Vacations are great. Coming back from them has its drawbacks, one of which, for those of us who still hold full-time “office” jobs, is catching up on emails, MS Teams/Slack/etc. messages and tickets in Jira. (Ha! My browser doesn’t know this word and suggests replacing it with “Lira,” “Mira,” “Kira” or maybe even “IRA”—I wonder, does it mean “Individual Retirement Arrangements” or “Irish Republican Army”? Anyway, getting tickets from either of the two upon return would have been, let’s say, unexpected if not disturbing. But I digress.) All that to say, I didn’t have time to “develop film” and still hope to share additional photos soon. But the majority of illustrations for today’s post are from that recent trip.
Saturday Question #236:
What Is Your Favorite Water-inspired Perfume?
I know, I know, many perfumistas shudder just from hearing the scary A-word (I mean, “aquatic”). But fear not: if you are one of those, I didn’t necessarily mean only “fresh, watery, and often marine-quality” scents. The question is much broader. It still can be a marine-related aroma. But it also can be something inspired by any body of water – an ocean, a seaside, a river bank, a pond or even a pool. The association can be by the scent, the name or any other connection.
My Answer
Hapuna Beach, where I spent my most recent Big Island (Hawaii) vacation, didn’t smell of “ocean” (you know, that combination of decaying seaweed, algae and decomposing marine life that we all romanticize when talking about our olfactory impressions from spending time at the seaside). And I like it because it’s not a scent I particularly enjoy, even though I don’t mind brief encounters with it.
The photos above are not from the beach I mentioned. That beach is a beautiful white sand beach, but since we go there for short swims, I usually don’t take my phone with me, so the only photo of that beach I was able to find was from 3 years ago.
Most photos I have of that beach were taken at sunset from the balcony of the condo we rented, so most aromas were food- and drink-related.
There were some floral aromas when we visited that waterfall at the Botanical Garden, but nothing to think of any particular perfume. The infinity pool at Mauka Meadows Botanical Garden and Coffee Plantation smelled of coffee that we were tasting sitting in front of it. And I suspect that the man-made pond at the golf course at best (worst?) would whiff of some disinfecting agent had I come closer, but luckily I didn’t have a chance to spoil the impression from that beautiful view.
The perfume I decided to offer as my favorite water-inspired scent is L’Artisan Parfumeur Traversee du Bosphore. As you can see, its connection to the topic is strictly in the name. That and the fact that Traversee du Bosphore is one of my favorite perfumes for a tropical vacation. And during this trip, as I almost finished my decant, I felt a pang of regret that I didn’t buy it when it was available because I didn’t want another 100 ml bottle in my collection… (sigh)
During this trip, while I wore my other favorites as well, Traversee du Bosphore fit my mood and the place the most.
Bosphorus Bridge (Jorge1767, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons)
How about you?
Undina's Looking Glass 
OOOHHHHH Undina,
This is such an interesting take. I’m a fan of the aquatic scents and the freshies.
The two I find myself wearing most are Hermès Eau des Merveilles Bleue and Issey Miyake Nuit d’Issey.
I also like that slightly moist vase water note that can be found in some perfumes. It’s not fetid but it is green and murky. I like the strange depth it can give otherwise pretty florals.
Portia xx
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I can’t think of any perfume with the “vase” note (and might not even imagine the scent correctly), but now I’ll be paying attention. I’m not sure I’d like to smell like that, but I’m curious about it, especially since MMKinPA below agrees with you on it.
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The one that most pops to mind is Saskia by Grandiflora. There are others. It’s like water but just a little mossy.
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I don’t know that I have any real aquatic perfumes. When I think of the ocean, I think of Bronze Goddess, as I really only wear it on vacation. Lolita Lempicka Fleur de Corail is another one with that same kind of vibe. I do agree with Portia that the murky floral water scent is appealing!
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I also associate Bronze Goddess with a vacation, but probably less so with water. Thought… vacation, beach, ocean… Yeah, I can totally see it.
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Those photos are gorgeous. What a wonderful place! Aquatic perfumes are not my favorites, but I do like Heeley’s Sel Marin. The only fragrance I have that really relates to water is Eau d’Italie’s Un Bateau pour Capri. It is more floral then marine, however.
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Thank you! For me, taking pictures is a joy on its own, so I’m happy when I find something worth taking picture of.
I’m not familiar with the two perfumes you named, but at least I know both brands, which is a lot these days! ;)
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As unconventional as it may seem, L’eau Froide by Serge Lutens is my “cool water” aquatic favorite.
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Surprisingly, I liked it when it was released. Not enough to buy, but it was quite pleasant.
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Amazing sunset! Glad you got to get away for a bit.
I think mine would be Acqua di Gio, at least from my memory of it from the 90s. Fresh and uplifting without any off-putting marine notes.
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Thank you! And it wasn’t even the best one I’ve ever taken photo of from that spot! (Though, this year we had almost no clouds, which made sunsets less dramatic).
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Such wonderful photos…! I love everything about the sea – the scents, the humid air, the waves, the salt, the feeling that goes with holidays by the sea…
My favourite (sea) water perfumes are Nishane’s Ege, a green herbal perfume and Lorenzo Villoresi’s Aura Maris, a salty green woody fresh perfume. As for a more swampy feeling there is Serpentine by Comme des Garcons, my favourite for rainy summer days.
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I’m lucky to live in the Bay Area, so the ocean is really close, and I can enjoy views (and smells – briefly:)) often enough. Unfortunately, it’s cold, so to be able to swim, I have to fly 5+ hours.
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I have owned a grand total of one aquatic fragrance. Fleurs de Sel by Miller Harris. DH went through a sample very quickly, said he liked it. I found it in TKMaxx for pennies when it was being d/ced & gifted it to DH. Lived in his wardrobe still wrapped & unloved as her prefers his Spicebomb. I nicked it back & sold it during my clear out. DH hasn’t noticed.
Otherwise my hatred of calone stops me sampling anything described as an aquatic or fresh.
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I pictured in a very cartoonish way you sneaking into your DH’s wardrobe and grabbing that bottle, and it made me laugh. My vSO wouldn’t have noticed something like that either.
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Mine is Un Jardin Sur la Lagune! It has a seawater accord that really appeals to me, and the name refers to the Venetian lagoon.
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P.S. I blogged about it here: https://scentsandsensibilities.co/2020/01/05/scent-sample-sunday-un-jardin-sur-la-lagune/.
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Since that post, I tried Sur la Lagune on skin, but it doesn’t change much my impression of the brand: nice, could wear, won’t if I have other options. But it’s a good choice for the topic.
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Sur La Lagune just did not work for me. It smelled like a funky algae filled pond on my skin. Bummer!
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Not sure I have an outright favourite, but several sprang to mind: Un Jardin sur le Nil, Fleurs de Sel as mentioned by Alityke, and a perfume I used to own which had a pink / clear bottle that looked like those DKNY Apple scents but was actually something rare and Swiss – milky and rice-y and evocative of Swiss lakes! (May be a false memory, but that’s all I have got. ;) ) Your holiday looked idyllic, even from stock photos, and I hope you had a good rest.
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Mine is Hermes Eau des Merveilles Bleue. It is not so much that it reminds me of water but rather it is mineral, which reminds me of water. I have not worn this at all recently but I will have to remedy that!
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