On The Beach

Back on the Louis Vuitton train with On The Beach today. I don't remember trying this one when I was at the LV boutique, perhaps they didn't have it in stock when I went. Needless to say, I don't know much going into this fragrance. However, if the name is any indicator I'm assuming I should get beachy vibes from it. I remember City Of Stars giving me distinct beach vibes too, so I wonder how this one will differ. Let's get into it; Scent: The opening is citrusy, woody, and spicy. The primary notes I get are yuzu, neroli, cloves, and sand. The strongest of the notes are the cloves and sand. The cloves stand out in the opening as a comforting warm and spicy note. The sand note comes in right behind the cloves. To me the sand note comes across as mostly woody, sandalwood to be precise, with slight earthy and mineralic tones. This is followed by the yuzu and neroli. The yuzu note brings a punch of citrus to the opening, lemony but not quite like a lemon; think tart lemon with a bitter edge. Lastly the neroli rounds out the opening with florals, citrus, greenery, and aromatics all rolled into one note. The dry down is still citrusy, woody, and spicy. The primary notes I get are yuzu, cypress, sand, and neroli. The strongest of the notes are the sand and cypress. The sand still has the woody, sandalwood-esque accord, but feels a bit more "beachy" in the dry down. It's almost developed a bit of a subtle suntan lotion note. The cypress has risen to the top in the opening with an intense, aromatic woodiness; like a fresh cut cypress tree. This is followed by the yuzu and neroli. The yuzu still holds onto the tart and bitter citric note, and the neroli still has the same floral and green accord, but both have faded into the background. Compared to the opening, the dry down has much more of the beach vibe I was expecting from the fragrance. Performance: Initial projection is strong at around six feet. Sillage is strong as well with an easily noticeable scent trail. After a few hours the projection was still around 6 feet and the scent trail had faded a bit but was still noticeable. Around the 7-8 hour mark the projection was still just outside of arms length and the scent trail was still noticeable. The fragrance became a skin scent around hour 10. When to wear: On The Beach is a spring/summer fragrance best suited for daytime wear. This is 100% a casual wearing fragrance and would be great to wear out and about during the day, lounging by the pool, or on a beach vacation. Unfortunately those are really the only scenarios I could see this fitting in. This fragrance is too casual to wear to formal occasions or to the office, and wouldn't fit the vibe of a date night. Blind buy: If you like beachy, suntan lotion-y fragrances this is a safe blind buy for you. Just keep in mind it doesn't really adopt that scent profile until the dry down. Likewise, if you enjoy citrus and woods fragrances the opening will appeal to you, but bear in mind the dry down will have that beachy vibe. Final verdict: On The Beach was an enjoyable wear. It was a bit strange how it took so long to get to it's namesake, but it eventually got there all the same. The use of the sand note was very interesting, and even though it came across as mostly sandalwood to me, it did give the beach vibe I was looking for. Interestingly, I think City Of Stars gave me stronger beach vibes overall, I can definitely see how some people are saying On The Beach and City Of Stars might be name swapped. Performance was on par with most other LV's I've tried, no disappointments there. As the name might suggest, On The Beach isn't winning any awards for versatility. It's good for times when you're out in the sun, but that's about it. Mass-appeal isn't the highest either; some may think it smells amazing and remind them of fun vacations around the water, but some may not like that suntan lotion-y accord. All things considered I think it's a fine fragrance, but not something I'll be grabbing a full bottle of. I just won't get much usage out of it, honestly. It would be a perfect pick if I went to the beach or the pool a lot, but I don't. I might save a decant on the side for the rare occasion when I do, but that's about all I'll need. However, if you find yourself at those locations often, this might be a must-have for you. Scent: 8/10 Longevity: 8/10 Sillage: 8/10

If we are solely considering smell, I think the fresh Louis Vuitton fragrances are the closest to perfection in all of designer perfumery. Jacques Cavallier has mastered the use of citruses, whether they're the centrepiece of the fragrance, or a foundation to build upon with other notes such as musks, tea, ginger, etc. I would consider On The Beach to be the latter. After learning about the probable discontinuation of this fragrance, I broke under pressure and paid full retail for it, which I have never done for any brand before. The scent profile is completely addictive - smelling it in the air whisks you away to a tranquil beach, and makes you want to close your eyes, take a deep breath and relax, as if you're on holiday in the Maldives. The yuzu is not sour or bitter, instead, it complements the neroli to create an uplifting, breezy smell. I could not tell you what sand actually smells like, but this blend of creamy florals and fresh, peppery aromatics is a very clever portrayal of it, and yes, its fair to describe it as 'sandy'. Although the beachy DNA can be smelt in fragrances like Soleil Blanc, or Solaris - Cavallier throws any inspiration out the window and reinvents the DNA with an amazing natural, sunny, but not 'sunscreeny' scent profile. On The Beach is the only form of alcohol you need to lift your mood, and a bottle of it and Pacific Chill will be my secret weapons this summer. If it ever picks up some hype from influencers after it's been discontinued, people will be scrambling to try it like they're doing for Sun Song, and everyone will wonder why it wasn't more popular before. Smell: 11/10 (so unique) Performance: 6.5/10 Presentation: 9/10 Value: 7/10 (bonus points for its likely discontinuation) Overall: 9.5/10

This one's got me feeling nostalgia. Of childhood summers playing with my cousins in Greece. The burst of citrus overcomes you yet is so soft and enveloping. We've been spritzing the sample at the beach lately and oh my lord, this mixed in with salt and sea is absolutely transcendent. We lie there on our towels in a luscious scent bubble and it takes the beach day up many notches. I never thought I'd ever splurge on a real citrus scent but I took the plunge and ordered this one cause it's that damn FBW. I was testing out Corfu Memo, Creed Love in White & Virgin Island Water and this one won out in the end. Those are still spectacular by the way, I just need to set my own parameters otherwise I can't control myself. Maybe a 10ml decant of those is on the cards to scratch that itch. What drew me toward On the beach more is that it was a very unique summer scent to me, no coconut, no suncream vibe. As much as I love TF, Soleil Blanc is just a bit, I dunno, predictably, this-is-what-rich-girl-summer smells like - now aspire to that. Whereas I can imagine wearing OTB at a hot summer party in Mykonos as well as a family lunch in the village with cicadas chirping in the wild grass next to me. It's that unpretentious and versatile to my senses. In terms of performance, it's not as bad as some say. It projects on my skin a good 3-4 hours and even after a dip in the sea, I can still smell it on my wrist if I move around. It's perfectly unisex, maybe the reason I felt better buying it was cause I know whoever picks this up is going to spray and love it. No, it's not a beast, but it's that good I relish a re-application to smell that initial sprtiz all over again.

The steel grey Aston Martin waits at the lip of the marina, tyres touched by the tide. James rises from the water as if tempered in it—salt bright on his skin, gaze settled, a man newly cut from iron and light. Figures and futures align with elevated satisfaction in his head: the winnings, a ring, a road with no turns. Vesper steps onto the balcony and sees him where the surf thins to lace. Stubborn poise gives way to desperate urgency. She runs, drops to the sand, and gathers him in. Sun warms their shoulders; her hair catches on his cheek; his hands find her waist, slow and sure, pulling her in. She presses her face to his neck and breathes: coastal brightness and pale blossom, a saline shimmer over clean, sun-dried wood. It's not loud; it invites. The air about him feels like an open window—new passports cooling on a table, linen drying in a room where no one knows their names. Desire slowly melts into decision. The scent converts wanting into willingness—clarity made tangible—slipping from pulse to pulse until running ceases to be seductive escape and becomes a sweet promise. He whispers softly against her trembling temple, low and even. “Come away with me. Now. No looking back.” The fragrance holds the moment together—tailored, lucid, intimate—its freshness moving like an unspoken vow between them. For more than a breath the day stands still; the tide erases their footprints; a shadow crosses the water. Her answer hangs in the salty breeze, sweet and shining, as the sea keeps its calm and On the Beach lingers on the edge of her senses,—elegant, dangerous, inviting, utterly Bond.

If Chanel Platinum Égoïste quit his 9-5 job and relocated to Cabo somewhere near the beach for a fully remote executive position, I bet he'd smell like this on most days. 🙂 The moment I smelled this, I knew that this was worth having. There's a really tasty yuzu mixed up with some slightly dry neroli creating this summery fun feel, while the pink pepper and herbs create this interesting peppery take. It feels like wearing a unisex posh SPF sunscreen on a vacation by the beach with the peppercorn and herbs preventing the scent from becoming too feminine. There is a prominent jasmine note that I was mistaking with frangipani at the top together with the neroli, which can come off abit indolic and I hardly hear anybody mentioning this. Sometimes the mixture of yuzu and neroli gives me a slight passionfruit and orange smell (subjective take), which I don't mind at all and to be honest, I think this might be the best yuzu scent I have tried apart from Issey Miyake Pour Homme EDT. Sometimes I do get a fleeting creamy 'sandy' feel which I find to be quite unique. I wonder why this doesn't get much love from the community. It's disappointing that gems like these get on the discontinuation chopping block really. Worth a try in my opinion and oh, my congratulations to Chanel Platinum Égoïste. 😄