WAD - 50ML Eau de Parfum
There is a place that is always on the move. Shaped by wind, currents and tides. Where heaven and earth share the same stage. It is both permanent and always changing. The sea gives and takes land. Dunes grow higher or they wash away. The ships’ fate is left to the everchanging routes of the gullies. One thing is certain here, there will always be water, sand and wind. This magical place is called the Wadden Sea. We have captured its scents in WAD Eau de Parfum. From the salty sand and the sea weeds that can’t survive without the tides, to the islands’ buckthorn, 'juttersheds' and pine trees.
Capturing the smell of the Wadden Sea and turning it into a wearable perfume has been my most challenging project so far. But I believe we got it.
According to an avid mudflat hiker who helped me test the perfumes, this perfume is much like the Wadden Sea and the people who live there: "It is a rough, but honest and natural beauty that blends together perfectly. You will appreciate it more once you get to know it."
Salty?
Although everyone expects it to smell salty, there is no salt in WAD perfume, because salt by itself is completely odorless. What you actually smell during a walk along the islands' coasts are dead seaweeds and algae. So those are among the ingredients. There is also bergamot and clary sage to give the idea of salt. You will smell the harbor thanks to some sisal rope. You will smell the old and dusty 'juttersheds' thanks to a drop of nutmeg. It also contains a good dose of oudh and ambergris for that wet and windy beach smell. And last but not least there is, of course, pine, because the islands are covered with them.
Unisex
Our perfumes are not specifically made for men or women. Marketing helps create the concept of 'male' or 'female' fragrances. But the fact is they act differently on anyone's skin. So all of our perfumes are unisex.
Eau de Parfum is a very strong form of perfume, containing about 20% of pure perfume essence. Just one to two sprays on each wrist in the morning will keep you smelling amazing for the entire day.
Concept: Joeri Hottentot
100% made in the Netherlands.
Customer Reviews
Scent story
Most of the Dutch have visited one or more of the Wadden islands at least once in their lives. Some of them come back every year as the islands are a place of creating memories. Mainlanders lose their stress and sorrows as soon as they set foot on the boat to these islands. It's an almost magical place where time seems to stand still, eventhough the islands are always on the move.
For the development of WAD I interviewed the islanders to find out what is causing this magic in order to succesfully capture the smell of the Wadden Sea in this perfume.
When I asked people what the Wadden Sea smells like, they all mentioned 'salt.' But frankly salt does not have a smell. According to marine biologist Inez Flameling the actual smell at sea seems to be caused by a mixture of chemicals of which dimethyl sulphide is the main cause of the smell. This gas is produced by bacteria when they eat dead algae and dead sea weeds. You will find this same gas in beer and farts... The other chemicals are dictyopterenes, which are 'seaweed sex hormones' meant to attract seaweed sperms. So the sea smell we all love is just a mixture of dead algae and sex hormones.
Capturing the smell of the Wadden Sea and turning it into a wearable perfume has been a challenging project, but I believe I got it. This perfume will not be everyone's favorite. But just like the Wadden Sea, you will love it the more you get to know it.
