I am vocal about disliking spring. Where I live, there are always a few days in late February that feel like an elaborate set-up from Punk'd. Like newborn babes, they come: the office mates, friendly neighbors, the recently retired. They peer up into the warming blue and wonder aloud, trying to remember which way a hapless groundhog waddled weeks ago. Please don't take spring's bait. This year it snowed in April in the colder areas of Europe and North America and fans and news writers seemed to blame poor departed Prince. Let's face it, in Minneapolis anyway, it usually snows in April. And snow can be the least of our worries. I am a fan of heterogeneity — I like mixed drinks and mixed company, for example — but few phrases freeze the heart faster than that euphemism "mixed precipitation". Spring also brings wind, rain, seasonal allergies and skies the color of dead fish. Yes, the vernal months provoke a rare ire in me.
And yet, looking over my April 2011 Top 10 and Robin's post from last year on pretty spring florals, I've realized I have little cause to be so sour while wearing some of my favorite fragrances. Clutching roots and branches may grow from stony rubbish, as Eliot wrote, but I have hyacinth, lily-of-the-valley, magnolia, violets and iris to console me until mid-May. This time I've tried to avoid listing many of my more conventional blooming beloveds, to avoid repeating previous posts on the topic. So far, I have managed to completely miss the flood of new lilac releases — in addition to those Jessica caught and Kevin's La Parfumerie Moderne Désarmant, there has also been Ex Nihilo Sweet Morphine — and thus repetition was also dodged there, thanks to my laziness. Rest assured, though, like many of you, I could simply rotate three Guerlain standards all season long and make it through.1 Please comment with your own current sweetheart scents, usual suspects or no.
Gucci Envy: Well, this used to be a spring staple, but since the villains at Gucci discontinued it, I rarely hear it mentioned. When it launched in 1997, Envy played as an urban update on muguet, with its skyscraper bottle and (fifty?) shades-of-gray advertisements. (Tom Ford was then at the helm at Gucci.) Smelling it now, I am always struck by how fruity the opening is. For metro chic, that's a real wallop of pineapple! What follows is a beautiful but classical green floral, with the expected silvery song of lily-of-the-valley, though the flowers smell very blended and bright in the 90s manner. It's worth the trek to auction sites.
Charenton Macerations Asphalt Rainbow: Do you really want a stylized soliflore for the concrete jungle? Then I should point out this graffiti-inspired green rose. Accented with soapy musks and hissy aerosol notes, it's a fine bit of fun for those who are looking for amusement. If you have big city cash to blow, you might also enjoy Amouage Opus X, a vibrant, polarizing metallic rose meant to reference blood and varnish.
Bruno Fazzolari Jimmy: The Fazzolari line has a number of lovely, retro options for spring, including Au Delà and Seyrig, but Jimmy is the one I wear. The fragrance is a tribute to poet James Schuyler, who I don't know much about, unfortunately, other than his close connections to two of my favorite poets: he was a secretary to W.H. Auden as well as the friend, roommate and elegist of Frank O'Hara. Jimmy apparently loved violet perfumes and this is one, flower and leaf notes included, along with ylang ylang, cassis, rose attar, geranium, sandalwood, oakmoss and "daylight". It is very lemony and bright, with a slightly dusty floral heart that does smell like the windows and doors have just been thrown open for the start of spring cleaning. (Or at least what I imagine that process would smell like, not being much of a homemaker myself.)
Frédéric Malle Eau de Magnolia: As fresh and breezy as a dryer sheet commercial, this cologne was my favorite of the many magnolia perfumes of 2014. It reminds you what April showers are for.
Thierry Mugler Oriental Express: This powdery-woody iris perfume from Mugler's Exceptions collection carefully balances oriental warmth and gray-green floral cool. It's a bit subdued to conjure the romance of the Orient Express, in my opinion, but the appropriate elegance, mystery and expense are all there.
Issey Miyake a scent by issey miyake: Saddled with a bad pun for a name and overshadowed on release by Estée Lauder Private Collection Jasmine and White Moss, a scent by issey miyake limped into discount store oblivion rather quickly. (For me, that just meant getting a bottle on the cheap.) In both mentioned fragrances, the perfumers used synthetic white "mist" or "crystal" moss accords to take some of the weight out of a traditional chypre base. Many of the great green floral chypres of yore added an autumnal saturation and richness to their freshness, and taking this ballast out makes their sleeker modern counterparts more staticky and spring-like.
Estee Lauder Private Collection: Having invoked the sacred Lauder name and the harvest splendor of mossy woods, I will now recommend the crispest chypre in the EL line for April.
Michael Kors White Luminous Gold: This oriental seems a bit off-message for the Michael Kors brand, which usually sticks to deliberately bad mall fragrances. Yes, it is nearly too sweet, but instead of a shriek of fake white flowers over top, the amber in White Luminous Gold is off-set by an old-fashioned galbanum. Huh. Somehow it all turns out rather warm and relaxed, mature without being dowdy. Credit is due to perfumer Frank Voelkl, who seems to excel at making fragrances for the shoulder seasons.
Maison Francis Kurkdjian Pluriel Feminin: Pluriel is cheating, since Robin listed it as pretty last March, but it's too heart-breaking a posy to leave out. I also second Robin's recommendation of Carven Le Parfum as a cheaper, daintier Kurkdjian-crafted alternative.
Bvlgari Eau Parfumée au Thé Bleu: A sheer pastel tinted blend of lavender, iris and violet, perfect for wearing while contemplating the raw chill and nihilism of spring existence.
More spring: do check out the lists at Bois de Jasmin :: Grain de Musc :: The Non-Blonde
1. That would be Après L'Ondée, Chant d'Arômes and Chamade, of course.
Note: top image is 2016/366/90 This is Tulip Language for "WTF?" [cropped] by Alan Levine at flickr; some rights reserved.
Glorious choices! I’m with you on Envy and A Scent (a flop that still rankles in the heart of the company that makes the Issey Miyakés). Gucci also discontinued Rush, which was a fabulous post-modern Mitsouko… Glad to see Private Collection get some love — it just gives me a jolt each time I smell it, it raises so many memories (and it’s so good). Intrigued too by your selection of Oriental Express, which I see as a dead-of-winter scent. But then that patchouli effect, though the perfumers swear there is none, gives off that early spring damp earth vibe. I’ll try it, since here in Paris the weather is still pretty march-y…
Thank you! I really enjoyed your choices, as well, and am now mad to get my hands on some Grand Chalet. (I’ve done this before with Astier de Villatte, for Eau Chic, which I remember liking, if perhaps not as much as Kevin. But sometimes the chase is all…) So glad to see you giving so much deserved praise to Françoise Caron. And I agree about the salt! Interestingly, I went to check on what feminine fragrances they had listed on the Gucci website and they still have Rush on there (but no Envy). Perfume stores in my area say they’ve had terrible trouble getting it in for ages, though. I wonder what the heck Gucci is doing.
Maybe Rush was just discontinued in France? Hard to tell… I do love the Astier de Villatte colognes. They’re just pure whiffs of joy.
I wish Astier de Villatte was available here. Luckyscent and some other places have their candles and incense, but I haven’t found a source for the colognes. (I did luck out and find Eau Chic on ebay, which I bought unsniffed, which worked out well, thankfully.)
I looked for it everywhere and then eventually (I think?) Robin out me out of my misery and sent me some. It was some time ago, and remember liking it, but perhaps not wildly? But I may have tested it in the dead of winter, as I remember. Glad your unsniffed bottle worked out!
I’m sad to hear about a scent. It was truly lovely; I’m waiting on a new bottle as we speak!
I have a 10 ml split of Desarmant on it’s way to me. Can’t wait.
Envy is a sore issue for me. Really loved it. Elisa introduced me to it in the knick of time and I was able to get a bottle but it’s empty now.
Not sure I want to try the Bvlgari Bleu but I will get around to it. I love tea scents, but I have plenty.
EL Jasmine White Moss and Private Collection are both so good. Nice seeing them on this list.
I hope your Desarmant is worth the wait! As for the Envy, I feel you. I very, very rarely buy back-up bottles, and so I eye my bottles of discontinued fragrances very nervously.
The Bvlgari Bleu is one of the least tea-like of the tea series, I would say. But lots of us have plenty of sheer florals, too, I’d imagine. It’s very nice, but not a must-have, IMO.
Thank you for mentioning A Scent. There are so many things I love about this little green number including the beautiful and weighty bottle. I love it in the hottest days of summer. It evokes dew still left on grass in the shade of a richly leaved tree. On my list of the top 10 most under rated perfumes right next to the cleanly green Mugler Cologne. Nice list!
The bottle is very nice, I concur. And Kevin would agree with your very vivid description, I think: he thought it was more summery and tropical, and his review mentioned snake plant, one of those glossy, succulents that reminds me of the waxy, dark green leaves on trees like magnolias or crepe myrtles.
And love Mugler cologne! Definitely on the under-rated list…
I am not used to spring, so I think of it as an in-between fragrance: watery, wet, chilly, and some blooms. Perhaps, some iris, narcissus, mimosa, orange blossom, or lily of the valley?
Perhaps prompted by the re-reading of the Eliot stanzas, I had lines of Ezra Pound stuck in my head while writing this post and especially “Petals on a wet, black bough”. I always think of the petals as pink and white (because, I guess, in Pound’s imagism, they are supposed to be Parisian faces) and I always associated those colors with spring and damp blooms. Seems to sort of jive with your “smell imagery”!
I really was looking for a straight narcissus scent to include in this post, but couldn’t find one I like that hadn’t been mentioned in Top 10s before. I did consider L’Artisan Fleur d’Oranger or the new Diptyque Eau des Sens, because orange blossom always seems a bit springy to me, too.
Your mentioning of pink and white petals brings to my mind the narcissus and Chinese magnolia blooms in Paris’s Jardin du Palais Royal. The pure narcissus blooms are narcotic and heady, I think. It is not as pleasantly fragrant as Narcisse Bleu or Narcisse Noir.
Fleur d’Oranger and Eau des Sens would fit the semi-cold, semi-fresh spring nicely.
Great article Erin! I would add Vintage Jolie Madame. It’s one of my absolute favorite scents for spring.
me too
Oh yes, Jolie Madame extrait.
Yes, Yes, Yes!
So funny – I almost put it on this list 😉
Thank you for a great list! I am currently trying Opus X and deciding what I think – it’s both beautiful and odd. You have made me really want to try the The Bleu.
In terms of other spring fragrances I would add Mimosa pour Moi, Mimosa and Cardamon, Cartier So Pretty, which, although discontinued, has a very elegant, sensual but youthful feel of spring, and Givenchy II, whether original or reissue, and, of course, Chanel 19.
Also, Amyris seems very springlike, together with some more delicate roses, or of course Rose Absolue by Goutal.
Finally, but not least, I am really enjoying Angelique by Papillon, with billowing mimosa and iris which seems to capture the essence and changeable nature of spring rather perfectly.
I thought Opus X was beautiful, but I imagine many people would just agree with the odd part. 😉 Have you seen the bottle? I can’t decide whether I like it in person as much as I did in the photos, but it’s mesmerizing.
Cartier So Pretty! Very nice to see it mentioned. I did think about it briefly for this post. Yes, those Givenchy re-issues had a few good spring options, too. Besides Interdit and III, I also like Monsieur de Givenchy for spring, earthy, rosy green.
Yes, Kurkdjian is the king of spring florals, isn’t he? I could have listed three or four from his MFK line, I think. I’ve been trying to taalk my hubby into getting me the Feminine discovery set, including Amyris, for my birthday – can’t tell whether I’ve been persuasive or not.
Loved reading this. Hopefully spring is here to stay! My fav spring scent is Balenciaga Paris. Not very original but I love it. Second fav is LAP Fleur de Narcisse.
yes, I can see how Balenciaga Paris wears like a nice spring scent. the last few times I’ve worn it, I noticed the aquatic/watery facets so much more than the powdery one’s I initially smelled.
Ah, violets, they’re so springy. And Paris is a very pretty rendition of them. Are you one of those lucky ducks with a LE bottle of L’Artisan Fleur de Narcisse?
Yes, I have a bottle. I would be happy to send you some, if you’d like! My email laugsb at sbcglobal.net ????
That is unbelievably thoughtful, but I don’t want to deprive you of some precious Narcisse! I have a decant of the harvest Fleur d’Oranger, which I treasure, so I’m probably lucky enough. 😉
Love spring! Wish it lasted longer, before the ungodly heat of summer comes down like a wet wool blanket.
And (I blush) I hate pretty much everything on your list, except Pluriel Feminin which I like, and Oriental Express and the Fazzolari, which I haven’t tried. Another case of à chacun son goût, of course.
In spring I live in Le Temps d’une Fete, Chamade, No. 19, Crown Bouquet, Silences, vtg Jolie Madame, Safari, Smell Bent Florist’s Fridge, Penhaligons Violetta, and Cuir de Lancome.
I bought a bottle of Ostara, but I SWEAR it smells different to me from the bottle than it did in my mfr sample, and I like it less every time I wear it. (I honestly am thinking somebody at Penhaligons screwed up and shot a jet of Amaranthine concentrate into the vat of Ostara, and then they decided to let it go for cheap on Haute Look instead of recalling that batch.)
wait. please explain the difference between your sample of Ostara and the full bottle you bought, because I think that happened to me. when I sampled it, it was all fresh and natural smelling daffodils, a little peppery, but very floral. when I bought the bottle that freshness is gone after 15 mins and it becomes a milky, vanilla creamy thing. I decided I still like it but it was a drastic difference from my first few wearings, pre-full bottle purchase.
I’d kind of like to know what’s going on as well. But in my case, it may just be that I didn’t find it nearly as rhapsodic as many others.
Yes! Milky-ylangy thing. I mean, it’s not bad (and I liked Amaranthigh but not enough to replace my 5ml decant). But it isn’t the exhilarating fresh-air peppery floral that the mfr sample was. I managed to dig that up the other day – thought it was gone – but there were a few spritzes left in it, and it is distinctly different than the bottle I bought. As I said, I like my bottle less and less.
that’s exactly what my full bottle smells like. A milky-ylang thing! The fresh daffy-pepper beginning fades quickly and then the milk begins and stays throughout. I kind of like it, or perhaps I’m just being stubborn and continuing to wear it because I like the beginning part so much. I do wish the top notes stayed with me for a few hours….they are lovely.
Ahh, mals. It’s all good. I’ve noticed we have a bit of EFT going on before. (She says, as she looks at her nearly-full samples of Alahine, Mary Greenwell Plum, Ostara, etc., etc. ) Though we share our love of Le Temps d’une Fete, Apres L’Ondee, Pamplelune, Trayee and many others, I’m sure. In the end, juice is thicker than water among us perfumistas. We both just think the other one is crazy, that’s all. 😉
I should love green/hyacinths like Envy. I was surprised to not like it at all!
Maybe it’s the pineapple that creates the tin foil effect?
Some hyacinths seem to do it. Some never bother me and seem properly spicy-floral, but wearing Envy, Penhaligons Bluebell, and Bas de Soie felt like chewing on aluminum foil.
I love your list! Glad I didn´t buy Ostara…
I see o you have the vintage Jolie Madame. Is the new version good?
Here in Houston spring is the say before a storm, and the hours after a storm. It’s getting ready to storm now, and it was in the 90’s this week. I HATE the heat! Anyone want to city-mouse/country-mouse with me? 🙂
I agree with you on a scent which as I mentioned above I just bought a bottle of from a discounter (along with some Bvlgari Black and a Mother’s Day gift). I remember when it launched and was so impressed. Hurts my heart to see it out discounters for $20, but I’ll buy what I can.
Also love Private Collection. I think I swapped my mini but I bought a vintage spray to replace it and it really sparkles that way. My partner did not quite agree though.
I’m living in l’Eau Chic right now. It is incredibly effortless and well-named, though I wear it in spring primarily because we don’t have spring. 😉 Also the final puffs of my Jour d’Hermes. Must refill before summer crashes full force.
day before the storm*
Oh heavens, you’ve definitely had a stormy season. I hope you don’t get any more flooding and that this coming storm at least cools the air for you for a few hours. I’m another city mouse, I’m afraid, it’s just my city is currently gray, gray, gray and chilly. You’re welcome to come any time, though, and hopefully catch a game with a winning basketball team. 😉 (J/K, of course, we wouldn’t have wanted to play Golden State, either.)
The L’Eau Chic is the Nicolai one? I love that one.
The rain completely skipped my area thankfully.
Yes, the PdN. She sells it in a 250ml splash. Which I would make quick work of.
Good morning, Erin.
Tamara, here from FBP. ????
Thanks for the great list, I think the only ones I know are EL PC and a Bvl au The Bleu- which I happened to gift one of my girls along with Ostara for her March birthday.
I’ve come around to really loving spring and enjoying the season full on when before I was always impatient for summer.
All the smallest changes and tweaks in weather are refreshing and lovely to me now, it’s a preview of what’s to come and our summers are so painfully
( for me! ) short.
As for fragrances I’ve been wearing, those are all over the place. lol
But Gucci edp – such gorgeousness! ( in the heavy,square bottle- round cap )
JP 1000 edp- I crave this green,lush floral chypre
Amouage Beloved- I’m falling for this retro styled beauty! Nobody talks about it though. ????
The new Chanel 5 dry body oil- so yummy after a bath
AG Ninfeo Mio when I want that hit of herbal, figgy, green goodness or SSS Voile de Violette for jammy and green.
Kenzo Amour- I need another bottle!
And Shalimar Parfum Initial l’eau cause it’s just simple, pretty and the frou frou tassel beckons me sometimes on rainy days.
xo
I wore Kenzo Amour a couple days ago. I forget how lovey it is! I was able to score an older (orange) bottle with a mini (fuchsia) a year or so back. Those architectural bottles are so fun!
I just have to have another one, I really love the cosiness of this scent! 😉
I have the orange bottle, too. It’s lovely, and I thought about Kenzo Amour for this post — it’s one of the few cherry blossom scents that is any good — but I think I’d listed it for something else before, and was worried about boring you all.
Tamara, so nice to “see” you here. 🙂 If I lived where you do, I might enjoy spring, too. I used to live in White Rock, B.C., actually, as a teen, and the rhododendrons would bloom in February. It was pretty heavenly.
I’m really starting to fall for Beloved, too. It’s one of those Amouages that takes a while to get to know, I think. Angela here at NST loves it and talks it up plenty. And Patou 1000 is an old friend of mine, glad its speaking to you lately.
All you FBPers are killing me on this No. 5 dry body oil!! Okay, I guess I’m going to have to get some.
I’m fortunate to have my (dwindling) original bottle of Envy still in great condition. However, I also enjoy Parfums DelRae Debut for that big green blast in spring or whenever.
I couldn’t find my blasted DelRae Debut sample this week! But yes, I remember it being beautiful. I should probably get a decant or split.
Not doing the challenge today since it’s supposed to be only 50 today, so Enjoy Passant isn’t going to cut it. Since I haven’t made it to the shower yet, I am in vintage Bal. Post shower is going to be Andy Tauer’s Ingrid. Ingrid must not have been a big seller since it’s been recently discontinued.
I really liked Miriam but found Loretta schizophrenic and Ingrid just weird. (I like weird, but my “kind” of weird is not Ingrid’s kind of weird.)
They certainly picked *names* that are not big sellers, I thought. It’s funny, though, three of the major women in my life are Miriam, Loretta and Ingrid, so I always wondered: is Andy spying on me?
Sorry about your 50! If anything can chase the cold away, though, it’s vintage Bal a Versailles.
Erin, that first paragraph is truly inspired!!! You crack me up! When I lived in St. Paul, I remember that feeling of spring being such a tease. And then you blink, and it’s replaced by muggy summer for months and months.
Spring in Portland, where I live now, is a glorious thing. And I apologize for pointing it out. I was always so annoyed when my father would email me about his wisteria and daffodils in February and March as I looked out at grey slush and brown grass. And yet another snow storm.
Really, the Pacific Northwest is half spring and half fall, with maybe a month of summer and winter apiece.
Portland spring is the most perfect, glorious spring anywhere I’ve ever lived. It lasts for weeks and weeks and is just luminous, moist, and fragrant.
I’ll agree with AnnieA too – when I lived there with my sister (and coming from only having lived in PA and Ohio (bleh on weather!), we used to joke that PDX has four seasons: fall, spring, summer, and 4 weeks of dry hell in Aug.
Revel in your glorious spring! (Don’t mind us… 😉 ) As I was mentioning to Tamara above, I used to live in B.C. and I’ve had close friends in Portland and Seattle, so I know there’s nothing like a beautiful clear day in the Pacific Northwest.
I think the only person here who despises Envy!! When it just came out, I loved it on a co-worker and got a FB. Wore it a couple of times and into purgatory it went 🙂 managed to swap it in a swap meet last year!!! To me, something about it just was not clicking.
Gucci has been going downhill as both a fashion house and a fragrance house. They have a new creative director who is doing something funky with their bags – ton of glittery hardware. I looked at one of their new bags and thought it was a Versace with all the hardware and glitz, not Gucci. A disclaimer – I am not on a market for a Gucci bag or any other fancy bag, but I like looking at them to see how they evolve through the time 🙂
Nope, I hate Envy too. It’s like sucking on metal.
Oh, I think plenty of people don’t like it: whenever I bring it up with perfume people, at least a handful always say it’s kryptonite. I’ve heard it described as too metallic, too spicy-green, too sneezy. To be honest, I think almost anything with lily-of-the-valley and/or hyacinth is polarizing, and modern, stylized green florals are even more controversial.
Heaven knows what’s goes on at Gucci. We have a boutique street in our area, nicknamed the “Mink Mile”, and I always stop in front of the Gucci store and silently wonder who goes in there. But I guess I wonder that about a few places.
Spring for me is all about Chamade and the sadly-discontinued Zeta. But today I’m wearing Lonesome Rider, which I’m beginning to consider a spring leather.
That is a good description of it
Which Chamade do you prefer? Here in Barcelona there is only the EDT. The saleswoman said the EDP is only for customers who buy it in the box as they are regular customers who know the scent. I think it´s stupid to have that policy. Does Guerlain actually know that?
Anyway, which one do you prefer?
I love the EdP, personally, but I have an older bottle, from just after they stopped making the PdT, I think, and I haven’t smelled the EdT or extrait recently. At many of the Guerlain counters they only have EdT testers, sadly. I had to move to a city with a full Guerlain boutique and spa before I was able to sample all the various concentrations.
I have a decant of vintage PdT. I think it’s probably comparable to the EdP, but I’m not sure.
So Zeta is discontinued! I wondered. I liked it a lot, but I know Robin wasn’t a fan.
It kind of makes sense to me that Lonesome Rider would be a spring leather, as it was inspired by Tauer’s previous LE Orris, wasn’t it? For some very odd reason, Orris felt like an Easter fragrance to me – smooth, powdery, a bit pigeon-gray.
Oh and onto the fragrances 🙂 Living in California, we are cheated out of spring 🙁 But that was my favorite time growing up in Russia, as you literally could smell it in the air. I don’t know if I have a special list for a spring, but SOTD is Sycomore (thanks to our wonderful Hajusuri) 🙂
The very words “Russian Spring” set off fireworks in my head. Have you ever read Penelope Fitzgerald’s novel “The Beginning of Spring”, about Moscow? My favorite book of hers, I think.
Sycomore is very, very autumnal to me, but those shoulder seasons have a lot of fragrance cross-over.
I have never read that novel, it is going on my read list
It’s snowing today in Denver (well, kind of snaining), but yucky for spring.
I’m wearing the last drop – literally – of my very favorite spring fragrance, DSH’s Madonna Lily. I loved the way the lilies segued into a warm vanilla drydown. However, I just contacted Dawn and she no long has any nor can make it. Je suis désolée.
For spring I also like my MFK Aqua Universalis lotion (which I find a little less laundry-detergent-clean and a bit more lemony floral than the liquid fragrance) and love my Shalini (but I always love that one).
I am currently ISO a light floral with no patch and not too much musk in the drydown and that is not loud or screechy. I realize that’s not a helpful description. Looking forward to trying Calypso Mimosa very soon.
Snaining – oh no, mixed precipitation. I like the word, though, it reminds me of the Scottish smirr, for not-quite-rain-but-more-than-mist.
So *you’re* one of the charmed few who’s tried DSH Madonna Lily. I was looking for a proper Easter or Madonna lily scent to add to this post, but there are so few that are both beautiful and widely available.
We must be Fragrance Twins! I love Shalini, too, and especially for this time of year, but it’s so tricky and expensive to get a hold of that I didn’t add it to the post.
Smirr! My Honda Fit windshield wipers need a smirr setting. Something more vigorous than the slowest speed but not quite as fast as the next level up! They must not get so much variation in their precipitation in Japan.
Ha! Very true, I’ve often thought I need a few more windshield wiper settings, 0.5 up.
I hope you won’t castigate me for this, but I adore spring. It’s my favourite time of year, with all the bulb flowers, the first green on the trees, and the wonderful smell of damp earth.
Perfume wise I’m sort of adapting my scents to the whatever weather is thrown at me, and as this spring alternates a warm start with what looks like a cold end, I switch from warmer florientals to green, and back. Ostara is new favourite, as is Perle de Mousse.
From your list I’m most intrigued by the Fazzolari and the Kurkdjian, and I still really need to try the Thé Bleu.
Well, I can’t really wave your love of spring away as locational, because you’re in the Netherlands, right? Your gray weather can’t be any better than ours. You do have a lot of bulb flowers to brighten things up, I admit. Do they look right now now like the tulips in the image Robin chose for the post, though? (I love the image title.)
I think you’d love the Kurkdjian, it’s not weird or wildly original or anything, just high-watt gorgeous.
I am in the Netherlands, and yes, the few tulips in my garden look like those in the picture. Not a great fan of tulips in the garden , although I love them as cut flowers.
And in fragrance I’m all for high-watt gorgeous! He did the incredibly beautiful Promesse after all.
Love Jimmy, love James Schuyler, and am so happy to see it on the list. More perfumes should be inspired by poets!
I would love a whole line inspired by poets.
Agreed. Frank O’Hara next? C.P. Cavafy? Or Stevie Smith? Mary Oliver?
I remember Issey Miyake Scent did not get exactly rave reviews on the blogs, but I liked it when it first came out and still do, in particular for spring but also for hot summer days. It’s simple, but that’s what I like I guess. And it’s dirt cheap 😀 I also have about 15ml of Envy left, such a shame they discontinued it!
I’d add Parfums Nicolai Temps d’une Fete to the spring list! Hyacinth overload.
Interesting anecdote: when I bought my bottle of Miyake a scent, the perfume store owner said “Only perfume lovers ever buy this. People who have many bottles, the ones who buy older classic perfumes and unusual stuff, they buy this. Everybody else ignores it.” He had never flattered me in this way before, so I chose to believe him. 😉
I love, love Les Temps d’une Fete. I listed it in my 2011 Top 10 and could easily make it through any spring with any one of the Guerlains I mentioned (hmm, let’s say Apres L’Ondee), Les Temps and Dune.
Envy was what I wore all through high school in the 90’s. And my grandmother wore it, too. Good times.
As far as spring perfumes goes, it’s hard to beat PdN Le Temps d’une Fete, MDCI Un Coeur En Mai, or FM En Passant. Each of these lovelies just sing “spring” to me. 🙂
I’ve also been sampling Byredo Inflorescence, which is gloriously spring-y.
Past perfume twins 😉
High five! ????????
Any fragrance you and grandma can wear at the same time — awesome!
I missed Inflorescence, which Luckyscent had as one of their top spring picks. Must remedy that. My favorite ever Byredo (which is not a line I wear much) is Flowerhead, and I do like La Tulipe, too, so I’m sure they’re good at florals.
Flowerhead *is* really good.
Great list Jessica! I used to hate late winter/early spring, but now it sits calmly as my 4th favorite season 😉
I like the positive spin you put on that! 🙂
🙂
I am deeply flattered that you thought I was Jessica. I know, it’s Friday and we’re talking about florals… it should be her!
We’re on the same page about seasonal hierarchies. I wish I could have your zen about it. 🙂
We have hit and run, cold and hot, snowy and rainy, bone dry and whatever, variable not reliable spring weather where I am too. Our spring also only normally lasts for about 2 weeks, and then seasonal allergies, early miserable what I call swamp flies, and other unfortunate things will ruin it. We got lucky with a “warm” winter this year, but our spring has been rather dreary. So…. my choices for best spring fragrances really have a lot to do with what kind of weather we are having. But this year I’ve really been craving my Safari, Chamade (any version), No 5 (any version), Bottega Veneta eau Legere, and oddly, Guerlain Vetiver. I think Chamade would always be on my spring bests list. When the weather is more glorious or fine, I also really enjoy Annick Goutal Grand Amour and Parfums DelRae Amoureuse.
Yes, the spring has been more dispiriting than the winter this year around us, too! We had absolutely nothing to complain about winter-wise. But at least Toronto does not have swamp flies. And I don’t think your Guerlain Vetiver is that odd – spring is the rooty season and others have mentioned Sycomore and other vetiver scents.
Excellent intro, great choices. I love spring, but get desperate when it’s taking its time to arrive. One year, there was a huge heap of snow at my mother’s place (in the shade of the house) in May. May! Made me weep.
I used to adore and wear Envy in the end of 90s, early noughties. I’m sure I would still love it now, so I’ve been plotting to get a bottle. I also MUST find a way to test Oriental Express. I’m half in love with it already.
Thanks! I know what you means about waiting for spring. Sometimes, we seem to miss the season altogether. I’m a mid-May baby and the year I was born it was snowing to beat the band when my mom went into the hospital – it’s disgusting, May snow – and then it was sweltering when she brought me home four days later. I spent the first three weeks of my life in a onesie, feeling like a summer babe.
Hope you love Oriental Express once you get a chance to try it! Mugler doesn’t have the best exclusives distribution.
We are having a cool spring here in Montreal with multiple days of rain approaching. It is thankfully still cold enough to wear my favorite orientals, which it is almost never possible to really enjoy in San Diego, even in the dead of their so-called winter.
I love Oriental Express too and need to wear that asap. I have been wearing Tauer Incense Rose, Lys du Desert and need to wear Lonesome Rider again too. When it gets a bit warmer I plan to break out Eau de Magnolia and Sous le Toit de Paris.
A Tauer spring — very nice. I can’t wait to try Lonesome Rider. Also, Sous le Toit de Paris! I know I’m very behind on that one, and need to get a sample ASAP.
And even a cool, rainy spring in Montreal… is still a spring in Montreal. Love that city.
Good to see Oriental Express, which I really like. Wish Les Exceptions were more widely available so that more people could experience some really interesting but not too weird, and still great smelling modern perfume.
I quite liked the Miroir / Mirror collection from Mugler, too. I don’t understand their very tight-fisted exclusives distribution.
I am thinking of blind buying Jolie Madame. Any thoughts? I found a bottle for 25, and a vintage for 100.
I even like the new version. But the vintage is worth $100.
I make it a policy, though, to try to dissuade people from blind-buying. 😉
Its been really cold here, so I have been wearing lots of mimosa scents. But now that its a bit warmer, I all about the lilac, En Passant and Pacifica French Lilac are staples.
I should try that French Lilac! Thanks for reminding me.
The intro made me chuckle, the evils of mixed precipitation indeed!
What a fabulous list! Gucci Envy is a great choice. I remember when it first came out I was in Chicago on a business trip and I tested it in a dept. store (Neiman Marcus I think?), walked around for 15 minutes and went directly back to the dept. store to purchase a bottle. I’ve had a bottle on hand ever since and bought a back-up bottle when it was discontinued.
As for A Scent, I LOVE it. So airy and feminine. I also like ELPC Jasmine and White Moss.
EL Private Collection is another one that is underrated. Elegant and classic.
I need to try the Bvlgari au The Bleu. I don’t love a lot of lavender in perfumes. Does this one overdose on lavender or do the iris and violet come through in equal measure?
As for Apres L’Ondee, Chant d’Aromes and Chamde, those are all fab!
Again, great list!