Earlier this week I talked about old school summer colognes. Today's focus: the modern equivalent. These fragrances aren't classic Eau de Colognes, but they function in much the same way: they're light, they're citrus-y, they're refreshing in the worst dog days of summer. Bonus: some of the newer models last a bit longer on skin than the classics.
I've listed my picks in order of release date. Do add your own picks in the comments!
Guerlain Mandarine Basilic ~ From 2007, this lovely sparkling orange with plenty of herbal bite is the oldest fragrance on today's list. Being the cranky old school perfumista that I am, I think of Mandarine Basilic as the last of the "good old days" from the Aqua Allegoria range; it's what they used to smell like before they became as dominated by white musk as they are today.1
Hermès Eau de Pamplemousse Rose ~ Hermès makes so many fragrances that would fit into this category that it's hard to choose just one, but I adore this tangy grapefruit / rhubarb. When I reviewed it, I said it reminded me of a "just-poured Fresca on ice". Eau de Mandarine Ambrée would also do the trick, and so would the new Terre d'Hermès Eau Très Fraîche, and really, too many others to list.
Annick Goutal Ninféo Mio ~ A zingy citrus with plenty of greenery and a nice touch of fig. The reasonably good lasting power is a plus, but the boxwood note does make it difficult for some people to wear. The even greener Mandragore would be another great choice from the same brand.
Parfum d'Empire Azemour Les Orangers ~ Longtime readers possibly suspected this would be on the list, and yes, here it it is. I think of Azemour Les Orangers as the modern successor to Annick Goutal Eau du Sud.
Atelier Mistral Patchouli ~ To my nose, it ought to have been called Mistral Pamplemousse: this is a summer grapefruit with a bit of clean patchouli to lend some weight to the base. If you want even more focus on the citrus, you could try Atelier's Grand Néroli or Orange Sanguine.
1. Strictly speaking, the line didn't really lose me until 2010's Flora Nymphéa, and I would still buy a bottle of 2008's Laurier Réglisse if I saw one at a fantastic price. I should also add that I have not smelled a brand new bottle of Mandarine Basilic in some time. I hope everything I said is still true; apologies if it is not.
Note: top image is st24.JPG [cropped] by Matias Garabedian at flickr; some rights reserved.
New Wave citrus hmmm. Citrus is really not my thing..got nothing to add! I really didn’t like the Basilic..smelled too synthetic to me…but love Flora Nymphea! I do like lime sometimes..anyone know a good lime one?
*but mostly really dislike the musky AA’s
Lime is oddly hard to do properly — I do not have a favorite lime at all, and hope others will chime in. (lots of people do love Jo Malone Lime Basil Mandarin)
I didn’t know lime was hard to do, that’s interesting.
Well, I maybe shouldn’t have put it that way — I’m not a perfumer! But as a consumer, based on the dearth of fabulous lime fragrances, I assume lime is hard to do well.
I would love a good lime! Herba Fresca has a little bit of lime. The only other prominent lime I know of and love is discontinued – smell bent Blimey Limey!
Yes — should also have said, it’s not that there are no good fragrances with lime! Just that I don’t know of a truly fantastic lime-focused fragrance.
Robin, I think Cedrat Enivrant has a pretty good lime note.
PdN Vanille Tonka used to have a wonderful lime note! However, it’s been damped down considerably… and the scent was never lime-focused anyway. But the old one used to be lime for a good fifteen minutes or so; now it’s maybe three, and lime through a cheesecloth veil.
Limelight by DSH is nice, and Floris Summer Limes is a favorite of mine for hot muggy weather. I’m not sure if either of those is still available!
Not quite as new, but PdN Eau d’Ete has a great lime note…
Thanks will sample
Mandarine Basilic is one of my summer standbys – I could get by with that and Herba Fresca for most of the summer! PdN also has good summer cologne type scents – I like L’Eau Mixte and Eau d’Ete. And this is a good reminder that I need to get to the mall and smell stuff as I forget what Pamplemousse Rose smells like (and I love rhubarb) and would like to try that new Terre. I still haven’t sniffed Monsieur Li either, so really need to go!
Agree, PdN has tons, and I could do a whole summer in PdN, easily.
Funny you should mention the Mistral Patchouli. L’Artisan Patchouli Patch reminds me of the same thing!
Interesting, because that one reminds me of patchouli!! But I am not a patch fan, so that may color my take on it.
Ninfeo Mio is a favorite of mine in the dog days.
I also really enjoy L’Eau à la Folie by Patricia de Nicolai.
And they last all day!
Folie is such a great scent.
Orange Sanguine is one of my favorite citrus, summer scents. It is because of NST that I even found out about it. Thank you NST for exposing me to so many fragrances! Reading everybody’s post is truly the highlight of my day!
How nice!!
Mistral Patchouli is the best thing I’ve smelled from AC so far, though its name is a misnomer. Wish I knew where I’ve left my travel bottle….
Coumarin, haven’t seen you for a while!
If you and Robin are recommending Mistral Patchouli, then I should sample it.
It is not my favorite line, but I do also like Sous Le Toit.
From what I’ve tried, my favorite is Ambre Nue which was a surprise (but I really like Ralf Schwieger).
I find Hermes Eau de Gentiane Blanche really gorgeous and functional in summer.
I don’t know why that one rubbed me the wrong way, but I should try it again. I do think nearly many people preferred it over the Pamplemousse Rose.
I like Pamplemousse Rose and have a few samples of the Concentree which lasts a wee bit longer. I’ll add Diptyque Geranium Odorata which smells sooo refreshing without smelling too clean. Of the Ateliers I like Pomelo Paradis. I guess I tend towards grapefruit when I want citrus (for eating too).
And Diptyque has several others that would qualify: Tarocco & L’Eau de L’Eau come to mind.
Great list again. I love Azemour les Orangers and Ninfeo Mio. Both much more than colognes, especially Azemour which I would so love a bottle of. I immediately thought of PdN’s summer eaux that are so wearable and nice. And Balle de Match of course. I wonder if it still smells the same in it’s new name.
Balle de Match is still a sentimental favorite of mine. I am always a bit surprised at how hung up people get over names, but I totally admit I am pissed they renamed it.
This is a great list and reading it and the comments makes me think how far the cologne genre has developed. Once upon a time the big brands put out an Eau or two – minor variations on citrus, herbs, and maybe mossy woods – and let the customers go nuts with them while the brands concentrated on developing their florals, orientals and gourmands.
Anyway, in the last couple of decades that’s all changed. With the influence of niche, there is now much more variety, and perfumers are exploring very diverse plants and fruits, and effects. A whole brand (Atelier) is now dedicated just to the cologne genre, and niche brand Parfums de Nicolai is known for producing a new cologne or two each summer.
Is it too much? Probably. There’s too much of everything in the perfume industry today. But it’s a genre I enjoy so I’m happy!
New thought: do the celebrity brands ever do colognes? I can’t think of any. Maybe the celebs assume you never leave the air-conditioned comfort of the mall!
On the one hand, yes, on the other, I think brands like Atelier are mostly marketing constructs — their fragrances are not in cologne concentration and many of them are not like colognes in structure or function either. (To be clear, many of the ones I listed are not in cologne concentration either, nor are many of the ones I listed on Tuesday. I’m really focusing more on structure/function. But Atelier is really just making scents pretty much like any other modern niche brand and then acting like they are a reinvention of the cologne idea.)
Eau de Gaga comes to mind right away! But offhand not coming up with anything else…
Yes, I thought of Eau de Gaga too, but wondered if it has too much heft for a cologne? It’s been a while since I smelled it.
I thought the earlier Ateliers fitted the cologne concept very well, but once they started adding oud and stuff I stopped believing in them as a cologne brand any more.
Have we mentioned JM’s Lime, Basil & Mandarin? That’s quite a classic now.
Eau de Gaga is strong, true. It reminded me of one of the early Bond no. 9 scents, but now I’ve forgotten which.
It’s a great observation that Azemour Les Orangers works as a cologne (even though it’s a chypre). For me, nothing replaces Eau du Sud as the perfect scent for late August/early September.
I wear TDC Osmanthus like a cologne, as well as Grandiflora Sandrine. These are flowers that smell like fruit: apricot in the case of Osmanthus, and lemon in Magnolia grandiflora
Oh, and two more: Etro Anice and CdG Rhubarb.
I think of Azemour Les Orangers as a citrus chypre, same as Cristalle or Eau de Guerlain. Some would classify the EdG as “just” a citrus, though, and I’ve seen Cristalle called a “citrus floral”. So as always it depends on who you consult. But to me if the oakmoss dominates the dry down, it’s got to be a citrus chypre so they are really all the same thing. Eau du Sud is usually called an aromatic citrus, but it originally had a fair amount of oakmoss, so again, same difference, right?
I recently tried Christopher Street (Charenton Macerations/Ralf Schwieger) and was astonished at how sophisticated it is. It’s definitely not a brisk, slap it on and feel refreshed kinda thing, but I found the lime and bergamot notes to be predominant throughout the many hours it lasts on me. I have really marveled at how that was achieved, and I think it’s definitely worth a try for citrus lovers.
Jessica reviewed that one:
https://nstperfume.com/2013/03/10/charenton-macerations-christopher-street-fragrance-review/
Yes, that’s what inspired me to try it!
I really want to try this one (also thanks to Jessica).
Tom Ford’s Neroli Portofino is one of the good new colognes too!
Love those blue bottles.
Many of my favourites have been mentioned, PdN’ Eaux Folie and Chic, would love to try Ete as well. AG Eau du Sud, Cristalle EdT, and Cristalle Eau Verte, Terre Eau Tres Fraiche, I love this genre. I also really love Honore Pres Honore’s Trip for the most realistic citrus/orange, but it is a very fleeting experience, on my skin which holds scent really well it lasts 5 minutes, I suppose a real cologne…glorious while it lasts.
Only tangentially related, but I’m disappointed the Honore des Pres line appears to be over already. I really thought they’d do more.
Yes, it is disappointing, especially Olivia Giacobetti is such a talented nose IMHO. Vamp a New York is still on my to try list.
Belatedly but: do you think it def is? I’ve belatedly fallen for Sexy Angelic, not realizing you really can’t find it anywhere, and wound up calling Beauty Habit, in desperation. The super nice and helpful person I spoke to said she thinks maybe HdP is just really slow at filling orders? She reports that Coconut had been out of stock for a really long time, but BH just received a new shipment from HdP last week–she interpreted this to mean they’d probably get Sexy Angelic in the next week or two, which to me seems like perhaps an overly optimistic timetable… but at least maybe the line’s not totally moribund? I want to believe?
I was not clear…I mostly meant that it doesn’t appear that they’re releasing anything new. I did not at all mean to imply they were out of business! I have no information either way.
Catching up on my NST reading with this a.m.’s tea – great post, Robin! You always make me want to try fragrances that you review until I remember, “Oh yeah, if Robin loves something chances are I won’t!”
Like Mals and a few others, I’m not a summer lover or a cologne lover (although I think I may try to make one since I have all of the essential oils needed), so my contribution to this list is SSS Citrus/Vetiver. Not a true cologne, but has that same cooling vibe.
So what you’re saying is that I save you time and money — thanks!
You always aim to please!
You know, I suspect that I might be more of a cologne fan if more colognes focused on lime. Somehow that doesn’t wear on my nerves the way a good number of citrus scents do. Shrug.
OTOH, I did smell AA Mandarine Basilic in the duty-free airport shop on my most recent trip, and liked it. That was just a brief on-paper sniff, and I don’t know how I would do with it on skin, but I thought it was very pleasant. I like Mandragore, too, but I never wore the mini bottle I once owned, so I passed it on. I probably wouldn’t actually wear MB, either.
We are opposites — I’ve worn Mandragore far more than I thought I would.
I wish I could remember now the long string of lime scents I tried early on looking for a perfect lime, before I decided there really wasn’t one. Lime seems to end up more “squat” in perfume than lemon or orange.
Hmm, what about Virgin Island Water? I should try that one
Robin, have you tried Ray of Light from April Aromatics? It’s very minty, but I think it’s a mint lime duet. I like it! Maybe you would too?
Oh, sounds like it! I will put it on my list.
Eau De Rochas does lime quite stronly in the top. Lemon as well though, so ultimately you still may not like it. You are right though – lime is more subtle and interesting than lemon.
So many good ones mentioned already, but two of my favourite The Different Company Scents fall in this category, too – Bergamote and Tokyo Bloom. And to add to all the Hermes ones, Eau de Narcisse Bleu (although this is more of a spring scent to me) and Un Jardin sur le Nil.
Wearing a bit of Nil lotion right now
I think I missed the whole point of the first article being about CLASSIC colognes and just spewed out an extensive list of everything even slightly cologne-ish that I like there. :/
Hey, why not? We don’t need so many rules.
Just as well, given my lack of skill at obeying them!
Bulgari Thé Vert is one of my summer mainstays, managing to blend into the background while maintaining my interest, and not coming off as too “perfumey” – the kiss of death in the dog days of summer. Mugler Cologne is another must-have, for similar reasons, but primarily because it smells to me like a summer day in a bottle…specifically a suburban summer, with the scents of lemonade and fresh cut grass. Both of these fragrances are heat-proof; I can wear them on the hottest and muggiest without feeling stifled.
I adore the Mugler. It really should have been on this list.
Your review actually prompted me to check it out – back in my pre-perfumista days, around 2009 or so – and I’ve found it indispensable ever since! I live in (possibly irrational) fear of it being discontinued, because I have yet to find anything quite like it. Although speaking of Atelier Cologne, their Bois Blond(s) smells rather similar to me, so much that I’ve considered it as a plan B in case I’m unable to find replacement stock of the Mugler.
I worry about it too since they don’t seem to do anything to promote it. But I have hoarded enough to last me know
Love Azemour. Also have Atelier Grand Neroli and have developed a strong dislike of it. Will have to find a new home for it.
I gave away my Orange Sanguine AND my Grand Neroli.
That’s my plan, Robin. Maybe at the next Freebie meet?
Aw, I like Grand Neroli. It does seem to turn sort of flat and woody after the first hour or so, but the opening is really lovely. I thought about buying a bottle but I held back. I wish it could maintain that gorgeous citrus/neroli character for a little longer.
Flat — exactly my complaint, about both of them (GN & OS).