Scents That Sing “Spring!”
Today’s post is a group blog effort in honor of scents that bring the spirit of spring to our hearts. Thanks go to Ayala Sender of Ayala Moriel Parfums for organizing another great blogging topic!
Two scents are musts for me every spring, or else it just doesn’t feel like spring! One is L’Artisan La Chasse Aux Papillons, which is like spring in a bottle to me. The combination of linden, jasmine, orange blossom, and tuberose is cheerful and spring-like without being at all heavy or cloying. For me, lasting power is very good, but some people have trouble with staying power so it’s important to test before buying. La Chasse would be hard to wear without smiling. I prefer the original to the Extreme version.
My second must-wear scent each spring is Creed Fleur de The Rose Bulgare, which is a clear and simple but very true tea rose soliflore. It has light citrusy notes that keep it fresh. It smells oddly realistic, yet it is so linear and long-lasting that it feels overtly synthetic at the same time as seeming real and that contradiction can be a little distracting. I enjoy it anyway, lol. (Don’t confuse it with Creed’s Fleurs de Bulgarie, which is a totally different scent with an ambergris base.)
I also enjoy green florals in spring, though I have trouble with green notes that smell generic, ozonic, or synthetic to me, so I have fewer green floral favorites than I do floral orientals or non-green soliflores. Three green florals that I love are Chanel 19 (great any time of year but especially nice in spring), Guerlain’s Chamade, and Patricia de Nicolai’s Temps d’Une Fete with its pretty hay note.
There are many other floral scents I love, but those mentioned above are a few that seem especially right in spring to me. L’Artisan’s Fleur de Narcisse has wonderful hay note too, but it seems less representative of spring. And I love jasmine soliflores like Serge Lutens A La Nuit, but they seem more like full-blown summer. Orange blossom soliflores like Annick Goutal’s Neroli or Lorenzo Villoresi’s Dilmun also feel like summer to me, though they are equally welcome in spring.
From my line, I enjoy Voile de Violette, Velvet Rose, Rose Musc, and Lieu de Reves in spring, though I’m still wearing the new Incense Pure these days and we have not had spring weather start here yet (still cool and rainy).
In the garden, spring starts here with the daffodils and I love their subtle scent. Then we have the early roses starting, and later the pink jasmine and star jasmine. Star jasmine has a spicier scent and is not actually part of the Jasminum genus (it is Trachelospermum jasminoides). My Mom grows wonderful sweet peas that I love every year, and I’m lucky that she shares! I have a few heirloom sweet peas that re-seed each year in my garden, but her full sun spot is better for them and they really go wild there. I don’t have wisteria in my garden, but it grows in several nearby spots and spreads its scent for yards all around the vines. Spring flowers bring their cheer when the coldest months are ending, and they herald the upcoming longer, warmer days ahead. I love summer so spring is always a welcome sign of the warmer weather to come.
Participating blogs:
Smelly Blog http://ayalasmellyblog.blogspot.com
Katie Puckrik Smells http://www.katiepuckriksmells.com/
Perfume Shrine http://www.perfumeshrine.com/
The Non Blonde <http://thenonblonde.blogspot.com/
I Smell Therefore I Am http://ismellthereforeiam.blogspot.com/
Notes from the Ledge http://scelfleah.blogspot.com/
Scent Hive http://www.scenthive.com/
Savvy Thinker http://savvythinker.com/
Roxana’s Illuminated Journal http://journal.illuminatedperfume.com/
Perfume in Progress http://sonomascent.wordpress.com/
All I Am A Redhead http://alliam-aredhead.blogspot.com/
Ambre Gris http://ambregris.blogspot.com/
Olfactarama http://olfactarama.blogspot.com/
A Rose Beyond the Thames http://arosebeyondthethames.blogspot.com/
Temps d’une Fete is getting mentioned a lot this spring – I really can’t wait to try it now.
Thanks for the spring idead from your line as well – now I know where to start from. 🙂
Hi Ines,
Temps really smells like spring to me — I love the hay and narcissus. It has a little dirty aspect to the narcissus note that people detect to varying degrees. It’s about right for me (any more would be too much for me), but I know some people who can’t smell that dirty note at all and others who find it overwhelming. It’s another scent that’s good to test first, but it’s a fun one if it works for you.
Thanks for stopping by and happy spring!
I, too, like a green floral in the spring. A helping of dirt with that is nice, also; I think that somehow hay and narcissus *suggest* that, which is why I gravitate toward them. (Your trio is my trinity in that catetory. I absolutely love each of them.)
And the lack of “dirt” may be the reason why I can’t often do La Chasse; it’s just so…pretty sweet? I have to be in just the right mood, right time of day, right weather…good thing mine is just a decant, right? Ought to last and last… 🙂
Sweet peas! I am going to try again this year; have not done well with them in years past. Don’t know if I picked a bad site, or planted at the wrong time, or if my climate just won’t host them. But I’m willing to give it another go. Thanks for the pretty picture; inspiration!
Hi ScentScelf,
Yes, I think hay and narcissus suggest earthiness too, and a closeness to nature. Hay notes are so nice, lol. They hit my happy buttons too. 🙂 The dirty note in Temps has a little skankiness to it, beyond just an earth note, because of the narcissus, but people seem to feel that to varying degrees. Para cresyls are chems that help create that dirty narcissus note.
I love those three too — No 19 and Chamade are gorgeous and such classic creations. I love all three for being green florals that don’t smell ozonic or synthetic (I often have trouble even with lily of the valley notes that way).
Yes, La Chasse is too “pretty” a floral for some and may be on the sweet side for some too. It’s not sweet in a vanillic sense though so it works for me. It’s like a cheerful bouquet of flowers for me, but it’s not sophisticated like No 19 and Chamade.
Sweet peas are finicky! They need lots of sun but not too much heat. We have to plant in fall here so they bloom before the hottest part of summer. I planted some years ago and they were not very happy where I put them, but they re-seeded where they are happy so now I just let them come up wherever they like. I cut flowers for a month and then as they start to taper off (as the heat sets in here), I let them go to seed.
They do better just doing their own thing, but you need a good seed that will come back each year. We tried a bunch of heirlooms and one of the pinks turned out to be the only one that is happy enough here to reliably come back each year. A couple of my favorite seed sources are http://www.reneesgarden.com/ and http://www.enchantingsweetpeas.com/. It’s easy now because the little vines just appear each fall/winter, bloom in spring, set seed, wither, and arrive again the next fall! I don’t do anything but cut their flowers and encourage the vines to climb whatever is near (a rose or a stake if needed). I think the trick is buying a variety of seeds and finding a type that is happy in your spot. Probably too cold where you are to plant until spring. Good luck!
Thanks for stopping by — good to see you!
YOUR Voile de Violette is a spring staple. It’s brilliant!
We have similar spring tastes ~ I could have (should have) put Temps d’un Fete on my list, too.
Today I wear Incense Pure. Review coming this weekend. =)
Hi Abby,
Glad you’re enjoying Voile de Violette! Thanks! 🙂 I really enjoy Voile in spring too. I was just filtering a new batch yesterday.
Just looked at your list and, oh, Vacances is beautiful! A sweet friend sent me a precious mini and it is just the best lilac I’ve ever smelled. Nothing else like it. It should be on my list too but I don’t tend to think of it because it is discontinued and too precious to wear often.
Ok, now I must hurry up and sniff Iris Nobile! It’s been on my to try list. Sounds great. For iris I love Dior Homme and Divine L’Homme de Coeur, and the Prada Infusion is nice.
I love SL FdO too. I have a decant of the older stuff and have heard it may be a little different now. My decant is rich, sweet, spicy orange blossom. It is vanillic and heavier but beautiful. I don’t have any cumin problems with it the way some people say they do.
I look forward to your review — thanks! 🙂 I probably put Incense Pure out at the wrong time of year, but it was finally done so I went ahead, lol.
PS I need to try Tulipe too. Sounds interesting!
re: wrong time of year for Incense Pure
not really
I personally *can* wear Incense scents year ’round. There’s nothing heavy or cloying about incense, so if I’m in the mood, it doesn’t matter the season.
Its true many folks aren’t thinking of incense fragrances right now but maybe they should be… ;0)
I wear incense any time of year too. 🙂
Oh, I love sweet peas! When young, I had a neighbor who either gave me one plant or some seeds: I just can’t recall any more. But they kept returning every year in my parents’ garden! What a treasure. I also love snapdragons for their visual effect. Oh, now I wish I had a wee garden…
Thanks for you spring scent thoughts,
Laura
Hi Laura,
Sweet peas smell so good! They are intense, wonderful spring treats. That’s a great way to grow them, to get them to naturalize like that! Sounds like you have good memories. 🙂 It’s fun for kids to grow up with that experience.
Laurie, Guerlain Chamade seems to be popping up on quite a few Spring Scents lists. I’ve only smelled it on the strip, shrug, then walk away. I clearly need to wear this thing properly and get in the spring swing with y’all!
Hi Katie,
Chamade is definitely worth a skin test! It comes in a bunch of versions and vintages though and can vary a bit. I’m not an expert on it, but I do like some of my samples better than others. As is often the case, the parfum is especially beautiful. I have an edt sample that is darn nice too though. Happy sniffing!
I see VC&A Gardenia Petale made your spring list — that’s a great choice! Love Apres L’Ondee and Fleur de Narcisse too.