When I think of perfume families, a few major scents come to mind: floral, amber, woody, and fresh. These fragrance families are pretty all-encompassing, but they’re also very classic and straightforward, meaning they don’t leave a ton of room for the innovative, unique, and downright weird scents out there.
One of my favorite fragrance families is newer to the scene. Solar fragrances are exactly what they sound like—they evoke sun-drenched, golden days spent outside. These fragrances don’t fit neatly into a box, as they borrow notes from other fragrance families to create warm, sunny scents, so many of them smell very different from each other. Spritz a solar fragrance on whenever you’re having a bad day—they’re sure to bring a burst of sunlight.
Key notes: ylang-ylang, Tahitian tiare, ambergris. Instantly transport yourself to a hot beach day with a spritz of this scent. It’s salt, creamy skin, frothy waves, and blooming flora in a bottle.
Key notes: aldehydes, minerals. For under $6, this perfume smells much more expensive than it is. It’s salty, creamy, and smells like spending a day subathing.
Key notes: almond milk accord, solar lilac accord, musk. Creamy, floral, and a touch musky—this is the ultimate solar scent. It’s like spending a sun-drenched day in a field of flowers.
Key notes: Italian bergamot oil, Italian mandarin oil, solar floral accord, musk. I’ve never met a Maison Francis Kurkdjian scent that I didn’t like, and this bright, citrus-forward solar number is no exception. It smells good on anyone, and it’s bursting with Italian citrus and solar floral notes to evoke a drive down the Italian shore in a convertible.
Key Notes: tuberose, ylang-ylang, jasmine. This floral-heavy scent has a sharp greenness on the nose, but it’s infused with a warmth and creaminess that renders it unmistakably solar.
Key Notes: bergamot, petitgrain lemon, fresh spices. This French-crafted perfume is meant to serve as an ode to bergamot. It’s spiked with spices like ginger, cardamom, and peppercorn to give it an edge.
Key notes: long pepper, clove, anise, jasmine, tonka bean, vanilla, benzoin, cedar atlas, labdanum. It doesn’t get much more unique than this multi-layered scent. Filled with spicy and woodsy notes, a spritz will make you feel like you’re camping in the desert.
Key notes: rose, woody vanilla. Somehow this scent embodies simplicity and complexity at the same time. It’s quietly sensual by being floral, woodsy, and sweet, without being too overpowering in any regard.
Key notes: lemon, mandarin, neroli, jasmine sambac, musks. Fresh, bright citrus steals the show in this sunny fragrance. It truly is the bottled version of the summer solstice.
Key notes: bergamot, orange blossom, coconut water. Clean Reserve has sneakily been making some of the best scents on the market in every category, and that’s true for solar scents too. It’s both earthy and floral, and smells like sunshine in a bottle.
Key notes: Italian bergamot, lemon leaves, jasmine tea, ginger flower, meadow greens, lily, cedarwood, cypress, guaiac wood. Aptly named, this fragrance is like being doused in a sun shower. With bright citrus and floral notes, it’s guaranteed to lift your mood.
Key notes: ylang-ylang, Damascus rose, jasmine. Smell like a bouquet of fresh-cut flowers with this feminine, floral scent that’s sure to turn heads.
Key notes: coco de mer, ylang-ylang, cardamom. This Tom Ford fragrance is like watching golden hour light bounce off of tranquil water. It’s sparkling and tantalizing and feels luxurious to wear.
Key notes: jasmine sambac from India, cashmeran wood, white amber. Smell ethereal with this alien-inspired scent. It imparts just the right amount of mystery.
