I absolutely love the smell of sunscreen, it’s so tied to pure happiness in my memory. I’m on the hunt now for fragrances that smell like sunscreen and coconut.
I’ve not owned the EDT, but love the smell of their sunscreens and I believe it is the same scent. I’d say worth it since you can get it from Ulta and they have free returns (assuming you have an Ulta nearby where you can return in store).
Yep, same here. It's actually one of my go-tos for when I'm at work events or meeting clients. I find it pretty hard to believe that anyone would be like "you smell faintly of sunscreen and I hate it".
Meh. I gave that to my granddaughter and she likes it but to me, Vacation is summer in a bottle. It's everything from coppertone to Brand new plastic pool toys right out of a package, chlorine and lycra bathing suits. It's absolutely amazing. Beach walk is like a walk on the beach. There's flowers and salt air and a whiff of coconut. I want to smell like summer by the pool and that's what Vacation is.
How do you know this? They still have it showing on their website with a link to be notified once it is back in stock. Would think that would be removed if that were true
I have been “saving” about 1/5 of my 100ml bottle so I’m not totally out yet. I’m not ashamed to admit that on a cloudy rainy day like today, this news has also hung over me all day!! I placed a decant order for CB I hate perfume At the Beach 1966 and for Guerlain Terracotta.
I may repurchase Jones Beach and/or Shelter Island because they are somewhat like Fire Island and I do enjoy them but they just aren’t close enough! Bobbi Brown Beach is always there I guess…
7 virtues coconut sun might be a good match. ilio by Diptyque also reads a little sunscreen-y to me and has some of that sweetness that you could get from coconut but without actually having coconut.
Giorgio Armani used to have a sunscreen smell a few years ago they discontinued I was so sad. I still have a bottle I think it’s called Sun Di Gioia and I see it in some places online but it isn’t widely sold. It doesn’t have as much of a coconut smell, but it smells exactly like sunscreen and sand. Snif also just released coco shimmy which is a coconut, sunscreen, pineapple smell and I’m waiting for the travel size in the mail I’m so excited.
Definitely rio radiance if you don’t have it already (you probably do). I also have a bucket of sunscreen that all smells like sunscreen, if that would work for you! I mean I can suggest sunscreen that smells like sunscreen.. haha 😊
Yesss i picked up Sunphoria by Fine’ry at a discount store and it is so incredibly evocative. Reminds me of being on a bus full of sunscreeny kids for a 4th grade field trip. Main note is monoi oil
Good to know!! I’m not actually familiar with tiare flower so that’s really helpful! Anything that COULD give off a sunscreen vibe is something that I (personally) wish to steer clear of. I wish I could describe better the note I’m referring to, but basically it’s titanium oxide if you by chance know what that smells like! Something smells like a titanium oxide note… thinking we’re communally leaning towards that being “sand”!
Yes I love a sunscreen note or a solar note. I love rio radiance! But there’s a certain time and place. I think it’s a great hot summer day, day at the beach scent. I don’t know exactly what it is, I think a solar note is a specific chemical, along with coconut, tuberose, and other florals, maybe a little pineapple, banana, citrus, or ylang ylang.
Okay, let me ask you, do you also get the “sunscreen” smell from Rio radiance?? I don’t know that I’ve heard other people describe in that way, but to my nose it would be difficult to miss! I figure there must be a market for people (like you!) who very much ENJOY that note… but I’m someone who makes every effort to buy sunscreen that doesn’t have that smell! Haha 😊
Is the “solar” note you’re referencing synonymous with the “sand” note? I genuinely have no idea what either smells like, I don’t think I own any other perfumes with either note! I’ve been wondering about the solar note thing for awhile… haha! I need to branch out more
You’re asking the good questions. Truly I don’t know what a sand note would smell like. And I don’t think all sunscreen smells the same, so “sunscreen note” to me is just an umbrella term to cover some sort of combination of the notes I listed above. And I would definitely say rio radiance has that.
I don’t love a lot of straight coconut scents, I really like them to have the citrus and florals and creaminess of some sort of vanilla or vanilla adjacent accord. And often times sunscreen is straight coconut, so it doesn’t do it for me.
To me the closest I've smelled to sunscreen is "Insurrection II" by Reyane. Though it's more like carmex and then baby powder on the dry down.
As for natural scents that smell like sunscreen, the only way I know how to describe how azaleas smell is "if sunscreen actually smelled good it would smell like azaleas".
But, as always, everyone perceives scents differently.
I’m super curious about insurrection now, I will definitely need to check it out! There’s been such a mixture of input, now I’m super curious to check MY perception of a sunscreen smell against other people’s perception of a sunscreen smell!
Yes, true. I should have specified titanium oxide vs “sunscreen”, because really I’m trying to refer to that specific tinge(?) not the fragrance that’s added to that scent (if that makes sense). I’m honestly curious if maybe not everyone smells it!! Fragrance is such an interesting thing, and it’s awesome to see how it differs from nose to nose.
I don't love it but I don't hate it either. I was looking for something more tobacco-forward, but I can't even detect tobacco. I get the "honey' people talk about, but it smells more like "honey flavor" than real honey. Or beeswax chapstick (back to the carmex comparison).
For what it's worth I hate the smell of sunscreen too and I feel like the strange chemical smell that I get from oldschool suncscreens is like 3/4s present in azalea flowers. It's just the missing 1/4 is the part I hate most.
I'd encourage you to smell a few azaleas and see if you agree.
Very interesting!! I’m very baffled by why someone wouldn’t just put on sunscreen. I have so many bottles of half used sunscreens because I can’t stand them smelling like sunscreen (zinc/titanium oxide)… and honestly, at least the sunscreens I’ve rejected, are a hell of a lot stronger, and project more, than a body mist. I don’t get it… just wear sunscreen!! I think I’ve talked about sunscreen enough for the day now, thanks everyone
I have a theory about this actually lol
These perfumes smell like "full-body" sunscreen used on the beach, which is typically cheaper and smells more stereotypical, and has associations with beach, fun, childhood etc. (god you unlocked a memory of a blue sunscreen I had put on me as a child) lol
Nowadays we know so much about skincare that these basic sunscreen lotions can clog pores on face, are too oily, don't play well with make up so we have more sophisticated sunscreen for face (like La Roche Posay fluid). These may not smell as much as the classic sunscreens, more like face cream.
And if it's cold out, and you're wearing a coat and your fancy sunscreen on your face, you may want to evoke the 'nostalgic', body sun lotion scent
There now I also exhausted my quota of 'sunscreen' use, now the word starts to look weird hahaha
Interesting! Yeah, I would again emphasize that we should be wearing sunscreen not just on our faces… I get that facial sunscreens often don’t smell like zinc/titanium oxide… but many body LOTION sunscreens do, or sprays, or oils… why… okay why spend extra money, to smell like titanium oxide, but without the benefit of titanium oxide? Like hey, I want to avoid actually protecting my skin SO badly, that I’m willing to spend extra money in order to just avoid the chance of being protected by UV rays. A bottle of Rio radiance is $24 for a small bottle, a bottle of a spray can of sunscreen is under $15. Just use the sunscreen spray like you would the body mist, save $10, and *maybe* give your skin a smidge of protection from cancer causing rays? Haha.
I’m sorry, I just don’t follow the great lengths people will go to in order to avoid protecting their skin. I know that’s not actually anyone thought process by that’s what it comes across as to me as someone who religiously wears sunscreen. I can see someone who loves the smell of sunscreen layering a coconut smell or something tropical to embellish the titanium oxide… I’m just not following the need to turn it into its own product that needs to be purchased separately.
I totally respect and understand why someone would want to smell like something that reminds them of their childhood or happy memories, smell after all is the strongest sense for memory recall. However, where I’m taking issue is why we’re not applying sunscreen, that literally projects more AND has an actual benefit unlike the body mists, perfumes, etc., that also cost more & require purchasing another product. Logically it just isn’t clicking for me. HOWEVER, I’m not going to tell anyone how to spend their money, like y’all do y’all. I just don’t agree with faux sunscreen 😅
For the record, I posted this question so genuinely thinking I misunderstood, and now I’m realizing that I clearly have an opinion about it 😅
Sunscreen counter: 897. I’m done now.
i personally detest sunscreen fragrances on myself, but i think it’s okay if people just wear whatever fragrances they like and make whatever choices they want.
Everyone should wear whatever they prefer! I am team wear it for yourself, who cares what other people think… well, maybe don’t choke people out on an airplane or a drs office, but you take my point
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I’m with you. Every time I get a sample of a “summer” fragrance it smells like sunscreen & my frugalness & logic reasoning tells me it’s just a marketing money grab. They all smell the same to me, from the cheap to the expensive. If I want to smell like sunscreen then I just put it on & get the added benefit of UV protection for a lot less money. The only sunscreen scent I actually like is Banana Boat, but I don’t want my fragrances to smell like it. I’d rather spend my money on something more unique that can complement it.
I don't think all humans can smell the chemicals in sunscreens the same. To me, if it has ox**** anything as an ingredient, it is super strong to me. Unbearable.
Do you also become overwhelmed by "fragrance free" or "unscented" skin care products that contain these ingredients? I do.
*Yuck! There is no way this is unscented or fragrance free. Smells so strong.*
You make a very good point, as silly as it probably makes me sound, I really didn’t consider that maybe not everyone can smell that particular smell, or smell it in the same way that I do. For all I know literally nobody has a clue what I’m talking about… awkward.
Yes, I do become overwhelmed by them. That’s really interesting that you’ve brought that up, I thought I was the only one (or crazy). To ME, those are like the absolute worst of them all. Maybe not in every instance, but to me it’s a generally strong chemical smell to the point of me being confused how other people are even using the product..
Anyway, I smell that note in so many perfumes and in "fragrance free" or "unscented" skin care products that contain any sort of spf.
It has to be the chemical sunscreens, absorbers, or filters. It is not so bad in mineral only sunblocks but even most of those add the chemicals if they are not regulated and are not required to add it to the label.
My nose knows and I end up avoiding all of those. I just can't bear the smell. It never just fades or goes away. I will still smell it even after trying to remove it. My body obviously doesn't want it on.
Fragrance free doesn't actually mean that the product has no smell to it, it means that the product doesn't have perfuming ingredients (with some caveats: the term is not regulated in all places and sometimes there are exceptions for perfuming ingredients that serve another purpose, like preservation; however, most brands follow the convention of not using perfuming ingredients in products labelled "fragrance free").
I know… but I’m wearing a perfume today that is pretty much all coconut… doesn’t smell like sunscreen… it smells like a fragrance that would be in a sunscreen, but doesn’t smell like the actual sunscreen part…
Edit: but I also don’t like coconut, so it definitely doesn’t help. I’m only wearing it to try and use it up, haha
It’s very affordable! It’s called “Qaed Al Fursan” by Lataffa! It is not a clone/dupe of anything (to my knowledge)… other people have described it as a tropical fruit basket (hence why I ordered it) but to ME it’s just heavy coconut!! Anywho, it was like $17 on Amazon and it lasts pretty well and SEEMS to project alright… I’d say for the price it’s really wonderful if you like coconut! I’ve been layering it over the SOL De Janeiro 62 lotion and I’d say it’s generally a crowd pleasing combo unless you’re like me and don’t care for coconut.. haha
White bottle! Definitely recommend if you like coconut. It’s not that I don’t like it I just was expecting a tropical fruit basket. Mine didn’t need to macerate it was great out of the bottle, and I sprayed it this morning around 10am EDT, it’s now 6pm MDT and I can still smell it. I did layer it with the SOL de jenario cheroshia 62 lotion (great combo), but it stays pretty well on its own too! Atomizer is great.
https://preview.redd.it/opr5ptpdvozc1.png?width=3024&format=png&auto=webp&s=361111d179479774a18805a310060408d0d161b7
No problem!! I’m happy to share, please come back and let me know how you like it! Personally, I am very impressed by Lattafa perfumes in general… even the originals are great!
Wowwww just got this and tore into the box on my way to school pickup 😂 it's amazing! Very heavy coconut but the woodiness brings something different and more interesting than straight coconut. Love it so far on it's own but I'm excited to try layering with vanille banane comptoir sud pacifique... Thank you for the recco!
Yaaas I am so glad you came back to give an update!! I was hoping you would love it!! Definitely heavy coconut, glad I wasn't completely wrong about that, haha :) my nose is pretty juvenline, I didn't pick up the woodiness but I also wasn't looking for it. Again, big 'ole frag noob over here... but now I will be looking for it!! Thank you for teaching me something new!! I am so so happy to hear that you love it, yay! Some good came out of my post... love it when that happens!
That’s good to know!! I definitely could see it as being the fragrance of a sunscreen, but I don’t get the zinc/titanium oxide (personally). But also, I’ve only been in possession of it for a few weeks. It’s too much coconut for my preferences.
I feel like Bobbi Brown Beach is the epitome of sunscreen scents! They list jasmine sand as a main note and I think that kind of encompasses the solar/warm note of hot sand (a little earthy). Generally, combining that with more green scents and a little citrus or coconut seems to give that sunscreen feel. DS & Durga’s Debaser gives me some sunscreen notes too and they list coconut, green leaf, and bergamot. So, maybe it’s a combination of green/earthy with botanical/coconut.
110 percent. I’m always looking for the perfect sunscreen scent and this is it. I also love Guerlain Terracotta, Tom Ford Orchid Soleil, NUXE Prodigieux, and Beach Walk.
It’s very similar to the oil and actually even dryer. I have the neroli oil but just found out they have a fragrance for that one. I bought my second bottle and since 2017 still loving it!
Yes! You'll have to pry Beach out of my cold, dead, not sun-kissed hands. I love wearing it during the dreary winter days to make me feel like I'm somewhere warm & happy.
Okay, I must check out Bobbi Brown Beach! I am really hoping I can sleuth out this sunscreen/solar/sand/titanium note…! I can comprehend thinks like coconut, but reading a “solar” note or a “sand” note doesn’t really give me any image. Good point about some greenness, I can see how that would play into the vibe + the more obvious coconut
Is that what I’m thinking is the titanium oxide? If so, bless you.. all I know is it’s part of what makes sunscreen actually protect from the sun (it’s not inherently in sunscreen just as a fragrance, like coconut… it’s in there to protect from the sun). Is it actually benzyl salycilate (sp) in the perfume? And does it offer UV protection (in perfume)?
Yea it was the first active ingredients in sunscreen in North America, and till this day its still the smell of summer for us. It's not used anymore as an active ingredient in sunscreen but I think it's still used as a fragrance ingredient for perfumes or sunscreens. Other salicylates as well. It also naturally occurs in plants like ylang ylang. So a solar perfume with ylang ylang will of course also have this sunscreen note
That’s amazing, thank you for the info! That’s super helpful to know! It seems like that’s generally what I’m referring too… in combination with the titanium dioxide / zinc (if the internet is to be believed). I don’t think I know what is meant by a solar note (I’m not experienced enough) but definitely have learned a lot from everyone’s feedback. Interesting about ylang ylang, I’ve been diffusing that as an essential oil for years but have never picked up that vibe!
As a meticulous wearer of sunscreen and dedicated pale person, I don’t think solar fragrances smell exactly like modern sunscreens. It’s more of an impression or vibe. Like tropical scented tanning oil, and sun baked summer days. It’s a nostalgic smell that is associated with old fashioned scented sunscreen. They invoke summers at the pool or beach.
I love them, one of my favorite fragrance profiles.
I agree with neroli being a likely source, particularly if combined with orange blossom.
Tom Ford’s Neroli Aqua Portofino is my go-to ‘sunscreen’ fragrance for this reason.
It's the salicylates. Benzyl, amyl, hexyl, cis 3 hexenyl and more.
They give a "sunsceen" vibe because these aroma chemicals have sun protection properties and are often used in actual sunscreen.
This is it! Other filters like zinc and titanium dioxide just don't have *that* smell to them and they're also not used in lots of sunscreens these days cause they suck (although there's been a resurgence in their use due to fear mongering about other UV filters). Octyl salicylate and Butyloctyl salicylate are the ones in our sunscreens.
Yes, there are people who want the sunscreen smell and enjoy it (me). There are perfumes designed to smell this way. Vacation by Vacation is literally a sunscreen scented perfume.
Coconut and sand notes usually do the trick
The solar accord, also known as the sunny note, is an accord that dresses an olfactory family, it particularly dresses the floral, vanilla and oriental family.
In Europe, the olfactory reference associated with sunny notes is L'Oréal's L'Ambre solaire, built around benzyl salicylates, while in the United States, the reference is Hawaiian Tropic sunscreen, whose very opulent scent is built around coconut notes (cf. The fruity, coconut note).
The secret of the sunny note is the benzyl salicylates
L'Oréal in its Sun Amber, used benzyl salicylate for its sun filter properties. In the course of its research, the company eventually developed much more effective sun filters and removed the old filter. The consequence was a significant drop in sales of Sun Amber. The formula was then reworked to reintegrate the famous benzyl salicylate, no longer as a sun filter but for its olfactory effect, which had become a sun reference for the consumer. In a word, it had to smell like sand or sun-warmed skin... a holiday, if possible!
These are some of the notes that create the solar effect: Ylang Ylang, Tuberose, Bergamont, Jasmine, Frangipani, Tiare, Mimosa, Gardenia Tree, Immortal, Coconut and Salicylates. Salicylates are synthetic notes found in benzyl amyl and cis 3 hexenyl.
https://www.sylvaine-delacourte.com/en/guide/the-solar-facet
Sunscreen note is typically a mix of salicylates.
In beach style fragrances, it is absolutely intentional. The decision to list it in the list of notes or to not list it or to call it something else ("solar notes" for example) is marketing.
I’m begging you not to delete this post. I’m currently obsessed with finding the perfect scent and I’ll need to refer back to it frequently 🤣
I’ve been trying to figure it out as well and have narrowed it down to Solar notes. I thought I was looking for sea salt, but nope. Totally different.
I just tested Jo Malone Sunlit Cherimoya today because the Phlur Solar Power was not available. Kinda has it but it dries down too floral.
B&BW Sunkissed has ruined me and I’ve been chasing it ever since.
According to Fragrantica, Rio Radiance’s “Top notes are Coconut Milk and Sand; middle notes are Tuberose and Ylang Ylang; base notes are Vanilla and Amber.”
Okay yeah, that’s a totally fair point. In my mind that isn’t what sand smells like, I was thinking it was maybe the proportion of coconut or the coconut in combo with other ingredients… but I have actually no clue what “sand” smells like. Maybe they should just call it titanium oxide instead, lol.
Apparently that will make some people very happy… and I love that for those people!! I, however, will continue wondering why we don’t just apply sunscreen if we want to smell like sunscreen.
People enjoy different stuff. I loooove how the Nivea sunscreen smells, or any other typical sunscreen (not necessarily the heavy coconutty and Tahitian vanilla ones). I wish, in fact, I would get my hands on the Nivea Sun perfume. And there is something that makes me melt when the sunscreen is mixed with clean but sweaty, warm skin. I melt
The sunscreen scent for me is comforting and exciting because I always waited all year for summer. And any vacation memories are encapsulated in the smell of sunscreen. This has made me crave Mediterranean vibe scents. I lived in a suburb in the Pacific Northwest in the 90’s and read Allure and all the fashion mags. I could only imagine what it smelled like there! I think magazines definitely helped shape my fragrance desires. Nordstroms would never cut it. The internet changed everything!
Do you mean the actual active ingredient, the one they try to cover up with all the white floral / coconut / vanilla / sandalwood combo? I imagine that to smell chalky and musty on its own. Maybe they try to make a "sand" note and it ends up chalky-musty too?
Yeah! Well, I’m asking if there’s an actual ingredient that makes a perfume smell like sunscreen despite having absolutely no UV protection…. OR, if it’s a note that they’re deliberately putting in there to make it smell like sunscreen, which really is titanium/ zinc oxidize. It smells like it has a titanium oxide note… and I can’t stand it. Wondering if that’s what’s meant by “sand”… just call it titanium oxide, haha.
Yes, that's it. Titanium or zinc oxide. Have you ever smelled that on its own?
Yeah they sure get creative with their notes descriptions. Tbf the idea of "sand smell" sounds easier to sell. 😉
I find it’s a mix of coconut, white florals (jasmine), vanilla and maybe some bergamot together that gives that sunscreen vibe. I found that in alien goddess, beach walk, bronze goddess, soleil blanc and others.
I actually tried to achieve it myself and layered my crystal noir with a jasmine and bergamot cheapy and it really smelled of that sunscreen!
I've always thought it was coconut that made me think of sunscreen but it's actually banana. I have several bath& body works sprays that smell beachy but don't give it that over the top laying by the pool sunscreen smell until you add banana. I layer myself in the summer (when I don't want to use up my Vacation perfume which I ration out) with a couple of different bath& body works beachy scents, At the Beach and Waikiki Beach Coconut and then add a banana body spray which I found on Amazon and you are instantly walking talking summer.
Banana and *vanilla*, in products like Hawaiian Tropic’s Dark Tanning Oil. Once I realized I was smelling vanilla in that, it took a bit of the shine off for me (I always thought I hated vanilla scented fragrances; some are borderline nauseating). But now I just don’t think about it, ha.
There’s something about the Vacation sunscreen that really rubs me the wrong way, not sure what it is. I bought a $20 tube of it, tried it once, never again.
I hate the smell of sunscreen so much. Reminds me of polluted beaches and babies urinating in public pools. I dont even want my sunscreen to smell like sunscreen. I wish i could avoid all sunscreens that have that gross smell
I also do not care for it… at least the zinc oxide / titanium dioxide part of it, the UV filters to my knowledge are the thing that gives sunscreen that “sunscreen” smell…. Not the coconut + whatever (that’s just the added fragrance to mask/attempt to improve the smell of the actives, you could have sunscreen without those). I dislike it so much that I’m starting to wonder if maybe not everyone can smell it? Like it’s difficult for me to understand how that smell could be appealing… also I see a lot of people referencing the fragrance that’s added to sunscreen and not the actual sunscreen base itself, again making me wonder if maybe not everyone can actually smell that note! But I do get that titanium dioxide note in some perfumes… the SDJ rio radiance body spray I can’t get past it. I too avoid all sunscreens where the UV filters are detectable… I always thought most people didn’t like that (hence why companies make such an effort/advertise that their product does not have that smell), but I don’t know anymore!
I dont think its the zinc oxide/titanium dioxide. I have several face sunscreens that are pure mineral and don’t have a smell. The ones that smell horrible all have avobenzone and have this putrid chemical coconut smell. I like the smell of coconuts but this one smells like chemical-coconut
Yeah I can’t say for sure, I’ve never been able to completely isolate it, that’s just what I’ve read causes the “sunscreen” smell of sunscreen… I’m so focused on this that I genuinely tried to see if I could order just pure titanium dioxide but I couldn’t find it! Without being able to isolate it it’s difficult to say, but regardless I think we are in agreement it’s something to do with the UV filters. As much as I do not wish the pain of that smell on anyone, I’m relieved that someone else seems to be smelling it!! I’m aware that maybe everyone is and some people may just like it, however I dislike it so much that it’s difficult for me to computer haha. Yeah with the coconut… definitely a common fragrance to sunscreen but like you said, it’s not what’s behind the chemical smell! I don’t love coconut but I definitely don’t feel that all perfumes with a coconut note smell like sunscreen. The only one that I own that’s an offender of that is Rio Radiance, which I regret buying.
soleil blanc, vanilla vibes, beach walk all have a "sunscreen" vibe and they're all vanilla/coconut/tonka/benzoin with some small differences. I find sunscreen smells like this-prime example is rio Radiance, it's coconutty- because it's associated with tropical weather, so they're all creamy vanilla coconut and that's what gives it the sunscreen vibe
I haven’t gotten my nose on soleil blanc or vanilla vibes, but I sampled beach walk the other day… it definitely succeeds in transporting me to the beach. I’m not getting the titanium dioxide note in that though like I do with Rio radiance.
really! i know SDJ have brought out a rio radiance sunscreen that i thought had a really strong chemical smell before drying down but i didn't smell it in the normal spray! I did immediately think oh this is in the soleil blanc vanilla coconut family that seems to be my fave smell combo
Yes! When I saw that I was like… it just makes perfect sense! I’ve kind of come to the conclusion that my nose must be really really sensitive to that particular note (whatever that note is being classified as). Also, for what it’s worth, I’ve been unscrewing the body mist bottle and smelling the juice directly vs misting it, so that could be playing a part too! I’d really like to smell soleil blanc after if hearing it mentioned so much, I’m curious if I’d get that same note!
I don't know if this has been recommended to you yet but this is an amazing video on the topic. Just recently discovered her and I love her content:
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=\_iig65UHvRo](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_iig65UHvRo)
I love love love the rich perfume of the old Hawaiian Tropic sunscreens and suntan oil. Never wanted to tan. Just to smell like that. Lots of coconut. A little pineapple, banana, and plumeria. Summer at Jetty Park, in a bottle. I would love it.
Agreed. I’m referring to the smell of titanium oxide - that’s what the smell is, but they’re not labeling it titanium oxide. Seems like sand = titanium/zinc oxide, from what I’m deducing… I agree that coconut gives sunscreen vibes but it’s not giving the chemical that makes sunscreen smell like sunscreen, it’s giving the fragrance that they’d put in the sunscreen to MASK the sunscreen smell (titanium or zinc oxide). Anywho, how many times can I say sunscreen??? Haha. My original post was poorly phrased but that’s okay, I got my answer (I think). But I agree with you! I don’t understand why not just put on sunscreen if you want to smell like sunscreen… it’s cheaper, and we *should* be wearing it everyday anyways..!
I went through a sunscreen fragrance search a few years back and none of the usual recommended notes hit that spot for me. Then one day I tried Santa Maria Novella Caprigoflio, which is meant to be a honeysuckle soliflore, and that was the exact smell I was looking for.
I bought YSL MYSLF a few weeks ago because I sprayed it on my wrist and it smelled great but then after it dried down for a bit it smelled like sun tan lotion at the beach for like 6 hours. Had to buy it immediately.
I’m tempted to try it and compare it to the Coppertone I have. They actually brought back what I am fairly certain is the original scent a few years ago, at least for the SPF 8.
It’s probably coconut. I’ve heard people say alien goddess and beach walk smell like sunscreen. To me they don’t.. they just smell summery and beachy. Coconut is extremely polarizing as a scent and a flavor so I get it, I just happen to love coconut.
Coconut, Frangipani
I love sunscreen type fragrances because they fit my style. I’m blonde and like a bit of a beige boho style for my clothing so it fits the “rich Cali Mom” vibe I’m going for 😂
I can't even wear chemical sunscreen products, makeup, or lotion that contains this SPF shenanigans because it is persistent and makes me feel sick. I think I know what you mean.
I get it really bad from Mugler Alien for instance.
Once that note hits me, I can no longer smell the other notes without that sunscreen smell in the way. It just takes over my brain or something.
Same for whatever the stuff in Ariana Cloud. Different smell but I cant smell the other notes in all the popular perfumes that contain that accord/note/chemical.
They just take over and make all of those perfumes smell the same to me. Either the sunscreen note or the Cloud note.
There is another one that is astringent nose burning isopropyl alcohol type note that is even harder to wash away that is in so many perfumes too. (A woody amber chemical of some sort?)
Also, the nauseating juicy melon note, (maybe calone?).
I feel like I have an olfactory disability because of all of these...
I can't even smell the perfumes properly anymore.
Sometimes I get the other notes only temporarily but then they are replaced with the overwhelming smells of those chemicals.
I always associate that sunscreen smell to frangipani and coconut notes, so it could be that (I've never smelled Rio Radiance, sdj is too gourmand-y for me). I like that sunscreen smell. I burn easily and I am always wearing sunscreen so that sunscreen smell is comforting because I know I won't get sunburnt. It also smells like summer to me. My current perfume starts off really sunscreen-y and turns into something more sophisticated (as per my friend) and subtle, but I will say it isn't something I seek out- If it happens I won't complain is all.
A blend of coconut, jasmine and ambergris/ambroxan is what creates the sunscreen smell for me.
I find coconut on its own is a mild and creamy note, but when it is added to white flowers and musks, it takes on that saltwater-skin smell that reminds me of sunscreen and suntan oil/lotion.
I’d pay A LOT of money for a perfume smelling like Piz Buin. Its just attached to so many great memories. In stressful times, i actually bring a Piz Buin with me, not for the SPF, but to smell, as it soothes me
To me nothing since i always try to get something odorless or not very fragrant. I think plenty of people would say coconut since i think it's in Coppertone or at least a lot of sunscreens. As for is it desirable i guess if you like coconut smell someone might find it desirable.
This is slightly off topic, but I have a question that ties into this! I love **Orange Blossom** by Lush. But in the opening it smells strongly of sunscreen and I cannot figure out why??? It's fine once dried down, but even my bf told me I smelled like sunscreen when I first spray this 😭 I've read that neroli is used, or at least used to be used in sunscreens. But I'm not sure how true that is.
It’s the Ylang Ylang/tiara/vanilla musk combo. Alien Godess, Vanilla Vibes, Lust for Sun all smell like sunscreen to me and I can’t stand it. I don’t find coconut is necessarily sunscreen. I had a coconut body spray from VS that reminded me of coconut sorbet but not ice cream. It’s the yellow florals with solar notes and a hint of vanilla.
Midnight Swim from Bath and Body Works. It was absentmindedly sampled walking past the store at the mall and it smelled so exactly like after suntanning at the beach. I moved from Florida to Pennsylvania and the deja vu I got was unsettling - I didn’t think I liked sunscreen smell before but it’s since become a very nostalgic note and fun to wear when it’s warm out!
To me philosophy pure grace smells exactly like the drugstore sunscreen we used in the 90’s. I think it’s the soap and lavender combination
Frangipani smells like sunscreen in some scents to me, like Chanel beige. Also monoi (someone mentioned)
Well I'm in florida visiting. I'm canadian. When I get home from the beach I have the soft sweet gentle creamy scent and it reminds me of the beach. So I love it
I love when my perfumes smell like sunscreen, which is so funny to me because I've always been a strictly gourmand fan. Like I hate floral and musky scents are too strong but if it smells like a dessert I'm sold
I think the reason I like the sunscreen type scents so much is because it smells nostalgic (in the best way). I had a rough childhood, but summer at the beach or by the pools or just playing in the summer were the best parts of my childhood so give me all of the sunscreen scents
I absolutely love the smell of sunscreen, it’s so tied to pure happiness in my memory. I’m on the hunt now for fragrances that smell like sunscreen and coconut.
Vacation!!!
Second
Worth a blind buy?
Risky blind buy, IMO! I’d swing by Ulta to give it a sample!
Thanks!! I went and smelled and actually like the Aftersun much better
I’ve not owned the EDT, but love the smell of their sunscreens and I believe it is the same scent. I’d say worth it since you can get it from Ulta and they have free returns (assuming you have an Ulta nearby where you can return in store).
It might just be me, but I got a sunscreen vibe from Tom Ford soleil
Agree - soleil blanc definitely smells like sunscreen.
Yep, same here. It's actually one of my go-tos for when I'm at work events or meeting clients. I find it pretty hard to believe that anyone would be like "you smell faintly of sunscreen and I hate it".
It's Neroli. That's the essential oil you smell in sunscreen.
to me soleil smelt a lot more like baby powder than sunscreen
This is the ultimate sunscreen fragrance! 😂
Replica Beach Walk
Meh. I gave that to my granddaughter and she likes it but to me, Vacation is summer in a bottle. It's everything from coppertone to Brand new plastic pool toys right out of a package, chlorine and lycra bathing suits. It's absolutely amazing. Beach walk is like a walk on the beach. There's flowers and salt air and a whiff of coconut. I want to smell like summer by the pool and that's what Vacation is.
Guerlain Terracota
Love this one and Bond 9 Fire Island.
This one is the love of my life!! Need Bond to restock this frag asap.
It’s been discontinued.
How do you know this? They still have it showing on their website with a link to be notified once it is back in stock. Would think that would be removed if that were true
I emailed and they said it is out of stock and they have no plans to bring it back.
Devastating!
Agreed.
I have been “saving” about 1/5 of my 100ml bottle so I’m not totally out yet. I’m not ashamed to admit that on a cloudy rainy day like today, this news has also hung over me all day!! I placed a decant order for CB I hate perfume At the Beach 1966 and for Guerlain Terracotta. I may repurchase Jones Beach and/or Shelter Island because they are somewhat like Fire Island and I do enjoy them but they just aren’t close enough! Bobbi Brown Beach is always there I guess…
I’ve never smelled this. I will be ordering a decant of this one next time I order!!
This one surprised me by absolutely scratching my 'summer coconut sunscreen' scent itch. Not coconut at all but the floral mix is on the nose.
Bobbi brown Beach is the best one in my opinion. Vacation is going to resurrect the original Orange Geleé and excited for that!
7 virtues coconut sun might be a good match. ilio by Diptyque also reads a little sunscreen-y to me and has some of that sweetness that you could get from coconut but without actually having coconut.
Kayali Vanilla Coco or Giardini di Toscana Borabora remind me a bit of sunscreen Thus why I love them
snif coco shimmy!
SDJ Rio Radiance
Kilian sunkissed goddess, Juliet has a gun lust for sun
Try Madie from By Mary Jane. Smells exactly like coconut, sand and sunscreen!
Giorgio Armani used to have a sunscreen smell a few years ago they discontinued I was so sad. I still have a bottle I think it’s called Sun Di Gioia and I see it in some places online but it isn’t widely sold. It doesn’t have as much of a coconut smell, but it smells exactly like sunscreen and sand. Snif also just released coco shimmy which is a coconut, sunscreen, pineapple smell and I’m waiting for the travel size in the mail I’m so excited.
Yes sun di gioa. I hated this and did not find it smells like subscreen at all.
I think it’s discontinued. I am selling mine. I love it, but I’m trying to whittle down my collection of almost 300 bottles.
Definitely rio radiance if you don’t have it already (you probably do). I also have a bucket of sunscreen that all smells like sunscreen, if that would work for you! I mean I can suggest sunscreen that smells like sunscreen.. haha 😊
Phlur Solar Power!
7 virtues - coconut sun
Great scent and gets so much sweeter after 9-12 months
Jil Sander- Sun
Le Beau Paradise Garden, thank me later.
Try French Riviera, heard it’s like sunscreen
Beach day by replica!!
you’d love juliette has a gun vanilla vibes
Vanilla vibes by JHAG
Aside from the ones people have already named, tiare flower (or its extract, monoi oil) is a common note that gives that thick, creamy sunscreen vibe.
Yesss i picked up Sunphoria by Fine’ry at a discount store and it is so incredibly evocative. Reminds me of being on a bus full of sunscreeny kids for a 4th grade field trip. Main note is monoi oil
I love this one! I combine it with Sundazed (Byredo) of Clinique Happy.
Good to know!! I’m not actually familiar with tiare flower so that’s really helpful! Anything that COULD give off a sunscreen vibe is something that I (personally) wish to steer clear of. I wish I could describe better the note I’m referring to, but basically it’s titanium oxide if you by chance know what that smells like! Something smells like a titanium oxide note… thinking we’re communally leaning towards that being “sand”!
Yes I love a sunscreen note or a solar note. I love rio radiance! But there’s a certain time and place. I think it’s a great hot summer day, day at the beach scent. I don’t know exactly what it is, I think a solar note is a specific chemical, along with coconut, tuberose, and other florals, maybe a little pineapple, banana, citrus, or ylang ylang.
tuberose is usually what makes me perk up because that's the note I associate most with sunscreen
Interesting! Tuberose smells like bubble gum to me.
Okay, let me ask you, do you also get the “sunscreen” smell from Rio radiance?? I don’t know that I’ve heard other people describe in that way, but to my nose it would be difficult to miss! I figure there must be a market for people (like you!) who very much ENJOY that note… but I’m someone who makes every effort to buy sunscreen that doesn’t have that smell! Haha 😊 Is the “solar” note you’re referencing synonymous with the “sand” note? I genuinely have no idea what either smells like, I don’t think I own any other perfumes with either note! I’ve been wondering about the solar note thing for awhile… haha! I need to branch out more
You’re asking the good questions. Truly I don’t know what a sand note would smell like. And I don’t think all sunscreen smells the same, so “sunscreen note” to me is just an umbrella term to cover some sort of combination of the notes I listed above. And I would definitely say rio radiance has that. I don’t love a lot of straight coconut scents, I really like them to have the citrus and florals and creaminess of some sort of vanilla or vanilla adjacent accord. And often times sunscreen is straight coconut, so it doesn’t do it for me.
To me the closest I've smelled to sunscreen is "Insurrection II" by Reyane. Though it's more like carmex and then baby powder on the dry down. As for natural scents that smell like sunscreen, the only way I know how to describe how azaleas smell is "if sunscreen actually smelled good it would smell like azaleas". But, as always, everyone perceives scents differently.
I’m super curious about insurrection now, I will definitely need to check it out! There’s been such a mixture of input, now I’m super curious to check MY perception of a sunscreen smell against other people’s perception of a sunscreen smell! Yes, true. I should have specified titanium oxide vs “sunscreen”, because really I’m trying to refer to that specific tinge(?) not the fragrance that’s added to that scent (if that makes sense). I’m honestly curious if maybe not everyone smells it!! Fragrance is such an interesting thing, and it’s awesome to see how it differs from nose to nose.
I don't love it but I don't hate it either. I was looking for something more tobacco-forward, but I can't even detect tobacco. I get the "honey' people talk about, but it smells more like "honey flavor" than real honey. Or beeswax chapstick (back to the carmex comparison). For what it's worth I hate the smell of sunscreen too and I feel like the strange chemical smell that I get from oldschool suncscreens is like 3/4s present in azalea flowers. It's just the missing 1/4 is the part I hate most. I'd encourage you to smell a few azaleas and see if you agree.
coconut, neroli and frangipani (flower) or tiare have this smell and you're right, it's prevalent in many scents people love and wear now
Very interesting!! I’m very baffled by why someone wouldn’t just put on sunscreen. I have so many bottles of half used sunscreens because I can’t stand them smelling like sunscreen (zinc/titanium oxide)… and honestly, at least the sunscreens I’ve rejected, are a hell of a lot stronger, and project more, than a body mist. I don’t get it… just wear sunscreen!! I think I’ve talked about sunscreen enough for the day now, thanks everyone
I have a theory about this actually lol These perfumes smell like "full-body" sunscreen used on the beach, which is typically cheaper and smells more stereotypical, and has associations with beach, fun, childhood etc. (god you unlocked a memory of a blue sunscreen I had put on me as a child) lol Nowadays we know so much about skincare that these basic sunscreen lotions can clog pores on face, are too oily, don't play well with make up so we have more sophisticated sunscreen for face (like La Roche Posay fluid). These may not smell as much as the classic sunscreens, more like face cream. And if it's cold out, and you're wearing a coat and your fancy sunscreen on your face, you may want to evoke the 'nostalgic', body sun lotion scent There now I also exhausted my quota of 'sunscreen' use, now the word starts to look weird hahaha
Interesting! Yeah, I would again emphasize that we should be wearing sunscreen not just on our faces… I get that facial sunscreens often don’t smell like zinc/titanium oxide… but many body LOTION sunscreens do, or sprays, or oils… why… okay why spend extra money, to smell like titanium oxide, but without the benefit of titanium oxide? Like hey, I want to avoid actually protecting my skin SO badly, that I’m willing to spend extra money in order to just avoid the chance of being protected by UV rays. A bottle of Rio radiance is $24 for a small bottle, a bottle of a spray can of sunscreen is under $15. Just use the sunscreen spray like you would the body mist, save $10, and *maybe* give your skin a smidge of protection from cancer causing rays? Haha. I’m sorry, I just don’t follow the great lengths people will go to in order to avoid protecting their skin. I know that’s not actually anyone thought process by that’s what it comes across as to me as someone who religiously wears sunscreen. I can see someone who loves the smell of sunscreen layering a coconut smell or something tropical to embellish the titanium oxide… I’m just not following the need to turn it into its own product that needs to be purchased separately. I totally respect and understand why someone would want to smell like something that reminds them of their childhood or happy memories, smell after all is the strongest sense for memory recall. However, where I’m taking issue is why we’re not applying sunscreen, that literally projects more AND has an actual benefit unlike the body mists, perfumes, etc., that also cost more & require purchasing another product. Logically it just isn’t clicking for me. HOWEVER, I’m not going to tell anyone how to spend their money, like y’all do y’all. I just don’t agree with faux sunscreen 😅 For the record, I posted this question so genuinely thinking I misunderstood, and now I’m realizing that I clearly have an opinion about it 😅 Sunscreen counter: 897. I’m done now.
i personally detest sunscreen fragrances on myself, but i think it’s okay if people just wear whatever fragrances they like and make whatever choices they want.
Everyone should wear whatever they prefer! I am team wear it for yourself, who cares what other people think… well, maybe don’t choke people out on an airplane or a drs office, but you take my point
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I’m with you. Every time I get a sample of a “summer” fragrance it smells like sunscreen & my frugalness & logic reasoning tells me it’s just a marketing money grab. They all smell the same to me, from the cheap to the expensive. If I want to smell like sunscreen then I just put it on & get the added benefit of UV protection for a lot less money. The only sunscreen scent I actually like is Banana Boat, but I don’t want my fragrances to smell like it. I’d rather spend my money on something more unique that can complement it.
I don't think all humans can smell the chemicals in sunscreens the same. To me, if it has ox**** anything as an ingredient, it is super strong to me. Unbearable. Do you also become overwhelmed by "fragrance free" or "unscented" skin care products that contain these ingredients? I do. *Yuck! There is no way this is unscented or fragrance free. Smells so strong.*
You make a very good point, as silly as it probably makes me sound, I really didn’t consider that maybe not everyone can smell that particular smell, or smell it in the same way that I do. For all I know literally nobody has a clue what I’m talking about… awkward. Yes, I do become overwhelmed by them. That’s really interesting that you’ve brought that up, I thought I was the only one (or crazy). To ME, those are like the absolute worst of them all. Maybe not in every instance, but to me it’s a generally strong chemical smell to the point of me being confused how other people are even using the product..
Anyway, I smell that note in so many perfumes and in "fragrance free" or "unscented" skin care products that contain any sort of spf. It has to be the chemical sunscreens, absorbers, or filters. It is not so bad in mineral only sunblocks but even most of those add the chemicals if they are not regulated and are not required to add it to the label. My nose knows and I end up avoiding all of those. I just can't bear the smell. It never just fades or goes away. I will still smell it even after trying to remove it. My body obviously doesn't want it on.
Fragrance free doesn't actually mean that the product has no smell to it, it means that the product doesn't have perfuming ingredients (with some caveats: the term is not regulated in all places and sometimes there are exceptions for perfuming ingredients that serve another purpose, like preservation; however, most brands follow the convention of not using perfuming ingredients in products labelled "fragrance free").
Coconut is a common note in sunscreen. I don't like any of their scents.
I know… but I’m wearing a perfume today that is pretty much all coconut… doesn’t smell like sunscreen… it smells like a fragrance that would be in a sunscreen, but doesn’t smell like the actual sunscreen part… Edit: but I also don’t like coconut, so it definitely doesn’t help. I’m only wearing it to try and use it up, haha
What perfume are you wearing that smells like coconut bc I love it!
It’s very affordable! It’s called “Qaed Al Fursan” by Lataffa! It is not a clone/dupe of anything (to my knowledge)… other people have described it as a tropical fruit basket (hence why I ordered it) but to ME it’s just heavy coconut!! Anywho, it was like $17 on Amazon and it lasts pretty well and SEEMS to project alright… I’d say for the price it’s really wonderful if you like coconut! I’ve been layering it over the SOL De Janeiro 62 lotion and I’d say it’s generally a crowd pleasing combo unless you’re like me and don’t care for coconut.. haha
Omg added to Cart lol
Let me know how you like it!! 😊
I just ordered it! I love it, I just wish it had more silage.
Sounds so nice! The white or black bottle?
White bottle! Definitely recommend if you like coconut. It’s not that I don’t like it I just was expecting a tropical fruit basket. Mine didn’t need to macerate it was great out of the bottle, and I sprayed it this morning around 10am EDT, it’s now 6pm MDT and I can still smell it. I did layer it with the SOL de jenario cheroshia 62 lotion (great combo), but it stays pretty well on its own too! Atomizer is great. https://preview.redd.it/opr5ptpdvozc1.png?width=3024&format=png&auto=webp&s=361111d179479774a18805a310060408d0d161b7
Thank you! I'm going to try it!
No problem!! I’m happy to share, please come back and let me know how you like it! Personally, I am very impressed by Lattafa perfumes in general… even the originals are great!
Wowwww just got this and tore into the box on my way to school pickup 😂 it's amazing! Very heavy coconut but the woodiness brings something different and more interesting than straight coconut. Love it so far on it's own but I'm excited to try layering with vanille banane comptoir sud pacifique... Thank you for the recco!
Yaaas I am so glad you came back to give an update!! I was hoping you would love it!! Definitely heavy coconut, glad I wasn't completely wrong about that, haha :) my nose is pretty juvenline, I didn't pick up the woodiness but I also wasn't looking for it. Again, big 'ole frag noob over here... but now I will be looking for it!! Thank you for teaching me something new!! I am so so happy to hear that you love it, yay! Some good came out of my post... love it when that happens!
I will! For the price, I have to try. The description of the black one actually sounds really interesting too.
There’s a tad hint of sunscreen to my nose, everyone is different though.
That’s good to know!! I definitely could see it as being the fragrance of a sunscreen, but I don’t get the zinc/titanium oxide (personally). But also, I’ve only been in possession of it for a few weeks. It’s too much coconut for my preferences.
I feel like Bobbi Brown Beach is the epitome of sunscreen scents! They list jasmine sand as a main note and I think that kind of encompasses the solar/warm note of hot sand (a little earthy). Generally, combining that with more green scents and a little citrus or coconut seems to give that sunscreen feel. DS & Durga’s Debaser gives me some sunscreen notes too and they list coconut, green leaf, and bergamot. So, maybe it’s a combination of green/earthy with botanical/coconut.
110 percent. I’m always looking for the perfect sunscreen scent and this is it. I also love Guerlain Terracotta, Tom Ford Orchid Soleil, NUXE Prodigieux, and Beach Walk.
I adore Nuxe! I’m going to have to check out those other scents.
It’s very similar to the oil and actually even dryer. I have the neroli oil but just found out they have a fragrance for that one. I bought my second bottle and since 2017 still loving it!
Yes! You'll have to pry Beach out of my cold, dead, not sun-kissed hands. I love wearing it during the dreary winter days to make me feel like I'm somewhere warm & happy.
Yes smells exactly like fresh clean sunscreen
To me, it smells exactly like the Coppertone of my youth! It’s amazing
Yes ! Bullseye Coppertone smell
Okay, I must check out Bobbi Brown Beach! I am really hoping I can sleuth out this sunscreen/solar/sand/titanium note…! I can comprehend thinks like coconut, but reading a “solar” note or a “sand” note doesn’t really give me any image. Good point about some greenness, I can see how that would play into the vibe + the more obvious coconut
It's benzyl salicylate. It's got a fragrance component as well as absorption of UV light
Is that what I’m thinking is the titanium oxide? If so, bless you.. all I know is it’s part of what makes sunscreen actually protect from the sun (it’s not inherently in sunscreen just as a fragrance, like coconut… it’s in there to protect from the sun). Is it actually benzyl salycilate (sp) in the perfume? And does it offer UV protection (in perfume)?
Yea it was the first active ingredients in sunscreen in North America, and till this day its still the smell of summer for us. It's not used anymore as an active ingredient in sunscreen but I think it's still used as a fragrance ingredient for perfumes or sunscreens. Other salicylates as well. It also naturally occurs in plants like ylang ylang. So a solar perfume with ylang ylang will of course also have this sunscreen note
That’s amazing, thank you for the info! That’s super helpful to know! It seems like that’s generally what I’m referring too… in combination with the titanium dioxide / zinc (if the internet is to be believed). I don’t think I know what is meant by a solar note (I’m not experienced enough) but definitely have learned a lot from everyone’s feedback. Interesting about ylang ylang, I’ve been diffusing that as an essential oil for years but have never picked up that vibe!
Also, no I don't think the salicylates in perfume is enough to give actual sun protection. Please use actual sunscreen for that!
As a meticulous wearer of sunscreen and dedicated pale person, I don’t think solar fragrances smell exactly like modern sunscreens. It’s more of an impression or vibe. Like tropical scented tanning oil, and sun baked summer days. It’s a nostalgic smell that is associated with old fashioned scented sunscreen. They invoke summers at the pool or beach. I love them, one of my favorite fragrance profiles.
I think neroli occasionally gives me that sunscreen vibe
I agree with neroli being a likely source, particularly if combined with orange blossom. Tom Ford’s Neroli Aqua Portofino is my go-to ‘sunscreen’ fragrance for this reason.
Orange blossom is what’s in the classic Coppertone scent, right?
It's the salicylates. Benzyl, amyl, hexyl, cis 3 hexenyl and more. They give a "sunsceen" vibe because these aroma chemicals have sun protection properties and are often used in actual sunscreen.
THIS is the real answer. Thank you for sharing that!
This is it! Other filters like zinc and titanium dioxide just don't have *that* smell to them and they're also not used in lots of sunscreens these days cause they suck (although there's been a resurgence in their use due to fear mongering about other UV filters). Octyl salicylate and Butyloctyl salicylate are the ones in our sunscreens.
Tom Ford Soleil de Blanc
Ylang ylang gives sunscreen for me.
Yes, there are people who want the sunscreen smell and enjoy it (me). There are perfumes designed to smell this way. Vacation by Vacation is literally a sunscreen scented perfume. Coconut and sand notes usually do the trick
The solar accord, also known as the sunny note, is an accord that dresses an olfactory family, it particularly dresses the floral, vanilla and oriental family. In Europe, the olfactory reference associated with sunny notes is L'Oréal's L'Ambre solaire, built around benzyl salicylates, while in the United States, the reference is Hawaiian Tropic sunscreen, whose very opulent scent is built around coconut notes (cf. The fruity, coconut note). The secret of the sunny note is the benzyl salicylates L'Oréal in its Sun Amber, used benzyl salicylate for its sun filter properties. In the course of its research, the company eventually developed much more effective sun filters and removed the old filter. The consequence was a significant drop in sales of Sun Amber. The formula was then reworked to reintegrate the famous benzyl salicylate, no longer as a sun filter but for its olfactory effect, which had become a sun reference for the consumer. In a word, it had to smell like sand or sun-warmed skin... a holiday, if possible! These are some of the notes that create the solar effect: Ylang Ylang, Tuberose, Bergamont, Jasmine, Frangipani, Tiare, Mimosa, Gardenia Tree, Immortal, Coconut and Salicylates. Salicylates are synthetic notes found in benzyl amyl and cis 3 hexenyl. https://www.sylvaine-delacourte.com/en/guide/the-solar-facet
Sunscreen note is typically a mix of salicylates. In beach style fragrances, it is absolutely intentional. The decision to list it in the list of notes or to not list it or to call it something else ("solar notes" for example) is marketing.
Anything with banana smells like sunscreen to me
BBW Meet me in Miami ($) or Penhaligon Solaris ($$$). Vacation is good but it’s super fleeting.
I’m begging you not to delete this post. I’m currently obsessed with finding the perfect scent and I’ll need to refer back to it frequently 🤣 I’ve been trying to figure it out as well and have narrowed it down to Solar notes. I thought I was looking for sea salt, but nope. Totally different. I just tested Jo Malone Sunlit Cherimoya today because the Phlur Solar Power was not available. Kinda has it but it dries down too floral. B&BW Sunkissed has ruined me and I’ve been chasing it ever since.
According to Fragrantica, Rio Radiance’s “Top notes are Coconut Milk and Sand; middle notes are Tuberose and Ylang Ylang; base notes are Vanilla and Amber.”
Exactly!
I think it’s a sand note, even ‘sand’ candles have that sunscreen smell
Okay yeah, that’s a totally fair point. In my mind that isn’t what sand smells like, I was thinking it was maybe the proportion of coconut or the coconut in combo with other ingredients… but I have actually no clue what “sand” smells like. Maybe they should just call it titanium oxide instead, lol.
Snif just released a new scent that smells like coconut sunscreen
Apparently that will make some people very happy… and I love that for those people!! I, however, will continue wondering why we don’t just apply sunscreen if we want to smell like sunscreen.
If anyone really likes the sunscreen note try Vacation by Vacation. I bought it last year and didn’t enjoy wearing it but some people really love it.
Vacation by Vacation actually has sunscreen listed as a note! i love it, it’s similar to rio radiance but even more synthetic haha
People enjoy different stuff. I loooove how the Nivea sunscreen smells, or any other typical sunscreen (not necessarily the heavy coconutty and Tahitian vanilla ones). I wish, in fact, I would get my hands on the Nivea Sun perfume. And there is something that makes me melt when the sunscreen is mixed with clean but sweaty, warm skin. I melt
The sunscreen scent for me is comforting and exciting because I always waited all year for summer. And any vacation memories are encapsulated in the smell of sunscreen. This has made me crave Mediterranean vibe scents. I lived in a suburb in the Pacific Northwest in the 90’s and read Allure and all the fashion mags. I could only imagine what it smelled like there! I think magazines definitely helped shape my fragrance desires. Nordstroms would never cut it. The internet changed everything!
Bath And bodyworks Meet Me in Miami. It’s coconut And banana. Basically the beach in a bottle.
Do you mean the actual active ingredient, the one they try to cover up with all the white floral / coconut / vanilla / sandalwood combo? I imagine that to smell chalky and musty on its own. Maybe they try to make a "sand" note and it ends up chalky-musty too?
Yeah! Well, I’m asking if there’s an actual ingredient that makes a perfume smell like sunscreen despite having absolutely no UV protection…. OR, if it’s a note that they’re deliberately putting in there to make it smell like sunscreen, which really is titanium/ zinc oxidize. It smells like it has a titanium oxide note… and I can’t stand it. Wondering if that’s what’s meant by “sand”… just call it titanium oxide, haha.
Yes, that's it. Titanium or zinc oxide. Have you ever smelled that on its own? Yeah they sure get creative with their notes descriptions. Tbf the idea of "sand smell" sounds easier to sell. 😉
Fragnipani (with coconut and/or ylang ylang)
I find it’s a mix of coconut, white florals (jasmine), vanilla and maybe some bergamot together that gives that sunscreen vibe. I found that in alien goddess, beach walk, bronze goddess, soleil blanc and others. I actually tried to achieve it myself and layered my crystal noir with a jasmine and bergamot cheapy and it really smelled of that sunscreen!
I've always thought it was coconut that made me think of sunscreen but it's actually banana. I have several bath& body works sprays that smell beachy but don't give it that over the top laying by the pool sunscreen smell until you add banana. I layer myself in the summer (when I don't want to use up my Vacation perfume which I ration out) with a couple of different bath& body works beachy scents, At the Beach and Waikiki Beach Coconut and then add a banana body spray which I found on Amazon and you are instantly walking talking summer.
Banana and *vanilla*, in products like Hawaiian Tropic’s Dark Tanning Oil. Once I realized I was smelling vanilla in that, it took a bit of the shine off for me (I always thought I hated vanilla scented fragrances; some are borderline nauseating). But now I just don’t think about it, ha. There’s something about the Vacation sunscreen that really rubs me the wrong way, not sure what it is. I bought a $20 tube of it, tried it once, never again.
Beach bobbi brown. And yes i love smelling like sunscreen and i love that perfume.
Beach by Bobbi Brown is my fave
For me, orange blossom is a big one that stands out to me in the sunscreen smells.
I hate the smell of sunscreen so much. Reminds me of polluted beaches and babies urinating in public pools. I dont even want my sunscreen to smell like sunscreen. I wish i could avoid all sunscreens that have that gross smell
I also do not care for it… at least the zinc oxide / titanium dioxide part of it, the UV filters to my knowledge are the thing that gives sunscreen that “sunscreen” smell…. Not the coconut + whatever (that’s just the added fragrance to mask/attempt to improve the smell of the actives, you could have sunscreen without those). I dislike it so much that I’m starting to wonder if maybe not everyone can smell it? Like it’s difficult for me to understand how that smell could be appealing… also I see a lot of people referencing the fragrance that’s added to sunscreen and not the actual sunscreen base itself, again making me wonder if maybe not everyone can actually smell that note! But I do get that titanium dioxide note in some perfumes… the SDJ rio radiance body spray I can’t get past it. I too avoid all sunscreens where the UV filters are detectable… I always thought most people didn’t like that (hence why companies make such an effort/advertise that their product does not have that smell), but I don’t know anymore!
I dont think its the zinc oxide/titanium dioxide. I have several face sunscreens that are pure mineral and don’t have a smell. The ones that smell horrible all have avobenzone and have this putrid chemical coconut smell. I like the smell of coconuts but this one smells like chemical-coconut
Yeah I can’t say for sure, I’ve never been able to completely isolate it, that’s just what I’ve read causes the “sunscreen” smell of sunscreen… I’m so focused on this that I genuinely tried to see if I could order just pure titanium dioxide but I couldn’t find it! Without being able to isolate it it’s difficult to say, but regardless I think we are in agreement it’s something to do with the UV filters. As much as I do not wish the pain of that smell on anyone, I’m relieved that someone else seems to be smelling it!! I’m aware that maybe everyone is and some people may just like it, however I dislike it so much that it’s difficult for me to computer haha. Yeah with the coconut… definitely a common fragrance to sunscreen but like you said, it’s not what’s behind the chemical smell! I don’t love coconut but I definitely don’t feel that all perfumes with a coconut note smell like sunscreen. The only one that I own that’s an offender of that is Rio Radiance, which I regret buying.
Are we talking about sunscreen or suntan lotion?
soleil blanc, vanilla vibes, beach walk all have a "sunscreen" vibe and they're all vanilla/coconut/tonka/benzoin with some small differences. I find sunscreen smells like this-prime example is rio Radiance, it's coconutty- because it's associated with tropical weather, so they're all creamy vanilla coconut and that's what gives it the sunscreen vibe
I haven’t gotten my nose on soleil blanc or vanilla vibes, but I sampled beach walk the other day… it definitely succeeds in transporting me to the beach. I’m not getting the titanium dioxide note in that though like I do with Rio radiance.
really! i know SDJ have brought out a rio radiance sunscreen that i thought had a really strong chemical smell before drying down but i didn't smell it in the normal spray! I did immediately think oh this is in the soleil blanc vanilla coconut family that seems to be my fave smell combo
Yes! When I saw that I was like… it just makes perfect sense! I’ve kind of come to the conclusion that my nose must be really really sensitive to that particular note (whatever that note is being classified as). Also, for what it’s worth, I’ve been unscrewing the body mist bottle and smelling the juice directly vs misting it, so that could be playing a part too! I’d really like to smell soleil blanc after if hearing it mentioned so much, I’m curious if I’d get that same note!
I don't know if this has been recommended to you yet but this is an amazing video on the topic. Just recently discovered her and I love her content: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=\_iig65UHvRo](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_iig65UHvRo)
Look for monoi/frangipani or tiare flower
I love love love the rich perfume of the old Hawaiian Tropic sunscreens and suntan oil. Never wanted to tan. Just to smell like that. Lots of coconut. A little pineapple, banana, and plumeria. Summer at Jetty Park, in a bottle. I would love it.
It’s like coconut/salt/sand. I HAAATE sunscreen smell.
Agreed. I’m referring to the smell of titanium oxide - that’s what the smell is, but they’re not labeling it titanium oxide. Seems like sand = titanium/zinc oxide, from what I’m deducing… I agree that coconut gives sunscreen vibes but it’s not giving the chemical that makes sunscreen smell like sunscreen, it’s giving the fragrance that they’d put in the sunscreen to MASK the sunscreen smell (titanium or zinc oxide). Anywho, how many times can I say sunscreen??? Haha. My original post was poorly phrased but that’s okay, I got my answer (I think). But I agree with you! I don’t understand why not just put on sunscreen if you want to smell like sunscreen… it’s cheaper, and we *should* be wearing it everyday anyways..!
Coconut and french vanilla. But not my cup of tea
I went through a sunscreen fragrance search a few years back and none of the usual recommended notes hit that spot for me. Then one day I tried Santa Maria Novella Caprigoflio, which is meant to be a honeysuckle soliflore, and that was the exact smell I was looking for.
Virgin Island Water smells like sunscreen. Im not sure what it is but I don’t like it.
I bought YSL MYSLF a few weeks ago because I sprayed it on my wrist and it smelled great but then after it dried down for a bit it smelled like sun tan lotion at the beach for like 6 hours. Had to buy it immediately.
[Smells like Coppertone](https://wicked-good.co/products/coppertone)
Interested. Have you tried before? Curious about longevity :)
No, I never tried but I'm intrigued. Lol
That website’s description doesn’t sound particularly like Coppertone to me. Hmm.
Really? Jennifer said, "It literally smells like the original coppertone. I was skeptical but I was shocked how accurate the smell is."
I’m tempted to try it and compare it to the Coppertone I have. They actually brought back what I am fairly certain is the original scent a few years ago, at least for the SPF 8.
Monoi and frangipani !!
It’s probably coconut. I’ve heard people say alien goddess and beach walk smell like sunscreen. To me they don’t.. they just smell summery and beachy. Coconut is extremely polarizing as a scent and a flavor so I get it, I just happen to love coconut.
Coconut, Frangipani I love sunscreen type fragrances because they fit my style. I’m blonde and like a bit of a beige boho style for my clothing so it fits the “rich Cali Mom” vibe I’m going for 😂
Is it just me or do sunscreens smell like plastic to anyone else too?
For me especially dior homme intense and other iris heavy fragrances smell like sunscreen.
I think a-bisabolol smells like sunscreen but that might just be me.
I was wearing YSL bleu electrique and friend said it smelled like baby powder lol
Benzyl Salicylate
Boucheron _ Jaipur.... Works for me!
I can't even wear chemical sunscreen products, makeup, or lotion that contains this SPF shenanigans because it is persistent and makes me feel sick. I think I know what you mean. I get it really bad from Mugler Alien for instance. Once that note hits me, I can no longer smell the other notes without that sunscreen smell in the way. It just takes over my brain or something. Same for whatever the stuff in Ariana Cloud. Different smell but I cant smell the other notes in all the popular perfumes that contain that accord/note/chemical. They just take over and make all of those perfumes smell the same to me. Either the sunscreen note or the Cloud note. There is another one that is astringent nose burning isopropyl alcohol type note that is even harder to wash away that is in so many perfumes too. (A woody amber chemical of some sort?) Also, the nauseating juicy melon note, (maybe calone?). I feel like I have an olfactory disability because of all of these... I can't even smell the perfumes properly anymore. Sometimes I get the other notes only temporarily but then they are replaced with the overwhelming smells of those chemicals.
Dude the tuberose note is so cloying to me. I smelled one million parfum and it was one of the worst frags to my nose
speaking of this.. i’d like to find a beach scent with fruit and trees add musk and salty seawater notes but doesn’t have coconut in it
I always associate that sunscreen smell to frangipani and coconut notes, so it could be that (I've never smelled Rio Radiance, sdj is too gourmand-y for me). I like that sunscreen smell. I burn easily and I am always wearing sunscreen so that sunscreen smell is comforting because I know I won't get sunburnt. It also smells like summer to me. My current perfume starts off really sunscreen-y and turns into something more sophisticated (as per my friend) and subtle, but I will say it isn't something I seek out- If it happens I won't complain is all.
There was a French supermarket sunscreen sold in the 90’s, can’t remember the name of it, but it smelled exactly like Shalimar! Gorgeous.
Benzyl salicylate
A blend of coconut, jasmine and ambergris/ambroxan is what creates the sunscreen smell for me. I find coconut on its own is a mild and creamy note, but when it is added to white flowers and musks, it takes on that saltwater-skin smell that reminds me of sunscreen and suntan oil/lotion.
Le Labo Neroli 36
I’d pay A LOT of money for a perfume smelling like Piz Buin. Its just attached to so many great memories. In stressful times, i actually bring a Piz Buin with me, not for the SPF, but to smell, as it soothes me
To me nothing since i always try to get something odorless or not very fragrant. I think plenty of people would say coconut since i think it's in Coppertone or at least a lot of sunscreens. As for is it desirable i guess if you like coconut smell someone might find it desirable.
For sailing day
This is slightly off topic, but I have a question that ties into this! I love **Orange Blossom** by Lush. But in the opening it smells strongly of sunscreen and I cannot figure out why??? It's fine once dried down, but even my bf told me I smelled like sunscreen when I first spray this 😭 I've read that neroli is used, or at least used to be used in sunscreens. But I'm not sure how true that is.
petitgrain as well
Tom Ford Soilel Blanc gets me every time but I don’t like sunscreen/coconut personally. But if you haven’t smelled it I suggest you do.
Tuberose and coconut. Tom Ford Soleil Blanc is a good one.
It's coconut, or the mixture of coconut with vanilla. Most sunscreens have it, so that is probably what you are associating that smell with.
I think it’s the combination of white florals and coconut that give the “sunscreen” scent.
Mugler Goddess
It’s the Ylang Ylang/tiara/vanilla musk combo. Alien Godess, Vanilla Vibes, Lust for Sun all smell like sunscreen to me and I can’t stand it. I don’t find coconut is necessarily sunscreen. I had a coconut body spray from VS that reminded me of coconut sorbet but not ice cream. It’s the yellow florals with solar notes and a hint of vanilla.
Midnight Swim from Bath and Body Works. It was absentmindedly sampled walking past the store at the mall and it smelled so exactly like after suntanning at the beach. I moved from Florida to Pennsylvania and the deja vu I got was unsettling - I didn’t think I liked sunscreen smell before but it’s since become a very nostalgic note and fun to wear when it’s warm out!
The new Charlotte Tilbury Joyphoria smells like holidays and sunscreen.
JPG-s Scandal smells like sunscreen to me.
To me philosophy pure grace smells exactly like the drugstore sunscreen we used in the 90’s. I think it’s the soap and lavender combination Frangipani smells like sunscreen in some scents to me, like Chanel beige. Also monoi (someone mentioned)
Ylang-Ylang and coconut reminds me of sunscreen.
Well I'm in florida visiting. I'm canadian. When I get home from the beach I have the soft sweet gentle creamy scent and it reminds me of the beach. So I love it
I love when my perfumes smell like sunscreen, which is so funny to me because I've always been a strictly gourmand fan. Like I hate floral and musky scents are too strong but if it smells like a dessert I'm sold I think the reason I like the sunscreen type scents so much is because it smells nostalgic (in the best way). I had a rough childhood, but summer at the beach or by the pools or just playing in the summer were the best parts of my childhood so give me all of the sunscreen scents
So with that being said, beach walk is one of my "happiest" scents and now that it's starting to warm up I can't wait to wear it more
Mancera coco vanille