If you love beachy fragrances, you're spoiled for choice these days. If you want Coppertone, CB I Hate Perfume's At The Beach 1966 has you covered. If your idea of sunscreen is a bit more sophisticated than that, there's Parfums de Nicolaï Musc Monoï or Bond no. 9 Fire Island or Estée Lauder Bronze Goddess. If you want to smell more like flowers and less like sunscreen — maybe your ideal beach is ringed by the manicured gardens of a tropical resort? — there's Guerlain's Terracotta Le Parfum. If you want the beach and nothing but, there are too many aquatics to list, but I'm partial to Comptoir Sud Pacifique's Aqua Motu. If you want the sunscreen plus the beach, there's always (duh!) Bobbi Brown Beach. If you want the sunscreen plus the beach plus the treats from the boardwalk, try Bond no. 9 Coney Island, or my preference and the subject of today's review, What I Did On My Holidays, from the UK indie brand 4160Tuesdays.
Luckyscent tells us that "What I Did On My Holidays takes aim squarely at the real smells of a boardwalk-laced English holiday area: the kind full of chip shops, clanging arcade rides, and blissfully happy families." Turns out the boardwalk-laced holiday areas in the new world aren't all that different from the old. What I Did On My Holidays starts with a blast of cool, almost-mentholated synthetic notes. It's a bit loud, but it calms over the next few minutes into the creamy (coconut!) suntan lotion, brisk sea air and peppermint (candy) that we are promised in the list of notes, plus a splash of seawater and a thread of sharp lavender hovering underneath. As it continues to dry down, we get the boardwalk dessert course: cotton candy plus vanilla ice cream.
Verdict: If it sounds like a hot mess, really, it isn't. The sweet notes are relatively mild and sheer, and they're kept in balance by the sea and the water and the peppermint, so it's a gourmand, but a gourmand you could easily wear in hot weather. It's hugely evocative but not exactly pretty, and I can't see it becoming a no-brainer summertime staple in quite the same way as Bronze Goddess. Despite that, it's quite wearable and to my nose, it does exactly what it aims to do. Plus, it's great good fun, as is the Sunshine And Pancakes fragrance that Jessica reviewed yesterday (I still need to test Centrepiece). I would love to have a small bottle. I'll also put in a word about Urura's Tokyo Cafe, which likewise made me smile. It has been renamed Tokyo Spring Blossom since I reviewed it in 2014.
What's your favorite beachy perfume?
4160Tuesday What I Did On My Holidays is $90 for 50 ml Eau de Parfum. For purchasing information, see the listing for 4160Tuesdays under Perfume Houses.
Note: top image is Wildwood 2003 [cropped] by Sebastien Guy at flickr; some rights reserved.
Great review, Robin
My fave beachy fragrances are Bobby Brown’s Beach and Beth Terry’s Mare. Sadly Mare is long gone, but I have a bottle with a small decant left, that I love to go sniff, from time to time..I wish she re-released her collection…Té is a wonderful tea fragrance, I wish I had a full bottle of
Oh..I spelled Bobbi’s name wrong..sorry, Bobbi
I miss Beth Terry too — especially that tea.
I stumbled upon a website that had a Té and Mare fragrance, but they wouldn’t ship outside US..if you want me to hit you up, let me know
Thank you, but no…it’s got to be pretty old at this point! I will only buy vintage for things I adore beyond category
Ah, makes sense
I’d include Clarins Eau Soliellante Sunshine fragrance…it has the oily warmth of sun lotion scent but with a bit more citrus and white flower. Makes a good summer evening body mist.
I need to try that one!
Am visiting family in northern England and was trying some frags at the Tom Ford counter when a lady came in desperate to buy a bottle of the new Soleil Blanc. The store had sold out & were also on their very last tester bottle & the lady was distraught as she has been in London the previous day and all the stores she had tried (Harvey Nichols etc) had also sold out. I found soleil blanc mildly pleasant but bland so I’m amazed it could sell out at the ridiculous£145 asking price for the smallest 50ml bottle!
Totally agree with your assessment. The whole Tom Ford thing still amazes me — he is a marketing genius.
I sometimes think you could put water in a TF bottle and put a Tom ford label on it and it would sell at £145 a bottle.
I heard that he’s planning to move into home fragrance later this year so god help us !
I think you are totally right. At any rate, he’s proven that you can make a basic light citrus and charge nearly anything you want for it so long as it’s in one of his apothecary bottles with his name on it.
Yankee Candle made a candle called “Summer Vacation” which evoked the beach well, to my nose.
Still long for Giorgio of Beverly Hills’ Ocean Dream. Would like to have Bronze Goddess Capri.
Bond No. 9 Hamptons and Montauk are great summer sea fragrances! So are Michael Kors Island and Pure White Linen Pink Coral.
I wish they’d do more Bronze Goddess flankers! And will have to look for that candle.
I think that is the flanker I wanted – it was quite nice. Regular Bronze Goddess is a bit too coconutty for me.
Or maybe it was the Soleil? No matter now since the only place to find it is eBay
odonata9: I don’t like coconut in my fragrances either. I don’t want to smell like suntan lotion. Capri has LOTV which is one of my favourite scents. I prefer the salty sea air.
I really have to try Terracotta. Embarrassing that I haven’t. My favorite sunscreen perfume remains Neroli 36 and I also love MiN’s Long Board. For a sandier beach, Carner Barcelona’s Costarela is lovely. For salt and sea, I still haven’t found anything to beat Sel Marin. I also love Fleur de Sel and it smells like summer, but not exactly the beach. I’m not sure why. I know there are others . . . !
I wish I’d bought Sel Marin early on. At least I do have a decant. Also love Fleurs de Sel. Agree, it’s not “beachy,” but rather more how I imagine cold UK coastal villages or salt marshes.
Ava Luxe used to make one like that. It was strongly reminiscent of the Pacific northwest beaches, all saltwater and seaweed and cold sea air.
Why early on – for price or formula or just wardrobe space? They do a travel set of three (darling) small bottles now though it seems to be out of stock.
http://www.jamesheeley.com/en/eau-de-parfum/91-sel-marin-travel-set.html
Apologies, they are in stock – you just have to click buy now on the 100ml Sel Marin and then it comes up as an option. 89€.
http://www.jamesheeley.com/en/eau-de-parfum/24-sel-marin.html
Well if it helps, I have not tried the MiN or the Costarela.
The two I really love are “Acqua di Sale” from Profumum Roma, which is the smell of having been in the sea – where the seawater meets the sand, and “Sables” by Annick Goutal which is the smell of where the sand meets the marram grass and spiky seaside plants of dry land.
I have, in my big bundle of samples, several seaside scents from Parfumerie Générale/Pierre Guillaume, Linari and Maria Candida Gentile, so by the end of Summer I may have a new favourite to add to the list. :^)
Oh, what is the seaside scent by MCG?
Finisterre is the obvious one, and I seem to remember that the backstory to the Flight of the Bumblebee trio is the Mediterranean littoral. (My memory was specifically that Syconium was a fig grove on the shoreline, but looking at Fragrantica it’s Kitrea where reviews mention, um, Calone, so maybe a no-no for you?)
Thanks!
I don’t have any summer beach perfumes, as MH Fleurs de Sel and VCA Midnight in Paris are more like quiet beaches in cooler weather.
And quiet beaches in cooler weather have their own sort of charm
Robin, I love today’s picture! I would have to say that of the beachy scents I’ve tried, I’d say that Terracotta is my fave. Should get a bottle of it one of these days. I do have a bottle of Dune, but for some reason, it doesn’t say “beach” or “ocean” to me.
I love that picture too…look at the others in the set. Don’t know if those are his kids, but fantastic pictures either way:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/webastien/albums/72157634734310143
I am obsessed with beachy fragrances and always enjoy them not only during summer time but also during colder months to cheer me up. My favorites Bronze Goddess, the original, Bond No. 9 Fire Island, Bobbi Brown Beach, CB I Hate Perfume At the Beach 1966, CB I Hate Perfume Mr. Hulot’s Holiday, The Different Company Sel de Vetiver, Demeter Salt Air, Heeley Sel Marin, Profumum Aqua di Sale, Comptoir Sud Pacifique Aqua Motu and even Jennifer Lopez Miami Glow. I have not tried Guerlain Terracotta yet. and I guess I will have to get a full bottle to join my collection soon. Looking forward to testing 4160 Tuesdays What I did on my holidays. The notes sound very interesting and appealing.
Oh, I should have mentioned Mr. Hulot’s Holiday, that is such a great scent. Miami Glow is also great fun, and can still be found at bargain prices.
I have some Miami Glow – it’s really nice.
I’m not really a beach person so I find it hard to think about this question. I guess tropical florals such as LesNez Manoumalia or AG Songes would be my idea of what to wear at an island resort, preferably at night. But I’m more likely to wear them snugged away indoors in late winter/early spring when it becomes appealing to think of a warmer clime. Jean Patou Chaldee is ideal for that, too.
BTW, just reading that article you tweeted about Roja Dove’s new perfume. Say what you will about Roja, but I love this quote:
“It [Britannia] is probably best used in the evenings by a mature man or woman who wants to make an impression—and to be asked, ‘What is that you’re wearing?’ It is not for a young person who has yet to develop the courage of his or her convictions.”
That is a nice quote, and I will not, in public, say what I will about Roja
Lolita Lempika L is a great scent that evokes the beach for me, but I’m pretty suggestable so that might have something to do with the sea-themed charms on the bottle.
Oh, that’s a good one! I don’t care if it’s just the bottle, either.
That was such great packaging.
That would have been perfect for this week’s challenge!
This one sounds like great fun, Robin!
So many great suggestions here … off the top of my head I’ll add Kenzo’s Summer, Yosh’s Ginger Ciao and Kerosene’s Unforsaken which all have a little bright kick to them to offset the ennervating effects of a day at the beach. If I’m in the mood to succumb, I also enjoy Terracotta Voile d’Ete.
Nice list! I want a bottle of Unforsaken.
Hands down, my favorite beachy scent is Bronze Goddess (especially the whipped body cream).
What I did On My Holidays is probably my favorite 4160 Tuesdays fragrance. I wear it often!
The best thing about summer are the summer scents. Lol!
I adore the whipped body cream, it’s better than the liquid fragrance IMHO.
I love What I Did On My Holidays. It’s minty, creamy, and slightly salty but very light and refreshing. I get the chemical blast, but it seems to reinforce the ethereal quality. It makes me think of water vapor. It’s one of the few perfumes that has a definite color, feel, and texture to me. I do have to be careful not to apply on skin over chemical sunscreen, though. I almost gifted my bottle until I discovered it was the combination that was so awful.
Other scents I associate with the beach are Acqua di Gio, Terracotta, Dame’s Gardenia, Debut and Wit, Corsica Furiosa, I’m sure I have others I can’t think of. I seem to like florals and minty stuff for the beach (if I’m ever actually dragged to the beach, that is).
How interesting about the sunscreen!
One of my favs for the beach is Courtesan. It might not invoke the beach for everyone but it has a summer vibe.
I don’t remember it making me think of the beach, but I probably don’t remember it as well as I should.
I agree with Jalapeno: Dune just does not say beach to me. Neither does Lolita Lempicka L in the fabulous blue bottle. Lys Mediterranee I find much too strong. The most perfect ocean scent I’ve found is Bulgari Aqua (the original). Don’t care for Terracotta at all. Too many white flowers, I guess.