Oh hello August, you sizzling-hot little git! Where did you spring from? I’m still answering emails with “hope you had a good New Year”! I’m not going on holiday until September (too much to do, too much to do) and so for now, I am making do with scents that remind me of my summer holidays. Orange-blossom, coconut, fruity and woody and musky notes… I was supposed to film these products as part of a video with Lily Pebbles, but when I got all of the bits and bobs out of my bag, they were nowhere to be seen. So here they are, in written form, my “smells that remind me of summer”…
1) Roger & Gallet’s Creme Sublime Or. The scent is almost secondary here, because this is such a beautiful body cream. It outperforms loads of far more expensive ones – it’s blend of Argan, Camellia, Macadamia, Evening Primrose Sesame Seed and Almond oils is really moisturising and feels rich and nourishing on the skin, and the effects are long-lasting for such a non-greasy formula. It’s supposed to be shimmery, but fear not shimmer-haters; I have never been able to detect a proper shimmer. It’s more of a gentle sheen – unless I’ve always had duds! The scent is absolutely incredible; orange-blossom, yes, but with coconut flower and ylang-ylang and cedarwood and musk… It’s just an absolute dream. Exotic but without any kind of in-your-face coconut or synthetic-smelling fruitiness. It’s just a finely-tuned, skin-softening beauty winner. You can find it at Escentual.com – it’s usually £15 but (at time of writing) is on sale, £12.
2) NUXE’s Prodigieux le Parfum: beach in a bottle. Fruity tangerine and mandarin and orange blossom with the sexy warmth of vanilla and coconut and a fair whack of floral thrown in too. This is the kind of perfume that makes you dress for sunshine whatever the weather – you can’t help being optimistic! It only launched this year, but I can see it taking on Bronze Goddess status at some point… It’s usually £44 but is £35.19 with free delivery here.
3) l’Occitane’s Néroli & Orchidée; so heavy with orange blossom it almost makes me drowsy. (Obviously orange blossom must be one of my “trigger” scents when it comes to thinking about summer!) It starts off bold, but actually quietens down into something quite delicate, after a while. There’s a kind of sharpness there, too, so it doesn’t feel sweet and cloying, it’s more…sitting under the tree rather than chomping on the leaves. If that makes any sense. Does it make sense? My perfume descriptions are getting more and more abstract! Néroli & Orchidée is £49 here.
4) Caudalie’s Parfum Divine; based on the scent of the bestselling Divine Oil, this is a warm and woody number that isn’t at all overpowering. There’s something about it that just smells very clean, even though the notes are the opposite of “fresh” or “zingy”. It’s not your classic summer scent, but it reminds me of warm sand – probably because I usually take a mini Divine Oil away on holiday with me and put it on the ends of my hair! You can buy Parfum Divine here – it’s £39.
5) Phyto Plage Huile Sublimante: fruity fruity sugary fruity! This is the smell of overly sweet fruit cocktails that have been left out in the lunchtime sun. But without the wasp risk. And you wouldn’t want to wear it in the lunchtime sun, because it’s an oil, and you’d burn. But after you’ve finished on the beach? Brilliant for massaging into skin and hair, if you want to get that sheeny, sexy, glowy-skinned look. It’s a new addition to my summer oil collection, but already it’s a favourite. It claims to help with damage and prolong a tan; can’t vouch for these yet but it is Phyto and they know what they’re about… £26.50 at FeelUnique.com here.
5) A special summery mention goes to the Monoi Body Cream from Elemis, which launches this month. (You can find it already at Elemis TimetoSpa.) If anything is going to get you in the mood for a holiday it’s this. Exotic frangipani – same scent as the Monoi Body Oil, but with no bottle-warming required. It’s £24 here.
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