is a very, what I would call, elevated citrus fragrance, and I say that because the citrus is not overpowering. There’s just a great balance between all of the elements here. I would say more than being citrusy, I would put it on the
fresh end of the spectrum.
It’s refined. It’s got
a moderate projection. It’s longer-lasting. For me, this is a great pick
for any type of evening event in the summer, whether that’s a wedding or just a nice, romantic
dinner by the beach. Finally, we have Blenheim
Bouquet by Penhaligon’s. It was created in 1902 for
the Duke of Marlborough. It was also known to be a favorite of Winston Churchill as
well as Gianni Agnelli. The top notes are lemon, lime, and lavender. No heart notes here, and the base notes are pine, musk, and black pepper.
Now, on Penhaligon’s website, it says that Blenheim Bouquet is as dry and fresh as the best gin, and I
think that’s an apt description of this fragrance. It has a nice sharpness
to it, which is a contrast to the sweet notes
that you find in a lot of the other citrus
fragrances we’ve talked about.
Now, as far as the
citrus itself goes here, you do get more of a lime
instead of a lemon scent. With a lack of heart notes,
it does have that lightness and airy quality to it,
but I can’t over-emphasize the crispness and sharpness
of this fragrance’s character. You get about four
hours here, and it dries down to a very nice skin scent. Those are 10 citrus fragrances
from my collection. I’m sure there are plenty of
others that you guys love, so please leave those
down in the comments. You can find links to all
the fragrances I talked about in this video down
below in the description. Be sure to give the video a thumbs-up. Don’t forget to subscribe
if you haven’t already, and be sure to hit that
bell for notifications. That’s all for now, so, until next time, thanks for watching, and stay tailored. (ethereal music) (clears throat) Finally, we
have Blenheim Bouquet by Penhal- Did something just ding? Oh, it was the thing.
