For me, summer smells like a mixture of salty air, boardwalk French fries, and SPF, and the scent makes me feel alive and genuinely happier. Unfortunately I don’t think any brand would choose to make a fragrance that holds the same notes as Curly’s Cheese Fries and New Jersey beach sand, so I’ve resorted to finding beauty products that hold the mood-lifting notes of hot summer days. Think citrusy, crisp, and fresh like lemon and grapefruit, or tropical, creamy, and sweet like vanilla and coconut.
The best part about summer-scented beauty products, like body wash, perfume, and body lotion, is that you don't have to wait until warm weather hits to start wearing them, unlike your crop top and strappy sandals. Keep scrolling for 24 of our favorite products that'll make it smell like you're on vacation every single day.
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VIDEO: 6 Beauty Products Under $12 You Should Buy from the Drugstore
Hawaiian Tropic Hawaiian Tropic Ultra Radiance Sun Care After Sun Lotion
After a day in the sun, what your skin needs most is moisture. This soothing, fast-absorbing lotion adds hydration and radiance to your skin, while leaving a lingering mango scent.
The Body Shop Limited Edition Piñita Colada Body Butter
If you like piña coladas and getting caught in the rain... then you'll definitely love this fruity pineapple and coconut-scented body lotion from The Body Shop.
HAMPTON SUN Bronze Shimmer Cooling Spray
This cooling spray is made with ingredients like aloe vera and chamomile to calm skin that might be sensitized due to a day out in the sun. It leaves behind a slight shimmer and a light, pleasant floral scent.
AESOP Rind Concentrate Body Balm
The rind in the name should clue you in—this soothing body lotion smells like orange, lime, and grapefruit.
ACQUA DI PARMA Blu Mediterraneo Bergamotto Di Calabria
This fragrance was inspired by the bergamot that grows in Calabria, Italy. Unexpected and spicy Citron, red ginger, and cedarwood are added to round out the summer scent.
JAMES READ Coconut Melting Tanning Balm Face & Body
This coconut-scented body balm is actually a self-tanner that gradually builds color as you continue to use it.
SISLEY PARIS Moisturizing Perfumed Body Lotion Eau Tropicale
Apply Sisley's Eau Tropicale-perfumed body lotion and close your eyes. It'll convince you that you're sitting under a cabana at a resort with a glass of lemonade in hand.
AERIN Beauty Mediterranean Honeysuckle Body Cream
The packaging of this bottle of body lotion could double as decor. When you apply the silky formula, you'll pick up sweet scents of honeysuckle and grapefruit, along with bergamot and lily of the valley.
MAISON MARGIELA Replica Beach Walk Perfumed Shower Gel
What does a walk on the beach smell like to Maison Margiela? Apparently bergamot, coconut milk, lemon, pink pepper, and musk.
Lime Basil & Mandarin Exfoliating Shower Gel
This earthy, citrus-scented body wash is made with jojoba beads, crushed walnut shells, and bamboo stem to exfoliate dead skin cells while you cleanse.
NARS Monoi Body Glow
Vanilla, coconut, and ylang-ylang take care of the summer scent department, but what makes this worth the $59 bucks is that it adds a subtle and shimmery bronze to your skin while hydrating.
Tory Burch Bel Azur
Inspired by the French Riviera, this Tory Burch fragrance holds notes of peony, sandalwood, bergamot, and neroli.
Ahava Tropical Pineapple & White Peach Mineral Botanic Velvet Cream Wash
This lightly fruity, cream body wash won't strip your skin while it cleanses.
HERBIVORE BOTANICALS Coconut Ultra Hydration Body Oil
This spray-on, fast-absorbing, coconut-scented body oil quickly moisturizes your arms and legs.
BOBBI BROWN Beach Fragrance
The only way I really know how to describe this scent from Bobbi Brown is that it smells like salt air, salt water, flowers, and SPF. Those aren't the actual notes, but it reminds me of my childhood.
Fresh Life Body Oil
Fresh made a fresh-smelling body oil with serious skin benefits. Sweet almond and jojoba seed oils quickly sink in to moisturize, and vitamin E provides nourishment and protection, making your skin softer in the long run. In fact, this body oil keeps your skin hydrated for a whole 24 hours.
L’OCCITANE Verbena Shower Gel
This citrusy body wash is gentle on sensitive skin and holds an invigorating scent that'll wake you up in the morning.
TOM FORD Costa Azzurra
$145 might seem like a lot for a perfume, but it's cheaper than a trip to Sardinia. This fragrance is inspired by the woods found on the island, so you'll pick up notes of juniper and oak.
GIORGIO ARMANI BEAUTY Acqua di Gioia
Inspired by the Mediterranean Sea, Giorgio Armani's mixture contains notes of mint, lemon, jasmine, peony, pink pepper, and cedarwood. The result is an aquatic fragrance that lingers on the skin all day long.
KOPARI Coconut Melt
This body moisturizer is made of organic coconut oil to leave your arms softer than ever.
Clean Rain
Summer rain has a distinct smell, and I've never been able to fully describe it. This fragrance by Clean has done a better job than I ever will. It's a compilation of melon, daffodil, watermint, daisy, lily, violet lives, musk, and woods. It's fresh and distinct without being too sharp or overpowering.
PHILOSOPHY Pure Grace Endless Summer Firming Body Emulsion
Philosophy's lychee and melon-scented body milk is made with shea butter to deeply hydrate, as well as firming ingredients to tone your arms and legs.
SOL DE JANEIRO Brazilian Bum Bum Cream
The magic behind this cult-classic body cream is the caffeine-rich ingredient guaraná, which works to firm the skin on your arms and legs.
