Spring in the Pacific Northwest is a transitional season — there are chilly days and warm days, a dry day (or two), and then there’s…RAIN...all types of rain — sprinkles, showers, ‘horizontal’ umbrella-proof rain, deluges, sometimes all in the space of one exciting hour. What separates spring from fall, another season with multiple personalities, are the fragrant flowers that bloom in spring: plum and cherry; narcissus; wintersweet; scented azaleas, camellias and witch hazels; lilacs; daphnes; hyacinths; and my favorite — wallflowers. For my springtime perfume choices, I (mostly) skip spring flowers in a bottle — no perfume matches the aromas of real plants blooming all around me. My spring favorites, most of them new discoveries and, as yet, un-reviewed, are a varied lot.
Ah…the smell of gasoline on a warm afternoon! Histoires de Parfums Pétroleum reminds me of lawn mower fumes mingling with the scents of flowers and cut grass. It makes me drowsy (in a good way). And speaking of grass (and roots) I’ll add LesNez Turtle Vetiver Front to my spring favorites list; it’s a rich and warm vetiver that works in any season (like a “perfume-scarf,” it blunts the chill on cold days and, conversely, it accentuates the heat of a warm day when you want that “baking” feeling).
As one bakes, one sweats, and I’m one of those people who likes a hot-and-bothered-smelling perfume on occasion (we’re talking ‘clean’ sweat — grapefruit, vetiver, cedar — no overwhelming cumin). In this clean-dirty category, I’ll put Kinski (with its marijuana and vetiver notes) and the éminence grise of modern perspiration perfumery: Cartier Déclaration (crisp, even as it overexerts itself).
Santa Maria Novella Acqua di Cuba provides an intense/dense floral accord with tobacco for a taste of things to come: hot, humid, “florid” days. A “cooler,” more talc-y citrus scent is Lorenzo Villoresi Theseus. Both Theseus and Kinski have a 70s vibe and conjure great French masculine fragrances of the past.
Wonderful French perfumes of yore? What about Yves Saint Laurent M7? M7 was beloved by perfumistas and either hated or ignored by most everyone else. The reissue, M7 Oud Absolu, is certainly lighter than the “vintage” version, but reconfigured M7 still smells great when pitted against most designer masculine fragrances (and a lighter version of M7 is apt for cool spring nights).
Now, if you hate the idea of too much citrus, “unclean,” or heavy-ish aromas in spring and want a fancy scent that’s washed, ironed and dressy, I’d pick aldehydic Nasomatto China White or the powdery, evocative (southern Italy!) Santa Maria Novella Ginestra (fragrant broom or Cytisus scoparius) (Santa Maria Novella is having a renaissance in my perfume life).
My last choice for spring favorites? The new Aedes de Venustas Signature Eau de Parfum: every season needs an incense fragrance – this one provides sheer incense floating around the aromas of rhubarb and red currant.
Happy spring to everyone! Do share your ideas on spring perfume; for instance, if you could only wear ONE fragrance for the three months of spring, what would it be?
You can find more great spring fragrances at Bois de Jasmin :: Grain de Musc :: Perfume Posse :: Perfume Smellin’ Things.
Note: top image is Leaf from Album Depicting Birds, Flowers, Landscapes, and Flower Pots by Yoshizawa Setsuan [altered] via Wikimedia Commons.
Great post, Kevin. You’ve given me an idea for a tobacco fragrance to try. I used to love walking through Volunteer Park in Seattle at springtime (often in the rain) with all the flowers in bloom. The scent of the blooms made the rain tolerable. My choice for spring fragrance is Annick Goutal Un Matin d’Orage. It reminds me of a lush spring garden after the rain.
Lady M: rain and flowers go well together if the rain is light…the downpours here seem to wash away fragrance!
Perhaps Christian Dior homme sport / freshness vitality, green or
EL Azuree / floral feminine, bright !!
Sorry I’m being selfish !
Would love to say Tom Ford Azuree Lime, but I wouldn’t smell it for long!:(
Thanks for sharing Kevin! Still thinking about Kinsky!
sinnerman: hope you find some Kinski!
So many good fragrance mentions and I don’t even know the smell of half of them. Shame on me.
If I had to wear only one fragrance during spring that would be either Prada Infusion d’Homme or either Histoires de Parfums 1725 Casanova.
Great choice ! Prada infusion d’homme to me is like a fresh white tee shirt! So clean and crisp. This fragrance is one I love to smell on my jumpers and clean sheets! I even love wearing it to e gym !
I love the connection between modern & classic in Prada Infusion d’Homme. It’s like a brand new or just ironed white shirt. And I also love it for fitting into casual and elegant style
Lucasai: good choices.
I just bought a perfume lot off ebay of 36 bottles, described by the seller as. “Some have a little bit of perfume, some have a lot and some are empty”. I managed to get a couple of drops out of the Shiseido Inoui bottle–it absolutely figures that I fell for the difficult to get/discontinued expensive perfume. It’s this gorgeous well blended powdery floral with lots of bitter green spikiness. Very,very spring appropriate so I’ll have to save my money and get it NEXT spring
My friend’s house was broken into 2 days ago and one of the many things they took was all her perfume and her husband’s colognes. I’ve bought used bottles on eBay but never thought of where they might have come from. It’s kind of sad that people would stoop to that level to make a buck. I never thought about it before. I’ll still buy on eBay but now I’ll always wonder where the bottle came from.
I had this happen to me in 2006 ! All my beautiful fragrances ! Gone ! I remember I had just splashed out on a new 100ml bottle of Chanel allure homme sport, a new release at the time! I was so upset. I’m sorry to hear about your friends experience ! Send her a x o from me !
Oh no! Have you managed to recoup most or all of the ones you lost? We were burgled while we were away on holiday – and the first thing I checked on was my frags. Luckily they had only gone for my costume jewelry, most covered by insurance – and none particularly sentimental.
Poodle: that sounds crazy! No one’s going to get rich off used perfumes! Stick with the art and electronics! HA
I know. It’s so strange! But I guess things without serial numbers are easier to get rid of.
Here in my city apparently the thieves will steal cheese when they break in (so far, we’ve been lucky enough not to have them get farther than the garage underneath our development). I thought, “Cheese? Really?” Seems they can resell it for immediate money to the $1/slice pizza places that are rampant in the city. It’s amazing how clued in the burglars can be.
I guess I’m naive. I never thought that people steal used perfumes t resell on ebay. I always figured they were estate sales or people trimming their collections…….
TheGoddess: goodness…thirty-six bottles. Should be fun sniffing
It’s a fascinating collection spanning decades–white Shoulders, Intimate from the 50s or 60s, some Shalimar as old as me, Emeraulde probably from the 70s, lots of vintage Shiseido Zen (5 bottles, 3 of which are empty) with Beautiful Sheer and Pleasures probably being the most recent. As far as I could tell from quick sniffing, nothing has turned. It’s very exciting!!!
Good stuff. I haven’t ventured down the vintage path yet and am afraid to do so for fear I might really like something I have a hard time finding more of.
See what I said about Inoui above……It was too good a chance to pass up though–it cost less than $50,including shipping……
I’ve been smitten with Ineke After My Own Heart lately. I love lilacs, but somehow this feels more than just a lilac soliflore. Lilacs only bloom here for a few weeks. And then they are gone again until next May. So I got my FB of AMOH and can spend more time with my precious lilacs! Happy Friday all.
Must resample this–I remember liking it since it was one of the few lilac scents that don’t just “sit” on my skin (unlike the new Jo Malone one)
Bronyraur: lilacs are one of my favorite smells. Only ONE lilac scent EVER “off the tree” captured me: Persian Lilac by Crabtree & Evelyn. Long discontinued….
For me, there is something about fig that has a wet, earthy presence which i find goes good with the general rainy, gloomy april days of early spring. I’ve worn both Marc Jacobs for Men and Banana Republic Cordovan in past years during this time and gotten compliments. I recall Acqua Di Parma’s Fico Di Amalfi as also being a good alternative.
Rictor: agree…fig is great for spring
This spring has been all about Tubéreuse Criminelle for me, not because it’s particularly spring-like (or any-specific-season-like) but because I finally got a bottle a couple of months ago and I’m still completely infatuated with it. Another recent discovery is Patchouli 24 which is also getting a lot of airtime at the moment.
In general, with spring scents, I tend to loosely split them into into early spring (L’eau dHiver, Hiris and other irises are particular favourites) and late spring, when things with just a little more oomph like Diorissimo come out to play.
Tubereuse Criminelle is also my favourite! I love its cool root beer-like note.
It’s tonnes of fun, isn’t it?
Thank you, Kevin. That is news I can use. It’s sample time.
Donnie: oh, good!
Kevin: you give us this supremely tantalizing top ten list, and then ask us to imagine wearing ONE fragrance all spring? That’s why The Scream set the record!
Rebellion of the nose aside, it’s bounced around from freezing to 90 degrees already here in the DC area. I’ve been wearing florals since January and the occasional green chypre, and back to spicy sandalwood and naturals on the coolest weekends (old Myrurgia Embrujo de Seville and the two Aesops were highlights).
Of course, the one thing I want right now is the Eau Sauvage that I have maddeningly misplaced….and I know I have a sample of Antonia somewhere, too… Actually wearing Smell Bent No. 1, because I came across it looking for Antonia and have been meaning to test it. I’m liking it better than any of the other SBs that I have tried.
Noz: a terrible question, I know…if faced with that choice I’d probably wear nothing for a month…maybe just a spash of cologne after showers.
Been enjoying Gin Fizz – other people are like “Oh, it’s just citrus and clean laundry”. Well, that’s what I want in May!
Also enjoying Fleur No. 1, which really smells like April to me. I love April.
And Chanel No. 5 Eau Premiere. Very springy! 🙂
I recently tried Fleur no.1 and I agree with you. It does smell like April, or maybe even May.
I love the idea of wearing a sparkling aldehydic perfume instead of a sparkling citrus on those days when I need a boost. I’ll have to sample China White!
Victoria: was thinking of you today…did you see the article on QUINCE in the NYT garden section? Remember those years ago when I sent you homemade quince candies? The poor quince, a bumper crop, rotted on the trees last year and I still feel quilty.
Do try China White…it’s great!
I tried China White in the winter and really iked it, but it wasnt quite what I was looking for at the time…but it has haunted me and I think about it often. It’s time to dig up that sample and try again now that summer is here. Definitely give it a try. It has an almost ethereal green sheerness about it.
I love the scents and sights of spring – too bad that here in Dallas we seem to be skipping too quickly right over to summer…Thanks for the delightful post and ideas of new scents to try!
Maggie: you’re welcome…ah…I guess Texas is one of those places that goes from cool to hot in short order.
That’s because we got our spring this past winter.
50: TRUE! HA!
I’m in Dallas too, and it appears that summer has arrived. I may break down and get that bottle of china white after all!
CM: me too, it’s time for a full bottle.
Some of my favorite spring time scents for day are Alliage (vintage) by Estee Lauder, it’s cool mossy greenness is perfect for unpredictable weather, Safran Troublant’s transparent spice is perfect for cooler rainy spring days, LL’s Fleur d’ Oranger is one of the most realistic orange blossom scents I’ve found, it reminds me of spring in Florida, Courreges in Blue is a nice powdery floral with a spice drydown and Shiseido’s Murasaki, a beautiful iris with leather and incense, light and ethereal.
Chanel No 19 is my normal Spring go-to, perfect for any occasion, but I’ve tried the newer version and it just isn’t the same. Le Labo’s Iris 39 is great for Spring evenings out that require a dressier feel to them.
Nice read Kevin!
Smokey: great choices…!
It’s cold damp and rainy and I want to stay in and read but I must go out again. I’ve still been using a lot of my winter comfort scents this week but today I picked Chanel No.5 edt. I like it anytime of year really but today for some reason I am really enjoying it. Cristalle is springy-er but with the cold rain I’m not in the mood for that.
@poodle,
Rainy spring day (today) SOTD was Philosykos. My Chanel No. 5 EDT has a permanent home in my travel bag because to me it is appropriate all year and is what I use if I forget (or was too lazy) to think of something else to bring on a trip. My only complaint is that it does not last on me.
I’m loving that new Aedes de Venustas edp. It’s different.
Carlos: have you bought a bottle already!?
No, but I have a decant 🙂
Hmmmm! Only one scent for spring… Then I would have to go for my old faithful Krizia Uomo. For the past 23 years, every spring I have reached for this green, woody scent. It reminds me of spring like nothing else.
But…. if I could sneek in a few other bottles, then Perles de Lalique, Balmain de Balmain, Coriolan, and Fou d’Absinthe would also join me in this enchanted spring.
Plat14 I’ve really got to try the Kirzia Uomo again…it’s been ages and I have fond memories of it
Yes, a shoutout to my warm weather fave, Déclaration! I adore its crisp spiciness and elegant, velvety drydown, and it works brilliantly in the heat, somehow separating itself from your skin and hovering around you in a sheer veil of scent rather than clinging to you like a wet caftan. It’s vivid and high-contrast, yet remarkably translucent and effervescent; no heavy musks or high-decibel wood or patchouli to weigh things down. Déclaration convinced me of Jean-Claude Ellena’s genius, and if you’re still on the fence – you think the Hermes Jardins are a little overhyped, say, or Bulgari Thé Vert has never really done much for you – you owe it to yourself to sniff this.
Also, I was massively curious about the new M7, so thanks for weighing in. I’m scared to try the new Nu, fearing it won’t measure up to the original.
Subhuman: I’m afraid Nu has not been getting much “love”…or the reviews I’ve read haven’t been so positive. I was happy with new M7 … will try to review it soon. Agree with all you say about Declaration…a DIFFERENT aroma…so rare.
I have the M7 formulated in the clear(er) glass bottle. When I decided to actually buy it, they had already started phasing the ‘absolute’ in and the older one was not easily available. Since they had both testers in the shop I side tested them. Though, at one point I did like the new one as springy and light, I didn’t feel like it had any of the qualities that made me love the previous version. I smelled mainly citrus in the new version and not a whole lot of the note that I identify as oud. I went on an hours drive to purchase the previous M7 at a store that still had it. I have found myself using it more than any of my other frags and am dreading the day when it cant be found at all…
Thank you for the article, Kevin. Isn’t spring great? I share your affection for SMN Ginestra and I NEED to try the new Aedes.
If I were limited to one fragrance for spring, I’d have to pick L’Artisan Fleur de Narcisse. That one could sing for me all summer and fall, too, if I were pushed.
Haunani: Narcisse is nice…and so glad we don’t REALLY have to limit ourselves!
For sure!
Kevin thank you for the heads up on the new M7… I didn´t know it was lighter.
My spring frag would be Eau de Givenchy (even though it is autumn here)
KaosGeo: Happy Autumn!
Maybe I’m too literal, but my spring go-to is CB I Hate Perfume M#2 Black March. Spring goes so late here in the Northwest that I love the earthy warmth well into April / early May; the reminders of planting in my grandparents’ greenhouse (yes, February in the Midwest but April out here) and the smell of growing things always makes me think of spring. If I go for lilac, which is a good May flower in the inland Northwest where I was born, I always seem to end up with FM En Passant — lilac plus the warmth of home and bread. I can’t do summer / citrus fragrances in the spring — I want good, earthy fragrances.
Ockeghem: “literal” is fine…I just get too much “realism” when it comes to damp earth as I weed my plot: broken fingernails, aged hands, backaches!
The two I’ve been wearing a lot lately have been Blu Mediterraneo – Fico di Amalfi (speaking of southern Italy) and Serge Lutens – Gris Clair (I’m never without a lavender in regular rotation). As a fellow Seattle dweller, I welcome the cooler/manic spring weather. Lets me get away with richer, *warmer* fragrances (though I don’t pay much attention to that, anyway)