The Best Summer Perfume to Try Based on the Cult Classic You Love the Most

As a beauty lover, I wish I could say I loved all of my editorial beats (hair, makeup, skincare, nails, wellness, etc.) equally. Alas, I do not. I could wax poetic about my favorite skincare and makeup products for far longer than anyone would ever want to pay attention to, but other topics like hair or fragrance feel trickier.

For example, I have an unapologetically straightforward and boring hair product routine and styling repertoire, and I’ve just never been a huge perfume lover. Perfume is a personal part of one’s beauty routine, and historically, I’ve found recommending fragrances (let alone trying to describe them) to be extremely difficult and, at times, a tad forced. However, in my opinion, the past couple of years have been uncharacteristically wonderful in terms of obsession-forming perfume launches. As someone who used to turn my nose up at most new fragrances I’d sniff, I’ve been stunned by the number of fresh scents to strike my fancy recently. The turn of the season is also a prolific opportunity to identify a new favorite scent, and this spring and summer have been no different.

I’m sharing 10 of the best summer perfumes in anticipation of the season so you can find a new favorite. As I’ve been spritzing and testing away the past few weeks, the sparkly summer selects below have provided a comforting mood boost. And because I know choosing a new perfume can be incredibly difficult (like finding a needle in a haystack), I’m comparing these perfumes with some of the best cult favorites from seasons past. Hopefully, this will provide some context as far as notes, fragrance family, and the like. Keep scrolling! The 10 best perfumes for summer (and the popular formulas they’re similar to) await your perusal below.