1. Two weeks back on the East Coast came and went quickly. I landed in Newark at the tail end of the heatwave but just as summer storms commenced—which meant I had less motivation to venture into the city, and all the reason to stay put in the suburbs of New Jersey. (L.A. weather may have spoiled me, but neither New York nor I was equipped to handle the high winds and flash floods.) At the time, I was annoyed—New York always revives me, even if I’m just there for obligatory meetings—but slowing down ended up being essential in hindsight.
2. Just as grounding—if not compulsory—journaling. How satisfying it was to complete a notebook squarely on July 31, and start a fresh diary today?
3. Despite being a fragrance collector and editor with 500+ perfumes, I’m proud to be able to narrow down my travel fragrance wardrobe to just five decants. For this Jersey, trip, I packed:
- Belnu Chai Fleur for work days and slow weekend mornings
- Perfumehead LA LA Love Perfume Oil for evenings out
- Viktor & Rolf Flowerbomb Extreme for lunch and casual dinner dates
- Bottega Veneta Acqua Sale layered with Maison Tahité Sel_Vanille for boat days
4. A few of those mentioned above are some of the best new perfumes of 2025, so far. It was a difficult list to narrow down, so if there’s any interest in a more comprehensive round-up, let me know. (I’ll take any excuse to write about my perfume collection.)
5. … but if you’re intent on summer fragrances to make the most of the season before we head back into fall, these are the most notable warm-weather scents I’ve loved this year.
. . .
xx
A SENSIBLE EDIT
Your turn. Thoughts?