Perfume Review: Eternal Return by CB I Hate Perfume

Beach huts on the North Norfolk coast

It’s great to move away from European perfumes and try something out of the US for a change. I received a parcel yesterday which included CB I Hate Perfume’s Eternal Return. Smelling it immediately took me straight back to Brighton beach, where I spent a lot of time as a teenager. I’ve never smelt anything remotely like this before – extremely evocative of the seaside. What’s interesting is that the British seaside is far from glamorous. It’s all washed up seaweed, dead jellyfish, cuttlefish shells and rotting crabs. Nonetheless, Eternal Return manages to capture the seaside atmosphere perfectly.

The question is whether Eternal Return is actually wearable. This is how my family would naturally honk after a day on the beach. My inclination would be to go home and have a hot shower and put on something more sweet smelling. If I went out to dinner with my friends in London smelling like the seaside, eyebrows would be raised. Not everybody would understand that this is an insanely cool fragrance from New York.

Eternal Return was initially released in 2007. Christopher Brosius is the ‘CB’ behind this range of fragrances. He is the creator of the perfumes as well as the name behind the brand. His perfumes are evocative of times and places, rather than following the traditional portfolio of ‘perfume’ smells.

If you love the seaside, then DEFINITELY try this. It’s perfect.