The season
A hot Christmas: the summer scents for the southern hemisphere
It is summer in Sydney, Cape Town and Buenos Aires. The fresh, citrus and sea-salt originals built for the heat, each beside its cheaper twin.
While the north digs out its coats, Sydney, Cape Town and Buenos Aires are heading into summer. In those cities Christmas lands in the heat, and a fragrance has to last through a long lunch outside. The cinnamon-and-pine perfumes of a northern December were never made for that.
The data agrees. Our Christmas page and our summer page are chosen by the same kind of rule from the same catalogue, and they share not a single bottle. A hot Christmas needs its own shelf. Here it is.
63
summer originals with a priced twin
698
twins between them
94%
typical saving per 100ml
Two kinds of heat
A warm evening and a scorching afternoon want different things. Switch between the two shelves; each bottle opens its review and every twin we track.
Warm evenings
For a barbecue, a long dinner outside, the beach at dusk. 63 originals qualify; these are the most loved. The full list is on the summer page.
The hottest days
A different rule, built for heat: nothing sweet, nothing ambery, no vanilla, no leather. 75 originals qualify; these are the most loved. The full list is on the hot-day page.
What summer is made of
Across the 63 summer picks, these are the threads that keep turning up in their notes and accords. Most bottles carry more than one, so the bars add up to more than 100%.
A summer of Silver Mountain Water
The most loved of the summer picks is Creed Silver Mountain Water, at $490 per 100ml. Its best-value twin, Ajmal Silver Shade, is $19. Slide to how much you would get through in a summer.
What you would keep
If you get through 2 × 100ml a year
Creed Silver Mountain Water
$980
Silver Shade
$38
Back in your pocket
$942
And for the beach itself: Creed Virgin Island Water lists coconut among its notes, at $490 per 100ml. The twin we can price is Copycat Fragrances Virgin Island Water, $29 per 100ml.
Wearing it in the heat
Two sprays, not five. Keep a small atomiser in the beach bag: citrus sits at the top of a perfume, and the top is the first part to go (how a note pyramid works). If you are buying a gift for someone in the south this year, this shelf beats the Christmas one. For the biggest savings on famous names in any season, see the swaps.
Your turn · reader poll
What do you wear when it is really hot?
