Katie Gunderman / Briana RengifoSave this storySave this story
Ever wonder what it’s like shopping with a beauty editor? Welcome to Counter Service, a new series where we visit our favorite beauty boutiques IRL. We’re visiting the curated spaces and places that make shopping in person oh-so worth it—and you’re coming with. On a gray spring day in NYC, shopping producer Sarah Hoffmann stopped by The Sun Room pop-up to go down memory lane with Summer Fridays’s first fine fragrance launch.
Fragrance launches used to be a strictly celebrity venture in the early aughts—but in 2026, everyone is getting into the scent game. Influencers, TV series, and even condiment brands are all trying their hand at perfuming your life. It’s hard to parse through it all, particularly from behind a phone screen, where you can get lost among note descriptors like “chypre” and “petrichor.” The story of a scent matters, and Summer Fridays has mastered the art with its new Sunlit Vanilla Eau de Parfum.
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Summer Fridays
Sunlit Vanilla Eau de Parfum
Sephora
Revolve
Summer Fridays
Not actual size, but I wish!
Katie Gunderman
I’ve come to value world-building from brands to help make sense of the constant deluge of beauty launches that flood my inbox daily. Summer Fridays has a product line that makes you feel like a carefree, Californian, let’s-go-to-the-beach-today-why-not girl, even when you’re as far from the West Coast as possible (getting bowled over by Atlantic Ocean spring winds, to be exact). Try popping on the Jet Lag eye patches or dabbing some Blush Butter Balm onto your cheeks and not feel a deep urge to take a stroll along an LA boardwalk. (I can’t!)
In This Story
- The IRL Experience
- My First Scent Impressions
- Final Thoughts
- More Summer Fridays Faves
The IRL Experience
Come on in and stay a while.
Katie Gunderman
I have a major soft spot for a bistro table.
Katie Gunderman
When I heard that Summer Fridays was launching a fragrance, I immediately had a vision of what the scent would be. The brand’s Vanilla Lip Butter Balm (an Allure Best of Beauty winner) is both popular and delicious, so I had a gut feeling we were getting a tasty gourmand that’s sweet, cozy, and nostalgic. A few weeks ago, I visited The Sun Room, the brand's NYC pop-up, to see if my predictions were right (spoiler: I was right on the money).
No actual driving took place on this day (always wear your seatbelt!).
Katie Gunderman
I was a barista once, so this felt right at home.
Katie Gunderman
When I rounded the corner in SoHo, just steps away from New York’s Erewhon dupe, Happier Grocery, the first thing I saw was a vintage, caramel-colored Porsche parked outside—an immediate sign that I was both in the right place and onto something with my predictions. Entering the installation, the simple but cozy room was lined with beige curtains, which instantly warmed the space up against the austere, gray light streaming in from the windows.
Never a brand to slack on visuals, Summer Fridays set up a large table in the center of the room, with some of the scent note sources (like old school caramel chews) piled into adorable teacups. There were also plenty of bottles of perfume to sample, as well as a large bowl of—as I suspected—Lip Butter Balms in Vanilla. I knew they were sisters!
A visual and olfactory feast.
Katie Gunderman
One for the road, thanks!
Katie Gunderman
My First Scent Impressions
For me, spritzing the perfume for the first time immediately conjured up thoughts of vanilla ice cream and sunsets on the beach. It’s certainly a gourmand, but there’s a depth to it, especially when it settles into the nutty tonka and sticky amber base. There’s a natural quality to it, like you’ve spent the day wandering through bakeries and spice shops, hints of the aromas lingering on your skin. The solar quality to it (from the fresh bergamot and tropical coconut, if I had to guess) adds a rush of nostalgia to the whole composition, like this idyllic day happened months or years ago. You get caught in a sunbeam, and the whole sweet, hazy scene comes rushing back.
Final Thoughts
I crave storytelling from scent launches—especially in a market this crowded—and I’ll happily be adding this fragrance to my spring rotation for when I need a hit of golden hour. Sunlit Vanilla is available now at Sephora, Summer Fridays, and Revolve.
One final spritz before I go.
Katie Gunderman
Not your average NYC Uber.
Katie Gunderman
More Summer Fridays Faves
Summer Fridays Jet Lag Mask
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Summer Fridays
Jet Lag Mask
Amazon
Sephora
Summer Fridays
The mask that started it all. I love wearing this to bed after a session torturing my skin (read: swimming laps in a chlorinated pool) or applying a very thin layer at my desk in the afternoon, to combat the infamous office air dryness. (It lives in my pen holder).
Summer Fridays Sheer Skin Tint
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Summer Fridays
Sheer Skin Tint
Amazon
Revolve
Sephora
Allure commerce producer Sarah Hoffmann applying the Summer Fridays Sheer Skin Tint in Shade 2
Sarah Hoffmann
I’ve loved this skin tint since it first launched, and it’s one of the products I recommend the most often to friends when they ask for base recommendations. The amount of coverage is simply perfect, and it makes your skin look like skin—but the kind of naturally perfect, gorgeous skin we all wish we had.
Summer Fridays Blush Butter Balm
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Summer Fridays
Blush Butter Balm
Amazon
Sephora
Summer Fridays
Hoffmann applying the Summer Fridays Blush Butter Balm in Pink Sunset
Sarah Hoffmann
I tend to gravitate towards roses and berries for blushes, but Pink Sunset is one of the best pink blush shades I’ve ever gotten my hands on. It wears like a perfectly faded, subtle sunburn, sans skin damage.
Summer Fridays Flushed Lip Stain
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Summer Fridays
Flushed Lip Stain
Sephora
Revolve
Hoffmann applying the Summer Fridays Flushed Lip Stain in Almond
Sarah Hoffmann
I’ve been loving wearing the shade Almond under the Lip Butter Balm in Vanilla Beige. The staying power of this stain is no joke, so line with caution.
Summer Fridays Lip Butter Balm
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Summer Fridays
Lip Butter Balm
Amazon
Sephora
Summer Fridays
Hoffmann applying the Summer Fridays Lip Butter Balm in Vanilla Beige
Sarah Hoffmann
Thick, shiny, and yummy. That’s all you really need to know about Summer Friday’s Lip Butter Balm, which comes in 11 mouthwatering flavors. It won a Best of Beauty Award in 2023, but the new scent and shade options keep me coming back for tube after tube.
