Do grade-school teachers still ask students to write essays titled “What I Did This Summer” on the first day of school? I never liked that assignment very much. In any case, this summer was a strange, out-of-joint one for me. I wrote a lot, here and elsewhere. I read quite a few mysteries and thrillers. I kept up with physical therapy for my minor-yet-persistent knee issue. I went through interviews and onboarding and became a freelance gallery guide at MoMA. I found reasons to stay indoors during the multiple heat waves that smothered NYC. I didn’t travel and didn’t make any travel plans. I kept looking for a full-time job. I slept more than I probably needed to. I attended a decent number of social and/or fragrance events earlier in the season but ended up cutting back for financial reasons as well as a general feeling of malaise. Like all of us, I read the news and tried not to read the news.

As usual, I wore dozens of perfumes. I’m always sampling new releases or fragrances I just haven’t had a chance to try before, for possible review or just for my own knowledge. And, also as usual, I ended up with a small seasonal rotation that just made me happy. Here are five of the fragrances I wore most frequently this summer—one repeat favorite from last year, and four that were new to me.

If I recall correctly, Régime des Fleurs Cacti was one of my most-worn fragrances of Summer 2024. I’ve been a fan of this brand for ages, so when I won a bottle of Cacti in an online giveaway last year (thank you!) I was genuinely thrilled. I brought it out again this June and I’ve used this crisp composition of bergamot, shiso, black tea, cucumber, and aloe vera to cool my senses regularly since then.

My friend Laura P. passed me a sample of Artimique Coconut Blanket last summer and I loved it but misplaced it after trying it once or twice. A few months ago I started writing product descriptions for Bloom Parfums’ website, and the owner sent me some sample vials—including Coconut Blanket. I wrote for Bloom’s Instagram,

“It’s not some heavy, overly milky-sweet perfume inspired by piña coladas or suntan lotion. Instead, it reminds me more of a fantasy dessert made with shredded coconut, mint leaves, rosewater, a very thin slice of rum cake, and just a bit of whipped cream on top. It’s my new comfort scent for warm weather.”

Then the old sample turned up in one of my drawers, so now I have more to enjoy.

I received AllSaints Ravaged Rose as a birthday gift. AllSaints says it’s “provocative” and that’s not true (sorry, AllSaints)—it’s a soft, easy-to-wear rose scent with a citrus and red berry topnotes and a quiet vanilla drydown. Parfums de Marly’s Delina has almost ruined the idea of sweet berry-and-vanilla rose perfumes for me, but Ravaged Rose is just enough of a good thing. I like the leather-banded bottle, with its heavy hexagonal cap, too.

I browsed the Syd Botanica website for ages before I finally placed an order. I ended up liking every single one of the six samples I received, and I really appreciate the cohesive, multi-media world indie perfumer Syd Buffman has woven around all her fragrances. Wavey Tulip is a winsome aquatic-floral scent with dominant notes of honeysuckle, tulip (yes), and musky salt air. It has a unique personality yet it’s also sheer enough even for the warmest weather.

Just when I was thinking how much I miss my cold-weather fragrances, Ormonde Jayne Taïf among them, Ormonde Jayne’s public relations representative got in touch and sent me some samples. I reviewed three of them for Now Smell This, and would have written more about Tanger, but Kevin already beat me to it. This tart-sweet ylang-ylang cologne has cheered me up on more than one occasion over the past few weeks.

What have you been wearing lately, whether it’s summer or not in your part of the world? What do you expect, if anything in particular, from a summer scent?

Image: detail of a Bienaimé perfume advertisement, 1947