Tag: seaside

Vitamin Sea – fragrances for wishing you were still there…

Recently, the tide has turned for salty, marine-themed scents (and PS: they’re not just for summer anymore – evoking glacial lakes and Nordic fjords as well as sun-kissed beaches). But why now this sudden swell of sea-inspired fragrances, you may wonder?

There’s something about the emotional pull of the sea that is eternal. For centuries, it has led philosophers, artists and scientists to pontificate as to exactly why we’re so drawn to the ocean. The Persian mystic Rumi, ruminating on the subject in the 1200s, declared: ‘You are not a drop in the ocean. You are the entire ocean, in a drop.’ He wasn’t far off, actually.

Modern science has identified that the discovering the human brain is 80% water. More than 70% of the world’s surface is covered by it (over 95% of that yet to be explored). Indeed, it’s hard to disagree with author Arthur C. Clarke, who once astutely remarked: ‘How inappropriate to call this planet Earth when it is quite clearly Ocean.’

So it’s perhaps unsurprising that water exerts such a tidal pull, in our lives. And that as we seek to calm ourselves and reconnect with the elements via our senses, water-inspired scents have been one of the biggest scent trends we’ve seen these last couple of years. These new water-inspired creations don’t simply seek to evoke the ocean, but rivers, waterfalls and deep, coolly inviting lakes. It isn’t only memories of holidays they evoke, either – as lovely as that undoubtedly is during these colder, greyer months; instead, it’s about harnessing the all-year-’round mood-boosting qualities of seascape scents, which we encourage you to paddle and then plunge into, here…

 

 

 

BDK Sel d’Argent
The salty kiss of warm skin, sheer orange blossom shot through with the sparkle of grapefruit and crunchy green galbanum. Think sunlight dancing on waves, somewhere fabulously expensive.
£155 for 100ml eau de parfum harrods.com

 

 

 

 

Thomas Clipper Atlantic
A spirited journey across the sea, with crisp citrus melting to a fuzzy, honeyed blossom; the deeper base of spice-flecked wood and musk a wonderfully evocative nod to adventure.
£99 for 50ml Cologne thomasclipper.com

 

 

 

Montblanc Explorer Ultra Blue
Luminous bergamot shivers to an icy plunge of alpine freshness. The exclusive, silvered patchouli is the scent of wet stones; ambergris, dawn’s mist still clinging.
From £35 for 30ml eau de parfum theperfumeshop.com

 

 

 

Dolce & Gabbana Light Blue Forever Pour Homme
Intensely juicy grapefruit fizzes to a cool, shady breeze of violet leaf and Javan vetiver oil across eerily still water; the base a soft white swathe of musk and patchouli.
£55 for 50ml eau de parfum boots.com

 

 

Jean Paul Gaultier Le Male on Board
Oh Captain, my Captain! Salt-licked skin tastes of sun-lotion and geranium leaves, a faintly boozy rum-like amber swirled with tonka bean. All aboard!
£72 for 125ml eau de toilette lookfantastic.com

Kenzo L’Eau Kenzo Pour Homme Hyper Wave
Inspired by Japanese art’s iconic ‘Hokusai wave’, zesty mandarin invites spontaneity, soaring to the crest before resting on a bed of moss.
£46 for 50ml eau de toilette boots.com

 

 

 

Cartier Rivières de Cartier Luxuriance
‘Life is often said to flow like a river,’ reflects Mathilde Laurent, wild botanicals rippled through rosemary, mastic, oak and geranium; a cold knife nestled on a riverbed.
£104 for 100ml eau de parfum johnlewis.com

 

 

Nishane EGE / ΑΙΓΑΙΟ
A tribute to the Aegean Sea carrying common bonds between Turkish and Greek culture; yuzu zings through violet leaves, basil and mint to the deliciously sticky olibanum and liquorice base.
£275 for 100ml extrait de parfum ab-presents.co.uk

 

 

 

Skandinavisk Kapitel 4
The herbaceous green embrace of crab-apple entwined dog rose evokes Scandinavian waterways, damp moss, rock pools and the freedom of ‘navigating with no fixed destination’.
£45 for 30ml eau de toilette skandinavisk.com

 

 

 

Laboratorio Olfattivo Salina
A literal evocation of the sea in all its salty glory, one imagines a message in a bottle tossed on roiling waves, a poem of pine trees and sunlight lustily sung on barnacle-bottomed boats.
£90 for 100ml eau de parfum flannels.com

 

Written by Suzy Nightingale

 

Scents of the sea – bring on the summer sunshine vibes

What does the phrase ‘scents of the sea’ immediately bring to mind, for you?

Forget those somewhat generic 90s beachy scents, pack your bucket and spade and get ready for a whole new generation of oceanic wonders…

Seaside and summer go together like sand in your sandwiches and an inevitable downpour (if you’re in the UK, anyway); which leads to sitting in a car, windows steaming as tempers rise, eating somewhat flaccid chips while staring gloomily out to sea. In our heads, the image is somewhat different – crystal clear water, sunlight sparkling on white crested waves, fresh salty breezes whipping our hair into a perfect beachy bohemian vibe.

Don’t leave these happy-making images in your dreams – spritz them in to reality by wearing any one of this new generation of ‘by the seaside’ scents. We’ve chosen seven holidays in fragrant bottled form, to be uplifting, awakening and definitely more reliable than our weather…

 

Magamare is an ozonic scent that takes its inspiration directly from the oceans, containing ambergris, seaweed and sea cucumber. Let Megamare wash over you this Summer – and we’re not talking puddles or gentle lapping, here: it’s a veritable leviathan of a fragrance with incredible lasting-power, and one for those who want their scent to take them on a seashore journey the whole day (and night) through.

Orto Parisi Megamare £138 for 50ml eau de parfum
libertylondon.com

If your seaside jaunts run to the racier resorts, you’d do well to re-disover the delights of this modern classic. Said to have been developed to the brief of licking salt off a man’s hot skin as he emerges from the sea (steady on), Francis Kurkdjian’s masterpiece of mint, cumin (for a slight sweatiness) and cardamom atop orange blossom and a smooth vanilla dry down is hard to beat.
Jean Paul Gaultier Le Male £38.50 for 40ml

theperfumeshop.com

 

Feel n’ Chill wraps you in a blanket of fluffiness – soft musk shushing the freshness of lazy waves, lush coconut water and juicy watermelon adding a slight booziness to the dry down. Lay back and drink of England as you watch azure seas roll ever onward, your blood pressure dropping deliciously with every aromatic breeze.

JUSBOX Feel ‘n’ Chill £140 for 78ml eau de parfum
Exclusively at selfridges.com

A proper English seaside holiday, with all the sticky-fingered memories of candyfloss smiles, sudden downpours with the hope of ‘it’s meant to be brightening up, later!’ Exploring mossy rock pools while smeared in suntan lotion, burning your thighs on pleather seats, minty sticks of rock that last forever and salty, kiss-me-quick selfies. Sheer joy, bottled, in other words.

4160 Tuesdays What I Did on My Holidays £40 for 30ml eau de parfum
4160tuesdays.com

Apsu’s bright blend of verdant green notes drifts to a haziness of freshness, happily lapping into cool, clear water. Crunchy, almost celery-like  mixed with sunny bergamot to capture the lush vibrant spirit of nature and water in warm climates. APSU redefines freshness.

Ulrich Lang Apsu £89 for 100ml eau de toilette
libertylondon.com

 

For the chic-est holiday-in-a-bottle you must spray this seaside-y breeze of a scent. Shimmering notes of lemon, grapefruit and mandarin are touched by a soft, salt-tinged wind, while crystalline waters of a lagoon glisten below trees of ripening passion fruits. Ylang ylang gives a rich exoticism to the composition, ensuring this is a Guerlain vacation you’ll never want to forget.

Guerlain Aqua Allegoria Passiflora £52 for 75ml eau de toilette
harrods.com

 

The tang of lemon made even more mouth-watering with sprinkles of salt on cool, aquatic notes, a bracing slap of birch leaf and Spanish cypress oil to revive the most flagging of spirits. Intriguing accords of seaweed swathe a delicacy of green herbaceousness than lingers for hours.

Mare Pacifico By Linari £145 for 100ml eau de parfum
roullierwhite.com

by Suzy Nightingale

 

Haeckels offer discount on products for plastic-baggers!

Ultra-hip Margate-based beauty and fragrance house Haekels don’t do anything by halves.They began by foraging seaweed and making multi award-winning facial and bodycare products, then branched out into the most incredible fragrances, all based on locally gathered ingredients and named for the map coordinates they can be found at.

Now, Haeckels want to address the major issue of plastic littering our coastlines and water, which can injure animals and end up contaminating the sea (and the life that depends on it) all over the world. More than merely paying lip-service to a ‘fashionable’ campaign, they’re offering a fantastic reward for customers who want to help out in a practical way…

Haeckels say: ‘On Wednesday night we went to our local beach, we see it as our duty to clean our coastline. Plastic, cans, fishing equipment and general waste littered the sand and this took just ten minutes to collect. Everything you see would have been washed into the sea in a matter of hours.

Since 2012 we’ve been rewarding customers who take part in cleaning our beaches. A pat on the back isn’t enough to start a movement so we give them a discount on product in exchange for contributing. It is something we really believe in and businesses need to encourage actions like this.

Making product out of ocean plastic isn’t a solution to the problem, in many cases its greenwashing, PR stunts or hiding a multitude of sins. Join us in reducing plastic waste, finding innovative solutions to packaging and protecting our coastline.’

We believe more companies need to take note and encourage their own customers to follow suit, how about you?

Check out these seashore themed scented goodies from Haeckels and work out how you can involved…

‘This location is one that is close to our hearts, an uninhabited bay with remnants of beach use in times gone by and only a raw natural beauty left behind to enjoy. A man made bathing pool bridges the gap between the sea and land, an iconic reminder of a past popularity and a link between man and effects on the nature of the landscape. Walk along the sandy beach with sand and salt on your skin and take in the aromas of fresh seaweed, the chalk reef and seawater. Listen to the sound of the wind blowing through the long cliff top grasses, black lovage and distinctive white flowers.’

Haeckels Walpole Bay GPS 23’ 34”N £160 for 100ml eau de parfum

This much sought after and award-winning hand balm contains a careful blend of fragrant coastal flowers and skin-softening natural emollients that provide nourishing moisture and protection for hands and cuticles. Seaweed and geranium extracts gently encourage the skin to repair and provide essential vitamins for replenishing damaged skin cells.

Haeckels Eco Marine Hand Balm £18 for 50ml

‘Bog Myrtle thrives in the harsh conditions of the northern hemisphere with a long history of being found on the hard to reach paths of mountainous regions and at the top of cliffs along the coastline. It has been used as an insect repellent for these reasons: its location means that walkers and explorers come across the plants when they are being attacked by midges and other insects finding that Myrica gale is proficient in keeping them at bay. The aroma is sometimes comparable to that of cloves and is often used in flower bouquets for its fragrant qualities which compliment other floral scents.’

Haeckels Bog Myrtle Incense Cones £16 for 25g

‘The fresh, salty smell of the ocean is one of the most distinctive smells on the planet, evoking memories of crashing waves and sandy beaches. Scientists have finally unravelled how the seaside odour is created, tracing it to an enzyme that helps algae survive in their salty seawater environment. Researchers found that the smell itself is produced by algae that form extensive blooms on the ocean surface. These blooms release an aromatic compound called dimethylsulfide (DMS) into the air.’

Haeckels Cliff Breeze Travel Candle £15 for 60ml

‘A picturesque bay which is a natural area of outstanding beauty but one which is used a lot by tourists and also for film locations. In the winter its true elegance comes through with less people and more wildlife able to take advantage of the chalk reef, chalk cliffs and cliff hedgerows. This beauty is perhaps shown best on days when it rains, as the rain hits the chalk a fresh and clear fragrance come off the rock to give way to the freshness of cliff grasses, annual seablite and sea orache.’

Haeckels Botany Bay GPS 26’ 3”E £160 for 100ml eau de parfum

Written by Suzy Nightingale

Molton Brown set sail with Seabourn…

Molton Brown have long been offering us ways to escape the everyday humdrum with a vast selection of fabulously fragranced goodies – since 1973, in fact – but for the past fourteen years, only travellers on the luxurious ocean-line, Seabourn, have been able to experience this ultra-bespoke range. Created especially for the lavishly appointed ships, the scents were suitably inspired by the sea itself. Once exclusively the pleasure of passengers of the Seabourn, now Molton Brown are offering the range as a summer Limited Edition, giving us all the chance to get on board with their tantalisingly transportive fragrances and (as always) high quality formulas.
Molton Brown Say: ‘This year, for the first time, Molton Brown have created two completely bespoke fragrances that reflect the cruise line’s unparalleled luxurious guest experience. Usually available exclusively for Seabourn’s on-board guests, they will be offered in Molton Brown stores for a limited time. The beautiful collection is composed of ingredients inspired by Seabourn’s very own signature cruise destinations.’
The first thing you may notice are the exclusive bottles – standing apart from Molton Brown’s usual style with opaque white bottles, all featuring charming illustrations of the main fragrant ingredients, hand-drawn by the coast-based illustrator, Angela McKay. Completely sharable, the range encompasses shampoo, conditioner, bath and shower gel and a body lotion. And we couldn’t wait to get splash-happy…

Immersive Samphire & Eucalyptus Bath & Body Collection:
As always, Molton Brown use the highest quality ingredients possible, such as the carefully sourced, salty-green notes of Samphire picked from the French Atlantic Coast, and deliciously uplifting eucalyptus from Beijing. Philippe Bousseton, Master Perfumer at Takasago, reveals his inspiration for this collection as being, ‘A revitalising and very fresh aroma ideal for bathing, where samphire and marine notes are reminiscent of the sea and ultimately, of the Seabourn experience.’ Fabulously evocative, fresh without being citrus-y, we were immediately dreaming of those revitalising seaside walks that make you feel more alive.

Immersive Samphire & Eucalyptus Bath & Shower Gel £20 for 300ml

Immersive Samphire & Eucalyptus Body Lotion £25 for 300ml

Inspiring Basil & Vetiver Hair Care Collection:
Here, Master Perfumer of Fragrance Resources, Heidrun Harder, used herbaceous basil from Vietnam and deliciously cool vetiver, found in Haiti. Explaining the charcater of these products, Heirun says they are, ‘Very sophisticated, rounded and clean thanks to aromatic notes of basil and vetiver, perfect for hair care.’ A complete boon for those of us who require a more subtle wake-up than being blasted by grapefruit or  drowning in flowers first thing, they are gentle but effective and leave hair glossy with a ready-to-go bounce.

Inspiring Basil & Vetiver Shampoo £18 for 300ml

Inspiring Basil & Vetiver Conditioner £18 for 300ml
Molton Brown Seabourn Collection
Buy them now at moltonbrown.co.uk
Written by Suzy Nightingale