The Story
Why it exists.
The beginning
Some scents ask to be planned. This one arrived in a daydream. Amongst the Waves is part of the Olivine line by perfumer Julie Wray, and its name is a feeling rather than a destination: that suspended hour when your feet are still wet and everything tastes like coconut oil and warm stone. The perfume conjures the kind of summer that lives mostly in memory, the ones built from texture more than place. Salt air drifting across cooled skin. Cool water on hot shoulders. The floral creaminess of something blooming somewhere you can't quite see. It captures the sensory blur between ocean and skin, that breath when a swim stops being a swim and starts being a mood. What opens is bright and briny, a saline brightness that reads almost like sun on water before the softer notes settle in.
Three lilies share the heart here, which is unusual, and the reason it works is that none of them are trying to be the loudest. Stargazer lily brings that peppery, almost carnal sweetness. Tiger lily adds its spotted, freckled wildness. Water lily gives the cool green stem that keeps the whole thing from tipping into dessert. Anchored by tonka bean and Arabian sandalwood in the base, the composition stays lactonic and milky without ever going suntan-oily. It's a study in how restraint turns tropical notes from obvious into atmospheric.
The evolution
The first spray lands like a wave breaking across warm stone. Sea salt hits first, bright and mineral, almost cooling against coconut's tropical richness. Within ten minutes the salt recedes and the lilies step forward, three of them trading turns like a relay: the cool green of water lily, the freckled wildness of tiger lily, the sweet carnality of stargazer. The coconut doesn't vanish, it thins into a milky haze that softens everything it touches. As the hours pass the florals dim and what stays is a quiet agreement between tonka bean and Arabian sandalwood, the vanilla-warm woodiness settling into a second skin. The musk arrives last, barely there, pulling everything close to the body.
Cultural impact
Amongst the Waves wears the indie aesthetic without performing it. There is coconut and sea salt, but no rum-tinged party drink lurking underneath, and the white lilies arrive without any bridal-shop gloss. The whole composition reads like a state of mind rather than a performance, and it delivers that without going sheer or unsweetened. It has the quiet pull of a perfume people ask about because they have to lean closer to place it. That balance of cream and brine, floral and musk, makes it feel less like a beach scent and more like the memory of one, the kind that lingers in fabric and on warm shoulders long after the actual swim is over.
The House
Olivine AtelierOlivine Atelier is a Seattle-based independent perfumery founded by Julie Wray, known for hand-poured perfume oils and Eau de Parfum created with a focus on clean formulations. The brand emerged from a boutique established in 1993 before launching its signature fragrance collection in 2007. Wray's creations frequently feature delicate white florals like gardenia, paired with warm vanilla and skin-close musks that prioritize intimacy over projection. The atelier operates across multiple platforms, including its own website and an Etsy shop that has accumulated over 17,000 sales since 2013. Each fragrance carries evocative titles drawn from nature and memory, from the airy Bluebird to the oceanic Amongst the Waves.
The Creator
Julie WrayWray's work favors lush florals anchored by warm woods and skin-like musks. Her signature scent "More than the Stars" pairs stargazer lily and gardenia with almond, Egyptian musk, and sandalwood, a combination that feels both romantic and intimate.
