The Story
Why it exists.
The beginning
Santa Monica is a co-creation between Fugazzi and Monica Geuze, the Amsterdam house and the influencer whose name the fragrance carries. The brief was simple: bottle the feeling of a California coastal town where surfers share the boardwalk with rollerbladers and nobody's in a hurry. Geuze wanted to capture what she described as 'super relaxed and super luxurious', that specific coastal atmosphere where everything feels slightly slowed down and entirely worth it. The house agreed to build around her vision, crafting a scent that opens with bright citrus before settling into warmer, more contemplative territory.
The structure is what makes it interesting. Santa Monica opens luminous, yes, but the heart introduces white tea and white amber, two materials that soften the citrus into something more contemplative. It's the difference between a photograph of sunlight and actually standing in it. The tonka bean and patchouli base then push the composition somewhere warmer and more intimate than its initial impression suggests, the dry sand, not the waves. The result is a fragrance that moves through the day rather than declaring itself all at once.
The evolution
The opening is immediate and generous: Californian mandarin meets orange blossom and neroli, a citrus-floral burst that reads as sunny without trying. Within the first twenty minutes, the neroli starts to quiet, that sharp, bitter edge softens into something more honeyed. The white tea and white amber arrive quietly, taking their time. There's no dramatic hand-off here; the heart builds underneath while the top notes slowly recede. By hour three, the composition has settled into its base: patchouli's earthiness grounding the tonka bean's sweetness, musk keeping everything close to the skin. The drydown isn't loud, but it lasts. On fabric especially, the sand-and-skin character lingers well past the six-hour mark, the kind of trace someone notices when you're already gone.
Cultural impact
Released in 2022 as a co-creation with Monica Geuze, Santa Monica stands apart in Fugazzi's lineup for its approachability. Where other releases in the house lean confrontational, bold animalics, provocative drydowns, this one invites. The white tea and white amber heart represents a quieter register for a brand not known for quiet. Wearers describe it as a gateway fragrance: the one that gets someone into the house. It sits comfortably in the overlap between skin scent and statement, intimate enough for daily wear but distinctive enough to carry its own story.
