DIME 7 Summers Perfume Review, What Does it Smell Like?

DIME Beauty was founded in 2018 and markets itself as a clean skincare and beauty company. They aim to create luxurious beauty products that are not only clean but also effective. DIME was founded by a married couple, of which, the wife is a trained esthetician.

With more than a superficial understanding of skincare, the couple has launched a well-developed line of skincare, body care, wellness products, cosmetics, and fragrances.

One of their signature scents is 7 Summers, released in 2021. It claims to be a fragrance that’s safe for the environment, using non-toxic ingredients that won’t irritate those with sensitive skin.

You might wonder how such a fragrance will perform, so in this DIME 7 Summers perfume review, we’ll answer the question, ‘what does it smell like?’

This sweet and subtle floral fragrance is one of their bestsellers, with thousands of customers giving it a glowing review.

So let’s explore this fragrance further to understand why customers seem to enjoy it so much.

Things to Consider Before Buying DIME 7 Summers Perfume

Perfumes can be really enjoyable to wear. The scent uplifts you throughout the day and people who interact with you can share in that experience.

But one of the downfalls to wearing perfume is that we rarely know what ingredients are used to make the fragrance. And if you have sensitive skin, you’re often irritated by itchiness, redness, or other symptoms caused by either contact dermatitis, or a fragrance allergy.

DIME Beauty seeks to serve those individuals who can’t comfortably wear other fragrances due to skin reactions caused by ingredient toxicity and/or are increasingly conscious of product ingredient lists.

DIME Beauty Affordability

Affordability is also a goal of theirs, which might be comparatively true, but some of their products are out of reach for some consumers. DIME Beauty uses the phrase “affordable luxury” which is clearly an oxymoron. Affordability is subjective and not broadly applicable.

In comparison to fragrances like Creed, DIME perfumes are extremely affordable. But in comparison to scents like Curve, DIME costs at least twice as much. So, as you can see, affordability is relative.

Considering the fact that they take the initiative to produce fragrances and other products that are gentle on you and the environment, it is amazing that the retail price for their products isn’t even higher.

The DIME Beauty Ingredient Difference

When purchasing DIME fragrances, you’re not solely buying perfume or cologne. You’re also purchasing skincare expertise from a licensed esthetician. You’re purchasing a sustainable fragrance and all the mindful selections that come into play when producing such a product, such as recyclable packaging materials. And you’re buying transparency.

Unless you’re a trained chemist, you might not recognize the ingredients on this list, but DIME shares more information about their product ingredients than traditional beauty companies.

DIME Beauty fragrances might be a good fit for you if:

• You have sensitive skin
• You experience fragrance allergies
• You want to support a company that reduces its impact on the environment.
• You prefer to use vegan, anti-cruelty products.
• You prefer to use perfumes that aren’t made with toxic ingredients.
• You’re looking for a moderately priced perfume that doesn’t smell cheap.

DIME products are formulated according to standards set by chemical and agricultural activists, Environmental Working Group (EWG).

This activist group created a personal care product database that evaluates common ingredients used to make beauty products. The industry isn’t regulated by the federal government – at least not in keeping with modern advancements.

EWG created a 10-point rating scale, measuring ingredient toxicity. A rating of 10 is a highly toxic ingredient, while a 1-point rating is considered a safe ingredient.

In addition to ingredient transparency, DIME chooses to formulate their products using ingredients on the lowest end of the EWG scale.

Features & Benefits of DIME Beauty’s 7 Summers Perfume

DIME Beauty’s 7 Summers perfume comes in a 50 mL (1.7 oz) frosted glass bottle with minimal text and a black cap. This eau de toilette primarily smells like creamy vanilla with a hint of lavender herb.

All of their fragrances (and most of their product offerings) are manufactured in the United States. Regardless of where their products are made, each facility is held to the highest ethical and professional standards.

DIME suppliers engage in eco-friendly and ethical sourcing practices as well.

7 Summers Perfume: The Ingredients

DIME Beauty’s 7 Summers is an alcohol-based perfume but in a different way from other brands.

DIME deliberately chose not to use ethyl alcohol (aka ethanol). The International Journal of Toxicology considers denatured ethanol (also referred to as SD 40) to be “sufficient to support the safety of these ingredients in cosmetics.”

EWG’s research on the safe use of ethanol is limited. But one concern they have about this ingredient is its potential to cause developmental and reproductive toxicity.

EWG gives ethanol a toxicity score of 4, making it “moderate hazard.” Therefore, DIME opted to use organic sugar cane alcohol in place of ethanol. This alcohol acts as a carrier that helps the scent linger longer.

Organic sugar cane alcohol is the third listed ingredient but the primary ingredient is water. DIME only uses water that’s been purified and filtered to ensure that they’re only incorporating clean ingredients. Water is used as a base ingredient that helps hold all of the other ingredients together.

We’ve covered the primary ingredient, water, and the third most present ingredient, organic sugar cane alcohol. But what’s in the middle?

The second most prevalent ingredient used is actually the fragrance blend. As I briefly wrote earlier, not all of the ingredients are easily recognizable, but they’re all low on the toxicity scale.

You may notice ingredients like vanillin, leaf acetate, and even cyclamen aldehyde. DIME combines natural ingredients with the safest synthetic ingredients according to EWG’s ingredients lists. This delicate balance makes the fragrances gentler on your skin. Thus, this fragrance is considered hypoallergenic.

7 Summers Perfume: The Fragrance

Warm and uplifting, 7 Summers is a layered fragrance with some form of sweetness on every layer. Here are the accords:

Top layer:

• Juicy pear
• Champagne
• Warm sugar

Middle layer:

• Opulent lavender
• Vanilla
• Praline

Base layer:

• Woody musk
• Coconut cream
• Bergamot

Vanilla is known to be a calming fragrance that can alleviate stress, reduce irritability, and even combat insomnia.

This mood-boosting scent is what you’ll primarily smell from this fragrance. But all of the other fragrance notes support this heart accord.

Juicy pear is mostly sweet and slightly tart. Champagne lends fruity notes that also seem to “smell” fizzy even though it’s not an essence that can really be captured.

Warm sugar sets the stage for the middle layer of vanilla and intensely sweet praline. Opulent lavender is a lovely aromatic fragrance with lots of complexity. Clean herbal notes combine with the scent of grassy greens, with slight sweetness.

It’s surprising to see bergamot as a base note ingredient, it’s usually added to the top and sometimes even the middle. But as a base note for this fragrance, bergamot adds the typical citrusy sharpness along with spicy notes.

Creamy coconut can smell similar to vanilla along with the powderiness of musk. Wood notes help carry the fragrance, helping it to last a little longer. But overall, the wood notes are not as noticeable as you’d expect them to be.

Fragrance Performance of 7 Summers Perfume

Although the organic sugar cane alcohol was used to add longevity to this fragrance, this scent only lasts for a few hours. You can expect its performance to be on the lower end of what’s typical for eau de toilette fragrances.

At most, an eau de toilette can last between 2 to 4 hours on the skin. Since they’re only made with about 5-15% of fragrance oils, it’s unlikely that they’ll last any longer. (Although Cremo fragrances tend to last longer.)

You can expect DIME Beauty’s 7 Summers to last up to 3 hours on the skin. Of course, there are different factors involved that can impact scent longevity, but on average, 3 hours is the norm.

Its sillage is also moderate. Some people prefer more subtle, close to skin scents, and if that’s you, then that could be another reason to try this fragrance.

With normal use, meaning a pump on every pulse point daily, you can expect one bottle of 7 Summers to last you a month or two.

Another thing to note is that as this fragrance ages, you might notice a change in color. This is normal for fragrances made using natural ingredients. You can continue to use the fragrance without concern for change in performance.

More of a summer and spring fragrance, you can wear this scent during fall and winter as well, but it won’t project as far. These notes aren’t very fitting for evening wear, but if you want this scent to be noticeable at night, you’ll have to reapply the fragrance. That said, 7 Summers is still balanced enough to be worn as a daily signature fragrance.

DIME 7 Summers Perfume Social Proof

After reading through hundreds of customer reviews, I found that most customers were pleased with this vanilla lavender fragrance.

Those who were displeased enjoyed the scent, but wished that it would last longer.

Here is a summary of some of the feedback that I found:

Favorable Customer Feedback Regarding 7 Summers Perfume

• 7 Summers is a soft, velvety fragrance that smells wonderful.
• Many customers can tell that this fragrance is made with clean ingredients because they don’t experience a headache when wearing it as they do with fragrances made by other brands.
• The scent is so noticeable that some customers constantly receive compliments about the fragrance.
• Many customers keep 7 Summers in their perfume collection as a daily wear fragrance.
• This is a fragrance that smells so clean, subtle, and yummy that you should keep it on hand and always repurchase before running out.
• The fact that this heavenly fragrance is made with safer, cleaner ingredients is definitely a plus.
• Be careful! If you purchase 7 Summers as a gift for someone else, and then smell it yourself, you’ll definitely want to order one for your own fragrance collection.
• It feels good to wear a nice smelling fragrance that’s also non-toxic.

Unfavorable Customer Feedback Regarding 7 Summers Perfume

• The occasional person was disappointed in the scent, not finding it to be as lovely as described by others.
• Some customers felt that 7 Summers smelled like inexpensive bath soap.
• For others, the scent is way too sweet and reminds them of a fragrance that you would purchase for young girls.
• For the most part, customers really enjoy this fragrance for its subtle sweetness and the way that it attracts compliments. Those who dislike the scent simply find 7 Summers to smell nauseatingly sweet.

Alternatives to DIME Beauty’s 7 Summers Perfume

If you’re looking for a clean fragrance that smells less sweet, then you might consider a different DIME fragrance.

In total, they’ve released five eau de toilettes and one cologne. Their remaining eau de toilettes include Lovely Sweet Dreams, I Love Your Smell, Baby, Malibu Night, Dans Les Bois. Their cologne is called DIME No. 1 Cologne. They’re all the same size and cost just under $50 USD.

Alternatively, they also offer sample collections of their fragrances. The DIME perfume that’s still soft, but not as sweet as 7 Summers is called Lovely Sweet Dreams and this is the first alternative that I’d suggest.

Lovely Sweet Dreams by DIME Beauty

Another DIME Beauty best-seller, Lovely Sweet Dreams is also soft and fresh, but less sweet and more floral.

A gentle, but sexy scent, top notes include peach nectar, creamy coconut, and apple. The heart of this fragrance is white lily, freesia, jasmine, and rose floral notes. As it dries down, vanilla bean, blonde wood notes, soft musk, and tonka bean unfold.

As a floral-forward fragrance, you’ll experience vanilla and coconut cream as with 7 Summers, but with romantic floral notes instead of the multitude of sweet scents that make up 7 Summers.

What might be most important to you is that it’s also a clean perfume made with non-toxic ingredients that won’t irritate your skin or sinuses.

Cloud Eau de Parfum by Ariana Grande

Those who either dislike 7 Summers or are on the fence about it call it a clone of Cloud by Ariana Grande. After reviewing Cloud’s fragrance accords, it’s hard to disagree with them.

Also very sweet, Cloud was released in 2018, a few years prior to 7 Summers.

• Top notes: lavender, pear, bergamot
• Middle notes: whipped cream, praline, coconut, vanilla orchid
• Base notes: musk, woody notes.

There is a lot of overlap between 7 Summers and Cloud, scent notes are just rearranged, therefore certain notes are more pronounced than others between fragrances.

For instance, bergamot is on the base layer of 7 Summers but the top layer of Cloud. Lavender is a middle note of 7 Summers but one of Cloud’s top notes. They both use pear as a top note.

They also both use praline and vanilla notes at the heart of their fragrances. Cloud’s middle
whipped cream note can be comparable to 7 Summer’s warm sugar note on their top layer.

Woody musk is a shared base layer note for both. Coconut cream notes last longer with 7 Summers because it’s a base note, while it’s somewhat less pronounced as a Cloud heart note.

Collectively, these notes produce a very similar scent. But the primary difference between 7 Summers and Cloud is the type of ingredients used to make such a similar scent.

DIME, of course, is more transparent with its ingredient list, while Ariana Grande is not. Due to this, we can assume that Cloud incorporates less clean ingredients.

Cloud is slightly more expensive than 7 Summers, but you’ll receive twice as much perfume. Also, as an eau de parfum, Cloud’s performance is better than 7 Summers. It’s got more longevity and stronger sillage, in this way, its value is higher than 7 Summers.

Baccarat Rouge 540 Eau de Parfum by Maison Francis Kurkdjian

Somehow Baccarat Rouge 540 also smells similar to 7 Summers, but Baccarat Rouge 540 has more wood notes, the presence of amber, and is far more expensive. It was launched in 2015.

Described as a woody scent with poetic alchemy, top notes include saffron and jasmine blooms. In the middle, amber wood complements ambergris. Base notes include fir resin and cedarwood.

Amber can smell like sweet vanilla. Combined with ambergris, which generates warmth and almost smells salty, I can see how there’s some overlap with the middle layer and 7 Summers.

Base layer notes are both sweet and woody. Fir notes can be sweet and even spice with aromatic freshness that can all be balanced by the addition of cedarwood.

Also an eau de parfum, Baccarat Rouge 540 outperforms all of the previously mentioned fragrances. It lasts the longest and has the most complex sillage. But that’s to be expected of a scent that sets you back hundreds of dollars.

Similar to Ariana Grande’s cloud, there’s a lack of ingredient transparency for Baccarat Rouge 540. The latter is a luxurious perfume made with high quality ingredients.

Maison Francis Kurkdjian has a direct relationship with their ingredient suppliers and engages in a very involved process of perfecting each fragrance. At the same time, you won’t find a detailed list of ingredients used to make Baccarat Rouge 540.

If you’re less concerned with ingredient transparency and more intrigued by the way that fine ingredients are combined to create a refined fragrance, then you might prefer Baccarat Rouge 540 over 7 Summers.

Alternatives to DIME Beauty’s 7 Summers Perfume Comparison Chart

	DIME 7 Summers	DIME Lovely Sweet Dreams	Cloud by Ariana Grande	Baccarat Rouge 540
Year Launched	2021	2020	2018	2015
Volume	50 mL (1.7 oz)	50 mL (1.7 oz)	100 mL (3.4 oz)	195 mL (6.6 fl oz)
Top Layer	Juicy pear Champagne Warm sugar	Peach nectar Creamy coconut Apple	Lavender Pear Bergamot	Saffron Jasmine
Middle Layer	Opulent lavender Vanilla Praline	White lily Freesia Jasmine Rose	Whipped cream Praline Coconut Vanilla orchid	Amberwood Ambergris
Base Layer	Woody musk Coconut cream Bergamot	Vanilla bean Blonde wood Soft musk Tonka bean	Musk Woody notes	Fir resin Cedarwood
Ingredient Transparency?	Yes	Yes	No	No
Use of Non-Toxic Ingredients?	Yes	Yes	No	Unsure
Hypoallergenic	Yes	Yes	No	No
Retail Price	💲	💲	💲💲	💲💲💲💲💲

Conclusion

DIME Beauty’s 7 Summers is a highly feminine fragrance that’s mostly sweet and creamy with hints of lavender.

Ingredients are natural and safe, which is of benefit to those with sensitive skin. DIME also takes a more deliberate approach to selecting natural and synthetic fragrance ingredients, reducing product toxicity.

It’s a great choice for individuals who enjoy subtle fragrances that they can wear daily without irritating your skin.

In terms of non-toxic ingredient choice, DIME fragrances are set apart. But as an alternative, Cloud by Ariana Grande gets you twice the amount of practically the exact same fragrance at a slightly higher price. For a woodier, more lush scent, you might consider Baccarat Rouge 540.

In addition to being clean, DIME fragrances are relatively affordable. If you’d like to give 7 Summers a try, you can check it out here.