A sea-change into something rich and strange

Some beach-y fragrance recommendations

I’m writing this post just a few days before the summer solstice, which seems like a good time to revisit an interview I gave a few weeks ago. Beauty editor Kara Jillian Brown got in touch to ask me whether I had any thoughts to share on beachy perfumes that lean towards seaweed and brine effects rather than tropical fruit notes. Oh, do I ever! Longtime readers of Now Smell This may already know that I’m an aficionado of salt-air scents. Looking back, I’ve reviewed quite a few over the years.

You can read Kara’s piece here, on the InStyle site—it also includes quotes from perfumer Michael Nordstrand and some recommendations for recently launched ozonic/ocean scents.

As a follow-up post, I thought I’d share some other beachy favorites of mine, with links back to NST and elsewhere. (No affiliate links here, fyi!)

Some of my first “marine” encounters were early niche fragrances that became cult favorites.

Comptoir Sud Pacifique is known for its many vanilla-centered perfumes, but Aqua Motu (1992) was also a subject of discussion in the 2000s. Robin at Now Smell This said this fragrance reminded her of a very specific beach from her past: “Aqua Motu starts with a blast of ozone, and after that it smells pretty much like a synthetic version of a beach: sea air, salt water, some kelp, and the gnarled little shrubs that grow along the coastline in Southern California.”

A friend gave me a decant of Reminiscence Rem (1996) ages ago, recommending it for the surprising “crunch” of a sandy note under its salty sea air accord. She was right. This is a fun one! I think it’s been recently rebranded as LE REM, with a new, more somber and “niche”-looking bottle. I hope the actual fragrance is the same…

Two other 2000s-2010s favorites from enduring independent/artisanal perfume brands:

I’ve previously described Dawn Spencer Hurwitz’s La Plage: Sea Spray as “pure salt air and sea foam sparkling in the sun,” and that still feels right. It’s transparent and uplifting and can be generously applied.

CB I Hate Perfume’s 701: Eternal Return balances ocean air and with shadier notes of of cypress wood, wet rocks, and seaweed for an absorbing olfactory sketch of a Mediterranean inlet. (I just reread The Talented Mr. Ripley, so now I’m imagining this scent as the background to Tom’s murder of Dickie Greenleaf…)

(Disclosure: I’m friends with DSH and CB, after many years as a customer.)

A quick mention of two other sea-themed fragrances from this era, discontinued but not forgotten: the very briny, kelp-y I Profumi di Forti Tirrenico and Creative Universe’s Mare, an avocado-tinged seawater composition. Oh, and Heeley Sel Marin (2008) is still available, although I’ve somehow never tried it.

The new independent-perfumery movement of the 2010s brought us some excellent seashore scents, all very unisex and smartly packaged and accompanied by compelling brand descriptions.

I reviewed Imaginary Authors Falling into the Sea (Josh Meyer, 2012) for Now Smell This ages ago, saying: “This fragrance opens with a very tart lemon note and a sweet but still mouth-puckering lychee, and then moves on to a soft-and-soapy white floral note and a salt-air accord. There's a weirdly appealing hot-cardboard note in the base that suggests driftwood, and the breeziness continues with just a lingering hint of citrus.”

And a few years later, I covered Kerosene Walk the Sea (John Pegg, 2018) on NST, calling it “a minimalist evocation of saltwater, sea air, and driftwood” with “a naturalistic effect of tangy, salty sea breezes.”

(By the end of the 2010s, the big brands were quietly taking this cue from the indies: Hermès Eau de Merveilles Bleue from 2017 is a good example of an upscale designer marine scent.)

I’m glad that smaller brands are continuing to explore the concept of ocean-and-shore scents without feeling compelled to add notes of coconut or suntan oil (not that I don’t enjoy a good suntan oil-inspired scent from time to time).

These two independent lines recently sent me sample sets, and I enjoyed their different iterations on marine themes. Anood Deep Dive 1 (2025, Gus Romero) was inspired by Bahrain’s long heritage of pearl diving in the Arabian Gulf. Deep Dive 1’s musky touches of ambergris conjure up the depths of the ocean floor, with subtle indolic white floral notes suggesting the oysters and their gleaming treasures.

Dogwood & Fir Poseidon & Amphritite, one of four fragrances offered by a San-Diego based floral design studio, takes the classical myth of the sea-god Poseidon and his consort Amphritite as its starting point. Citrus topnotes sparkle like sunlight on the water, followed by something lactonic that evokes the waves’ milky foam and then an aromatic woody base suggestive of salty earth. It’s a scent worthy of sea nymph.

Do you have any favorite beach-brine scents, old or new? Let us know in the comments!

Top image: Textile, Shell Chest; Designed by Witold Gordon (American, b. Poland, 1885–1968); Manufactured by Riverdale Drapery Fabrics; Made for Associated American Artists (United States); cotton; H x W: 571.5 × 118.3 cm (18 ft. 9 in. × 46 9/16 in.); Gift of Jonathan O'Hea; 2017-38-1