This summer, I’m embracing lemon girl style because it’s the ultimate dopamine dressing

The European influence on lemon girl is undeniable—in fact, I developed my personal passion for the look while in France last month. While there, I visited a town called Menton known for its large lemons and so happened to be wearing a bright yellow dress I had to emergency purchase from a French Urban Outfitters (long story). Surrounded by storefront citrus symbolism in this yellow-tinted town, I joked that one of the locals might confuse me for one of the lemons; or I’d fade into the background a la Homer Simpson. But then, it dawned on me: I’m getting really bored of pink. Maybe I should be a large lemon! Cut to: Me at my work dressed like a highlighter one month later.

Upon my return home, I was pleased to discover that Doeneseya Bates, one of my favourite beauty content creators, had started incorporating lemon accessories and bright yellow shades into her summertime looks too. Feeling vindicated, I asked why she thinks the lemon girl lifestyle is on the rise.

“Summer is bold, bright, and colorful, and yellow is the colour of happiness,” Bates tells Glamour. “I believe fruit-inspired trends are showing up more in fashion and makeup because we’re trying to embody that vibrancy.”

It’s true that lemon girl summer is not specific to clothing: pops of yellow and neon green have been making their way into makeup looks for months, and Cain loves KVD Beauty Super Pomade for creating a bright yellow eye makeup look. Spate has also seen a growing interest in lemon-scented perfume, saying, “I’ve always associated citrus with ‘fresh and clean,’ so it comes to summer skin care and fragrances, it just makes sense to incorporate citrus scents and ingredients for that light, fresh, and clean vibe.” Considering how oppressively hot and humid the season has been, you can’t exactly blame us for craving something refreshing.

The fashion to beauty and fragrance pipeline is a familiar tale in terms of aesthetics. This is mainly because it makes things easier on the consumer, which is part of why finding one’s aesthetic is as popular as it currently is.

“It’s much easier to say, ‘I want to subscribe to this vibe, and I’m going to follow this template,’ versus having an overwhelming amount of trends to follow,” Cain says. “Instead, you can say, okay, lemon girl summer: I know that I want to buy this citrus fragrance and have nice yellow dress.’ It makes trends digestible when we can associate them with something that we are comfortable and familiar with.”

Also of note? My infamous manifestation manicure—the one I got just before finding out I got this job, in fact—was yellow! I was always convinced it was good luck, and according to astrologers, that’s not totally off base. “By wearing different colours, one can manifest their reality; this is called glamour and color magic,” Lisa Stardust, astrologer and writer of The Love Deck, tells Glamour, noting that yellow represents optimism and courage.

My favourite part of lemon girl summer, however, is the fact that it’s applicable to all five senses. Atop wearing yellow clothing and makeup, one can opt for lemon and citrus-infused skin care, candles, fragrances, and even beverages—like the limoncello, prosecco, and a scoop of lemon sorbet drink that’s going viral on TikTok. So whether you’re a fashion girlie, beauty buff, or fragrance fanatic, you can live your best lemon girl summer however it feels right for you.

When life gives you lemon girl summer, make lemonade and embrace it. Shop everything you need to live your best lemon girl summer below.

This story was originally published on GLAMOUR US.