Every year, at some point in late August or early September, I end up feeling too hot and cranky to wear most of the perfumes I love. Just as I pare down my wardrobe to three loose-fitting, machine-washable dresses during the inevitable late-summer humidity, I pull a handful of refreshing, lightweight fragrances to the front of my stash. For the time being, I can't even stand my usual powdery roses and violets and ambers; I can only tolerate sheer, tart fruit blends like Jo Malone Tangy Rhubarb or Clarins Eau des Jardins or citrusy colognes like Editions M.R. Acide and Le Jardin Retrouvé Citron Boboli.
This year, Antica Farmacista Happy Hour made my heat-wave cut. It's one of five scents in Antica Farmacista's new Facets collection — personal fragrances, in "five different moods...complex, multifaceted, and fluid," from a brand known for its high-end home fragrance collection. I tried all five Facets in August, focusing particularly on After Hours (berry, dark rose, and modern patchouli, like a cousin to Calvin Klein Deep Euphoria) and Cozy You (a delicious peach-skin accord followed by a soft white musk). But Happy Hour was the one that I kept picking up, especially when the temperatures soared into the high nineties.
Happy Hour promises notes of tuberose, yuzu, coconut, ylang ylang, green mango, lime zest, grapefruit, lychee and warm sand, for an effect of "sun-heated skin, with a backdrop of tuberose enveloped by palm trees, heady tropical blooms, and enticing fruits. Too-cool water that suddenly is just the right temperature, the prismatic reflections rippling with an invitation." Yes and no: I really didn't detect much of a tuberose effect, or any beachy notes, but I did enjoy Happy Hour's fruity cocktail vibe and its overall sunny (but not sweaty) mood.
What I do get, and what keeps me going back to my sample vial on these lingering warm-weather days, is a mouth-watering olfactory fruit-salad of yuzu and green mango. Happy Hour leans just slightly more sweet than tart, and there's a faint hint of something creamy in the background (a drizzle of coconut milk?) — overall, I would eagerly drink or eat an actual food item that smelled like this, particularly on a hot day. It's a fairly linear composition, and that's fine, because I don't want too many surprises when I'm already feeling uncomfortable. Instead, I'm just content to enjoy this scent's pulpy freshness.
I've been wearing Happy Hour all around my neighborhood lately, from shopping errands to physical therapy appointments to backyard get-togethers, even to an actual happy hour at a local bar. It's bright and easy, it has above-average staying power for a citrus-focused perfume, and it manages to refresh me despite soaring temperatures or heavy humidity. That makes me feel, well, happy.
If it's late summer in your part of the world, what fragrances have you been choosing to wear during these steamy dregs of the season? Feel free to share in the comments!
Antica Farmacista Happy Hour is available as 50 ml Eau de Parfum ($86). A Discovery Set of five fragrance samples ($18) is also available.
Like you, I get kinda cranky come late September, like you, my go-to is Eau des Jardins, it has just enough zing! Aqua Allegoria Mandarine Basilic is another favorite.
This sounds like a nice fragrance!
I love Eau des Jardins! My bottle is ancient but still smells pretty good. Zing is essential in the so-called dog days of summer!
What a gorgeous bottle ?
It does sound like a nice warm weather scent.
But most summer month I don’t wear any perfume, maybe a scented body product but most of the time, perfume is too much for me in hot weather.
It’s starting to get cooler here in Denmark. So I’m reaching for the heavier perfumes again ☺️
Today is officially the first day of fall, right?! Time to break out the roses and resins!
😯 First day of Fall?? It’s 88 in Millbrae right now.
Today was a little warm for my taste, here in NYC…but I’m really hoping for the arrival of sweater-and-tights weather soon.
Here in Denmark we count September 1st as the day of autumn-yes we are a little odd here 😉
I’m loving the crisp cool mornings, sweaters, hot coffee and warm cozy perfumes scenting in the air..
You’re in Millbrae? My parents live there.
Was going to say that on the really sweltering days I can only handle perfume with a strong dose of mint, but that’s really only on the sweltering days when I have to go *do* something. There have a few times when it was to hot to do anything, and I leaned into it with Byredo Pulp on the theory that if I’m going to languish from heat & humid, its kind of amusing to do it while smelling like fruit that met the same fate. Maybe Happy Hour is the middle ground between sharp cool mint and overripe fruit salad.
I used to loooooove L’Occitane’s Mint Verbena Leaf-Light Cooling Body Gel, don’t remember the right name! but it felt wonderful on skin after a cool shower at the end of any very hot day!
Happy Hour sounds refreshing and fun!
To beat the heat and humidity I would go for cologne themed fragrances. One of my favourite is Cologne Rose Ocean from Les Parfums de Rosine.
If I want to cool off even more, my pick would be You or Someone Like You by ELd’O.
That must be one of the few Rosines I haven’t tried?! Maybe next summer? 😉