Nitesurf Neroli

I received a sample of this from the brand with my Little Flower order. It smells like the summer of 2002. My husband and I came up with that independently and we didn’t know each other at that time. I can’t remember what girls my age were wearing at that time but it had to be something of that era (I was 18, he was 20) and likely fell into the “affordable” category. The scent memory came crashing back to both of us from that time. It is intensely nostalgic. For a less personal review it smells like you are on a beach vacation, think Florida or California— less tropical, more American beach community. You put on an old school sunscreen and laid out by the beach all day. You head back and take a really quick shower before dinner but didn’t wash your hair so it still smells like salt, sand, ocean water, sweat, sun, and sunscreen. Your skin has that hot and salty smell to it. The tops of your shoulders and the tip of your nose are just the slightest bit sun burned. You throw on a loose sun dress, a touch of lip gloss and blush, and a youthful summer floral perfume, take a look at your wind tossed and salt crunchy wavy hair and shrug that “it is as good as it is going to get”. You then run out the door to a patio dinner you are already late for. Part of me really wants a full bottle for beach vacations or pool days for the youthful nostalgia. However, I don’t know if I do either enough for the purchase of another scent in this category. I don’t think I would reach for it for any other situation, but I absolutely love it.

Okay, I buy the vision. This is the tomboy twin sister to Glass Blooms, gap year-ing as a surf instructor in Maui instead of a ballet conservatory. It’s a mermaid princess runaway with the longboarding lifeguard babe. It’s Carmel-by-the-Sea Barbie. It’s the sweet, rubbery musk of a wetsuit soaked in saltwater and ambery tanning oil. Nitesurf cites many classics in its makeup: honeyed orange blossoms, seasalt, a dulcet marine amber. But also drops some impossible accords like “neon petals” and “smoked seashells.” However, after testing Nitesurf, now I know exactly what a “transparent citrus” is supposed to smell like. And I think that’s some of the finest magic of perfumery. I wouldn’t say Nitesurf is my favourite scent of all time, but it conjures such a fantastical, compelling vision for me. Ordinarily I'm not the biggest fan of sugary or blossomy scents, but Nitesurf made me a believer. My biggest surprise of the RdF set. Mental Snapshot: Galactic sunset. Bioluminescent breakers. Neon neoprene. Surfers and sirens bobbing in a chlorine-clear cove. Tropical fish darting under blacklight. A coral reef made of glass candy and gummy gelatine. tl;dr: siren’s sunscreen 🍬🪸

Nitesurf neroli is a beautiful, springtime floral scent to me. To be honest, If I smelled it blindly I wouldn’t associate it with the ocean at all. The top note being salt is a bit misleading because I wouldn’t consider this a salty fragrance whatsoever, so don’t let that turn you away. I will say you get a little bit of the saltiness in the dry down, but only if you search for it. I also don’t get seashells unless we are talking about a cold, porcelain/glassy note which I can see a little. Overall it’s very bright floral in the opening and dries down to a softer, saltier floral. Doesn’t last very long on the skin but lasts days on clothes. Very pretty and I would definitely recommend! I think this is a safe blind buy for anybody who likes orange blossom scents or light florals in general.

I remember not "getting" the Neroli craze from 10-15 years ago. Then I smelled this. Now I get why people like Neroli. I wasn't a fan of the Tom Ford, but this scent is so complex and gorgeous. Smelling this brings up a vision of snorkeling around a coral reef by starlight. My skin is tanned from the sun and my hair trailing long behind me in the water as the moon and stars illuminate anemones, clown fish, coral, a moray eel, all dancing below me. It's summer and fragrant blooming flowers from the shore join the coastal symphony. I feel like a mermaid that's had a puff of a pre-roll and a few Palomas - absolutely divine.

sexy; evocative; the scent of walking down the humid streets of a tropical seaside city at night, a little drunk and fighting the urge to run onto the beach, pull your top off, and plunge into the dark glittering waves. i’m learning i’m a big regime des fleurs fan which is a little heartbreaking as the price point for their perfumes is pretty painful. what’s a girl to do 😔