Well, you were right – it really does have that comforting ocean scent with none of the tourist sunscreen. But my first thought when I smelled it was “Don't I already have this?”.

And so today I tried an experiment – Aqua Motu on one arm and Salt Air by Demeter on the other. They are not the same compared side by side, but very, very close! Sisters maybe.

The CSP has a bright lime top note to me, but fades into a sweet ocean scent and stays there. Salt Air starts with alcohol and very synthetic ocean scent (most Demeters have a big alcohol punch in the beginning to me), but dries down into a sweet ocean scent too. Surprisingly the Salt Air lasts longer on the skin (most of the Demeters I've tried fade within a couple of hours into nothing) it's after work and has been since 8 am since I put them on, if I press my nose to my arm I can still smell the Salt Air, but not the CSP.

So, in conclusion: love the Aqua Motu, and next time you order minis from Demeter you should try the Salt Air too!

*Sorry for the long post!

I've lived on both coasts and its true that the Atlantic smells different from the Pacific…

If Aqua Motu smells nothing like La Jolla to you, don't even tell me — I'd rather preserve my nostalgia trip, LOL!

So sorry Frederic Malle is out of Parfum de Therese, I hope you find it in LA! I seriously doubt they will be out of EVERYTHING you want

I think we're comparing apples and oranges here, R. Sorry I wasn't clearer in my critique of the AB oils. Here goes:

With the Attar Bazaar oils, it's not like they “turned” in the sense went rancid, like a blended perfume oil in a short-life carrier oil can, or oxidized, same case scenario, or was “polluted” by body oils, microbes,

etc. Not that it even oxidized like alcohol perfumes can from the same elements — it's that the base that he uses for all his perfumes became

evident.

I suppose the top notes faded, oxidized (of course this can happen, and I've used perfumes in this condition, nonetheless.)

I was surprised to discover that when they did it revealed a sickly sweet secret — a synthetic base was used in all of them. Guerlain has a base

juice, too, right? To me, it seems like a shortcut for a lazy perfumer. “One accord suits all.”

I guess I was dazzled by his Unani and Sufi background, and expected more in the way of creativity. I really was shocked by the stupid base —

there's no other word for it — stupid, as in not clever, not intelligently designed, just stupid. Stupid perfumes — there's a new theme!

That said — AB oils can be enjoyed for the short haul. I used to love them. Then the stupid base showed through

That said, it is an inexpensive line, and if you're not going to become emotionally involved (sob, sob, my Tunisian Frankincense smells like my Tunisian Amber, etc., sob), then go for it. The perfumer, Hakim Chisti, is a Unani healer, which puts a cosmic spin on them I corresponded with him a few years ago (before the base juice discovery) and he is lovely, have one of his books, too, Sufi Healing, which puzzles me even more about the juice. Oh. Well.

They are available online http://attarbazaar.com

For a nice coconut scent, i use virgin organic coconut oil VOCO. Many health food stores here carry it now. Inexpensive, moisturizing and lovely coconut scent. you can layer it with the top note of choice.