Knot Bottega Veneta 2014

Most "sunscreen" scents that I have had the chance to test were packed with frangipani-neroli-coconut-lemon-vanilla-Hawaii-Caribbean-papaya mush, which for me is always just exhausting and reminds me of overpriced fruit juice-alcohol mixtures that are sold here in bars as cocktails at a premium. This has little to do with vacation for me.

With Knot, I have found a scent that immediately takes me back to the holidays of my childhood. I can't remember exactly what it was that my mother always smeared on my sisters and me from head to toe amidst great protest, but when I fell asleep in the evening, crusted with sand and salt, with instant iced tea-orange in my belly, wild, knotted, and sun-bleached hair, pine resin on my knees and elbows, it smelled just like this around me.

The orange blossom is very dominant, but is kept in check by the citrus fruits, making it appear rather transparent and fresh, like in a cologne, instead of being cloyingly heavy. Rose casts delicate floral veils over the heads of the main players and then snuggles up with lavender in the dry-down to gently let the sparkling day fade away. Fortunately, the scent does not come off as herbaceous or bitter at all, but rather creamy, juicy, and lightly floral-fresh.
I can only guess where I get the pine association from, as there are no woody notes listed in the pyramid. It could be the lavender combined with tonka that contributes to a slightly dry base.