Marine notes in perfumery:
Not widely used in perfumes, marine notes are not part of the 6 original families (Floral, Hesperidia, Woody, Oriental, Fern, Chypre) according to the SFP (Société Française des Parfumeurs).
Symbolising a new wave of freshness towards the end of the 20th century, aquatic notes are used in facets, in touches, to avoid the overdose of low tide (let's avoid drinking the cup while perfuming ourselves).
Marine notes are very fresh, aqueous, sometimes iodised, sometimes oily, with facets of sea spray, seaweed, sand, the sea itself. They soften and give contrast to a fragrance.
They go well with aromatic notes, florals, citrus or even woods.
Most marine notes are heart notes. Here are some raw materials, the natural notes are followed by a *:
Seaweed Absolute*: mousse.fruity.hay
Calone: fatty.iodized.water fruit
Helional: bold.floral.water fruit
Floralozone: marine.aniseed.aldehyde
Some emblematic perfumes:
"Coolwater" - Davidoff 1988 - Pierre Bourdon / Aromatic Aquatic
"New West for her" - Aramis 1990 - Yves Tanguy / Green Floral
"L'Eau d'Issey" - Issey Miyake 1992 - Jacques Cavallier / Aquatic Floral
Acqua Di Gio - Armani 1996 - Alberto Morillas, Annick Menardo & Christian Dussoulier / Aromatic Aquatic
"Blue Wonder Water" - Hermès 2016 - Christine Nagel / Aromatic Aquatic
"An air of Brittany" - The artisan perfumer 2017 - Juliette Karagueuzoglou / Woody Aquatic
"Aqva for men" - Bvlgari 2008 - Jacques Cavallier / Aromatic Aquatic
This list is not exhaustive because there are a lot of beautiful launches: some emblematic, some more commercial.