Jo Malone London Wood Sage & Sea Salt is the best beach perfume. This perfume is woody and salty. Most importantly, it’s a high-end interpretation of a perfume that smells like the beach with a lasting smell.
A beachy perfume is incredibly hard to find. Most store clerks will recommend aquatic perfumes or other tropical perfumes as this is what they know. But a beach perfume has to encompass that feeling of being on the beach.
If you’ve seen Seinfeld, you know Kramer initially had the idea of a cologne that smells like the beach. As it turned out, it wasn’t a bad idea at all.
8 Best Perfumes That Smell Like The Beach
A beach scent can be interpreted as a direct scent to mimic the beach or a partial scent that only slightly resembles the scents you’d encounter on a beach. The following perfumes are all skillful interpretations of these 2 fragrance currents.
1. Jo Malone London Wood Sage & Sea Salt
Wood Sage and Sea Salt is a top beach scent perfume. This Christine Nagel 2014 creation is unisex so it works both for you and your partner.
Most importantly, it’s the best beachy perfume that encompasses the UK coastline. Not as hot as Hawaii and not as cool as Icelandic coasts, UK’s coastline is temperate to cool in the morning. This is when you can best smell those air salts and the driftwood while walking down the beach.
This interpretation is a bit more elegant than other beaches perfumes as it’s a bit more subtle.
You get whiffs of the beach when walking down the street even when you think it’s completely gone from your skin.
As a beach walk perfume, it comes with sea salt notes, some of the best we’ve seen.
Sage and grapefruit are also there.
Ambrette and seaweed are intense notes of the beach walk perfume as well.
The seaweed note is superb as well with mild hints of eucalyptus and sandalwood at times.
Simple but complex at the same time, this perfume was simply impossible to replicate as I haven’t smelled any decent Wood Sage & Sea salt dupe.
Its lasting power is not the best, but it seems a bit underwhelming as it’s not a perfume you buy for amazing projection and compliments.
Pros
- A true beach smelling perfume from the first spray
- Different than generic ocean scents
- A unisex beach cologne that lasts up to 6 hours
Cons
- Not the best projection
2. Amouage Beach Hut Man
It was only the price that put Beach Hut Man in second place on our list of the best perfumes that smell like the beach. This Elise Benat Amouage creation is complex, high-end, and unique. Someone said it’s a cologne for men that smells like the beach while away from the sea while also being perfectly blended with the environment while at the beach.
If you have fond memories of the time in the sun, this can transport you back to those fond moments.
The woody aromatic beach scent uses high-quality notes and it will be a step up from almost all other designer perfumes you might have in your collection.
More masculine than feminine, Beach Hut Man debuts with a very good mint note mixed with galbanum and orange blossom.
Ivy, vetiver, and moss are its mid accords.
Woody notes, myrrh, and patchouli are its closing notes.
As with almost all Amouage perfumes, it has a distinct twist. This perfume comes with strong green notes as it almost feels there’s a long grass pasture nearby. This makes it a bit more interesting when worn outside of the beach.
Packed in an artistic bottle, Amouage’s Beach Hut Man lasts around 6 hours with a couple of sprays.
I wouldn’t say you can overspray this perfume as its strong notes such as its mint are still going to be strong even with 1-2 sprays.
Pros
- Refreshing green undertones
- Oriental myrrh vibe
- An exotic beach scent interpretation
Cons
- It changes with the weather
3. Guerlain Terracotta Le Parfum
This artistic beach perfume from Guerlain only offers mild impressions that you’re actually at the beach. Still, if you love subtle perfumes for women, it can be the right choice for you.
Released in 2014, Terracotta Le Parfum isn’t an unknown perfume. Quite many women know about it.
Some expected it to be that beach perfume scent that is there in your face. But it’s rather more subtle.
Honest and even fancy, this perfume could be described as sweet floral with coconut undertones.
It has a certain tropical quality about it but that’s not the main theme here. It’s all about the jasmine and the richness of ylang-ylang. As a true Guerlain perfume, it has its strong points even when compared to perfumes 3 times as expensive.
A top tiare flower note opens the scent with coconut and bergamot.
Jasmine, ylang-ylang, and orange blossom are its mid notes.
Vanilla and musk are its base notes.
Pros
- One of the most qualitative jasmine notes out there
- It smells like sunkissed skin
- Very feminine and posh
Cons
- A bit too subtle to some women
4. Carner Barcelona Costarela
Costarela is yet another nearly perfect choice if you’re after a very quintessential beachscape perfume.
It immediately transports you to that beach walk vibe. It has saltiness and a beach note in it. Both of these are photorealistic which also means they come off as synthetic at times.
But this is just the fragrance for those who don’t like beach flower perfumes. It only comes with a bit of spice from the bergamot and saffron on the opening. Sea notes and sand notes make up its mid accords. The omnipresent ambroxan is in its base notes together with Virginia cedar and amber notes.
As a unisex perfume, it can be a top choice for both sexes. Men might be a bit more familiar with it as it’s often mentioned in best colognes for men lists. But as a cologne that smells like the beach, it’s quite hard to match.
Quite distinct compared to other marine scents, this perfume transports you to that special holiday beach in your memory. At times, it changes to a niche-level fragrance. Stepping away from the traditional white florals and aquatic perfumes for the summer, this is the fragrance to mention when someone asks you what’s the difference between aquatic perfumes and perfumes that smell like the beach.
One of the main reasons it’s not higher up the list is its longevity. This perfume only lasts about 2 hours on the skin. Given its daring notes, there are not many places for higher longevity expectations.
Pros
- Very authentic DNA
- Very good during the day
- Made for both men and women
Cons
- You need to like ambroxan to truly love it
5. Creed Virgin Island Water
This classic unisex summer scent is not a perfume that smells like tan lotion but one that goes well with a pina colada on a beach.
Made with some of the best-quality ingredients we’ve seen from Creed, Virgin Island Water makes you dream about a holiday in a resort. It has all of the makings of a great perfume for the summer.
Coconut is dominant and this is what gives it its tropical vibe together with lime, bergamot, and Sicilian mandarin.
Ginger, ylang-ylang, Indian jasmine, and hibiscus are its mid notes.
White rum, sugar cane, and musk are its base notes.
I’d say the best time to wear this perfume is when you’re at the coast enjoying a day out. It would also work well if you like water sports or if you’re on a boat or a cruise. It might also work as a sole holiday perfume when you’re visiting hot climates.
Longevity isn’t the best here but the notes are typical to a scent profile of the summer, so there’s no much else Cred could have done here.
Pros
- Dominated by coconut
- It resembles a pina colada
- 4-hours longevity
Cons
- The bergamot note is too intense
6. Tom Ford Eau de Soleil Blanc
The Blanc version of Eau de Soleil is intense. It resembles the scent of a suntan lotion and it’s the beachy perfume you can confidently blind buy both as a woman or as a man.
This scent is equally a sun scent and a beach scent as it is a perfume that smells like suntan lotion. It excels in hot weather where it has an uplifting effect. It would be hard to see a person sad on a beautiful sunny day and this is the exact effect this perfume goes for.
If you’ve had Tom Ford perfumes before, you need to know there’s a level of elegance to this perfume. Yes, it’s made for the summer. But at the same time, it has the same elegance you’d expect to see a person dressed up during the summer.
Many people expect this beach cologne to be dominated by coconut. This isn’t the case. Citruses and florals are at least as important. But a lot is going on with it.
Bitter orange, neroli, pistachio, citron, bergamot, cardamom, petitgrain, pink pepper, and caraway are its opening notes.
It settles to tuberose, orange blossom, jasmine, ylang-ylang, and galbanum.
Coconut vanilla, tonka bean, benzoin, and amber are its base accords.
Pros
- It lasts around 4 hours
- Made with an uplifting effect
- Very solar
Cons
- The coconut note is weak in cool weather
7. Aerin Hibiscus Palm
Creamy, floral, and tropical, Hibiscus Palm is the perfume you need to try if you want white and yellow florals in your beachy scent for the summer.
But this perfume is somewhat similar to Tom Ford’s Eau de Soleil but without the unisex appeal. It’s a beach perfume for women with a touch of femininity.
Ylang-ylang, hibiscus, palm, lotus, and ginger are its top notes.
Frangipani and white florals make their way as it settles.
Coconut milk, vanilla, and musk are the base notes of this perfume that smells like sunscreen.
Pros
- Highly feminine and uplifting
- It usually lasts 5 hours
- Made with a tropical palm note
Cons
- A bit too similar to Eau de Soleil Blanc
8. Zoologist Squid
Zoologist was always one of those perfume brands connected to emotions. Squid is a special type of aquatic scent from Zoologist, maybe the first one from the Canadian house.
Squid is a distinct type of aquatic perfume that resembles both the smell of the beach and the smell of water, deep blue, and cold water. This comes off as warming and also mysterious-chilly at the same time. It triggers memories for those who spent some time at the beach or near water in general.
It’s completely different from all other beach scent perfumes. Most make you dream about relaxing on a beach. Squid makes you think about old ships or deep blue waters that lie at the bottom of the ocean. There’s an ink note in it and it just elevates the entire mysteriousness of this perfume further. Hats off to Celine Barel.
The perfume debuts with incense, pink pepper, and Amyl Salicylate.
Sea salt, ink, and opoponax are its mid accords.
Ambergris, benzoin, and musk are the base accords that give it longevity. You can find this perfume on the official Zoologist website.
Pros
- Different than what you expect
- It will make you think about marine places
- 4-hours longevity
Cons
- Not the best beachy scent for compliments
| Perfumes that smell like the beach | Longevity |
| Jo Malone London Wood Sage & Sea Salt | Up to 6 hours |
| Amouage Beach Hut Man | 6 hours |
| Guerlain Terracotta Le Parfum | Up to 5 hours |
| Carner Barcelona Costarela | 2 hours |
| Creed Virgin Island Water | 4 hours |
| Tom Ford Eau de Soilei Blanc | 4 hours |
| Aerin Hibiscus Palm | 5 hours |
| Zoologist Squid | 4 hours |
Final words
A perfume that smells like the beach can still smell in different many ways as seen from the scents listed above. Many of them are proven. Others are yet to be discovered to their full potential.
Some parts of the world are dominated by warm beaches which are represented by fragrances such as Amouage Beach Hut Man and Tom Ford Eau de Soleil Blanc or even Creed Virgin Island Water. Other beaches see high winds and cool weather and they can be better represented by Jo Malone Wood Sage & Sea Salt or even Zoologist Squid. These are staple beach perfumes and you can’t go wrong with any of them.