Your guide to the best fragrances of summer

Wondering how to keep your fragrances fresh? Or which notes tell your nose that summer has arrived? These expert tips will ensure you smell sweet (and citrusy and floral) all season

“Fragrance should always be stored in the same way, but summer is a great reminder to be diligent about storage,” says Erica Moore of fragrance classification guide Fragrances of the World.

Wondering how to keep your fragrances fresh? Or which notes tell your nose that summer has arrived? These expert tips will ensure you smell sweet (and citrusy and floral) all season

Five minutes with...FASHION DESIGNER NARCISO RODRIGUEZ

The Cuban-American designer reveals the inspiration behind his new fragrance

What inspired your new fragrance, All Of Me?

I had wanted to create a new fragrance for the past six years. I used my musk [a warm, skin-like note that has become a signature scent in Narciso Rodriguez fragrances] as the inspiration

but felt that to create a new and modern fragrance, it needed to capture the many facets of a woman’s personality.

Narciso Rodriguez All Of Me EDP, $170, myer.com.au

How did the creative process begin?

I’m constantly looking for and finding new ingredients and oils, and making combinations that I put in a diffuser in my children’s bedroom. One of these variants was a beautiful, natural and rich mix of geranium, rose, sandalwood and musk.

Why did you want rose to be the starting point for All Of Me?

Rose has such an iconic and beautiful scent. I wanted to capture the beauty and complexity of a rose in a new, modern, and abstract way. [Another] key ingredient is geranium, a flower that’s traditionally used in men’s cologne and rarely seen in women’s fragrances. Geranium lends a modernity that isn’t usually associated with floral fragrances.

Why is it important to you that the key ingredients are responsibly sourced?

We want to make sure the ingredients minimise their environmental impact while also supporting local providers. The geranium bourbon is sourced from a female-led cooperative in Réunion [an island in the Indian Ocean], and this partnership helps offer a better quality

of life for the women who cultivate it.

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What makes musk, the iconic note in all of your fragrances, so special?

Musk is the most sensual of all the scents. The idea that it smells differently on each person is something I find fascinating.

Narciso Rodriguez All Of Me EDP, $170, myer.com.au

HEIGHTENED SCENTS

Florals and warmer weather may not be a groundbreaking combination, but this season there’s a twist. “Thanks to developments in perfumery, we can capture a more complex interpretation of flowers,” explains Erica Moore of fragrance classification guide Fragrances of the World.

“Perfumers aren’t confined to the traditional and sometimes polarising single notes, like rose or lavender. [They] also have access to notes that modify florals in fragrance, such as aldehydes and musks to soften and diffuse; woods, vanillas and ambers to warm and create luminosity; and fruity or citrusy accents to brighten, freshen and invigorate.”

How should I store my fragrances in summer?

“Fragrance should always be stored in the same way, but summer is a great reminder to be diligent about storage,” explains Moore. “Heat, light and humidity are all concerns for the quality of your fragrance, so I store mine in a drawer, but on a shelf inside a robe is also good.”

Here’s a tip

Spray your fragrance on the nape of your neck in summer. “It seems to diffuse better,” says Moore. “And [it means it’s] relatively protected from your other body products.”