WHAT I USE… SUMMER FRAGRANCES

WHEN YOU GET PAID TO TEST BEAUTY PRODUCTS FOR A LIVING, WHAT DO YOU ACTUALLY PAY TO USE? ELLE’S BEAUTY DIRECTOR Katy Young COMES CLEAN

Beauty director Katy Young reveals the scents she turns to as the weather warms up, and her new love of colognes

When the temperature really heats up, and even nights are muggy, just like I reorder my wardrobe with light, wafty cottons, I also rethink my perfume shelf. Anamalic, powdery scents, which feel so right when it’s cooler, suddenly become heavy on my skin. Refreshing, clean notes (the scent equivalent of a sundress) are exactly what I need.

As ever with fragrance, our instincts are right: a perfume can lift our mood or calm our temper. There is science behind it: our brains’ olfactory centre is a sensory factory connected to our hippocampus, which forms memories. That’s why the very thought of a scent can cause a rush of sentiment. (I can’t smell Jean Paul Gaultier Le Male without thinking of my fiery first boyfriend, while Calvin Klein Obsession comfortingly belongs to my mother.)

There’s no time like summer for forming new memories to revisit in the depths of winter via a spritz of scent. Or scents, because sometimes I like to turn up the heat even more with notes of neroli and jasmine, and at others, dial it down for a cool outlook. That’s when I reach for breezy perfumes and ripe citrus. Our brains associate ‘fresh’ odours with a drop in temperature, so dousing yourself in lemon, lavender or green florals feels glorious on a sticky day – it’s why I carry cologne in my bag during summer, something I’m sure fellow commuters are grateful for.

First formulated more than 3OO years ago, eau de colognes are your hot-weather friends. A mix of citrus and aromatic herbs, they are lower in perfume than eau de toilettes or parfums, at around 2-4%. While that means they tend to last no more than a couple of hours, it also means the price tag is lower (case in point: the iconic 4711 by Mäurer & Wirtz, which starts at around £11 for 1OOml). I also adore Chanel Eau de Cologne (below), which lures you in with its intoxicating but ever-so-light floral notes. But – and this is a big one – while most perfume has alcohol in it, a cologne tends to be cut with more, so it’s not good to wear if you’re going to sit in the sun (unless you want to sizzle like a sausage on the barbecue). That’s why, in summer, I spray fragrance onto my hair and clothes, rather than my skin.

This year, I’m also going to experiment with alcohol-free perfume balms: basically a scented Vaseline with the power to lock in any perfume that goes over the top, but can also be worn alone for a gentle, long-lasting scent. A lot of brands make their own; Le Labo and Byredo make some of my favourites. The last lesson in perfume summer school is that once you’ve found your favourites, keep them away from heat and light. If you can bear it, keep yours in the box (no, me neither), or tuck them away in a darkened corner, far from those scent-destroying sunbeams. It can be hard to believe when the sun is blazing, but these heady days won’t be with us for long. Summer is a perfect excuse to search for a(nother) signature scent: it’s time to make sweet-smelling memories.

“AS EVER WITH FRAGRANCE, OUR INSTINCTS ARE RIGHT: THE VERY THOUGHT OF A SCENT CAN CAUSE A RUSH OF SENTIMENT”