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The time is finally here. Vacations and I'm going away. But fret not. The PerfumeShrine has prepared a fabulous giveaway for our fabulous readers thanks to our resident sponsor the fabulous Jovan of Tijon Fragrance Lab and Boutique.
The contest:
Tell us about your favorite beach scent memory. It can be a story about your favorite beach fragrance, your favorite beach vacation or anything involving the beach and a vivid scent memory.
Contest is open to any Perfume Shrine member in the world! Contest ends August 14th. Winner will be announced on August 15th.
The prize:
The winner will receive a Tijon beach bag filled with all kinds of wonderful gifts from our Tijon boutique. Grand Prize Value: $500.00
Please note: this is NOT an ordinary beach tote bag. The Tijon beach tote folds out to become a beach blanket for two and includes 4 sand stakes so that the blanket stays put!
Kαλό καλοκαίρι! Have a great summer!
The contest:
Tell us about your favorite beach scent memory. It can be a story about your favorite beach fragrance, your favorite beach vacation or anything involving the beach and a vivid scent memory.
Contest is open to any Perfume Shrine member in the world! Contest ends August 14th. Winner will be announced on August 15th.
The prize:
The winner will receive a Tijon beach bag filled with all kinds of wonderful gifts from our Tijon boutique. Grand Prize Value: $500.00
Please note: this is NOT an ordinary beach tote bag. The Tijon beach tote folds out to become a beach blanket for two and includes 4 sand stakes so that the blanket stays put!
Kαλό καλοκαίρι! Have a great summer!
Καλό καλοκαίρι και καλές διακοπές Έλενα! Not participating in the draw, but as a memory nothing beats my 7-8 year old self at the beach in Limassol, playing in the sand, the smell of my mothers Coppertone suntan oil, the smell of salt in the humid air, and the smell of the food truck making hamburgers and mixed sandwiches. That was fun to me back then and it still is, the smell of carefree childhood!
ReplyDeleteI grew up in Newfoundland on the east coast of Canada: the beaches are shale and pebbles and grit, not soft white sand, but they are beautiful, and they are in your blood, the sight and the sound of them, and the smell, of iodiney kelp and dulse, of seawater and storm clouds and petrichor. I spent many childhood days digging for mussels on those beaches and I can conjure up the scent in an instant.
ReplyDeleteI love Taormine from Keiko Mecheri - it is not a popular scent but something in it reminds of spending my summers as a kid on the sea shore in Bulgaria. Can't put my finger on what notes trigger this memory.. we certainly don't grow lemons in Bulgaria but the citrusy - almond combination is a total time machine for me
ReplyDeleteMy memory is of the smell of the beach in Washington State, US. The beaches aren't what you usually picture when you think of the beach, crystalline white sand and turquoise waters. In Washington, at least some parts, there are waterlogged fallen trees, sand dollars and starfish, kelp and the rich salt smell of dark cold waters. There's the crisp evergreens nearby, and the bark of the Madrona tree that peels. It's lovely, and natural and fresh.
ReplyDeleteDir Dune is THE beach perfume, one from my childhood, the one i wore often even to the beach. It brimgs back memories of carefree youth...
ReplyDeleteWe. Spent a week in Jesolo, Italy every summer. We would rent a bungalow and spend allll day at the beach. I remember Coppertone in the brown bottle blended with the salty/fishy smell of the Adriatic. My parents let us have Gelato multiple times throughout the day and Apricot was my favorite flavor. Under our sun umbrella, my parents would always have a cooler of drinks and one of my favorites was tiny little bottles of italian apricot necktar, which smelled heavenly when the lid was popped! In the evenings, we would go back to the bungalow, shower and hit the boardwalk. Tired, sunburned and shiny from the Nivea lotion my mom rubbed on us. We would go to a pizzaria for the most delicious, thin crust pizza. Sunscreen, sea, apricots and pizza...I am back to being 10 years old, chasing the waves and ignoring my mother's admonitions to keep my sun hat on!
ReplyDeleteRockaway Beach in Brooklyn, New York is my childhood beach memory. A long boardwalk stretching,for a child,forever. The scents of brine-y seaweed, which could pop as there were bubbles in the strands of this magical stuff. Perfuming the air was the wood of the boardwalk baking in the sun and tar which coated the bottom of the light poles on it. There was the scent of zinc oxide on my nose, to prevent sunburn of course! Everyone used Coppertone, cream and oil, which, when mixed with seawater saltiness had a mesmerizing effect on me. Not far away, there was an amusement park and the wind blowing brought sweet vanilla scent of cotton candy punctuated by popcorn. Mom would make pepper and egg omelets stuffed into Italian bread and in the cooler with the sandwiches was cold lemonade. The combination of wood, salty surf, vanilla, Coppertone, peppers and lemons bring me right back to those acres of soft sand and those thrilling waves. Oh, and those beach roses, heaven!
ReplyDeleteI grew up on Florida's east coast, north of Sebastian Inlet. Back in those days it was wild and sparsely populated. Every morning in summer the family would go down to to the beach. My father fished in the surf while we dug for the crustaceans called "sand fleas" that he used for bait. I remember watching schools of pompano swimming through clear green waves, backlit by the sunrise. On bad days, the sand would sparkle with the bodies of thousands of tiny poisonous man of war jellies. When the adults weren't watching we would run along the tideline popping them with sticks - at our periI!
ReplyDeleteThe only beach vacation I can remember was when I was twelve and our family went to Long Beach California and I picked up some seashells and sand there to keep as a sentimental memory that our family vacation trip was at Long Beach.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was growing up, we had no money for fancy vacations but every year we went to Wildwood, New Jersey and rented a room in a boarding house (no air-conditioning) run by an Italian woman. We had to walk about about a mile to get to the beach laden with all our beach paraphernalia. Since that time I have been to beaches in Italy, Sicily, the Bahamas, St. Martins, California and Florida, but my fondest memories are from Wildwood, New Jersey.
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ReplyDeleteSorry. I forgot something! And have a wonderful vacation!!!
ReplyDeleteHere is my memory:
I grew up in a town which was five miles from the Atlantic Ocean. We spent every day at the beach when I was little. As I got older, I brought my own children to the same beach. The vivid smells were of Coppertone suntan lotion and Bain du Soleil (for the older members of the group) as we baked in the hot sun. This actually represents summer to me, and always has, all my life. The sudden brisk clarity of a dash into the ocean would create a swirl of exciting scents, as if I were a mermaid and truly lived there. I spent much of my childhood drawing mermaids and still do. They smell salty, fishy, and of lustrous pearls, I think.
Our ocean was apt to be very cold right into August. Emerging refreshed at noon, we would make the trek up to the hamburger stand. There were picnic tables you could sit at. Each of us would have a cheeseburger and a vanilla milkshake (I don't know how they did it but this burger stand made the most delicious food ever!). As the day ended, my family would return from the ever beautiful ocean, with the softest sand you can imagine, all over our arms and legs. We would take turns jumping in our shower, a cold water shower in our beach locker, screaming as the water got colder and colder (the warm sun gave the first people a bit of a break). Then we'd use Johnson's Baby Powder in our sneakers so they wouldn't stick to our bare feet as we put them on. We would go home with wet hair and very tired eyes. When night drew near my sister and I would try to catch as many fireflies as we could and put them in a jar, but just for a while before we let them go. I remember we always fell asleep very quickly under our cotton sheets, with fragrant climbing roses scratching at our windows in the light breeze.
My grandmother had a house not very far from the beach. Visiting her always meant going to the beach. She was a very proper older lady who had shielded her skin from the sun all of her life. One day, I must have been about eight, my mother and I convinced her to accompany us to the beach. My grandmother came with us. She had on a large hat,sunglasses, white gloves, a long sleeved shirt-waist(as she called it), stockings, a longish skirt, and a parasol which she carried with her onto the sand. Of course, my mother had to carry one of those wooden chairs because grandmother would never actually sit on the sand. Grandmother sat down on her chair, held her parasol and regally surveyed the ocean as though it were her private domain. We had a hamper with our picnic lunch and an actual table cloth to spread on the sand. A great memory. Many thanks for the opportunity and have a wonderful vacation.
ReplyDeleteA family vacation to Hilton Head, South Carolina. I sat on the beach alone, and just watcehd the waves of the Atlantic Ocean crashing on the beach. There was a most refreshing salt breeze the scent of which I will never forget. The sky was the color of tarnished silver and at times you could not tell where the ocean ended and the sky began. It was invigorating and inspirational. It caused me to become a poet at the age of 14. That never has left me, and I am now 62. Thank you for taking me back there.
ReplyDeleteSeveral people above have listed the same scent that I remember. That is Coppertone sun tan lotion. That was before SPF numbers were assigned. It was especially enticing after baking in the sun for awhile. My brother and I loved the scent so much that after showers, we used it for fragrance. I also recall the scent of Sea and Ski which offered more sun protection. To recall the summer days, I just had to open one of these bottles and get a whiff. If I were going out in the evening, I would splash myself with Blue Grass after my shower. Loved those summer smells.
ReplyDeleteThank you for the opportunity!
Love Tijon, I have 2.0 and it's my favourite to wear when I go camping. My favourite beach memory was from this spring, I went on holiday in Tel Aviv and spent a day lounging on the luxurious and HOT sand, soaking the Israeli sun and eating ice cream. I wore Replica's Beach Walk during the entire trip so now I am reminded of the wonderful time whenever I smell it!
ReplyDeleteGrowing up staunchly middle class, we had a bizarre connection to a life of luxury in the form of my father's godmother, who was, in fact, a billionaire. Or rather, married to one. But what was the difference, really- when it meant she had her own beach house on Sea Island, GA. I wish I had appreciated this access to such luxury- I'm sure my college age self, living off ramen and canned soup, would have practically fainted at the thought. But I really didnt know how special it was. We went up until I was about 9ish and she sold the place. Up until then, one or two weeks each year were spent at Sea Island. The white sand under our toes, the smell of the seawater, the vivid smell of sunscreen wafting off our salty skin. But more exciting to my young self was the house next door. I never found out who owned it. But it was surrounded by what, to my young eyes, appeared to be, by all extents and purposes, a full fledged jungle. The house was not visible from the road or anywhere else (at least not to someone who was 4 feet tall), and all you could see was a solid mass of green- twisting roots and plants. We were told very explicitly: NEVER go into that garden (I can only surmise today that someone extremely powerful must have owned it). One day, I got the courage to explore it. My older sister and I headed in, immediately submerged by the darkness, the solid twisting vines cutting off the bright Georgia sun. We stumbled around, our pulses racing at the idea of being in such a forbidden place. But what I remember most is the scent. The smell of moss and wet earth, mixed with the unmistakable fragrance of the ocean. Older experiences in places like Big Sur have made me realize that forests and beaches can, in fact, go hand in hand. But at the time, this seemed like such a shocking, wild combination. The lushness, the smell of greenery all around. And still- the sunscreen wafting from our skin, the calls of seagulls above us, the wind ruffling the tops of the leaves and bearing with it the scent of salt water. It felt like a secret place, like a holy place. After a few minutes, my sister got nervous, and truthfully, there wasn't much to do in there. So we headed back out. But I will never forget those moments in the garden, nor the smell of the place- the mustiness of decaying greenery, mixed with the pungent freshness of seawater. The smell of ocean breezes and forest decay, combined. To my childhood self it was magical. Who knows- I might go back now and find it was a serious of potted plants, suddenly tiny to my adult frame. But that memory, the vivid smell of it, has always stayed with me, as tempting now as it was then.
ReplyDeleteWe always go to the beach where my father grew up, and it smells so fresh and clean -- so Mediterraneo by Carthusia [we got it when we went to Capri] is what I always wear. It almost mirrors the smell in the air somehow. [When I was very little I wore a 'sea salt' scent when there, if you can believe it!] The land by the beach had dunes and those thin green plants that live by them, so we always walked out by them, and it was so silent and lovely. It was a very beautiful place for a kid to see.
ReplyDeletewill always have the fondest memory of a saturday morning on hermosa beach, ca. we had the beach to ourselves and a lone surfer. the scent was the ocean and the sand and it was one of those perfect moments. thanks for the great draw!!
ReplyDeleteGrowing up in Mumbai's swanky sea-facing Marine Drive belt while the rest of the city struggles with concrete claustrophobia, I always knew the sea was much more than just another view.
ReplyDeleteApart from offering a welcome breather in the everyday routine; for many of my city people, the sea is a breather away from their cramped one-room match-box homes (shared by their 5+ member family) where they can finally get a little bit of privacy to canoodle their own spouses!
The beach hawkers know this well and tap their targets with affordable indulgences like a chilled colourful "gola" (hand-made ice-popsicle) or "kulfi" (hand-churned seasonal ice-cream), freshly roasted corn on the cobs slathered with spicy masala and zingy lime, refreshing tender coconut water to beat the heat amongst a stress-banishing "champi" mustard, sweet jasmine "gajras" floral hair accessories or coconut oil body massage and peeled organic sugarcane chunks!
Which is why my favourite beach scents are heavily laden with the melange of nostalgia, where all these incredible fragrances stir up a vivid peek into a life...giving me an opportunity to imagine how the other lives.
My favorite beach memory is when my children were little, we stayed for the month of August in Brigantine, NJ. We had sold our house, and were moving into a new house, but could not get in until September. It was so much fun, going to the beach every single day. If not to the beach, then to the bay, with a playground. I love the scent and air around the ocean. The little house we rented had beautiful, wonderfully scented roses all around.
ReplyDeleteIn the mid-70's I was fortunate enough to spend a winter in the Caribbean and ended up on St. Barths for a few months. At that time, the island was virtually undiscovered and the lodgings and food were dirt cheap and the beaches empty and gorgeous. My scent memory is of lying on a pink sand beach with the ice blue water just a few feet away, no bathing suit since I was the only person there. The mineral earthy smell of the sand, the ozonic water smell, and my skin covered with the original Bain De Soleil, that perfectly french aroma of floral contained in an orange geleé from the dimpled thin metal tube with the orange cap. Paradise!
ReplyDeleteColor in sky, Prussian blue
ReplyDeleteScarlet fleece changes hue
Crimson ball sinks from view
Wear your love like heaven ...
Love - the cologne of my teenage years. Every summer from 1969 - 1972 spent in Manasquan, New Jersey with love's lemon and the blissful beach as the backup drop for my teenage angst. I can conjur up the fragrance just by singing this song, and it's such a wonderful memory.
I'm not eligible for the contest, as I am the President of Tijon, but I wanted to share my beach scent memory. It never leaves me, even after all these years.
Fragrance is like Magic, a whiff of mystery that stays with you forever.
I remember seeing the sea for the first time when I was five or six. I'd been aching to get to the beach, with all the sand and the water, but had no idea that the water would be sooo huuuuge. I don't think I'll ever forget walking through the dunes, smelling the salt and the hot sand, and catching the first peek of the blue vastness. And, of course, my mum giving my aunt a conspiratorial nudge over my wide-eyed reaction.
ReplyDeleteIn June, when I was 6 months pregnant, we helped my mother in law box up her beach house. It was a sad week, the last of our annual pilgrimages to her beach house. She was moving to Arizona-the desert.
ReplyDeleteWeeks after we got back, I pulled out a T-shirt that I had washed when I was there, and it still held on to the saltiness that was in the water, the brine of ocean life mixed with residue of sunblock and sweat that just never came out of the fibers and a dash of sunshine baked in. It made me happy.
It reminded me of the time when my husband and I first went to a beach together in Massachusetts, when we knew we would be together but didn't know it yet. It was the first time we ever drove far out of the city, to a place I had known from my childhood. It felt like a grown up thing to do, to be able to visit a childhood spot. We took my rusty old car up to Crane beach in May. By the time we got there is was just past mid-day, the sun was hazy like it was waking up from spring to summer and the tide was extremely low. All there was were shallow pools of water against white white sand, and not another soul in sight. It was humid and I can almost taste the salt and the brine in the air still. I picked up giant 10 foot long pieces of kelp that were washed up in a recent storm and just started running with them like kites. They trailed long after me, and I could not stop laughing with glee watching them fly behind me.
My now husband had taken pictures at the time, I remember seeing them, and wish I can dig them up but those files have been long lost after multiple transfers of SD cards to laptops to computers. But if I ever said "remember that day at the beach" that will be the day he thinks of now.
We made our first scent memory that day. When we walk out of our building now in front of the Hudson, on a rainy or humid day and we get a whiff of water or dankness in the air, I know we both think of that day still.
Just the smell of sea salt in the air is all it takes for the relaxation to set in!
ReplyDeletezanes_mommy08(at)yahoo.com
When I was very young my family used to travel to Monaco every summer and our hotel was right alongside the Mediterranean. The views of the water and surrounding towns was beautiful and you could smell the seawater in the air for miles. When you enter the hotel the scent of the flowers in the lobby blended perfectly with the salty air and created a strong memory that I have never forgotten. Anytime I smell a similar scent I am taken back to running down to the beach with my family and playing for hours under the sun.
ReplyDeleteI remember the smell of coconut suntan lotion when we used suntan lotion instead of sunscreen. I remember looking for SPF4 instead of SPF 30 or 50. Wow, how times have changed!
ReplyDeleteMy favorite memory took place one summer on Narragansett Beach, Rhode Island. I have four boys and we went to the beach every day, weather permitting. At the time the boys were into surfing and the surf at this beach was the perfect place to catch a wave. It was late afternoon, time to leave.The boys were heading up the beach, walking towards me, carrying their surfboards,four abreast. The waves were crashing behind them and the smell of the salt water was in the air.
ReplyDeleteI took a mental snapshot of them. To this day, whenever I smell the salty ocean air, I picture this moment. Priceless
I will always remember the scent of the super salty ocean and young sweet coconuts of the privately owned beach in the Philippines I got to spend some time on after burying my mother in April 2013. The salty wind blew through my hair and I was laughing taking selfies honoring her memory. A few moments later, a lacy blue dragonfly landed on my foot and would not leave. I stared at it in awe at its beauty. I've never seen a dragonfly so beautiful and calm. It literally looked like it was made of expensive blue lace. I knew it was her. Ever since then, dragonflies and the smell of salty air and coconuts will always remind me of her.
ReplyDeleteI loved growing up on the coast in San Diego. The smell of coconut always takes me back to those days with sandy toes and lazy days.
ReplyDeleteHope everyone is having a wondeful summer. I love spending time with my family on the beach each summer. Our favorite beach for swimming is in Carlsbad, not too far from La Jolla, and we spend a week there each year. But I especially love solitary walks on the sand in the early morning. It is lovely to stroll along with just the water, sand, and birds for company, when the tide is low and the waves are calm.
ReplyDeleteThe smell of food cooking sitting on a terrace overlooking the beach :)
ReplyDeleteGrowing up inland, the scents I remeber from include flowers, summer cookouts, and, most notably, suntan lotion. Even though I am old enough to remember a time when suntan lotions were not SPF rated (and few companies produced them) they were in use and our summer gear bag was laden so laden with traces of that scent that just opening it took me away to summer by the pools and lakes of my youth.
ReplyDeleteYEARS later, we live in New England, and one Winter, a party was planned...an indoor BEACH party was the theme. Obviously the heat was turned up, a wading pool was plopped on beach blankets, someone was running a grill outside the door, drinks were summer themed as was the dress folks were wearing. I went to the ladies room and opened up bottle of untan lotion the same brand I had used as a girl(had to search to find one in the stores), and when I came out, folks nearby would sniff the air, and the comments started "Who's wearing suntan lotion?" "Oh man, that takes me back...I remember..." and the stories flowed. It wasn't happening until that scent stirred peoples memories. A lovely time had by all.
I used to go to the only beachresort in Eritrea which was located near the town of Massawa. We would drink cardamom tea and eat fresh fruits like mango and cactusfruit. Then an old man died and we found his body in the water.
ReplyDeleteThe story that I'm gonna tell you it has no end..
ReplyDeleteBack in years 2000, I was 20 years old, so me and my friends we planned to go for the summer holidays to the sea, Black Sea-Mamaia, our famous beach pearl of Romania.
In our long journey by train one of my best friend told me about a special gift that she early received, a perfume and a box of chocolates Galaxy Jewels, from a boy who brought it from Kuweit.
She open the little bottle and the magic it happend.. I closed my eyes and I was speechless..it made me dream..like the Orient gates were opened.. after a moment all I could say was: Extraordinary! My friend knew and told me that she had the same reaction.
After I used it was more stunningly.
At the beach we all wear this perfume every day leaving aside others perfumes that we brought with us, it disarms you quickly. In the holiday I had with me Davidoff-Cool Water and Estee Lauder-Pleasures.
The interesting part is that I did not know what kind of perfume is, not writing the name, it was an essence oil in a small bottle of 7 ml with a golden cap.
The only detail that my friend remembers is that it was packed in an orange little box(that she threw to the bin) never imagining that we seek lifetime this perfume.
If I could associate a color for that smell it was definetly orange just like the warm sun of summer afternoons.
I will always remember the fun and adventurous holiday with my friends and the same time that fragrance that always accompanied us day and night.
For many years I searched in stores this perfume and I did not find it while descovering other beauties, but none to equal him.
Five years ago my sister called me and told me very happy to have discoverd the scent I was looking for, it was Burberry London for women(1995) and she bought it for me.
Well..definetly it's not the same..but it has the body of that Burberry without any trace of alcool, more well rounded and warm like Ambre des Merveilles-Hermes with the sunny part of Supreme Bouquet-Yves Saint Laurent and the astronomical projection and longevity of Alien Essence Absolue(even if it has nothing to do with it) :)
This smell haunt me for many years, I just can not forget it.
I make a conclusion to my story: this misterious perfume has taught me that in life we all know the final destination but it's nice to discover new things and enjoy what we have.
Now I no longer wonder what it is, I do not care, I enjoy live the present with good and with bad.
Have a great summer, too! :-)
Growing up in the northeast in NY and then in Ct does not lend itself to getting to the beach very often. The winters are long and cold and the summers are short. The one special memory that I have and carry with me always are the wonderful times spent at the beach. The amazing smells of the seashore are always my favorite fragrance ever.. Whether it be the NJ Shore, the Ct Shore, Maine , Cape Cod , St Martiin (which is always a family favorite). The smell of sun tan lotion mixed with the smell of the salty sea air and salt water always makes me smile. Whenever I'm stressed or need a break I always close my eyes and try to smell the seashore and it calms me. They say your sense of smell is your strongest sense and I believe it because when I take a deep breath in and imagine my happy place I can always smell the beach. There is no other place on earth quite like it.
ReplyDeleteGrowing up in New England with long cold winters and short summers does lend itself to much beach time. But we always make a huge effort to get some seashore into our year somehow. The beach is more then tanning and swimming, the fragrances and aromas that come from the beach are so ingrained in my memory as happy times. The smell of the ocean, the salty air and suntan lotion all mixed together create an amazing treat for our noses. They say that our sense of smell is our strongest sense and I believe that because whenever i am stressed out or need to relax I think of my wonderful times at the beach. The time that sticks out especially for me are when my family and I went to Wildwood NJ, we would leave the night before check in and drive down just to be closer to the beach. Once we got near the beach the humidity and salty air would smell amazing and we would know vacation was starting. We would call our friends and tell them we were close by and the excitement would start just from the smell in the air.. Of course the week was always to short but the smells from the beach each year are something we will never forget.
ReplyDeleteWow, this is very tempting contest. Please count me in! I will spend vacation on the beach in Australia in this year in November and if I win, I will probably have a supply of beach related items ;-)Now I am wearing Hermes Eau des Merveilles that also contains a sea breeze/ salt accord. Very unique scent, though.
ReplyDeleteSummer in New England…days at the beach filled with the tropical scent of suntan lotion and gooey peanut butter and fluff sandwiches heated up by the sun! I loved getting home and smelling the seaweed and salt in the shower, then slathering the cocoa butter body lotion on my sun-kissed skin...wonderful!
ReplyDeleteHere is my memory, Kauai, 2000
ReplyDeleteMy best friend Diana, the most beautiful, elegant, and creative person I know, had just gone through a divorce. It had taken a toll on her and in the process, she had lost herself. She needed a break and she needed to be reminded of who she really was, pre-divorce. I am known for my sense of adventure and I love to find little out of the way places off the beaten track. I found us a bed and breakfast in Kauai. The owners had transformed it from a monastery into a B&B. I booked it for two weeks and simply let my best friend know we were headed to Kauai to stay in a monastery - for some reason I had forgotten to mention that it was now a b&b, so she was under the impression that we would be working and meditating the entire time, kind of like being in an ashram. She always goes along with my crazy ideas, so she just packed, not saying a word. When we got there, it was even more beautiful than I could have imagined. The building was old and the walls smelled still smelled like incense from the years of housing monks. The incense, combined with the beach breeze blowing in the windows, the frangipane trees growing outside and the palm trees, it smelled heavenly.
We were the only guests in this large facility, and we had the entire beach, the view, and the hosts who were also artists, all to ourselves. We spent mornings swimming and laughing, afternoons exploring and eating, and evenings sitting outside having campfires under the stars. Day by day, my best friend came back; it was wonderful to see her smile again. To this day, that smell of frangipane and palm in the evening makes me remember that trip.
When I was young, we used to live on a Greek island during the summer. On an island full of pine trees, with wonderful clean waters, beaches of astonishing beauty, and of course fig trees... Later in my life, I visited lots of other places during summertime, but everytime I smell pine, figs or driftwood I instantly go back to the island of my childhood...
ReplyDeleteMy favorite beach scent memory is from September 2009. This was the year I moved to Windansea Beach, La Jolla California from New York City. My niece Lauren came to visit me from Dallas. She is more like a sister to me than a niece as we are five years apart. We had so much catching up to do since she is a busy mom and school principal and she has little time to relax. We started with a cup of coffee on the beach at 8 am and we talked and laughed together until the sun set in that very spot. We have never had another day like that together although we have tried. Life is busy for her with career and family demands. I often sit at the same spot on the beach and drink my coffee and remember her and wish she were near when I smell coffee mixed with sand and sea.
ReplyDeleteBeware of Greeks bearing gifts?! ;) I do not particularly like the Atlantic Ocean, which I live near, but I love the Pacific, both in California and Hawaii. I really love it in Hawaii - the different shades of blue and turquoise water, the smell of tropical flowers in the air - relaxing, laying on the beach, going for leisurely swims. Wonderful.
ReplyDeleteA fleeting whiff of someone's something on a London bus yesterday beamed me straight back to Catalina Beach Club, Atlantic Beach, New York…circa 1975, Where I spent childhood summers playing in the sand at the feet of ladies who wore Bain de Soleil ("for that St Tropez tan"), Campari- Orange goo that oozed seductively in a perfectly formed worm from an expensive-looking thick plastic tube. This was probably before SPF, and definitely the opposite of sun protection. It was smeared zealously over the faces and chests of ladies who used reflectors to perfect their tans - imagine a triptych of aluminium foil, unfolded and held strategically to capture the rays and aim them straight at you for maximum impact). The aroma was one part Vaseline, one part something absolutely indescribable, and definitely not coconut or pineapple or anything you would associate with typical sun tan lotion - for that is actually what it was, meant entirely too transform the wearer to a dark, luscious and greasy caramel. It was utterly … delicious and sophisticated and hot, hot, hot. I have not smelled this in years and I have no idea if it is still made, I just wish I had figured out Who was wearing something so similar on the bus, I would have followed them.
ReplyDelete