Citrus with a Twist

Wearing citrus colognes in the warm weather is common practice, but they can become quite boring, often sharing the same note structure and vanishing from skin within minutes. In today’s blog post I’ll outline a few of my favourite colognes ….. with a twist. Unique scents, that are not your average, every day citrus refreshers.

Nishane – Colognise – A fragrance inspired by the Turkish tradition of greeting house guests with a splash of lemon cologne on the hands. Colognise is a very long-lasting mix of bergamot, jasmine, neroli and musk. Colognise has more depth and complexity than your average cologne, the floral heart of jasmine and lily, accompanied by a smooth green tea note, ensuring Colognise is a fitting modern update to an age-old tradition. Superb work.

Parfum d’Empire – Azemour Les Orangers – Inspired by the landscape of an orange grove in Morocco. Juicy, tangy top notes of orange, lemon, clementine and tangerine gradually give way to a green chypre mid and base of oakmoss, cypress and galbanum. The citruses are not astringent and do not in any way resemble cleaning products. It’s all very natural, robust and in my opinion, Hermes Concentre d’Orange Verte with more depth.

Guerlain L’Homme Ideal Cologne – The ideal man cologne. Indeed it is. L’Homme Ideal Cologne is a sequel done right. Thierry Wasser’s use of almond in L’Homme Ideal Cologne sets it apart from the stock standard box office citrus fare. The almond gives the fragrance a creamy depth that rivals the EDT of Chanel’s Allure Homme Edition Blanche. All the citruses, led by grapefruit smell natural, which is rarely the case in designer releases of recent vintage. Finally, as the credits start to roll, white musk and vetiver bring down the curtain with typical Guerlain elegance. I believe it is now discontinued, but it can be found if one looks hard enough.

Frederic Malle – Cologne Indelebile – Cologne’s are generally fleeting in nature, but Frederic Malle’s Cologne Indelebile as the moniker suggests leaves an enduring, long-lasting impression. The heavy musk laden base provides body to the top notes of neroli, bergamot, lemon, narcissus and orange blossom. Cologne Indelebile, an amped up, steamy-musk driven enduring cologne that breaks away from the rest of the citrus offerings on the market.

Diptyque – Oyedo – Cough drop sweet candy combination of yuzu, lime, mandarin and lemon with a woody base and an herbal heart of thyme. It brings to my mind childhood memories of eating the orange gummy sweets, and orange tic-tacs. A strong, long-lasting citrus that won’t be for everyone, but I love the bubble-gum, candy vibe that Oyedo gives off. Fun and weird all at the same time.

Gallivant – Brooklyn – Orange and lemon combined with the sweetness of benzoin and a floral lemony touch of magnolia. A scent that evokes lemon meringues, with a warming amber accord that gives this scent much more depth than your average summer elixir. A powdery puff of citrus goodness.

Comme des Garcons – Energy C Lime – An invigorating, realistic burst of lime, with a welcoming floral heart of jasmine, lily and rose before drying down to a cedar and amber base. Brilliant refreshing pick me up for those warm summer days.

Maison Kitsune x Heeley – Note de Yuzu – A salty, aquatic yuzu scent. Bitter yuzu balances a sweet, juicy grapefruit note. It has a slight overlap with the salty Sel Marin but not so much that this release doesn’t stand on its own. Note de Yuzu retains its citrus notes through the dry down. Nice work.

Shay & Blue – Blood Oranges – As the moniker suggests, Blood Oranges from Shay & Blue is all about the citrus fruit, but there is a little more to it, as at least on my skin, woody notes, musk and leather provide a reasonably long-lasting backbone.  It’s interesting as I’ve noticed some people only get the citruses from this one and no further development.  Also, it’s not a safe blind buy as some may not like the leather or woody nuances as the fragrance develops.  If I had to compare it to anything it would be Orange Sanguine from Atelier Cologne.  Blood Oranges is a darker citrus though. 

Hermes – Eau de Mandarine Ambree – A simple note structure of refreshing mandarin, sweet passionfruit in the mid and a subtle, warm and comforting amber dry down. The passionfruit in the mid gives it a real fruity zing. Perfectly balanced and can be used all year round. One of my favourites from the Hermes Cologne Series.

So there you have it, 10 of my favourite unique citrus scents. Do you have a favourite unique cologne?

Note : Bottle images courtesy of Fragrantica.