Azuree Soleil – SCENTS OF SELF

I always knew that cold beaches existed, of course. I guess I just preferred to think of them as an unpleasant urban legend, like bonsai kittens or Chris Hemsworth’s marriage.

They're so cute together, too. YOU'RE KILLING ME, CHRIS. — They’re so cute together, too. YOU’RE KILLING ME, CHRIS.

That urban legend became cruel reality this past weekend, when my family moved University of San Francisco’s newest freshman into the dorms.

Now, my grandparents live in Orange County. I’ve spent 23 Chanukahs in California. I was pretty sure that California and I had an understanding, the understanding being that California is supposed to be warm. San Francisco is apparently not aware that it is part of California. I DID NOT LEAVE THE EAST COAST FOR 59°, SAN FRANCISCO.

Needless to say, San Francisco’s idea of a beach involves fog, wind, and shivering. We’re talking two sweatshirts, minimum; don’t even think about packing a bikini. So what do you spray on those two sweatshirts? A blog post is born! Allow me to recommend a few fragrances for un-beachy beaches.

Embrace The Cold

CB I Hate Perfume Mr. Hulot’s Holiday. Mr. Hulot’s Holiday was filmed in Saint-Nazarene, a French town on the chilly Atlantic coast of Brittany. Fittingly, the film’s namesake fragrance opts for a salty slap of seawater instead of the typical sunscreen note.

Gorilla Perfumes Furze. Furze, also known as gorse, are sweetly fragrant evergreens. Their bright yellow bushes bloom even during those legendary British winters.

Luckyscent Decennial Lys du Desert. A deliciously warm ambergris fragrance to counter the extreme cold of desert nights. Deserts are pretty much beaches, what with all the sand, right? Right.

In Denial

Kai. A few dabs of Kai transforms even the most subpar beach into Malibu. Cloudy skies? Cold sand? I’m sorry, I can’t hear you over all this gardenia.

Smell Bent St. Tropez Dispenser. The notes come straight from your beach bag: a streak of sunscreen, coconut from your beachside piña colada, and a little aloe vera for the inevitable sunburn.

Estee Lauder Azuree Soleil. Literal liquid sunshine. The dearly departed Azuree Soleil was the perfect blend of fresh coconut milk and tropical gardenias. Reincarnated every summer as Estee Lauder Bronze Goddess, but I still love the original best.

Do you have a favorite beach fragrance? Please feel free to share it with us in the comments!

Disclaimers: This post does not contain affiliate links. All fragrances pictured are my own purchases, much to my wallet’s dismay. Sand dollar comes straight from a San Francisco “beach”.

Thank you for your excellent suggestions for florals/citruses, brilliant readers! It turns out I do actually own at least one proper floral (Bath and Body Works splashes don’t count): a long-neglected bottle of Azuree Soleil Eau Fraiche Skinscent. The Azuree Soleil craze, headed by the once-great Beauty Addict, swept the fragrance world in 2006. Everyone wanted to get their hands on what was reputed to be the-beach-in-a-bottle.

So does AS live up to the massive hype? Well, I personally am delighted to rediscover it. Azuree Soleil is a joyful blend of gardenia and coconut notes. It is indeed beach-y, though it lacks the sunscreen note that many beach-y scents utilize. Azuree Soleil captures the idea of the beach beautifully- the glint of sunlight off crystal blue waters, blindingly white sand. The often dirtier and less pleasant reality is nowhere to be found. In other words, AS is more Bermuda than Ocean City. (If you’re dying to smell like Ocean City, which… why?, consider Bond No 9 Coney Island.)

Ocean City: Eau de shitty $6 funnel cake.

Sadly, Azuree Soleil is currently discontinued. If this news plunges you into the deepest depths of despair, take heart: Estee Lauder, in its wisdom, now offers “Bronze Goddess” as a seasonal release. I’ve never tried BG, but it is by all accounts extremely similar to AS. It’s also $32, y’all. The proud Estee Lauder tradition of great fragrances for great prices is a beautiful thing.