John Pegg House of Kersone photo from John

Perfumer John Pegg has a wildly devoted following for his House Of Kerosene perfumes, and rightly so as his new product releases, which are often quiet, unobtrusive and without much fanfare, are more often than not fantastic scents and highly covetable. His latest release is a very limited edition called Summer Of ‘84, and is a glowing and innocent tribute to that particular moment in John’s childhood.

The Cover of the Detroit Free Press

“It was the year the Detroit Tigers won the World Series, a time when I was young. The summer air smelled as new and clean as grapefruit pop sunk with ice cubes, fizzed in warm sun. Popsicle wrappers and fresh cut melons half-eaten on the picnic table. It was the Summer Of ‘84.” -John Pegg

movies from 1984 via flavorwire.com

1984, a lifetime ago for some of us. In the summer of 1984, American pop culture was at a neon-hued, shoulder-pad rocking, hair-teasing, fever pitch. We were flocking  to the movie theaters to see “Ghostbusters”, “Indiana Jones And The Temple Of Doom”, “Gremlins” and a movie that helped define the era; “Sixteen Candles” with its breakout performance by Molly Ringwald.

1984 ad for Ysatis

New perfume releases that year included Ysatis by Givenchy, Coco by Chanel, Annick Goutal’s Tuberose, Rose Absolue, Heure Exquise, and Patou’s 1984 edition of Joy edt.

Bruce Springsteen and a young Demi Moore  "Dancing in the Dark"

The radios were on constant rewind with Prince’s “When Doves Cry”, Cyndi Lauper’s “Time After Time”, the soundtrack of “Footloose”, and Bruce Springsteen’s “Dancing InThe Dark” from his seminal album “Born In The U.S.A.”

John Pegg as a toddler with his Mom and Dad courtesy of John

Summer Of ‘84 Perfume is a tribute to the sweet and sharp days of a Midwestern summer; bright and humid, but as always, sheer magic to a child. The fragrance is linear in the best way possible and citrus is the star here. A pithy, mouthwatering and true-to-life grapefruit shot thru with the zest of a lemon and tempered by the floralcy of bergamot create a scent that is like a melting popsicle in the heat of a warm August, profoundly uplifting and happy as hell, with that particular sunshiny feeling that a child experiences.

Frank Stella, American Artist at The Detroit Musuem 

The melon sits in the background, and combined with the floral notes and water aspect bring to mind a table under a willow tree next to a creek, or maybe a patio set-up beneath a vivid beach umbrella next to a cool and sparkling swimming pool. Both tables graced by summer flowers in a vase picked just ten minutes ago, and plates of juicy melon; moisture-beaded in the heat, tempting and taunting for a first delicious and refreshing bite. Summer. To a child, the days and weeks seem to stretch out forever, an endless joyous existence to savor before the real world intrudes and adulthood beckons.

Summer of 84  by Kerosene

*Note: Summer Of ‘84 is an EXTREMELY limited edition, being produced bottle by bottle as purchased. These limited edition bottles of Summer Of ‘84 will only be produced until Sept. 4th. After that, like childhood summers, it will only be a memory.

Notes: Grapefruit, lemon, bergamot, melon, white flowers, fresh water, musk.

Disclosure: Thank you SO much to John Pegg and Kerosene for supplying the sample. The opinions are my own.

–Robert Herrmann, Editor

-Art Direction: Michelyn Camen, Editor-in-Chief  Please read John's Profile in American Perfumery here (July 3, 2014)

Thanks to Kerosene Fragrances we have 1.5 ml  sample of Summer Of ’84 for one registered reader in the USA, so be sure to register if you have not done so. To be eligible please let us know what appeals to you about Robert’s review, what you were doing or remember about 1984 and your favorite Kerosene Fragrance.  Draw closes 8/16/2017

We announce the winners only on our site and on our Facebook page, so like Cafleurebon and use our RSS feed…or your dream prize will be just spilled perfume.