That sudden exhilarating spray of salty air, an unmistakably oceanic tang that makes you close your eyes, widen your nostrils and breathe in deep lungfuls to make the most of – this is the wave of emotion that Issey Miyake seek to re-create with L’Eau d’Issey Pour Homme Oceanic Expedition – the latest Summer fragrance for fashion-savvy gentlemen who secretly yearn to be salty sea-dogs…
‘On a ship’s deck. The ocean wind. A great wave of fresh water and pure air. An entire ocean diluted in the air. Suddenly, the air IS water. That rush of air, full of ozone. You feel new, as if reinvented‘.
Perfumer, Alberto Morillas says: ‘I didn’t want any image to create the spark. I’d already experienced that maritime freshness, the ocean steaming like your breath in front of you. I felt that sensation of the blue stretching to infinity, then the white out to the horizon that merges with the blue… of the sky.
I thought about the freshness that might come from the light itself. A reinvigorating freshness that makes the pure air tremor, a blast of wind signalled by the effervescent force of grapefruit, petitgrain and bergamot, and the metallic aspect of the zest (the ozone in the air).
There is Cascalone® for the freshness of the sea, enriched with neroli and zingy ginger. For the muffling effect of the fog on the ocean, the immense clouds: a shot of white musks. The simplicity of the construction creates fluidity… The movement of the boat, perhaps. I’m there!’
And from that description alone, we’re there, too! Dreaming of Summer days walking along cliff-tops and feeling the power of nature as the waves crash below…
Limited Edition L’Eau d’Issey Pour Homme Oceanic Expedition, £41.00 for 75ml eau de toilette
Buy it at John Lewis
Written by Suzy Nightingale
