The Seasonal Edit
The Summer
Scent Edit
Candles · Perfumes · Incense — 12 picks that deserve a place in your summer ritual
Summer doesn't just look different — it smells different. The air is heavier, the heat unlocks things, and the right scent can make a fleeting moment feel eternal. Whether you're lighting a candle at dusk, spritzing something before dinner, or letting incense curl through an open window, this edit has been put together with one intention: to make your summer smell extraordinary.
01
Maison Francis Kurkdjian — Rue Des Groseilliers
Redcurrant · Raspberry · Blackcurrant
Close your eyes and you're standing in a sun-warmed Parisian garden, fingers stained red. MFK's Rue Des Groseilliers is a masterclass in berry — not the sugary, synthetic kind, but the tart, vivid fruit you reach for on a warm afternoon. Redcurrant, raspberry and blackcurrant are the trio here: bright, effusive, and impossibly cheerful. These berry notes are practically made for summer; they lift the atmosphere of a room the way a cold glass of something sparkling lifts a mood. Presented in a handcrafted Limoges porcelain jar, this one is as beautiful to look at as it is to burn.
02
L'Artisan Parfumeur — Intérieur Figuier
Fig Leaf · Almond Milk · Sandalwood
The fig tree in high summer — sun on its bark, the faint milkiness of sap, leaves shifting in a dry breeze — is one of the most evocative things nature produces. L'Artisan Parfumeur bottled that feeling. The Intérieur Figuier is green and woody on the top, softened by a creamy almond milk heart, and grounded in sandalwood. It's neither sweet nor sharp; it's Mediterranean in the most precise sense — warm, botanical, and a little untamed. This is the candle for anyone who'd rather be on a Provençal terrace than anywhere else.
03
Byredo — Summer Rain
Basil · Spearmint · Green Fig · Ginger · Tonka Bean · Sandalwood
That specific smell after rain falls on hot pavement — petrichor's more glamorous, herb-garden cousin — is exactly what Byredo has distilled here. Basil and spearmint arrive first like a sudden cool breeze; then green fig and sparkling ginger take over, evoking wet leaves catching the light. Tonka beans and sandalwood settle things down at the base, leaving something warm and re-energised behind. Summer Rain is the olfactive equivalent of stepping outside mid-afternoon and feeling the humidity break. A perfect reset candle — all glass and minimalism on the outside, pure elemental delight within.
04
Flamingo Estate — Green Goddess
Mint · Pea Tendrils · African Rosemary · Basil · Golden Ginger
Pesto. As a candle. Stay with us. Flamingo Estate's Green Goddess is an all-green, herbaceous knockout that smells like a California garden at golden hour — the kind where everything is lush, dewy, and impossibly alive. Fresh mint and moist basil lead the way; pea tendrils add a bright, almost vegetal sweetness; African rosemary gives it resinous backbone; and golden ginger threads warmth through the whole composition. It's utterly original and completely, radically suited to summer — a scent that smells less like a candle and more like a living thing. Made with non-GMO soy wax and packaged in FSC-certified materials. The garden called. It wants its energy back.
05
Parfums de Marly — Athénaïs EDP
Neroli · Bergamot · Yuzu · Jasmine Sambac · Orange Flower · Tonka Bean · Vanilla · Amber
Named for Athénaïs de Montespan — king's muse, unapologetic powerhouse — this 2026 launch from Parfums de Marly opens with a sunlit citrus trio of neroli, bergamot and yuzu that is nothing short of radiant. It's the kind of opening that makes you want to walk into a room with confidence. At its heart, jasmine sambac and orange flower absolutes unfurl with elegant femininity, before a warm and addictive base of tonka bean, vanilla and amber draws everything into something deeper and lasting. The citrus notes carry perfectly in heat, making Athénaïs a floral-amber that genuinely earns its summer credentials. Flamboyant, luminous, and fully in charge.
06
Miu Miu — Fleur de Lait EDP
Mango · Osmanthus · Coconut Milk
Three notes. That's all it takes. Miu Miu's Fleur de Lait is a masterclass in restraint and tropical indulgence in equal measure — inspired by the beloved mango pomelo sago dessert, it opens with a ripe, silky mango accord that feels like biting into the real thing. The heart is osmanthus, that quietly extraordinary flower with its apricot-like facets that give the whole fragrance a delicate floral lift. Then comes coconut milk in the base, wrapping everything in something velvety and comforting. It's sunny-day-by-the-pool in a bottle: carefree, mouthwatering, and utterly unapologetic about being delicious. A true summer indulgence.
07
Tom Ford — Taormina Orange EDP
Blood Orange Sicily · Green Mandarin · Lime · Cardamom · Orange Flower · Orange Bigarade · Patchouli · Oakmoss
Sicily's cliffside groves, the Ionian sea glittering below, blood orange trees heavy with fruit in the afternoon heat — Tom Ford's 2026 Private Blend release is a sensory postcard from the Mediterranean and the most sophisticated citrus fragrance of the summer. Blood orange from Sicily and green mandarin open with juicy, almost bittersweet brilliance; cardamom arrives to add cool, spicy complexity; orange flower absolute bridges the citrus and the base with luminous florality. Then patchouli and oakmoss anchor the whole thing with earthy, mossy depth that gives this fragrance serious staying power on the skin. Sun-warmed, unexpected, and utterly transportive.
08
Chanel — Chance Eau Splendide EDP
Raspberry · Rose · Violet · Rose Geranium · Iris · White Musk · Cedar
The fifth flanker in the iconic Chance family, and arguably the most sparkling. Chance Eau Splendide was composed by Olivier Polge around a brilliant, sophisticated raspberry accord — not candied, not cloying, but tartly elegant and effervescent. Rose and violet facets weave through the opening, before a magnificent heart of rose geranium — grown in Chanel's own fields in Grasse — takes the stage with rosy, subtly minty freshness. Powdery iris adds a touch of sophistication, and the whole thing settles into a cedar-white musk accord that is mysteriously luminous. This is a warm-weather fragrance with real character: simultaneously light and lingering, girlish and grown-up.
09
Amod Aromas — Scent Waves & Citrus Sorbet
Scent Waves: Geranium · Rosewood · Clove | Citrus Sorbet: Petitgrain · Neroli · Tea
Sydney-based Amod Aromas earns a double entry for two opposite but equally essential summer moods. Scent Waves is the beach-bum pick: an aquatic, salty composition built on geranium, rosewood and clove that smells precisely like a coastal holiday — earthy, spicy, free. Citrus Sorbet is its counterpart for bright mornings: petitgrain and tea open clean and invigorating, before neroli oil gives the heart a romantic, sun-warmed softness. Both are made with 100% natural, IFRA-compliant botanicals on a base of Sri Lankan machilus macranth bark, each stick burning for 80 minutes. Australian craft at its finest — niche perfumery applied to incense. Shop Scent waves and Citrus sorbet here
10
Le Labo — Ambroxyde 17
Ambroxyde · Musks · Woods · Jasmine · Moss
Le Labo's cult molecule gets its candle-to-incense translation, and it's addictive in the most inexplicable way. Ambroxyde — the synthetic echo of natural ambergris — is impossible to describe and impossible to ignore. It's clean, skin-like, oceanic and warm all at once, as if the air itself has been perfumed. A handful of jasmine petals settle into the composition like something half-remembered; woods and moss provide quiet depth. This is the incense for minimalists who prefer their summer scent to feel like a second skin rather than a statement. Radiant, intimate, diffusive — and yes, it should be sold in six-packs.
11
Fred Soll's — New Mexico Sandalwood
Sandalwood · Pinon Resin · Herbs
There is something deeply grounding about Fred Soll's incense — handmade and hand-dipped in Tijeras, New Mexico, dried in the desert sun, and made without a single synthetic molecule in sight. New Mexico Sandalwood leads with warm, creamy sandalwood up front — present and comforting — before a bed of piñon resin and herbs adds earthy complexity that is difficult to place but impossible to resist. Each stick burns for up to two hours. In summer, sandalwood performs beautifully: it doesn't compete with the heat, it harmonises with it, turning any space into something quiet, grounded and elemental. The anti-influencer incense — no branding, no noise, just the real thing.
12
Oribe — Côte d'Azur Incense
Fresh Lemon · Blackcurrant · Calabrian Bergamot · Sicilian Orange · Tuberose · Blue Cyclamen · White Butterfly Jasmine · Sandalwood · Vetiver · Crisp Amber
If summer had a signature scent, it might just smell like this. Oribe's Côte d'Azur incense — artisanally crafted by the Koh-Shi aroma masters on Japan's Awaji Island — is essentially the French Riviera, distilled into a slim, elegant stick. Lemon, blackcurrant, Calabrian bergamot and Sicilian orange open with effervescent, sun-soaked brilliance. Then the florals arrive: tuberose, blue cyclamen and white butterfly jasmine (Cuba's national flower) layering into something sensuous and glamorous. Sandalwood, vetiver and crisp amber close it all in warmth. With 75 sticks per pack and a gold-plated holder included, this is the most complete summer ritual in one box.
Summer is short. Smell like you know it.