Today we're helping Ana-Maria, who wants our help to find the perfect perfume to capture a particular scent memory:
I have just returned from Cabo Da Roca in Portugal, the most western point of land in Europe, the place were land ends and the ocean begins, where the two meet. As I am a nostalgic for the ocean as it has a mystic meaning in my heart and for vacation memories almost always spent with my loved one, I want to ask for your help in finding a perfume that tell this story. The story of love between the two, the land and the ocean. The nostalgia of ever returning to shore, the cold embrace of salty and ocean breeze, the fog and light rain drops that fill the air, and the smell of damp earth covered in moist moss and tiny cactus flowers, and the wind, bringing the smell of green woods nearby. There's no sun in this story, none of which I can recall. And I stand on the edge of the cliff, right between the two, the ocean, and the land. The ocean breeze and the woody wind pass through me, and I am left with the smell of both.
Ana-Maria found an image that captures her memory; I can't include it for copyright reasons, but you can see it here. Her budget is around $100.
Ana-Maria is in her late 20s, and lives in Romania. She likes perfumes with a past or with a story; she also prefers perfumes that stay close to skin, so that they are like a part of her. Perfumes she likes include Rochas Femme, Serge Lutens Bas de Soie, Sonia Rykiel Woman! Not for men, and classics like Dior and Chanel. She also likes some masculines, like Caron Yatagan, Yves Saint Laurent Rive Gauche and Lubin Idole.
She dislikes light, candy, soapy smelling perfumes, gourmand or very fruity perfumes.
What say you?
Note: top image is Bologna - no bill posting [cropped] by on1stsite. at flickr; some rights reserved.
L’eau Par Kenzo is a floral aquatic you might like. It’s not “light” and it lasts all day on me. It has a nice white musk and cedar base.
I wonder if you would like Atelier Cologne Mistral Patchouli, which has a kind of salty-sea scent to it.
I haven’t tried this perfume personally, but the description of the scent memory makes me think of what I’ve read about Roxana Illuminated Perfume’s Greenwitch, which has a seaweed note.
Kingston Ferry from Olympic Orchids and Durango from EnVoyage perfume are the two that come to mind, though Durango seems very bright to Me but it has desert and saltiness
I haven’t tried Kingston Ferry, but I second Durango. I know it’s supposed to evoke desert, but it makes me think of water.
The image makes me think of Nuit Etoilee (Annick Goutal). It’s not a powerhouse scent, but it definitely has some wet and dry elements.
I wonder if Ana-Maria might like Ayala Moriel’s Orcas? It would partly depend on whether she’d be interested in an all-natural perfume, but the notes and description seem to fit what she has in mind. “Inspired by the breathtaking scenery of the Wild Pacific Trail, a place where ocean meets forest and whales blow and sing above the stormy weather” and “an array of oceanic treasures such as seaweed and ambergris meet seashore and rainforest notes.”
This description made me think of Lann Ael, by Lost March.
Oops, wrong Ael – I meant Ael-Mat, the one that is supposed to smell like the shores of Brittany.
Maybe Bois d’Iris by Van Cleef & Arpels. It’s woody, slightly marine (ambergris), elegant in a grey sky way and somehow very personal…and smells very good!
Agree with this, and also suggest Goutal’s Vetiver.
I wonder if you would like Eau des Merveilles by Hermès. It has a salty vibe, and there are woodsy elements as well. To me it smells ocean-y without smelling “aquatic,” if that makes sense.
Seconding!
Thirding – not such an obvious choice, but that saltiness is there
The picture reminds me of Miller Harris Fleurs de Sel. It’s a little over the budget limit, though. Worth a sniff…
Yes – Fleurs de Sel was my first thought, too.
Lalique Encre Noir? It smells very salty to me. The grassy rootiness of the vetiver almost has a marine smell to it, but as Songeuse says about Eau des Merveilles, it’s definitely not aquatic.
Thanks for the review Angela. I look forward to the decant I have coming to me, but must say, I’m not the Serge fanboy that I used to be when I first started my fragrance journey.
Also.. it might be over the budget limit (not sure, I didn’t check the price), but Sel de Vetiver by The Different Company might be worth a try.
Ice*Men by Thierry Mugler might work. It’s got a cold feeling at first but then I find it becomes very earthy. It’s not a typical aquatic type scent.
Parfumerie Generale Bois Naufrage has a drift woody marine vibe.
Here is a link to Kevin’s review of this fragrance…
https://nstperfume.com/2010/05/12/parfumerie-generale-bois-naufrage-fragrance-review/
I don’t get Kevin’s “milky-figgy cosiness” when I wear it. I get sea breeze and wood.
Embruns D’Ambre is what came to mind immediately by Stephanie de St. Aignon.
Perfumes Ana-Maria should try:
Thierry Mugler Womanity
Hermes Eau Des Merveilles
Prada L’Eau Ambrée
Bvlgari Omnia Crystalline
Heeley’s Sel Marin. It’s his bestseller here in Australia.
Lys by Frederic Malle
Dune by Dior
G of the Sea by Gwen Stefani
He Wood Ocean Wet Wood by DSquared
Nautica Voyage and its flankers
Way late to the party, but here goes…Eau des Merveilles by Hermès, woodsy and salty. Another I love is Antonia’s Flowers Tiempe Passate, L’ Eau Trois by Diptyque.
My last rec. is out of her price range, but I think it’s stellar, is Green Witch by Roxanna Iluminated, green, mossy, salty woods, with notes of: patchouli, vetiver, oakmoss, clary sage labdanum, seaweed accord.
Hi all! Thank you for your wonderful suggestions! I will definitely find my fragrance among them.