Notes of Sea Breeze and Open Water—19 Aquatic Perfumes That Smell Like Summer Shores
Dive on in.
Sarah Yang
Whether you’re looking for a summer scent or simply want to channel your happy place (the beach, duh), your go-to fragrance family should be aquatic. Inspired by the briny elements of the ocean and its inhabitants, the open sea breeze, and salty skin under the summer sun, these scents are practically seawater in a bottle. (Just incredibly chic, and usually dashed with citrus or floral notes for extra flair. Never fishy, I promise.)
While I highly recommend wearing these scents in a cool bikini under the afternoon sun, aquatic scents are highly personal and easy to wear year-round. Some evoke visions of old-money East Coast summers, while others smell like a glitzy beach party on the shores of Ibiza. Aquatic scents aren’t all cut from the same cloth, but they should all smell a bit like R&R. Below, the 18 aquatic scents that make me want to queue up “Island in the Sun” by Weezer.
The Best Aquatic Fragrances of 2026
Key ingredients: Sea salt, ambrette seeds, sage
When it comes to coastal scents, one of the first we editors think of is Jo Malone’s Wood Sage and Sea Salt. “It will always be an icon,” says Who What Wear beauty editor Kaitlyn McLintock. With its balanced symphony of sea salt, sage, and ambrette seeds, you’ll feel like you’re on open water with every spritz.
Key ingredients: Calabrian bergamot, amber, black pepper, vetiver
A personal favorite of mine (and Paige DeSorbo’s), Victoria Beckham’s mineral-forward Portofino 97 is a refreshing splash of summer with a sultry undertow. Notes of Calabrian bergamot are a nod to the scent’s origin—an Italian escape—while amber adds a warm glow, and black pepper gives the fragrance a mysterious twist. It’s unisex, alluring, and smells like the deep sea.
Key ingredients: Fresh marine, neroli, peony, musk
Okay, yes, a fragrance named Jake's House doesn't really evoke intoxicating seaside vibes, but don't judge a fragrance by its name. (Is that how the saying goes?) It's described as "watery clean freshness" mixed with "honeyed neroli" for a "light and clean musky finish."
Key ingredients: Aquatic accord, red seaweed essence, coriander
With a name like Sailing Day, you know this one will deliver in the aquatic-inspired department. It manages to capture the spirit of the sea with notes of aquatic accord, juniper essence, coriander, red seaweed essence, and salty ambergris.
Key ingredients: Coconut nectar, sandalwood, ylang ylang, marine musk
If Victoria Beckham’s Portofino 97 was deep sea, Lore’s Sublimity is soft waves in wading water. Described as a “sheer solar musk,” this warm scent embodies the spirit of summer relaxation. The musk of skin against sandalwood, marine accords, and coconut cover you in a calming cloud, leaving hints of island coconut trailing behind you.
Key ingredients: Sea salt, olive tree, cedarwood
Oil-based perfumes like Orebella’s, founded by Bella Hadid, ensure extra-long wear when applied directly to the skin, and I can personally attest to Salted Muse’s longevity. After hours of wear, the scent’s notes of olive, cedarwood, and sea salt will still float in the air with a toss of my hair or a slight break of sweat. It’s seductive, sophisticated, and simply built for summer.
Key ingredients: Jasmine, lemon, cedar
If you want to be on an Italian vacation within the next second, I’m there with you—but you’ll need to spritz a bit of Armani’s Acqua di Gioia first. (It’s cheaper than a plane ticket and more possible than time travel, no?) Its intoxicating, yet fresh notes are a bouquet of jasmine, lemon, and cedar, earning it a well-deserved spot as one of summer’s most popular scents.
Key ingredients: Orange blossom, ocean breeze accord, dragonfruit, Baltic amber
If a body mist is more of your vibe, this is the beachy pick to go for this summer. Spiked with ocean breeze accord, orange blossom, dragonfruit, and Baltic amber, this elixir is a refreshing wash that won’t need many touchups throughout the day. Pro tip: Mist it into your hair for extra oomph.
Key ingredients: Tahitian tiare, ylang ylang, ambergris
The bottled essence of surfing, this fragrance looks to capture the nostalgic scent of salty skin after a sun-kissed, sultry summer day. It’s outfitted with warm floral notes of ylang-ylang, Tahitian tiare, and ambergris.
Key ingredients: Italian bergamot, Egyptian jasmine absolue, fruity musk
This light fragrance is just so dreamy—it's refreshing and clean, with notes of bergamot, blackcurrant, jasmine, and mimosa. It takes its cue from both the sea and the sky.
Key ingredients: Bergamot, cassis, amber
One of the brand's most popular scents, DedCool's Fragrance 01 Taunt is luxe and fresh, with just a hint of sweetness thanks to vanilla. It has other notes of bergamot, amber, and fresh dew.
Key ingredients: Absinthe, sea salt, mimosa, cedarwood
For a deeper dive into navy blue waters, try Discothèque's musky Sweat, Tears, Paradise. This unisex scent, inspired by the pristine waters and secret love affairs of Mykonos in the late '90s, is largely woody and splashed with unmistakable notes of sea salt and absinthe. Sexy and absolutely irresistible.
Key ingredients: Green leaves, dry juniper berry, patchouli
If you love the smell of the air after a heavy rain, you're going to love this fragrance. The fresh and woody scent has notes of dry juniper berry, patchouli, and green leaves.
Key ingredients: Bergamot, coconut milk, musk
All you have to do is spritz on this fragrance to capture those carefree-summer-day vibes—even when it's not the right season. Scents include a mix of bergamot, pink pepper, heliotrope, coconut milk, and musk.
Key ingredients: Bergamot, cardamom, sandalwood
Skylar's fragrance will take you on a beach escape. It has fresh and bright notes of bergamot and orange mist mixed with spicier and earthier notes of cardamom and sandalwood.
Key ingredients: Salted tiare flower, bergamot, sandalwood
Another body and hair mist worth adding to your collection for all of the aquatic vibes is Phlur’s Beach Skin. This sheer scent is a warm, yet fresh, solar scent with a dreamy coconut milk and sandalwood base, flecked with bright notes of bergamot, salt, and tiare flower. It’s your skin on island time.
Key ingredients: Bergamot, salt spray rose accord, white moss
Nothing smells like East Coast summers, lightweight Ralph Lauren sweaters, and hydrangea-lined shutters like Rose Atlantic. This D.S. & Durga scent tells a tale of old money: dated jazz crooning in the background, white wine in swirling glasses, white linen in the sand. It’s sophisticated, clean, and a bit sexy all at once.
Key ingredients: Sicilian white bergamot, hibiscus, and topical wood
Described as capturing "the tropical splendor carried in the trade winds through Sir Francis Drake Channel in the Caribbean," this fragrance is fruity, fresh, and uplifting. It features top notes of Sicilian white bergamot, Jamaican lime, and Sicilian mandarin; middle notes of hibiscus, ylang-ylang, and Indian jasmine; and base notes of Tonkin musk and tropical wood.
Key ingredients: Bergamot, iris, white musk
For a warmer scent, try this one from Frédéric Malle. It has notes of bergamot, hedione, iris, hawthorn, heliotrope, and white musk. It's the perfect balance between warm and fresh.
