Morning Dawn: The First Light of Once Upon a Summer

Once Upon a Summer Series - Blog 2

So...where was I ? Oh yes...I think i was about to tell you how or why Morning Dawn came to me...

There’s something reverent about mornings at the shore.

Not just the stillness—but the way everything seems to wait. The sea holds its breath. The light stretches awake across the horizon. And barefoot, we step into the world as if it’s brand new.

In those childhood summers, mornings had their own kind of magic. I remember slipping out of the cottage before anyone else had stirred, the door creaking softly behind me. The sand was cool, untouched, and the waves whispered secrets only early risers could hear. The sun hadn’t yet claimed the sky—it was all pale golds and soft blues, with the scent of salt and sunscreen already mingling in the air.

But morning wasn’t just ocean and breeze.

Just a few minutes inland, the air changed. We’d hop in the car, windows rolled down, and drive toward town. And that’s when it hit you—that comforting, unmistakable perfume of freshly baked pão (bread) rising from neighborhood padarias (Bakeries). In Brazil, bakeries are stitched into every corner of the day, waking even earlier than the sun. The scent of bread—warm, doughy, beloved—drifted through the streets and whispered you toward breakfast.

That soft collision—sea salt and steaming bread—became its own kind of symphony. It marked a gentle transition from beach mist to city comfort. It’s a smell you feel in your bones. It stays.

And that’s the feeling behind the first scrub in Haven Bliss’s Once Upon a Summer collection. It’s a blend that captures the hush before the world wakes. A gentle brightness in its top notes—like the citrusy kiss of morning sun—followed by heart notes that soften into floral warmth, reminiscent of the skin’s dewiness after a refreshing dip. The base? A whisper of driftwood and vanilla, grounded and tender, like the aroma of bread lingering in the air as you head back to the sea.

This fragrance isn’t just nostalgia—it’s a homecoming. It invites you to start your day wrapped in serenity and soul, with memories rising like sunlight through an open window.

Discover our Morning Dawn beautiful products for your skincare.

And if you would like to know which one is the second of this series, here is Sun-Kissed.