I stumbled upon this while visiting a Sephora store in California this past March. After experiencing such severe drought conditions these last few years, Californians get very giddy about even the prospect of rain. It was no surprise to learn from a chatty salesperson that Rain by CLEAN, which was launched in 2012, was selling quite well in Santa Barbara.
I don’t normally go for sweet aquatic fragrances, which is what I’d call this, but surprise, surprise. I really enjoyed the fresh, sparkly and clean burst of energy this gives off before winding down to a very lovely sense of serenity. Very calming and peaceful.
After a sniff on the blotter strip (with eyes at half mast) I envisioned water but not rain. It smells like a wet garden or possibly even a private pool with luscious flowers somewhere nearby. It’s an uncomplicated aroma and somehow that simplicity really works.
According to Fragrantica, the notes featured are narcissus, water lily, melon, daisy and musk but I swear I smelled cucumber in there too. I consider this a nice choice for spring and summer and reminds me a lot L’Eau d’ Issey by Issey Miyake.
CLEAN also makes a Reserve Blend Rain which is a different animal possibly even better in my opinion. It seems to capture the invigorating energy of a freshwater stream where the air smells earthy and fresh. This one is has notes of white flowers – I could feel the jasmine and lily of the valley jumping out at me – along with vetiver, musk and patchouli. I was tempted to buy it but realized I’d have an issue putting the 3.4 oz bottle in my carry on bag coming back to New York.
Guanacoste Costa Rica
I recently tried to purchase a travel size bottle of the Reserve Blend Rain and so bummed was I when I recently went online to Sephora and found that both the 3.4 oz bottle and the travel size are completely sold out. Why is it that we always want something more when it’s no longer available?