It’s full-on summer in my part of the world, and this Friday’s community project is “wear something beachy, or anything you think of as ‘a vacation in a bottle,'” so here I am with two reviews of fragrances that fit this description. As I noted around this time last year, I’m not much of a summer person, but I’m very fond of the sub-genre of beachy perfumes. Here are two I’ve been enjoying in recent weeks.
I bought a bottle of Sunspel Sea Moss at the legendary Liberty department store in London back in March, because I hadn’t been there in twenty years and the exchange rate was very much in my favor and I learned that Lyn Harris (formerly of Miller Harris, currently of Perfumer H) had created this fragrance. The fact that I’d never heard of Sunspel, an upscale British sportswear brand, didn’t really enter into the decision. Sunspel describes Sea Moss, its third fragrance (launched in 2022), as “redolent of wildflowers, cedars and a salty-sea breeze. . . as dynamic as the coastline that inspired it.” That would be the British coastline, which I haven’t personally visited, although I can believe that it does indeed exude aromas of lavender and rose and cedar and salty sea breezes (the notes of this fragrance) at various locales.
I’d describe Sea Moss as a “marine Eau de Cologne,” with a quick note of lemon introducing its herbal, mossy heart. It evokes sea grass and driftwood and mossy stones under a cloudy sky, and there’s some kind of sneaky ambergris-like note in the base that provides a bit of grit and the faintest hint of sweat. It’s definitely a lightweight fragrance that wears more like an Eau de Toilette than an Eau de Parfum, so it can be applied liberally; it’s definitely gender-neutral. For all these reasons, I’m wearing it regularly during a very warm and rainy week when I need something to counteract the humidity but I’m not feeling cheery enough for a more traditional citrus Eau de Cologne.
For something a little brighter and warmer, there’s Un Été, the latest fragrance from Obvious Parfums. Un Été was developed by perfumer Meabh McCurtin and was reportedly inspired by matcha latte and by sunscreen on warm skin after a day at the beach, with notes of ginger, tangerine, mandarin, matcha, orange flower, maté, vanilla bean, tonka bean and Peru balsam. I’m not really a fan of matcha in “real life,” but I do appreciate green tea as a note in perfumery. Here, the matcha accord is combined with citrus (more bergamot than tangerine, to my nose) and creamy notes in a way that feels casual and smooth.
In its longer dry down, Un Été is a very sheer summer gourmand with a nutty-sweet tonka note and a perfect “summer vanilla” finish. It works well as a fantasy of an ideal beach-vacation day (a “sacred interlude,” as Obvious calls it), and it would be perfect for cocktails on a summer evening, but it definitely does not need to be restricted to summertime wear.
I’m looking forward to reading everyone else’s beachy and/or vacation picks soon!
Sunspel Sea Moss is available as 100 ml Eau de Parfum ($175) via the Sunspel website. Obvious Parfums Un Été is available as 100 ml Eau de Parfum ($140) via Luckyscent and the Obvious Parfums website.