Fresh, Clean and Green: My Favorite Scents

I have never been a perfume person. I know people who collect all sorts of scents, and have special perfume they wear to parties or different perfumes for different seasons. That is just not me. I have several bottles, and I would wear some occasionally and decided the constant, in your face scent bugged me. None of them smelled like "me", all of them were too heavy and some would even give me a headache after a few hours.

Finally I stumbled across a perfume that wasn't simply inoffensive but was downright delicious. Not too strong, not too heavy, just perfect and subtle. I looked up the various notes in the perfume and have since used that as a guide to find other scents I like.

I have found that I really prefer lighter scents. Typically, anything labeled "fresh", "floral" or "green" is my sweet spot. These are scents that I would wear year round, but many people prefer these as summer scents since they're so light and won't overwhelm you in the heat.  If you're someone who swears they don't like perfume or just finds most scents to be too heavy, give these a try:

Folle de Joie by Joie
This is my absolute favorite perfume in the entire world. It's my everyday, all the time perfume. It's described as citrusy, floral and woody. To me, it smells like a sunny day, a little hint of orange and rose but not too astringent or overwhelming. It's very light and some people might not like that it fades after a few hours but I prefer to simply reapply than have something too strong. Also, the name means "crazy happy" and I think we can all agree that's a good feeling.

Bianca by Tocca
Tocca is an Italian line and describe this perfume as "tea time in Italy". It's a pretty apt description as this is another scent with light citrus notes (lemon this time), with green tea, rose and jasmine. The green tea scent is what sold it for me, I love that scent especially combined with the rose. Another very summery smell, clearly I have a thing for summery smells, that I find to be quite unusual. The bottle for this perfume looks like a tiny crystal decanter, so it will also look nice on your vanity.

Chloe by Chloe
This scent is a little more mature than the other two. It has notes of peony, freesia, jasmine and amber. It's floral but fresh and has almost a powdery scent beneath the floral. It lasts quite long but is not overpowering. It's both subtle and classic. This would be a good perfume for someone who wants a signature scent that's a little more restrained. It feels very clean and fresh, and who doesn't want to be clean and fresh?

Parfum D'Extase by Marchesa
So the creators say that this perfume is meant to embody elegance and glamour, and I'm not sure that anyone would ever describe me as elegant or glamourous but I still like this one. Some of the notes are iris, freesia, Jasmine and musk. Like the Chloe perfume, it's more mature although it's still sweet and floral. Imagine an energetic walk through a garden.


All of these are perfumes that are pretty but subtle, not your typical heavy and over the top fragrances. I'm glad that I finally figured out what types of scents work for me because it's nice to have a go-to scent on those days where you need a little something to make you feel special. I may be in yoga pants and only venturing out to the grocery store but at least I smell like a fresh summer day.