24 perfumes to buy now for summer: ‘Old lady’ scents are back, body mists are in and M&S is launching a new range for just £22: ROSIE GREEN
Bougie body mists
Daily Mail journalists select and curate the products that feature on our site. If you make a purchase via links on this page we will earn commission – learn more
Forget Impulse, designer brands are now offering body mists as a lower-cost, lower-commitment way to access their spenny scents. Bonus: they have skincare benefits, too.
New on the shelf are Byredo Body Mist in six of their iconic fragrances (including Gypsy Water, £68 for 100ml, byredo.com) and Lancôme La Vie Est Belle Hair & Body Mist in Vanille Nude, L’ Elixir and L’Original (£34 each for 100ml, selfriges.com).
Eau de wellbeing
Science proves that many smells are able to shift our mood, so it’s worth adding them to your mental-health toolkit. This Works’ new ‘neuroscent’ Own Time (£80 for 50ml EDP, thisworks.com) uses rose, pink peppercorn, musk and incense to create feelings of calm and comfort, aiding relaxation and sleep.
Veg patch perfumes
Last year we saw a glut of tomato-inspired scents – now fragrance creators are raiding the rest of the allotment. The new Jo Malone Veggies collection includes three surprisingly wearable colognes called Velvety Butternut, Scarlet Beetroot and Carrot Blossom (£39 each for 30ml, jomalone.co.uk). Meanwhile, Floral Street has launched Electric Rhubarb (£78 for 50ml EDP, floralstreet.com).
Designer vibes for less
M&S makes truly excellent fragrances (its Discover line sold more than one million bottles in the first three months of 2026) and its latest collection, M&S Studio, looks chic and won’t break the bank. The eight unisex scents range from light and airy to deep and intoxicating, such as Sheer Musk (£22, marksandspencer.com from 18 June).
Shower freshness in a bottle
Two of my favourite shower gels have been turned into a scent. Bronnley Lemon Eau Fraîche (£12 for 15ml, waitrose.com) mixes lemon, neroli and a soft musk to make something delectable. And Uni, whose Plush Marine Shower Oil gives me joy daily, has created two water-based perfumes, Sunset and Rain (£28 each for 10ml, spacenk.com).
Rivals-inspired power perfumes
Perfume Direct says searches for 1980s scents have surged almost 50 per cent across its website following the release of series two of the Disney+ show. There has been a 15 per cent spike in sales of Aramis (£72 for 100ml EDT, marksandspencer.com), ten per cent for Cacharel LouLou (£27.99 for 50ml EDP, thefragranceshop.co.uk) and seven per cent for Paloma Picasso Mon Parfum (£25 for 30ml EDP, debenhams.com). Brand new, but inescapably linked to the decade of flouncy floral dresses, is the Laura Ashley Parfum Collection: Serene Meadows, Floral Fancy, Wild Woodland and Joy Of Primrose (£89 each for 100ml, next.co.uk).
Grandma fragrances
So named by the ‘youff’, who are obsessed with old-school scents. According to Vogue, Gen Z has worked out what we knew all along: that they are beautifully crafted and last and last. Princess Diana’s favourite Van Cleef & Arpels First (1976) is back by popular demand (£110 for 100ml EDP, selfridges.com). Meanwhile, Estée Lauder Youth-Dew (£60 for 67ml EDP, esteelauder.co.uk), Guerlain Shalimar (£89 for 50ml EDT) and Mitsouko (£111 for 75ml EDT, both guerlain.com) and Yves Saint Laurent Rive Gauche (£99 for 100ml EDT, johnlewis.com) are the subject of social-media chatter. We say revisit.
