Putting Spring in Your Perfume

In California it has been Spring for awhile, so I have actually had the chance to get out my spring perfumes, and really figure out which ones are the most spring-ful to me. So without further nattering my picks for Spring. Also, this following list is only for perfumes still in production.

1. Elie Saab Le Parfum. Do you need a resplendent orange blossom with a bit of earthy cedar and honey? Which is also easy to find? Then pick up the original Elie Saab scent. You will glow in this scent and get compliments. It is the best orange blossom on the mass market at the moment and I still love it.

2. Jour d'Hermes by Hermes. Do you often wonder what a modern spring goddess would smell like? I suspect it would probably be this. A tart tangy grapefruit opening followed by a bouquet of flowers. The funny thing with each wearing I get a different emphasis on different flowers or notes. Sometimes it is tiare, other times freesia, in other moments sweet peas, and one time delicious musk.

3. Le Temps d'Une Fete by Nicolai Parfumeur Createur. A glowing yellow field full of earth, musk, narcissus, and sweet herbs. Utterly gorgeous and just makes you want to keep inhaling. A unique take on oakmoss that I actually like.

4. Cassis, Rose, & Sandalwood by Dame Perfumery. Juicy current and peonies followed by roses and woods, I am reminded of easier going L'Ombre Dans L'Eau by Diptyque. If you have ever found the L'Ombre Dans L'Eau too harsh and green try this one.

5. Trefle Pur by Atelier Cologne. Need to feel fresh, earthy, and completely classy? Pick this one, I am always reminded of rolling green hills and green ferns when I wear this one.

6. Neroli Blanc Intense Eau de Parfum by Au Pays de la Fleur d'Oranger. The great orange blossom gourmand, sweet and lively, this scent is for feeling joyous. It makes me think orange blossom cream and first stone fruit of spring.

7. Lieu de Reves by Sonoma Scent Studio. Rainwater violets, sweet rose water, heliotrope and with a sweet amber iris dry down. A lovely rainy spring day at a pastry shop.

8. Pepper Ylang by Smell Bent. The hot cold sweet scent of heady ylang ylang with a smooth drydown of vanilla and myrrh. A happy yellow scent.

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Spring Fragrance Wardrobe

It is finally spring and I could not be happier, after so much amber and incenses, and heavy gourmands, you find yourself wanting ethereal spring fragrances, and I just wanted to share my spring wardrobe choices for spring:

Bois des Iles- This one never gets old, the sandalwood becoming more dominent, and bringing out a creamy earthiness that just enhances the skin.

Bvlgari pour femme- Jasmine tea and surrounded by blooming mimosa, beautiful but warm, nothing austere about it.

Chanel No. 22- A white floral sparkling with aldehydes and having a wonderful dry back drop of incense and nectorous vanilla, a perfect bouquet.

Datura Noir- In spring the coolness of Tuberose blooms in this, making a wonderfully milky concoction, with hints of almond.

Egyptian Goddess- This just blooms on me, the lightest breath of heat, and you are surrounded by the perfect floral musk.

Gold by Donna Karan edt- I have always wanted a lily fragrance in my collection and this one just blooms beautifully on me, it is sensually intense, but at the same time utterly spring.

Infusion d'Iris- The sheer easy serene elegance of this always stops me, the combination of earthy orris with hints of green and the lightest touch of orange blossom, always makes me think of silver and green.

La Parisienne- Shining silver bells and spring blossoms, I am always happy when I smell this.

Le Chasse aux Papillons- This is a sunny slightly humid spring garden bursting with vitality, it makes me want to be surrounded by daffodils.

L'Heure Attendue- Warm ambered lilacs, old-fashioned in the best of ways, yearning.

Lolita Lempicka- Powdery, sweet, with violets and anise dancing merrily together, this is jubilant and happy.

Mille et Une Roses- The sheer gentle warmth of this utterly romantic rose always stops me in my tracks, it is heavenly with its dewiness.

Osmanthe Yunnan- While I associate Osmanthus Interdite with summer, there is a greeness and smokiness to Osmanthe Yunnan that makes me think spring.

Narciso Rodriguez- This is good with any season, but I find in spring it takes on the character of a fertile spring nymph, a lively sensuality.

Songes- Creamiest of flowers warmed by incense and somehow it reminds me of bees buzzing.

Un Lys- Like falling into a lily.

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image: The Four Seasons (Spring) by Alejandro de Riquer

SOTD: Kimono Rose

So spring has truly begun and now I am bringing out the wonderfully effervescent Kimono Rose by The Thymes. This truly is a happy scent featuring berries, jasmine, and clementine; this is a balmy spring morning with dew on the greenery.

Quote of The Day: Too much of a good thing is wonderful.-- Mae West

Sweet For Spring

Now as lovely as flowers and greenery are in spring fragrances, there is the reality that I lean towards fragrances on the oriental side which usually have some sort of sweet undercurrent. Now of late I have been thinking about sweet fragrances that work in spring, because as it turns out spring seems to be a hard time to wear sweet fragrances (some how summer is easier even if the weather is warmer). So I have come up with a list of three fragrances that work in spring weather that lean on the sweet side yet complement the weather:

1. With Love by Hilary Duff : There is something perfect about this lovely creamy milky amber to go with cooler spring days. The scent contains enough oriental elements to fulfill the need for this type of scent, yet is light enough to never over power. It has a lovely cafe au lait quality with just a hint of zesty fruit to keep it from becoming to sweet.

2. Pearl by Sage Machado : This scent has always reminded me of petals on the ground, clouds, and scent of steam and incense intermixed. It brings about a meditative quality with the use of clean musk and sandalwood, but remains wonderfully comforting with a lovely vanilla that is not gourmand.

3. Kuumba Made Vanilla Musk : There is something rather pink and opalescent about this scent. It is wonderfully feminine but at the same time very relaxed, I will admit it reminds of pastries filled with almond but decorated with floral designs, but I will say this now it is not a gourmand scent.


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SOTD: Baghari

There something boudouresque about aldehydes, whenever I wear a scent featuring aldehydes it makes me feel like a woman who has spent the evening/morning sitting around luxuriously in her boudoir primping for hours with an elegant slowness wearing an extravagent robe. Baghari is the sunny peach of aldehydic scents, it is perfect for spring with a sunny opening and mild sweet middle of violets, the finally though is quite interesting on me with an amber that melds with my skin taking on a hint strangely of light cinnamon.

Quote of the Day: To achieve the impossible dream, try going to sleep.-- Joan Klempner

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La Toilette by Pierr Loius Gatier

SOTD: Light Blue

As the sunday tradition continues I go with an easy casual scent and Dolce & Gabbana's Light Blue is the epitome of just that. The scent is bright and refreshing, but as it dries down on me becomes a rather delicious lemon cream scent. Perfect for summer and spring and early autumn.

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Cosmos vs. Light Blue Sky by Tony Mendoza 2004

SOTD: Do Son by Diptyque

I can't explain the need for a white floral right now, I suspect once again it is the season, to simply put it Spring scents are the least loved in my collection and yet all the sudden I am wanting the scent of cool white florals and sappy new greens. I am mostly a child of winter and autumn scents, so this is a new one for me. Today I am sampling Diptyque's ode to tuberose and childhood: Do Son. Later on today when I stop at the mall to order contacts I will be trying Private Collection Gardenia Tuberose. Spring fever has definately hit and hopefully the stuffy nose caused by spring allergies won't be to awful this year.

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Easter Parade by Robert Kushner 1997

SOTD: Infusion d'Iris

It is spring outside and I am stuck inside, so to keep the good spring with me I am opting for the ever lovely Infusion d'Iris (although, I admit I had a hard time choosing, I also had thinking about wearing Chanel 22 or Bvlgari pour femme). Such lovely weather and hear that a storm is coming this week.

SOTD: Chanel 22

Going with the luminous and powerful, Chanel 22. Such a lovely sparkling dry scent. Envelopes you in green and white (this is what always comes to my mind when I wear it.). Perfect for Spring.

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Green Heart by Christopher Reilly 2007

SOTD: KM Fleurs d'Osmanthus and Osmanthus Green Tea

There are three florals that I am truly attracted too: rose, orange blossom, and osmanthus. Otherwise as many know my fragrance love is more in the category of incense, gourmands, and spices with the occasional fruit. Osmanthus is a floral chameleon in the sense that it is not really a floral scent but a melange of other scents resulting in a scent that is heady, fruity, creamy, tart, and shockingly leatherly. It has been described as the combination of apricot, orange blossom, and leather. It truly holds my attention though at the apricot note. There is one fruit scent I truly love and sadly apricot is a scent few perfumes ever get right (in fact I have yet to find one, the best rendition of apricot being Burt's Bees Apricot Baby Oil). My first meeting with osmanthus came in the form of Keiko Mecheri's Fleurs d'Osmanthus, this scent is a tropical take on osmanthus, upping the creamy part of osmanthus with the addition of tuberose, still as the fragrance dries down the zing of green apricot cream comes forward, it enchants you. It still holds a place in my heart and remains one of the most easy going florals out there. Although, it does bear some resemblance to Serge Luten's Datura Noir, I would say that two migrate in different directions with the dry down, Datura Noir becoming sweeter with a rasp and Fleurs d'Osmanthus taking on a tang and gentleness. Fleurs d'Osmanthus is a lovely gentle enticing scent, that is striking but never overbearing.

Another way to enjoy the the scent of osmanthus and far more traditional way is through tea. This may be the best way of smelling the true scent of osmanthus without having to find an osmanthus bush. Today I am drinking a blend of osmanthus and green tea. The fruity apricot leather note coming out perfectly. I suggest for those of us who are not lovers of jasmine green tea but want to enjoy a scented floral that you seek out an osmanthus scented tea.

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Spring by Irma Kusiani

SOTD: Prada Infusion d'Iris

Today I am going with the lovely delicate Prada Infusion d'Iris. I'm entering that part of year where all I want is spring scents (I know rather early, but then again I usually pull out my heavy orientals in August because well I start craving the yummy scents of Autumn and Winter, really it is a violent cycle :-P). This is also helped by the fact that Illuminations just put out there new Spring scents and well they look really good. Especially the Bellini one. By the way this is the first Iris fragrance I have ever owned.

Scent of The Day: La Parisienne

So we are having that weird weather in the Bay Area, where in the middle of Autumn, it looks like spring, like the glorious early part of spring, when green is just beginning to peep through, but there is still a chill in the air. Suddenly I am yearning for the scent of silver, green, and lily of the valley; so I put on La Parisienne, a gorgeous silvery aldehyde scent, that just screams spring.