Eau de summer

Perfumers have long tried to capture the scent of summer, with its heady blooms and sun-dappled days, and this year is no different. Many fashion houses are drawing on their archives to create new and improved blends bursting with fruits, florals and refreshing water notes.

Inspired by the Renaissance, Velvet Desire by Dolce & Gabbana is one of six new scents in the Italian fashion brand's new Velvet Collection. 'Unabashedly feminine', it has rich white florals as the top note, gardenia and tuberose at the heart and frangipani as the base note for a sophisticated and sensual floral blend.

Burberry Brit Summer Edition For Women draws inspiration from summertime in Britain. Conjured by perfumer Nathalie Garcia-Cetto, the fragrance's top notes comprise a cocktail of crisp green almond, icy pear, delicate Japanese green tea and fresh Italian lime.

A play on the Spanish luxury brand's I Loewe You, the new I Loewe Me is a fruity and spicy scent perfect for warm summer nights. Mandarin, strawberry and pear blend with magnolia, pink pepper and vanilla.

Mirroring Lanvin's luxurious runway looks is the Jeanne Couture perfume from the French fashion house. With a grosgrain ribbon tied around its bottle stopper, the fragrance features raspberry and morning dew from violet leaves as the top notes. The heart notes boast peony, magnolia and cedar wood.

Just in time for the Summer Olympics, many perfumers are adding a dash of athleticism to their fragrance collections for men. Hugo Boss introduces Boss Bottled Sport, an energetic blend of citrus notes over a woody base.

Designed for athletic men, Chanel's Allure Homme Sport Eau Extr?me is a more aromatic take on the brand's Allure Homme Sport. The refreshing blend of ingredients includes mint, sandalwood, Sicilian mandarin rind, Moroccan cypress and black pepper from Madagascar.

Turning to the Mediterranean coastline of Pantelleria, Giorgio Armani's Acqua di Gi?Essenza is a more intense interpretation of the sea-inspired fragrance. It features aquatic-inspired cascalone as the new top note with delicate paradisone as the heart note and a rich base of patchouli, cedar and vetiver.

Fresh, spicy and aromatic, Nuit Etoilee by Annick Goutal for men is the brainchild of perfumers Camille Goutal and Isabelle Doyen, who were inspired by a night in an enchanted forest. Peppermint oil, wild Siberian pine needles and balsam fir capture the mood while the icy blue bottle represents the moonlit sky.