Eau Fraîche feels like the first days of real spring sunshine. We starve for vitamin D for months here, so there’s an irresistible delight in the feeling of warmth on your skin again. Look carefully on those days, and you’ll see a distinctive tilt of the head as people raise their faces like daisies to the sun.

Even me, and I’m usually the one with long sleeves and a fan, hunting for the last patch of shade, and complaining about the heat. (Yes, even in Scotland. But this is where just 20 degrees counts as such a gloriously hot day that people are basking “taps aff” in parks.)

Eau Fraîche is the sort of summer scent I can deal with: no suntan oils, no coconuts, no tropical garlands, or lurid cocktails, but the sparkle and freshness of a breeze-stirred lake instead. It’s one of Roudnitska’s marvels, with the gauzy citrus of a cologne draped over the excellent bone structure of a chypre.

It’s like Eau Sauvage’s stylish aunt; it has that same easy, slightly goofy smile and a relaxed swing in its stride, but always irons its summer linens and wears an underwired bra. Perfect.

origially posted 28 June 2019