The skies are blue and the SPFs are out in full force, but no day in the sun would be complete without a summer perfume. Whether you’re team coconut or firmly in camp citrus, a good seasonal perfume can brighten your whole day. Of course, perfumes aren’t the cheapest outlay in your beauty routine, so if you’re going to invest, it’s got to be the right one.
Knowing your fragrance families is a good place to start, so you can eliminate those that aren’t your cup of tea before browsing. In all honesty, there are too many groups to list, but the key players include sweet, citrus, floral, fresh, spicy and woody. Though there are exceptions, perfumes with spicy and woody accords tend to come into their own in the colder months, so you can cross those off straight away.
With so many products, I’ve spent the past few months testing the best of the rest (sweet, citrus, floral and fresh) to whittle down the hundreds of options. I tested both affordable and high-end options to give you the very best scents of the season. Find my top picks below.
How I tested
While a few of the perfumes below have been a part of my collection for years (and sprang to mind immediately), I experienced most of them for the first time while testing. I browsed through a selection of popular picks, new launches and classic scents and, in total, tried more than 20 varieties. Naturally, not all of them made the cut, with some smelling generic and others offering little to no staying power. As for the ones that were worthy, I tested for around one month and ensured that each fragrance had a distinctive scent, lasted well on the skin and felt suitable for the season.
I assessed these summer perfumes with a few key metrics.
Why you can trust IndyBest reviews
Lucy Smith has been IndyBest’s resident beauty writer since July 2024. Since then, she’s delved into plenty of fragrance features, from every Marc Jacobs daisy perfume to the best women’s perfumes. She’s covered new scent launches, like Chanel’s chance eau splendide, plus affordable perfume dupes.
The best summer perfumes for 2025 are:
Ouai Melrose Place eau de parfum
Best: Summer perfume overall
Scent: Floral, citrus, musk
Size: 50ml
Floral fanatics, rejoice – Ouai’s Melrose Place reimagines the classic rose scent by ditching heady ‘granny’ florals and avoiding intoxicating blooms like jasmine. Instead, it offers a crisp, modern blend that's zingy and feminine, with a champagne-infused twist that brings to mind a beauty salon filled with alcohol-rich hairsprays.
This sharpness isn’t unpleasant; instead, it adds a sense of luxury when paired with soft white musk. Melrose Place leans toward the fresh side of florals, lifted by a squeeze of citrus rather than weighed down by sweetness. Despite being my favourite, it’s one of the cheapest summer fragrance I've tried.
Buy now £54.00, Spacenk.com
Dolce & Gabbana light blue eau de toilette
Best: Budget summer perfume
Scent: Freshly squeezed lemon, sherbet, tarte au citron, sparkling wine
Size: 100ml
This is a fragrance for the ages. It hasn’t changed since its 2001 release, and while the brand has introduced plenty of limited editions – this year’s, Capri in love (£99, Boots.com), for example – the original still holds a place in my heart. Its scent is a creamy citrus, like lemon curd, and perfectly captures that signature D&G sense of dolce vita.
It smells like a mix of limoncello, prosecco and panna cotta. I’ve also found that it won’t clash with your sun cream – in fact, the coconut notes found in SPFs such as Hawaiian Tropic or Malibu complement this scent. One of the less expensive scents on test, it’s perfect for taking on holiday.
Buy now £36.95, Amazon
Chanel chance eau fraîche eau de parfum
Best: Summer perfume for staying power
Scent: Lime, sherbet, white florals, amber
Size: 50ml
No roundup of perfumes would be complete without Chanel. For me, chance eau fraîche is a favourite. Technically grouped among the citrus scents, it opens with a brightness that’s softened by a green trail and a subtle ambery undercurrent. I’ve always experienced it as a floral, picking up the jasmine’s blossomy aroma right away.
That said, it doesn’t follow the typical floral blueprint and isn’t like other jasmine fragrances, such as No 5 (from £78, Chanel.com). Instead, this one leans towards being more carefree than classic and more happy-go-lucky than glitz and glamour. It’s undoubtedly a daytime perfume, but it lingers beautifully from morning through evening with just a few spritzes on your wrists and neck.
Buy now £109.00, Boots.com
Killian Paris sunkissed goddess eau de parfum
Best: Luxury summer perfume
Scent: Warm wood, coconut, vanilla, bergamot, ylang ylang and tiare flower
Size: 50ml
It’s hard to describe, and it might sound off-putting, but this scent smells like sun cream in a good way. It’s equal parts bright and comforting, with warm wood, coconut and vanilla, plus refreshing bergamot, ylang ylang and tiare flower.
Together, these elements made for plenty of compliments from friends and strangers alike during testing. It’s a fragrance that seamlessly transitions from day to night. My only gripe is the price.
Buy now £225.00, Spacenk.com
Maison Margiela replica afternoon delight eau de toilette
Best: Gourmand summer perfume
Scent: Caramel, coconut, vanilla cake batter
Size: 30ml
I’m usually sceptical of perfume crossovers from fashion houses, but this perfume for Maison Margiela is one of the rare scents to pull it off. Think: pina coladas, powder-dusted churros and vanilla gelato. Together, you’ve either got yourself a killer holiday or the memory of one, bottled as Maison Margiela’s afternoon delight.
As beauty crossovers go, this is one of the best I’ve seen from a fashion house. Maison Margiela’s replica fragrances offer something for everyone, from clean and fresh to spicy and sweet. Afternoon delight feels most at home on sun-kissed skin before an evening of rooftop cocktails and golden hour selfies. It's a strong scent, so there's no need to top up and it’s better suited to end-of-day wear, thanks to its ambery sandalwood warmth. Does it have universal appeal? Not quite. But perfumes are all about self-expression – and if you’re after something tempting, delicious and youthful, this one’s worth a spritz.
Buy now £49.60, Johnlewis.com
Gucci flora gorgeous gardenia eau de parfum
Best: Summer perfume for day-to-night wear
Scent: Gardenia, melon, lemon
Size: 50ml
When it comes to fruity florals, it's easy for fragrances to blur into one, but Gucci's flora gorgeous gardenia manages to stand out. It’s sugary without relying on vanilla; fruity without the usual berries; and floral without a trace of orange blossom – three notes that dominate the genre.
Instead, the brand goes for brown sugar, pear and a gardenia-jasmine blend that feels equal parts fresh and flirty. The pear note smells more freshly picked than ripe and ready, veering slightly towards melon. The finish is seductive yet youthful, impressively long-lasting, and just as fitting for an evening out as it is for a stroll through the park on a warm day.
Buy now £80.00, Boots.com
Glossier you fleur eau de parfum
Best: Summer skin scent
Scent: White musk, parma violets, cashmeran
Size: 50ml
If you loved the powdery florals of Glossier’s original ‘you’ scent, you might want to make room for another perfume. ‘You fleur’ could be even better. Released in March 2025, the latest fragrance is warmer and softer, with cashmeran woodiness and velvety ylang ylang. There are no coconut notes, but I definitely caught whiffs of something milky and summery that gave a similar feel.
Then again, as part of a skin scent collection, the ‘you’ fragrances are designed to develop differently on everyone. While the aroma lasts well, it's not overpowering. If you like a scent that makes an entrance, this may not be for you, but for me, it’s the definition of quiet luxury and unlike anything else on the market.
Buy now £70.00, Spacenk.com
What is the best summer perfume?
Ouai’s Melrose Place that came out on top across price, staying power and seasonal strength. For fans of a gourmand, replica afternoon delight from Maison Margiela had no competition. Meanwhile, on the new launch front, Glossier’s you fleur was a warm and understated skin scent. If there’s one thing I know for certain, it’s that summer 2025 smells great.
For more fragrance inspiration, check out our roundup of the best perfumes for women
