Strawberry Goes Coastal: First Look at Nest Santa Barbara Strawberry

If your idea of strawberry is sparkly body spray and sticky fingers, reset your expectations. Nest just dropped Santa Barbara Strawberry, and the timing is delicious. We are deep in a wave of photorealistic fruit, and strawberry is the note everyone is finally letting breathe. Not a sugar bomb, more of a fruit still wearing its leaves.

I haven’t worn it on skin yet, so treat this as a first look rather than a verdict. But the name does half the storytelling for me. Santa Barbara reads salty-pink sunset, eucalyptus in the air, a farmer’s market stall where the fruit is warm from the sun. If Nest holds to its modern, clean-lined style, expect a glossy strawberry accord lifted with airy florals and soft musks, maybe a saline touch that stops the syrup from crashing the party. This could be strawberry you can commute in, strawberry you can wear with a blazer.

Context matters. We already know strawberry can sell in grown up form. Burberry Her turned the note into an urban haze of musks and berries, and Marc Jacobs Daisy keeps a strawberry twinkle that never tips into cupcake. For straight-up literal, Demeter Strawberry and Molinard Fraise exist, but they skew pantry. If Santa Barbara Strawberry lands in the middle, we might get the best of both worlds, ripe yet sheer.

What I’ll be testing first: does the opening smell like real fruit, green shoulders and all, or does it rush into pink candy. How long does the strawberry hum on skin before the florals take over. And what kind of base is doing the heavy lifting, clean musks, a cashmere wood glow, maybe a faint sun-warmed skin vibe. My hunch, this will be layerable magic with soft vanillas. If you own Nest Madagascar Vanilla Perfume Oil, that could be a low risk pairing to add cream without clobbering the fruit.

Final thought, fruity florals are only boring when they try to please everyone. A coastal strawberry sounds specific, and specificity is sexy. If Santa Barbara Strawberry leans into that salty breeze idea, we might have a daytime signature that smells like vacation without the piña colada. I’ll report back once I’ve given it a proper spin on skin, beach walk optional.