Experience the scent of summer any time of the year with these ocean fragrances that recall sunshine, sand, and the sea. This crop of fresh, aquatic perfumes comes with a modern update—think watery notes paired with velvety florals that recall coastal landscapes and bright solar accords. Whatever ocean-scented fragrance you’re after, these will certainly take you there.
1 / 5
Diptyque Do Son
For Diptyque co-founder Yves Coueslant, summers spent in Do Son in Vietnam’s Ha Long Bay meant a childhood enveloped in sea breezes that carried the heady, spicy trail of tuberoses, orange blossom and jasmine. A sensual scent with a decidedly fresh and airy marine accord, Do Son is a tender ode to French Indochina.
Diptyque Do Son, $246 for 100ml eau de parfum, available at escentials
2 / 5
Jo Malone London Sea Daffodil
Inspired by the Mediterranean summer when languid days diffuse into sultry evenings, Sea Daffodil is a luminous cologne that draws from the rare white sea daffodils along the shores of southern Italy. Here, the scent is dressed in floral notes of radiant ylang ylang, warm vanilla and creamy sandalwood. Spritz on and dolce far niente.
Jo Malone London Sea Daffodil, $158 for 50ml eau de toilette, available at Sephora
3 / 5
Giorgio Armani Privé Cyprès Pantelleria EDT 100ml
In a tribute to the coasts of Pantelleria in Italy, this dreamy scent offers sunshine, sea spray and the sparkling Mediterranean light warming rugged volcanic rocks in a bottle. As the boundaries between sea and land blur, this otherworldly perfume entices with a fresh aquatic heart and citric notes of mandarin, bergamot, cedar and floral neroli. The aquatic accord of clary sage and cypress is bolstered by patchouli, green vetiver and oak musk, which evoke a woody foam sensation. Allow your senses to be enveloped in the marine freshness of this restorative scent.
Giorgio Armani Privé Cyprès Pantelleria, $212 for 100ml eau de toilette, available at iShop Changi
4 / 5
Jean Paul Gaultier La Belle Fleur Terrible
“It’s a slightly aquatic, incredibly carnal, powdery fragrance. The blossoms herald the sensuality of vanilla, which offers this floral bouquet its comforting, sensuous blanket,” says perfumer and creator of the scent, Quentin Bisch. Swim up to this lagoon-blue bottle dressed in an embroidered floral necklace to spritz on this fresh yet passionate potion that bursts in a wild bouquet of irises and sensual vanilla.
Jean Paul Gaultier La Belle Fleur Terrible, $208 for 100ml eau de parfum, available at Tangs
5 / 5
L’Eau d’Issey Eau & Magnolia
The force and freshness of water meets the utter femininity of magnolia. Created by Daphné Bugey, this elemental fragrance draws on the slip of water against the skin with an airy infusion of flowers alongside energetic cedarwood and an addictive sandalwood base. The secret is Bugey’s use of Aquozone, an innovative synthetic that is at once aquatic and floral, akin to velvety dewdrops with hints of bergamot and sensual neroli.
Issey Miyake L’Eau d’Issey Eau&Magnolia, $140 for 50ml eau de toilette, available at Sephora
