 I'm Brian Sacawa, you're watching He Spoke Style, and today we're taking a look at ten citrus fragrances that are perfect for summer. First up we have Aqua di Santa Maria Novella Profumo. Santa Maria Novella is a luxury apothecary in Florence, Italy, and is actually credited with being the oldest pharmacy in the world. And this fragrance right here is Santa Maria Novella's oldest fragrance, commissioned in 1533 by Catherine Di Medici. Top notes are Calabrian Bergamotte, Sicilian Lemon and Neroli. Heart notes, Lavender and Rosemary. And a bass note that they call an Oriental Sweet Note. Now for me, this is about as classic as it gets in terms of citrus fragrances. I would say that this is pretty close to perfection, if not absolutely perfect. It's not too sweet, it's not overpowering, it's got a really round and complete profile for this style of fragrance. It really kind of just becomes a part of you. It's subtle, but it's there, and that's what I look for in a fragrance like this. Going to the pool, going to the beach, after the pool, after the beach. This is the perfect fragrance for a summer day like that. I get about three to four hours with this, and it becomes a very nice skin scent as it dries down. Next we have another classic of the genre, I would say the original Oda Cologne 4711. Now I know that this is considered two things. One, a drugstore fragrance. It's very cheap. All I have right here was like 25 bucks on Amazon, and two, a German old lady fragrance. You've told me that in the comments before, and I've just confirmed it with Justus when we were recording our last podcast. So let's get to the notes, which are going to sound familiar. Top notes are bergamot, lemon, and orange. Heart notes, lavender, and rosemary. And base notes are neroli and bitter orange. Now of all the fragrances I'm going to talk about in this video, this one is probably the most similar to the Santa Maria Novella. There are some differences though that are worth pointing out. To me 4711 is a little more forward, and lacks the elegance and refinement of the Santa Maria Novella. It's also, to my nose, a little less sweet, even though I don't find Santa Maria Novella to be all that sweet either. And I think that is because of the bitter orange note that we have. Now I featured this fragrance once before in a video, and one thing I mentioned is that I didn't think it lasted very long. So I'm going to revise that slightly today. As a citrus fragrance, yes, it doesn't have excellent longevity. But I've been wearing this a lot recently, and I've noticed that it does really become a nice skin scent as it dries down over time. Now, if you're looking for that very classic Oda Cologne scent, and let's say you're between the Santa Maria Novella and 4711, all things being equal, if price is a concern, I would go for the 4711. Looking to something very interesting and with a lot more complexity now, and that is Arquist's La Trogue. It's classified as woody, powdery, citrusy, and green, and that's exactly how the notes read. Top notes here are Calabrese Citron and Bergamotte, Sicilian Lemon, and Myrtle. Heart notes, Smyrna date fruit, North African Jasmine, and Pistachio Tree resin. And base notes are Vettiver, Pechuli, and Lebanese Cedarwood. Like all Arquist fragrances, La Trogue has a very evocative description, which basically is meant to summon the wooden cabins and citrus fruit harvest in Medieval Calabria. It's great when there's a story like that, and it's even better when the fragrance matches that story exactly, which is certainly the case here and across the whole Arquist portfolio. In addition to the listed notes, I always get a hint of lime. Now I love this fragrance because it's light, yet it's complex, which is hard to do with a fragrance like this, I feel. It's a very interesting and unexpected summer scent, and a really cool interpretation of a citrus fragrance, four to six hours on my skin. Here we have Musco Real Spiced Citrus. Now the Musco Real brand has been around since the 1930s. It's a Portuguese brand, Clos Porto. Really classic gentlemanly types of fragrances, and they also still sell soap on a rope. This is called an exotic Oriental Fugère, so as you can imagine, it's got a little bit of that barbershop fragrance kind of smell to it. Top notes are lime, coriander, lemon, and verbena. Heart notes they say are spices, and base notes are woody notes and incense. I would definitely say this leans more towards the spicy side of the name rather than the citrus side. I would most certainly put this in the Fugère realm. It is very masculine in that old school gentleman kind of way, and not your typical citrus fragrance. Up next from Penn Halligans we have Baolia. I know if I said that wrong, someone will correct me. Please do. Now among the 10 fragrances we're talking about in this video, I would say that this one is probably the most unique and weird. So notes. Top notes are lemongrass, mandarin, and tangerine. Heart notes, cardamom, black pepper, neroli, and lavender. And base notes are cedarwood, sandalwood, musk, moss, patchouli, and amber. You've got the citrus notes on top and you definitely smell them right off the bat. But this is more of what I would call a citrus aromatic. Those heart notes of cardamom, black pepper, and lavender really come to the fore and really start to blossom and develop over time. In fact, I would say that they honestly take over and you really aren't left with much of the citrus once this starts to dry down. It is long lasting. I would say a good eight hours or more. So the best way I can describe this fragrance is to say that it is quirky. Here's one that's a true classic, Osovage by Christian Dior. So this was introduced in 1966 and was actually Dior's first fragrance for men. Top notes include lemon, bergamot, basil, lavender, and a hint of cumin. Heart notes are jasmine, rose, carnation, patchouli, and sandalwood. Base notes, oak moss, vetiver, musk, and amber. Obviously, a citrusy fragrance, but also very fresh. On the surface, it can seem like a very, very simple fragrance, but when you spend more time with it, you realize that it has a lot more depth and a lot more complexity to it. It lasts quite a while on my skin. I would say five to eight hours, believe it or not. Now, when you've got a classic like this, there's really not much more to say, but the one thing I do want to point out is that not only is this a fantastic fragrance, but you have the added benefit of just a really elegantly designed bottle and presentation as well. Next up, we have Selection Verte from the Creed Private Collection. This one does come with a hefty price tag, though in my opinion, it is very much worth it. We'll talk about why I think that is in just a moment, but first, let's get to the notes. With the top notes, you're going to find neroli, citrus, and pepper. Heart notes, we have peppermint and herb notes. And base notes, ambergris. So I always feel like there is a very elegant quality to Creed's fragrances. There's a lightness and almost kind of transparency to them. And then just that perfect blending of all the elements where it's making something much greater than the sum of all of its parts. This one here, Selection Verte is a prime example of that. It is a citrus fragrance, but it is not one-dimensional. It's elegant, it's complex, and it's just so perfectly done. Now the other reason I would put this on a little bit of a higher level is that it lasts, and that is most likely due to the ambergris in the formulations. A few sprays of this in the morning really will last me all day. Here is a real staple of many people's summer fragrance collections, Aqua De Parma Colonia. As I said before, you can see by the shape that the label is in that I've had this for quite a while, and it travels a lot with me. Honestly, it isn't summer if I'm not wearing this at some point. Let's get to the notes. Top notes, lemon, sweet orange, and Calabrian bergamot. Heart notes, lavender, Bulgarian rose, verbena, and rosemary. And base notes are vetiver, sandalwood, and patchouli. Some say it is the scent of classic 1930s Italy. It's light, it's carefree, it's glamorous, it's sophisticated, and it's elegant in its simplicity. It has those kind of glamorous overtones in part, I think, because it was supposedly a favorite scent of style icons like Cary Grant, Gregory Peck, and David Niven. It starts out with a real blast of sweet lemon, but you do get those notes of the lavender, the rosemary, and the verbena. I don't want to say that it thins out, but it takes on a much different quality in about the first 30 to 60 minutes that you have this on. Not terribly long-lasting at three to four hours, but honestly, a must-have citrus summer fragrance. Next up is Zegna's Italian bergamot from the Essenze collection, which, as you might recall, I included in my list of picks for the best black tie or formal fragrances. Let's get to the notes, and they are very simple. Top note of bergamot, heart note is rosemary, and base notes are neroli and vetiver. This is a very what I would call elevated citrus fragrance, and I say that because the citrus is not overpowering. There's just a great balance between all of the elements here. I would say more than being citrusy, I would put it on the fresh end of the spectrum. It's refined, it's got a moderate projection, it's longer lasting. For me, this is a great pick for any type of evening event in the summer, whether that's a wedding or just a nice romantic dinner by the beach. Finally, we have Blenheim Bouquet by Penhaligon's. It was created in 1902 for the Duke of Marlborough. It was also known to be a favorite of Winston Churchill as well as Johnny and Yelly. Top notes are lemon, lime, and lavender. No heart notes here, and base notes are pine, musk, and black pepper. Now, on the Penhaligon's website, it says that Blenheim Bouquet is as dry and fresh as the best gin, and I think that's a really, really apt description of this fragrance. It has a nice sharpness to it, which is a contrast to the more sweet notes that you find in a lot of the other citrus fragrances we've talked about. Now, as far as the citrus itself goes here, you do get more of a lime instead of a lemon scent. With the lack of heart notes, it does have that lightness and airy quality to it, but I can't overemphasize the crispness and sharpness to this fragrance's character. You get about four hours here, and it dries down to a very nice skin scent. Those are 10 citrus fragrances for my personal collection. I'm sure there are plenty of others that you guys love, so please leave those down in the comments. You can find links to all the fragrances I talked about in this video down below in the description. Be sure to give the video a thumbs up. Don't forget to subscribe if you haven't already, and be sure to hit that bell for notifications. That's all for now, so until next time, thanks for watching, and stay tailored. Mm-mm. Finally, we have Blen'em Bouquet by Penhalle. Did something just ding? Oh, it was the thing.