The day in Boston was hot and humid. When the city is soaked in heat, when it seeps into the concrete and the buildings and even in the shade it is blistering, I seek coolness in other ways – the sound of running water, the breeze by the harbor, or the fresh fragrance of a summer scent. In the midst of this year’s BroSox Adventures (blog write-up coming tomorrow) Skip was taking a siesta at the hottest point of the day, when I stepped out and visited Saks to try out some possible summer fragrances.
Since I was not looking for anything specific, I kept my mind open to whatever the universe might throw in my path. That happened to be the gorgeous House of Guerlain, which I had previously sampled in the amazing Guerlain fragrance bar at Raffles. On this day, I was drawn to the golden honeycomb bottle of their Aqua Allegoria Forte line, and the one that spoke to me in cool whispers of refreshing brightness was this ‘Oud Yuzu Forte’.
Oud and Yuzu are separately two of my favorite fragrance profiles, yet for some reason I’ve never happened upon them in a combination that worked as well as this one. The woody aspects of oud ground the tangy effervescence of the yuzu. Citrus was made for summer, and while most citrus scents are gone within minutes, this one, being an Eau de parfum, lasts a decent deal longer. Carrying a golden sparkle, this scent strikes the perfect chord for a Solid Gold Summer, offering something a little deeper, a little more striking.
