Demeter Ocean

At a glance

Ocean is one of the literal, single-idea colognes of the Demeter Fragrance Library, the New York house that bottles everyday smells. It sets out to smell of the seaside itself: salt, sand and sea air, built as a light aquatic splash.

No launch year or perfumer has been published for it, and it no longer appears in Demeter’s current line.

Creation and context

Demeter was founded in 1993 by Christopher Brosius and Christopher Gable, a date given by both Wikipedia and Now Smell This. Its idea was to “bottle” ordinary odours as wearable colognes. Wikipedia records that the first scents, Dirt, Grass and Tomato, launched at Henri Bendel in New York in 1996; Now Smell This names Fresh Water as the first release. Demeter’s own site says the library was born in 1996 in the East Village.

Both Wikipedia and Now Smell This report that the company was sold in 2002 to Freedom Marketing Group; Wikipedia adds that Mark Crames became its manager, and Demeter’s site now signs him as CEO and chief perfumer. According to Now Smell This, Brosius later left to start CB I Hate Perfume.

Neither Fragrantica nor Parfumo gives a release year for Ocean, and no perfumer is credited. Like most Demeter scents, it is presented as a named smell rather than as an authored composition.

The composition

Demeter publishes no formal pyramid, but the two main databases describe the same short structure.

Parfumo’s community classifies it as aquatic and synthetic, with fresh, citrus and spicy accords. Fragrantica places it in the aromatic aquatic family. For the materials behind this kind of marine effect, see Calone.

Why it matters

Ocean is a clear example of what made Demeter different: a fragrance named for a single place or moment and meant to smell like it, without the structure of a designer perfume. It belongs to the same aquatic tradition that became mainstream in the 1990s, but in Demeter’s literal, inexpensive form.

It also sits beside a house sibling on this site, Demeter Rain, which takes the same approach to wet weather.

Reformulation and editions

Ocean was sold as a cologne spray. No reformulation history has been published. Parfumo marks it as apparently discontinued, and it does not appear in the Water collection on Demeter’s own shop, which now carries related sea scents such as Salt Air and Caribbean Sea; Now Smell This lists Caribbean Sea among Demeter’s 2015 releases.

Wearing it today

Ocean is now mainly a reseller find. Treat it as a light, salty splash for hot weather, and expect the short wear time that Demeter colognes are known for; reapply rather than overspray.

If a bottle is hard to find, Demeter’s current sea scents are the closest route to the same idea.

Related entries

Sources