Coccobello – sophisticated and chic and relaxed as a samba

Photo: courtesy of Brynne Clark

He was standing behind me, pulling his fingers through my hair. “So, what are we doing today?” he said.

Our eyes met in the mirror in front of me. “Shave it all off!” I said. “It’s too hot and humid for this much hair.”

“Ok, then,” he said, in a tone reserved for toddlers and feral animals.  “A short cut for summer.”

As he began cutting, he said, “I’d like to go to the ocean, some fun resort, and spend time on a beach. Maybe make it a family vacation – my wife and our kids, my brother and wife and their kids. You know, kids, swimming, sandcastles, drinks on the beach.”

“Sounds like fun,” I lied, flipping through a magazine.

Actually, I wouldn’t mind a beach vacation this summer, I thought to myself, but not a beach vacation with crowds and kids and sand in my sugary drink. Then I just zoned out, and slowly an image came into mind. I saw myself strolling along a tropical island's clean, white beach. It’s warm, not hot; it’s serene, not frenetic; it’s soul-restoring. My long, sun-dyed hair hangs loose and grazes my tanned shoulders (hey, it’s my fantasy…) as it’s tossed by a gentle salty sea breeze, my bare feet are cooled by the sand and the linen sundress I’m wearing sways as I walk. Further down the beach, I see the local boys selling coconut slices from baskets calling out, "a cocco bello!" – beautiful coconut. I can see this place, but with all the chemical salon smells around me, I can’t summon the smell of this place.

I want the smell of Coccobello perfume by James Heeley on my skin.

Beach scents, like church scents, never go out of fashion, and anytime I want a sublime tropical beach experience, I turn to Coccobello.

It opens with a gentle green note from palm leaves and a note of fresh coconut - not cocoa butter, suntan lotion or the sweetened coconut used in baking. It smells tropical, it smells good, and when a heady note of indolic gardenia wafts through it, Coccobello soars. Bourbon vanilla - named for its provenance; the tropical islands of Madagascar, Comoros and Réunion and not its alcoholic content – adds a creamy sweetness while an ozonic note smells like a gust of tropical sea air coming off the water. The base is woody and dry from cedarwood and sandalwood, slightly sweetened by the vanilla aspect of benzoin, with oakmoss rounding out the woody, slightly sweet dimension.

Coccobello thrives on warm skin but never gets loud or cloying. The drydown is sophisticated, chic and relaxed as a samba. This is a five-star beach vacation on an exclusive tropical island.

“OK, we’re done,” he said.

“I love it!” I said, looking in the mirror in front of me.

We chatted some more before I went home, spritzed myself with Coccobello and spent the rest of the day on my own tropical beach.

Check out Coccobello in our Shop.