Beauty report: light and fresh fragrances for summer

Every woman has a tendency to become entrenched in habit. We tend to favour a particular look, and rarely deviating from it, often while failing to notice that it isn’t working for the particular occasion, season, or even time of day we find ourselves in.

The same goes for fragrance. It’s the sort of product a woman will rarely buy for herself and it is rather expensive, so we tend to find one we like and stick to it for years, often neglecting to add some variety now and then.

If situation and budget allow, everyone should have two fragrances – a lighter, fresher fragrance for summer or for day, and a deeper, muskier scent for winter or for evening.

In general, younger women gravitate toward sweeter citrus scents, and more mature women prefer something with more floral depth, but everyone suits both. At this time of year, something with the vivacity of citrus notes and the warm maturity of florals captures the best of both and reflects the season.

Viktor and Rolf Flowerbomb

(€65 for 30ml) marks its 10th anniversary this year, and is still one of Ireland’s favourite fragrances. The rich floral notes of tea, bergamot, jasmine, freesia and rose – among others – mimic the bloom of summer and bring to mind warm evenings in hot climates.

This scent has endured because it’s a true floral without any headache-inducing quality, or old-fashioned synthetic heaviness, making it perfect for women across all age ranges, particularly during the summer.

Escentric Molecules Molecule 01

(€89 for 100ml at Brown Thomas) is fragrance at its most high-tech. Casting off the traditional construction of perfumes, designed with a top, middle and bottom note which entwine to create a unique fragrance, Molecule 01 has just one ingredient apart from water and alcohol – Iso E Super.

Alone, it is almost without a fragrance. Immediately after spritzing, this gives off a pleasantly warm, woody aroma, which then seems to disappear.

This fragrance smells different on everyone, and somehow always manages to garner compliments – it’s less a perfume more a pheromone, and smells equally good on men or women. Try this one for a unique fragrance that no one will recognise, but everyone will like.

Chance was originally created in 2003 by Chanel’s famed master perfumer, Jacques Polge, and has since become one of the better known and loved Chanel fragrances. After 35 years, Polge recently retired, and his son Jacques has taken on the mantle of Chanel perfumer.

The new Chance Eau Vive (€71 for 50ml), released just yesterday, is among Polge the younger's first fragrances for Chanel, and it is summer scent perfection.

A touch of bitter grapefruit settles into a crisp citrus fragrance with notes of jasmine and white musk.

Incomparably fresh and light, it will immediately appeal to younger women, but would also be quite at home on more mature women, with its warm, floral undertone.