A repeat of a poll we did in 2012.
Tell us about a summer vacation, any summer vacation: one you took, one you plan to take, one you'd like to take. And tell us about the perfume that best matches that vacation.
Note: image is Steaming through San Diego County, Calif. via Boston Public Library at flickr; some rights reserved.
Last summer I was in England and bought a bottle of Fleurs de Sel in Harrogate. I wasn’t anywhere near any salty dunes (although I was at the seaside earlier, in Cromer), but nevertheless, the perfume does remind me of the trip, and the people I got to see.
Nice! I have not been to England in years, would love to go again.
This summer is a series of long weekends and whole weeks off spread throughout the summer. Mostly just chillin at the pool and community beach. We may go to an amuesument park in August…. Right now my ideal vacation is a week at a very remote spa, no electronics, no kids. Lots of massage.
I have a question if anyone is up for it: any comments about the Erin Lauder Evening Rose fragrance? There’s not much out there out there…… Thx
If I remember it was pretty enough, but expensive for what it was. My feeling was that there were just as nice rose perfumes out there already, for a lot less.
Oh I would love suggestions–what would you go for that’s similar but at a lower price-point?
I have not sniffed the Aerin perfume, so this is not a direct comparison, but one of the best roses is Guerlain Nahema. I’m seeing the EdP on Amazon for under $100 now (no affiliation).
Oh yes, I should really give Nahema a go. Do you find it very guerlinade-y? I have some (…strong!) negative associations with Shalimar so I’ve shied away from the rest of the brand a bit, but that’s sort of silly, I realize not all of their fragrances have that accord.
There are many other people here who are much more knowledgeable about rose perfumes, so I will only add that Yves Rocher’s sadly-discontinued Rose Absolue was pretty and well-priced. Haven’t really taken to their new iteration of rose.
Oh, thanks for this idea! Have not smelled any of the Yves Rocher, actually. Will see about finding some…
Yes, this one was delightful, with that sweet cinnamon note weaving its way through the fragrance. I find the rose in this jammy, much to my liking, and the scent is long=lasting. One of my favorites!
We reviewed it & I know Bois de Jasmin did too. Sorry can’t remember who else, but I’d be really surprised if we were the only ones.
Pretty much – there’s a little bit on fragranctica and on basenotes. I was surprised it didn’t make a big impact on the blogs, which is also an indicator. It got a lot of decent reviews, nice enough, etc.
I own a bottle of it and I like it. The combination of incense, blackberries, and cognac are nice. I would describe it as an evening, sexy scent. It is darker and more dramatic than most of the rose scented perfumes I have tried. I also see it more as a Winter scent, but any nice, cool evening is suitable as well. It isn’t my favorite out of the Aerin Lauder line (I-Kat Jasmine is my favorite). It is definitely a classy scent. My only complaint is that it doesn’t last on me as long as I would like. I have to reapply a few times.
I like it a lot, and almost bought a bottle once when I had something like $50 off $200 at Neiman’s–and imagining that the $50 off was entirely subsidizing the Evening Rose, $60 for 50ml seemed like a fair price. For the full $110 for 50ml, I felt like I’d want something more life-changing! Maybe that’s too stingy though–for me it struck a nice balance as an evening, darkish rose (…sexy!) without becoming too overwhelming for me to wear comfortably, as I sometimes find others in this category to be (Agent Provocateur, Portrait of a Lady, Lumiere Noire Pour Femme). Finding that “just right” is worth some money, even if it’s not the most inventive thing around! At the same time, I can’t say I’ve missed it–it’d still be more than I’d like to wear for most of the summer. Maybe I’ll revisit come fall.
Have you sniffed it yet?
Everyone: thanks so much for your comments on Evening Rose. I’d seen the reviews on NST and BdJ, but I wanted to dig for more. I really appreciate it! And, no, I’ve not smelled it. I have so many roses already, but I am very curious. There are notes in Portrait of a Lady that didn’t work for me (I did get a sample of that), so I was hoping this would be similar, as I’ve seen comments about that. I’ve not smelled Lumiere Noir Pour Femme either. Thanks again! ;0
Hi Ann, I have Aerin Evening Rose and really like it. It’s a little more spicy and less jammy than Kilian Liaisons Dangereuses. Neiman’s often has samples of it (I got one by asking and one by virtue of a GWP. ) It doesn’t turn sour on me like a lot of roses. Not quite as heavy as Portrait of a Lady, but definitely a cooler weather frag. If you haven’t gotten to try it by the next swapmeet, look for me and I can probably give you a sample. I would do it now, but am moving this week and things are too chaotic.
Few years ago I was on a family summer vacation in Bulgaria. We had a great time there, lots of sunbathing, swimming in the sea and sighseing. And almost every evening we went to the beach bar to have some drinks, cocktails etc.
If only Dom Rosa by Les Liquides Imaginaires existed then it would be perfect to wear a champagne-smelling perfume to the bar.
I’m dreaming about summer vacation on one of the islands of Mediterranean sea. Andy Tauer Cologne du Maghreb would be fabulous to have there.
I’ll throw that into my samples bag for vacation.
have a good time on your cruise
Vacationing in Seattle in a few weeks and the only things I have on my mind for this trip so far is coffee and lake water, having just finished The Boys in the Boat (highly recommend!)
I’m not sure what I’ll determine to wear while there, but perhaps a strong coffee note scent, or maybe I’ll pick up something new at Sweet Anthem!
SOTD: PdN L’eau a la Folie
Great for a day in the park!
I would love to got to Sweet Anthem — have a great time!
Have you heard of/been to Escenza in Fremont (Seattle neighborhood)? Lovely store filled with scents, soaps, and jewelry.
Yes, I came across this when doing a bit of research for the trip. I need to figure out where that area is but would love to visit.
Thank you for mentioning it!
It’s fairly centrally located, about a 10 minute drive from downtown. Plenty of boutiques, coffee shops, and an underground vintage mall.
Vacations are so great.
Fun question!
I am actually headed to nyc in a couple days. In my mind I am already on the plane.
I plan to walk a lot (the highline, museums) and if I happen to get overheated I should probably duck into some air conditioned shops to cool down. For health purposes, you know
I will be there for 5 days, and I plan to pack 2 days worth of clothing. Just to make sure I have plenty of suitcase room.
Good planning, nebbe!
Thanks!
If you would like to meet up for a few hours of sniffing when you’re up here, drop me a line. My screen name is my yahoo address
Yes, please! I just emailed ya
Ooooh, wish I could join you guys but I will be on vacation, meeting yet another fumie
Next time for sure!
Will be going to LA mid-August, and would love to meet other fumies. The perfect scent would be whatever I come back with from Scent Bar (luckyscent)
What fun! A Sniffa at Scent Bar sounds great. I think Apothia // Ron Robinson might still have a decent selection of fragrances too.
In August I’m going to Toronto to be part of a theatre festival there…lots of work, not quite vacation, but since my play is pedicab themed, I will definitely bring Bulgari Black.
Today I am wearing little sample of Manoumalia, which might be perfect for the more vacation-y aspects?
Never been…have a great time! and hope the play goes well of course.
I was born there, and have visited periodically, but it’s always better to visit with great purpose…
JJ, if you have any time at all pop into Noor Boutique (176 Cumberland next to the Four Seasons) for a nifty perfume experience. Not 100% sure it’s up and running again, so maybe a NST Torontonian can confirm…?
Thanks for the tip, miss! I’m afraid that I’ll have no free time on my visit, but if I do get a chance, I will bring things back for you to check out in person
I’ll be taking my first ever trip to Paris in a few weeks. I can’t wait for (in no particular order) lots of great wine, perfume, food and people watching. I think I’ll need to set a budget before I go for perfume, and real estate in my luggage!
What about chocolate and scarves? Have a great time!
Exciting! Yes – luggage real estate is important. Sometime buying a second suitcase when you are over there is an option as well. Just sayin’
I throw in a fold-up bag, myself…
Clever:)
Wow! Enjoy. That is my dream trip and on my bucket list! I would have a suitcase just for fragrances.
When I went I packed clothes that were simple and versatile, but ready to be donated. I just left them in the trash of the hotel room. There was plenty of room for a lot of perfume on the way home (and I only took a carry-on size suitcase for 10 days!) I do remember walking by plenty of laundromats in the city too. Also, should you need to shift funds for your fragrances…I found that many times a simple meal in a cafe was just as satisfying as dinner in a restaurant. (Not always as impressive, but sometimes relaxed and casual hits the spot after a long day on your feet.) Everyone seems to know how to roast a chicken to perfection there. I think it’s a requirement for a business license.
I’m so jealous. Have a wonderful time!
Great advice! Thanks, dears. It never crossed my mind to just buy another suitcase if needed, though that would of course cut into the perfume budget
I really like the idea of just trashing some stuff I don’t need at the end to make extra space. Genius!
Bring some bubble wrap just in case…or make sure you ask the store to use it if they have it. Oh, and bring a luggage scale — I had to shift stuff from luggage to hand carry
Bon voyage! I hope you have a wonderful time. It’s been far too long since I’ve been to Europe!! One of these years….
And don’t forget to indulge in macarons at Ladurée! If I remember correctly, the tea room and restaurant is conveniently located near the Guerlain boutique on the Champs Elysées.
Today’s selection: Comme des Garçons Champaca.
I smell happy.
everything by Comme des Garçons makes me happy..right now i’m wearing Black and I adore it
I’ll be visiting buddhist monasteries in Ladakh later this summer, the best approximation, scent-wise, could be dzonkha (o.k. it’s more Bhutan inspired), but I’m not keen enough about it, so I’m still thinking about what to carry with me, besides my cute travel spray with Imperial Tea by Kilian, some more India-inspired scent?
Something with jasmine, sandalwood and incense…..
Bohemian Black. I’m so in love with it.
thanks for the tip, I’ve never heard about this before, I just ordered a sample!
Wow, lucky you.
La Maroc Pour Elle has wonderful rich, juicy jasmine, incense and deep rose. I think this would work very well with your trip. It has a very elegant hippie vibe, and smells a lot like that famous Nag Champa incense.
I’m looking forward to retrying my samples in the next weeks, l’air du desert is also an option!
Kevin reviewed some perfumes by House of Matriarch. I ordered samples, and the ones I’ve tried seem to have nag champa and other Indian attars in them. Kenzo Amour also comes to mind. It’s not an incense perfume but it has an unusual wood note, Tanaka. A sample vial of vintage Guerlain Samsara would be great to have along, too.
I’m learning so much this weekend, about the House of Matriarch and I had to google nag champa and tanaka, checking out what samples to bring with me before leaving is going to be fun, Kenzo Amour is going on the list, I might re-try Samsara
SOTD = Guerlain Cuir Beluga (decant from splitmeet) — this is very nice…light…I ended up layering it with SDV – mmmm good.
I’m off to Boston for a few days and then on to a 7-day cruise around Maine, maritime Canada, Quebec, Montreal. I have been to Boston three times on vacation and on twice on business, but I am most looking forward to meeting a fumehead with whom I had swapped several times!
Perfumes I’ll be bringing…not sure. I always have Chanel No. 5 EDT and since it will be sample grab bag Friday and Hermes Friday for the next two Communiity Scent Fridays, I’ll probably bring a bunch of samples and assorted Hermes atomizers, throw caution to the wind
…. or maybe I’ll bring Cuir Beluga which is guaranteed to not offend anyone since only I can smell it on me 
Sounds like a fun adventure ahead of you! I wonder how the sea air will play with your STODs. Interesting
Have fun!
Ergh…SOTDs, that is.
Last year, I was on an Eastern Mediterranean cruise and for all that time, I wore Atelier Cologne Sous le toit de Paris. I also wore it in Venice and London and ironically, forgot to wear it on my one-day visit to Paris!
Haha, that sounds like something that I might do, too. I am not familiar with Sous le toit de Paris – what a great name!
Also: Eastern Mediterranean cruise? Where do I sign up?
The cruise sounds quite lovely for the summer! May I ask which line it is?
It’s Holland America (no affiliation). If you can go in the fall, you can work in leaf peeping
I’m wearing a (cheap) cologne with violets, lavender, jasmine and sandalwood. It seems a nice fit for this moderate summer day of nursing sick chickens, mowing lawns and tidying up!
I would like to be doing something more exotic and wearing something more exotic! But this is nice….hmm, second time I’ve used that wood, which I usually don’t.
Guess I am just having a nice day! Thinks I will give myself another spritz or two.
Poor sick chickens.
No vacation for me his summer. However, I am planning on some major reading time- someone mentioned the Inspector Gamache mystery series by Louise Penny a while back and I am officially hooked! On the third installment now and really liking the series. A big THANK YOU to whoever it was that mentioned it =-)
Next summer I am hoping to go Ireland to meet up with family I have not seen since I was a kid, so I am thrilled about that! My Perfume budget will be severely impacted, but for a worthwhile reason.
Today it’s hotter than Satan’s armpit at high noon and my SOTD is Tauer’s Un Rose de Kandahar. It works well in this heat and I am loving it.
Hope everyone has a wonderful smelling weekend =)
I love those books too–am waiting for her next one which I think is due out next month. They are full of wonderful sounding meals also. (It wasn’t I who recommended them though.) Also he smells distinctive in a way that is nice.
Good to know there is another on the way! Thanks
Yes, August is her next one! Read them all and really can’t wait to enter the world of Three Pines again soon,
I think it was me. I get a reader enabler pin
Yes, you get the pin! Thanks again for mentioning it. I just finished another mystery series and was looking to jump into something new so your recommendation came at the perfect time
Ooh – I’ll have to check these out as well. I’m about finished with all the Donna Leon Inspector Brunetti’s that exist, so I’m looking for something new…. Thanks!
Just went to check out Louise Penny on Amazon (no affiliation) and noticed that her first Inspector Gamache mystery, Still Life, is available for only $2.99.
I am also a big fan of Inspector Gamache, he of the rosewater scent, and the village of Three Pines.
I’m not really on holiday but we’ve left the city heat for the coast for the summer. I haven’t got a really beachy perfume, but do love Épice Marine when I go out for a walk in the morning. Later this month we’ll spend a few days in Barcelona and I’ll visit a few perfume stores, but I have no idea what scent to wear. It’s supposedly cooler than down here, but so humid that it’s much more uncomfortable. I’ll take Grand Neroli, which is refreshing.
Little bits and pieces of vacation. Two work conferences in beautiful places in New York state – that afforded a few hours of relaxation here and there. I’ll have a week off early in August to drive out to Ohio to see family.
I’m still unpacking from moving. Anything that makes me feel anything other than tired is welcome. I’m enjoying the scents I got from Bendel’s clearance sale. SoOud Ouris, a citrusy iris, has been unexpectedly perfect this fine summer.
I have twice bought perfumes just before going on a trip and then later on they remain associated in a nice way with memories of that trip: once it was Elixir des Merveilles which I bought in the Hermes boutique at JFK before going to Turkey, and another time I just happened to buy L’Artisan Havana Vanille before going to Australia for what was their spring/summer. It was sort of chance both times but now I think of that as a kind of fun thing to do and it adds to the experience quite a lot as well as providing the nice memories later on.
I think that’s a great idea and am planning on buying a bottle next year when I travel. Call me a copy cat
It’s similar to buying new shoes or clothes for a trip – it is lovely when objects get steeped in experiences before becoming a part of my workaday life.
Also: Turkey and Australia! How cool.
Two events occurred that made our first trip to the Smoky Mountains a few years ago a memorable one.
I immediately, totally and completely fell in love with the Smokies: gentle, green, curving, welcoming, comforting, peaceful: Peering down into a valley created by their embrace, I had an imaginary, zenlike experience of rolling slowly down the hills, alternately breathing in the clean, crisp air, looking up at the clouds, smelling the green grass and wildflowers, and tasting the earth, rolling down ever so slowly that after awhile there were no boundaries between us, and I ‘became’ the earth and the mountain and the valley and the flowers and the sky, immortality reached.
Later, on the way home, we entered northeast Kentucky and, in dire need of a respite from days of camping and campfire meals, we were fortunate to find both a ‘real’ bed at the inn at Carter’s Caves State Park and a ‘real’ (not cooked by me) home-cooked meal. Our unexpected stop yielded a musical discovery that became the highlight of our trip: It was the weekend of the Fraley Family Music Festival held annually at the park. People from all walks of life, occupations, race, creed and color who loved mountain music brought their instruments and played and sang, not only at the nightly concerts, but spontaneously throughout the grounds anytime the spirit moved them. This is not country or bluegrass music, it is instead music handed down orally from one generation to the next in Appalachia, pure, sweet and simple ballads from the area’s original settlers who emigrated from England, Ireland, Scotland. Music played on fiddles, banjos, dulcimers, harmonicas. Music I’d never heard before in a setting never to be forgotten.
I’ve never found a fragrance that reminds me of that powerful moment on the mountainside nor of the beauty of the mountain music so serendipitously discovered, but I would welcome any suggestions from this very knowledgable community to help me find one!
I used to live in Asheville NC and loved to hike with my dogs in the mountains and just get “lost” in that beautiful wilderness! A scent that really reminds of those hikes is Sonoma Scent Studio’s “Forest Walk.” It transports me everytime I wear it and often I just pick up the bottle as I pass and sniff the cap. I recommend heartily that you check out a sample!
Thank you, Deva! I have some SSS samples tucked away somewhere; I will search for them, it’s possible I may even have Forest Walk but if not I will be sure to sample. I believe we crossed over to Asheville that same trip and took a walking tour of the downtown – I remember a famous old movie theater? Beautiful, beautiful area.
What a beautiful experience! The rich, sweet smell of lady ferns, especially after a rain, makes me most think of woods and mountains. I’ve never smelled a fragrance that can replicate that aroma, although I am lucky I can smell that aroma anytime I want in the summer, as my house is surrounded on one side with lady fern, and on the other with enormous native hemlocks (a nice softer pine smell). There is nothing like fresh mountain air.
The fragrance that makes me most think if the smell of fresh woods and mountain air is Chanel Sycomore. After a hard rain in the spring when the ground is just giving it up for the new growth, the air will smell exactly like the smokey, woody vetiver in Sycomore. The fragrance that smells most to me like sweet summer meadow is vintage Hermes Amazone.
Oh, I envy you! I don’t think I’ve ever smelled Sycamore nor the Amazone but will definitely go on a hunt. Smoky, woody vetiver is a note I favor. Thank you!
You might want to try some samples from Olympic Orchids (olympicscents.com). Blackbird, Seattle Chocolate, and Olympic Rainforest come to mind.
Meant orchidscents.com
No affiliation.
Thank you, kindcrow. I’m not familiar with orchidscents but will definitely check out your recommendations. The names of the scents alone are intriguing . . . .
On a trip from NYC to Italy, I stopped in a duty free shop and sprayed Guerlain’s Vetiver, and that’s when I learned the name associated with that amazing ingredient and that I was a huge vetiver fan.
I think the next vacation I have coming up is a long weekend to the Jersey Shore for a wedding in October. Not sure what I’ll wear yet, but Sel de Vetiver (see above) might be lovely.
I am currently on my annual three day trip to Victoria, B.C. to visit the out-laws and check out the antique store for perfume bottles. I take pictures and send them to my friend who is an expert back home. She will advise me as to what is really worth buying.
I brought Jessica McLintock, EL Pure White Linen Light Breeze, and Bond No. 9 Hamptons with me to wear.
Agrigento, Sicily, circa 1997. The ruins, gazing at the stars with a cute boy and the smell of white wine and cigarettes. Black tea, we also drank loads of black tea, and some blends will forever remind me of those days.
SOTD is Guerlain Chamade. Perfection.
Just back from 2 weeks with old friends in The Woodlands, Texas – wore Penhaligon’s Bluebell & my host raved about it, just like he did a few years ago when I attended his son’s wedding & wore MH Fleurs du Bois – “Do British women all smell so good?” was his question!
I’m at that point where I’m too tired to think about an actual vacation, but I am planning to visit my brother in the Chicago area in late summer or early fall. I used to travel once a year and liked to kill time between flights sniffing perfume in duty free shops, where I acquired Hermes Hiris and Un Jardin sur Nil, Joop! Rococo and All About Eve, 1999 J’Adore, the Ryoko Edition of Kenzo pour Homme (pebble shaped travel spray designed by Karim Rashid) and other 1990s-2000s favs.
Jackson Hole Wyoming in the 80s, we went there every summer when I was a kid, it was not “cool” then and mostly full of cow punchers and aging hippies. The smells I associate with that place at that time are sage, sagebrush with the smell of Old Ci-gar when they get wet in the rain and start to dry the next morning making a unique stink that smells sorta like wet cigar ash yet to me was not unpleasant, huckleberries, campfire smoke and sourdough pancakes on the griddle with plenty of butter. Dunno what perfume would have all that but the perfume I remember smelling most often in Jackson is Stetson. Stetson was the smell of every powder room in every restaurant and playhouse, the smell of a cowboy all duded up in his best hat on for a Saturday night, visiting town for a big night of dinner at The Blue Lion followed by Dirty Jack’s Melodrama Theatre or a musical at The Pink Garter. To this day, summer bathrooms need to smell like Stetson or they don’t smell right to me, in fact I have a bottle on top of my commode right now that I use as air freshener in the summer months. Funny how some perfumes are so locked in our brains as being associated with a place or a season that we can’t smell them in any other context or it just doesn’t feel “right”
Happy Camping everyone.
SOTD was Tom Ford Shanghai Lily. Am afraid I over-sprayed and my husband noticed it in a not-so-good way in church. He said it kind of changed with each waft, sometimes good and sometimes not good. Will have to reserve it for cooler weather (it was just over 100 degrees in the Dallas area today), and go easy on it. SOTE last night was Silver Iris , which he commented on and liked. I told him, “if it smells expensive, that’s because it is,” and he joked, “in that case, it smells like and old lady.” Too late, bought it this February!
1999 J’adore would be my vacation memory fragrance. We were on vacation in Toronto and it was being launched. There were mobile billboards around town. I got sprayed with it at the Bay and liked it right off and bought a small bottle. I wish I still had it. I think (if I recall) that I was under the impression that it had turned. It may just have been that the top notes had gone off and I didn’t know any better and got rid of it. Sigh!
I just got back in the night from a one-week trip to Cuba. It was really great and unbelievably relaxing. The snorkeling was amazing!
I just brought B&BW Coconut Lime Breeze (which fitted the bill perfectly), and was using The Body Shop’s coconut body butter and shower gel, which I had received in travel format as a gift, appropriately. I thought in would probably be too hot and humid to enjoy much fragrances, and when one spends all day in a bikini with crazy knotted hair from the sea, slathering sunscreen, what more than a body mist can one rock?
And the CLB mist also has the advantage of being in a plastic bottle (I’m always worried about glass bottles in my suitcase…) AND to be cheap as dirt!