This is the time of year when I want to smell of beachy summer
holidays, regardless of whether I am actually anywhere near a beach.
Which means it is also the time of year when I sniff everything avail-
able and am left wanting. I’m after a specific scent, which is the scent
of my childhood summers, or rather my memory of the scent of my
childhood summers, which consisted of weeks and weeks on end
spent at a particular Belgian seaside resort. The Belgian coast is under
most people’s radar and it is wonderful — 42 miles of sand, enormous
skies, delicious food reassuringly nearby, and if you detour via
Oostduinkerke during the summer you can see shrimp fishermen
heading into the water on huge Brabant draft horses to pull their
fishing nets, like people from an old Flemish painting come to life. If you like the coast in Suffolk and
Norfolk, you’ll like the coast in Belgium and Holland, which, like that of East Anglia, has everything
from cheap and cheerful to the equivalent of Chelsea-on-Sea. And you can nip to Bruges and Ghent
when you want culture (plus Ghent has the best brocante this side of L’Isle-sur-la-Sorgue). Also there’s
an unpromising-looking shed in the car park of a fish-processing plant in Zeebrugge that serves really
outstanding seafood, though it’s excellent all along the coast. So that is my travel tip.
Scent-wise, the summer fragrances with beachy names that exist are never exactly right. I need
a strong element of 1970s and 1980s Ambre Solaire (which doesn’t smell the same as 2022 Ambre
Solaire), with a tiny dash of Hawaiian Tropic, mixed with warm skin, mixed with — I don’t really
know: warm nights? Fresh air? Ice cream? Possibilities? Freedom? The point is, I can never find
it. There’s usually too much coconut, but while coconut is an essential component, it shouldn’t
be overwhelming. Or there’s too much vanilla, giving a nauseating sweetness. Or it’s too tena-
cious and starts feeling claggy in the heat of summer. Or the interpretation is too clunky and
unsubtle, and it ends up smelling almost chemical, like a fabric softener. So I was astonished, and
then ecstatic, when I came across a new eau fraîche, Caudalie Soleil des Vignes (£28 for 50ml).
Here it finally is — the absolute essence of summer holiday in a bottle, done so lightly, so rightly,
that it genuinely gave me a Proustian rush. I wondered who had made it and then it all fell into
place. It’s by Olivia Giacobetti, a grand perfumer who has made scent for Hermès, Diptyque —
she invented its fig scent Philosykos, sparking nine million imitations — and the great En
Passant for Frédéric Malle, among others. In her hands the rather basic “beach scent” is elevated
into something truly wonderful. Also, it’s only £28!
Before you get too excited that’s because it’s an eau fraîche, a “fresh fragrance”, so considerably
weaker than an eau de toilette, let alone an eau de parfum. But this is also what I like so much
about it. You don’t want to wander about in a great cloud of scent in the summer. It starts feeling
sticky and too much, especially with a beachy scent. This one is superlight and doesn’t linger,
though that doesn’t mean it disappears after five minutes — it hangs about enchantingly for a
while and then peters away gracefully, at which point you can always reapply (as with all scent,
never in bright sunshine to avoid the risk of brown spots). Notes are orange blossom water,
jasmine and coconut, with a teeny bit of vanilla, but done perfectly. If that’s not your bag or you
don’t want to smell of beach, the four other fragrances in the range are all charming. But this one
is the keeper. ■ @indiaknightIndia Knight
INDIA LOVES
BUY When I’m not longing to smell of beach in the summer, I like smelling of hot countryside
and fresh air: grassy, herby, slightly citrussy. The scent that does that best is Sisley Eau de
Campagne (£78 for 50ml EDT). It is particularly French and chic in a way that I can’t really artic-
ulate — both suggestive of abandon and quite crisp.This gorgeous new scent smells like a summer
holiday in a bottle (and is only £28)
It’s by the
same grand
perfumer
who has made
scent for
Hermès and
Victoria Adamson Diptyque
The Sunday Times Style • 57