House of Bren: {Beauty Bloom} Sexy, Fun, & Perfect Summer Scents

My aunt told me once I could have multiple personalities because I have a perfume for different events and moments. Her argument was so ridiculous, I ended up thinking she just wasn’t so feminine. I mean, doesn’t every woman wear perfume? Doesn’t every woman have a signature scent — for different moments she’s enjoying? Her thought was that every woman should only need one perfume.

I couldn’t disagree more.

That conversation happened sometime around 2000 when I used to rock FENDI’s classic scent. I was quite young to be wearing such a bold perfume, but it was my power perfume. I was fresh out of college and I thought it was appropriate to wear to interviews, meetings where men would monopolize the conversation, or lunch trysts where big decisions would be made. It made me feel great.

I still have the same bottle and surprisingly, it still smells the same. Integrity is in tact.

They don’t make them like that anymore, but since I still swear by perfume, having one for every relevant moment in my life, I still enjoy collecting them and dissecting their notes and affect in order to assign to a specific life event. So while I have my signature for church on Sabbath (Chanel Chance), dates (changes depending in what we’re doing), business meetings (Jo Malone or Womanity by Thierry Muglier –– love, love, love this!) and weekends (anything goes!), I love discovering new scents.

I’m mostly attracted to musky, woodsy scents with fig, caviar, sandalwood and some citrus notes — hence Womanity and a lot of Jo Malone — but there are some fresh summery ones I’m loving on right now. They fit some aspect of my daily living and match my personality.

Here are five of a select few I’m really loving on this summer. I have tons of fun switching up and keeping those around me guessing what I’m wearing. I learned from a friend many years ago that a lady never shares her secret. So, I’m being general here… not indicating what I wear each of these for!

LES COUVENT DES MINIMES Eau des Missions. Hailing directly from Provence, France, this super casual but luxe spray bottle has soft vanilla notes but strong myrrh accents. It makes a perfect scent for when you really don’t know in which direction to go. ($38)

AERIN Waterlilly Sun. This is probably my favorite new scent coming out for late summer. Aerin Lauder’s perfume line is super luxurious and perfect for the woman that confidently knows herself. This is uber lovely for every occasion though I’d keep it to mostly day. It’s sexy. Very sexy. And the packing? Well, that green top speaks to me. A lot. The entire collection will launch in Oct. ($110)

L’OCCITANE Frisson de Verveine. If you read B So Chic! you probably know I love all things L’Occitane, another classic French company and also born in Provence. I first fell in love with L’Occitane’s verbena collection while staying at some hotel in NY during MBFW ’12. It’s what they offer for toiletries. And oh, yes, I snatched some up. So when their full bottle scent came out just a few weeks ago, I was all over it! I just had to have it. Girls, this right here is light and soft but makes a statement. It has real organic verbena essence from real verbena leaves grown in Provence. We all love verbena, right? Lemony notes contrasted with bergamot deem it a keeper. Seriously. I love, love, love. Can’t wait to try their other one. ($55)

AVON Flor de Alegría. Avon has a good perfume, really they do! The classic “Avon Lady” beauty company has been making products for ever and ever but I was so thrilled to get this little super girly bottle. It’s super floral making it super whimsical and fun for girls’ brunch or when you want to freely sprint around town. ($32)

CLINQUE Calyx. You know a perfume is good when it’s still around, 20 years later. I remember when this debuted. My mom bought it for me and I wore it for about 5 years. I forgot about it as I was introduced to the $100+ designer scents. But when I glanced at in recently on the counters at Nordstrom, I was intrigued. Hasn’t changed but has gotten better. The textured bottle is the best but the augmented citrus notes make it a sexy aroma for this season. It’s that one scent this summer that surfaces memories of my past but invites new ones! ($52)