The Smell of Summer; Blood Oranges by Anthropologie

I bought this little fragrance on a whim in Anthropologie recently - it caught my eye, as so many things in that shop do with its adorable packaging - since discovering there is a store in Guildford, it's been so very bad for my bank balance... I thought it would be great for keeping in my work handbag, and for travelling (as I usually lug about my giant bottle of Miss Dior or some such, and I'm terrified its going to crack all over my suitcase).

I was drawn in by the cute paper tube packaging (although I initially thought the bottle would come out of the tube, but thats okay, it makes it more travel friendly) decorated in blood oranges and vines. I am a sucker for anything that tells me it smells like blood oranges. I think I just have some faux-romantic connection between them and holidays in Italy - who knows, but they really are the scent of summer (that or lemons, or perhaps roses or honeysuckle, or strawberries...).

What I do know is that it smells dreamy, and just like summer in a little bottle. As I am writing this the sky is a flat grey and it's drizzling down (hopefully by the time this is published the weather will be sweeter, too) however one whiff and I can imagine we're in the midst of a glorious English summer. It's sweet and citrusy enough that it makes me long for the hot weather, but there is a touch of something bitter and spicy running underneath that make me think of London in the summer, for some reason; when everything is hot and lovely, and then a bus comes by and all you can smell is exhaust.  I realise that isn't the most beautiful analogy, but I'm not one for sickeningly fruity perfumes these days, I like something with a bit of tartness or bitterness thrown in, and this manages that.

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