Zuma, 1975 Thin Wild Mercury 2018

One of my favourite places anywhere is The Strand in Manhattan Beach, California. It’s this 2 mile long stretch along the Pacific Ocean, lined with a mix of beautiful modern and historic beach homes and gorgeous light sand beaches. Its iconic blue lifeguard towers stand against the horizon that scream for photo ops especially during golden hour. This stretch of walkway is lined with star jasmine which perfumes the ocean air with sweet white floral that blends so perfectly with the salty marine scent of the Pacific. Near the end of the walk is the Manhattan Beach Pier which cuts into the horizon with the roundhouse aquarium at the end. Any time of year you can see this pier bustling with families on their Sunday morning rituals, or lovers hand in hand after a romantic dinner. I fell in love along this strand. My husband brought me here right after I landed in Los Angeles for the first time and where he asked me to be his girlfriend almost 12 years ago. Whenever I need to clear my mind, set intentions, or reset my system, I make my way to this spot to realign myself back to who I am.
Zuma, 1975 by Thin Wild Mercury is inspired by the Malibu coast along this same ocean and reminds me so much of my special little piece of home. Zuma is a bright, sparkly, citrus aquatic scent with beautiful white floral and fresh spicy green notes. The addition of the vetiver and coriander makes this something so much more elevated than other citrus aquatics reminiscent of Light Blue. Its Jasmine and marine notes are iconic and easily loved. Sandalwood and ambrette really soften this scent so as it dries down it becomes a beautiful personal fragrance. As I’ve explored more fragrances I’m continually surprised by how much I end up enjoying citrus aquatics scents. Zuma is gorgeous and definitely something I can see myself purchasing as a summer scent that I could wear to my lovely walks at The Strand. If you love Light Blue and are looking for something more elevated or different, I would encourage you to give Zuma a try.

This one is quite divisive for me. There are two ways which this fragrance presents itself. I either get:

Driving past the beach on a blazing summer day, practically feeling the sea spray on your skin. A can of lime La Croix in the cup holder.

OR

An overcrowded and questionably clean aquatic pet store. There is no air flow and everyone in the building has sweat dripping down their back.

So, I tend to be pretty cautious about wearing this one

Zuma, 1975 from Thin Wild Mercury is a salty, grassy, sandy gremolata with bitter citrus and woody herbs served atop some fresh-caught marine delight just outside the sniffing range of this scent. I’m not saying it’s fishy, or seafoody or even …foody, but there’s definitely a sense of an almost palatable salinity.