The best perfumes, in my opinion, are the sorts that flood you with uplifting rays of sunshine in a single spritz—scents aptly named solar perfumes. Sure, they make for excellent summer perfumes and holiday fragrances, given their sun-soaked nature, but truthfully, I wear solar scents all year round. Whether I'm leaning into their clear summer vibes in the warmer months or turning to them as a source of happiness-inducing escapism during cold spells, there are no perfumes out there more emotionally powerful than solar perfumes.
While wellness perfumes that boost your mood are no doubt having a moment this year, for me, it's the perfumes dripping in summertime happiness that I find myself reaching for most when I require a pick-me-up. And I want you to truly understand what a momentous thing it is for me to say. As a beauty editor who specialises in all things fragrance, the size of my perfume collection boasts three figures, and there isn't a single scent family I dislike—from floral perfumes and skin scents to woody fragrances and creamy musk perfumes, I would struggle to choose a favourite. But solar perfumes? The positive impact they have on both you as a wearer and those around you is just undeniable.
And, having tried essentially every sunny perfume out there, I've got a pretty solid understanding of what makes a great one—something not too sugary or sweet, something radiant that's beaming with joy, something that really melts into the skin and becomes one with the wearer, something that holds up in the heat, something that garners attention and compliments from those around you, and most importantly, something that really lifts your spirits. So, buckle up. These are the nine best, most joyful, summery, sunshine-drenched solar perfumes in existence.
1. Tom Ford Soleil De Feu
Now this is a rich-smelling perfume. Without sounding crass, this scent reeks of money. While solar perfumes sometimes risk coming off saccharine or cloying, this stuff is rich and luxurious. It possesses that creamy sort of warmth we sunny perfumes lovers crave, but there's a spicy, resinous, silkiness that envelops the wearer. It's like a super-bronzed, glistening décolleté that is adorned with gold chains and diamonds.
2. & Other Stories Solar Essay
By looking at the notes, you'd expect this perfume to be a sugary citrus scent with a gourmand, creamy dry down—but it's not that at all. It is actually incredibly fresh and light on the nose. Solar Essay isn't that clammy, humid sort of solar scent—instead it's the feeling of throwing on a crisp linen shirt first thing in the morning, while the sun is still low and the air is still cool.
3. Phlur Solar Power
To be totally honest, I can't help but feel as though sun-cream-esque perfumes are a bit overdone. While I still absolutely adore the comfortingly nostalgic and creamy nature of them, there are just so many to choose from, and they all smell pretty similar. When I was first introduced to Solar Power a couple of years ago, I expected to smell yet another sun cream scent, but what I was met with surprised me. Instead of smelling like a thick, unctuous sun lotion, it smells like a luxe, silky tanning oil—warming and citrusy, lightly floral, but with a beachside crunch that mentally whisks you off to faraway shores.
4. Vyrao Free 00
Vyrao is a brand that champions (and excels in) wellness perfumes. Each scent has been created with mental state in mind—and this one is pure sunny escapism. I simply had to include Free 00 because of all of those sweet, creamy, moreish, sunny perfumes out there, this is the best of the best. But instead of being mouthwatering and gourmand, it maintains a crispness that feels like beams of golden sun rays, rather than a blanket of stuffy sunshine.
5. Loewe Paula's Ibiza Eclectic
This is the solar perfume for party girls (i.e. me). If I'm planning a summer night out or packing for an Ibizan girls trip, this is the only perfume I need to take. It is the deepest, smokiest scent on this list, with hints of spicy black pepper and incense to deliver a sense of mystery and allure—but that's not to say it isn't still drenched in sunshine. Bright, vivacious and totally carefree in nature, this one isn't to be missed.
6. Dior Dioriviera
While Tom Ford Soleil De Feu is the sort of perfume that screams excess at you over the dinner table, Dioriviera whispers wealth into your ear at a St Tropez beach club. And although it is quietly luxe, that's not to say it's subtle, either—in fact, it's an impressively long-lasting perfume and has a sillage that guarantees an influx of compliments. Delicate florals fizz on the tip of your nose and deliver an instant hit of elation, while a sweet, fresh creaminess binds the scent to your skin in a way that makes it feel like it's a part of you.
7. Jo Loves With Love From Positano
Now this perfume has driven me crazy. It first landed on my desk a few months ago, and every time I have worn it (of which there have been countless—the bottle is half empty) I have had people flock to me and ask after it. However, as soon as it launched, it sold out, and I haven't been able to wax lyrical about it as much as I would have liked. But now it's back, and I couldn't be more overjoyed. It is like an ice-cold glass of sparkling lemonade in the midday sun—fizzy, sherbety and unequivocally fresh. While sweet, it is void of any cloying creaminess and instead delivers a crisp sense of mental clarity.
8. Maison Francis Kurkdjian Aqua Vitae Cologne Forte
I will never forget the day in which I was first introduced to this perfume. The UK was in the peak of lockdown, and I had started to forget what it even felt like to enjoy the sunshine on my skin. I, along with the rest of the country, was wondering if any of us would ever experience the act of lounging carefree in the sun again. I logged onto a Zoom call with Francis Kurkdjian and he began talking about this scent. He described it as the feeling of lounging outside and laying your head down on a warm, sun-soaked pillow—and this description could not be more accurate. It has a green, crunchy, water-like freshness, but the overwhelming feeling is one of enveloping warmth and comfort. One deep inhale of it is, in my opinion, the best feeling in the world.
9. Juliette Has A Gun Lust For Sun
This is the closest thing you'll find to a sun cream scent on this list, and the reason I am including it is because it is the absolute crème de la crème. (I worked hard on that pun.) I have spoken a lot about fresh perfumes with a crunchy, beaming, throw-open-the-windows vibe, but this? It is enveloping, comforting, warm and deliciously sweet. It is the feeling of getting back to your hotel room, stripping off and opening up that packet of salty Lays while cooling your sun-cream-slathered body on the air-conned white sheets. Slightly sticky, but entirely moreish, Lust For Sun is an experience everyone deserves.
