These 9 perfumes smell like sun cream in the chicest and most nostalgic way

Sun, sea and signature scents...

A collage of perfumes that smell like suncream from brands including: Granado, Maison Margiela, Estee Lauder, Floral Street, Phlur and Nivea/ featured in a pink watercolour paint-style template
(Image credit: (L to R) Granado, Maison Margiela, Estee Lauder, Floral Street, Phlur and Nivea)

For many of us, the scent of summer can be defined as the smell of sun cream, layered over warm and salty, ocean-sprayed skin. These nine fragrances bottle up that exact musky, sun-creamy goodness, for when you want to smell like a nostalgic sunny day, not perfume.

When summer rolls around, we adjust our beauty arsenal. Foundations with SPF, for instance, replace full-coverage formulas, while our choice of best long-lasting perfume might reflect the balmy weather. Fruity perfumes are, of course, a classic choice, but for us, our most precious summer memories tend to be accompanied by that creamy, often coconutty, waft of sunscreen.

So, if you want to envelop yourself in that same nostalgic, sun-warmed scent year-round, or are looking for something lightweight for the months ahead, these perfumes smell like sun cream in the chicest possible way.

These 9 perfumes smell like sun cream - but far more luxe

When the summer months arrive, we find ourselves reaching less and less for our stronger, headier scents. Many of our favourite woody and spicy perfumes feel a bit out of place on a bright June day, and instead, we seem to crave solar perfumes, with musky, sweet and slightly aldehydic notes - the sort that smell reminiscent of freshly applied SPF or sun-warmed skin and clothes.

You can, of course, just skip perfume altogether and simply apply your favourite smelling sun cream - or a body lotion with a similar, lightweight scent - but if you want to project sunny radiance all day, every day, these nine options are glowing examples of fragrances that smell like sun cream.

What notes create that sun cream-y scent?

Often, body sun creams will boast a very creamy, lactonic sort of scent (that matches their consistency), along with notes of coconut and vanilla. So, if you're looking for a summery perfume, we would start there.

A small selection of the Perfumes that smell like suncream from this roundup, including Floral Street's Arizona Bloom, Phlur's Golden Rule, a small tester of Maison Margiela's REPLICA Beach Walk perfume and Granado's Tropicalia, all pictured on some green grass, in the sunshine.

A selection of beauty writer Naomi's sun cream-like fragrances

(Image credit: Future)

Floral notes, like jasmine, orange blossom and lavender, are also present in many of the aforementioned perfumes, and deliver that fresh, powdery quality. A certain sense of warmth is also key, so yes, look for vanilla notes but also woods like sandalwood and spicier notes like pink and black pepper.

Many of our favourite summer scents also feature salt or aquatic accords, so even if you're not a lover of very gourmand or floral fragrances, you can still achieve that 'sun-warmed skin' sort of effect with a musky or salty number.

Naomi Jamieson
Digital Beauty Writer

Naomi is a Digital Beauty Writer at woman&home, where she covers everything from makeup to skincare but specialises, particularly, in fragrance and nail trends. Through her work, Naomi shares her trend expertise and personal product recommendations. She is also a judge for woman&home's annual hair, skincare and beauty awards.

Previously, she worked as a Lifestyle News Writer for My Imperfect Life magazine, where she used her savvy for TikTok to bring readers the latest beauty buzzwords, fashion movements and must-have products.

Before that, Naomi split her time between both GoodTo and My Imperfect Life, whilst training for her Gold Standard diploma in Journalism with the NCTJ, for which she earned a Distinction. Interestingly though, Naomi actually has a background in design, having studied Illustration at Plymouth University but leapt into the media world in 2020, to pursue her passion for writing. Now, when she isn’t reporting on the best perfumes and latest beauty releases, you can find her drinking copious cups of coffee and probably online shopping...