When I sat down to write about perfumes perfect for springtime, I realized that light, pretty florals are the most underrepresented group in my collection.
There is enough for the cold of winter, enough for the heat of summer, many great scents for autumnal walks through the mist, but springtime? Lovely, blooming, blossoming, green and tender springtime fragrances?
Among the florals I have, there are mostly dark, spicy and mysterious roses, as un-springlike as possible, or really fresh cologne-style florals, that would be more appropriate for really hot days. I had to think hard and dig deep.
That difficulty might be related to the fact that I do not especially like spring, so much so, that I could not even answer Tarleisio’s question of “Why do you love spring?” although there was a chance to win a sample of Tauer’s new perfume Zeta. But maybe it is just as well, Zeta might be to “springy” for me anyway… 😉
Frederic Malle En Passant: ironically my very first niche perfume is a light floral. En Passant is a beautiful rendition of lilac with a whiff of wheat and cucumber by Olivia Giacobetti. I love it, but only for half a day at most, then I need to change to something else, most often a heavy oriental, just to see that I can.
Tauer Perfumes Carillon pour un Ange: in typical Tauer manner Carillon takes no prisoners, it is perfectly made, but it is there at full blast, it plays in fortissimo all the time, an enormous Lilly of the valley bouquet to lose yourself in, which can be both a good or a bad thing, depending on my mood.
Annick Goutal Ninfeo Mio: another fig perfume, but very sparkly-citrusy. Easy to wear.
Annick Goutal Un Matin d’Orage: gardenia, big white gardenia and magnolia flowers although presented through a veil of water, seen through a waterfall maybe, lovely and sheer white flowers, that is how I like my white flowers – transparent, diluted, washed clean. 🙂
Ormonde Jayne Frangipani, Champaca, Sampaquita, Osmanthus: for wearable florals there is nothing better than Ormonde Jayne to turn to. The line offers beautiful, sheer but excellently made florals full of character and presence without ever being too much. Love all the way!
Guerlain Aqua Allegoria Floral Bouquet Numeró 2 (Airport Exclusive): I got a mini of this at Heathrow. It is a nice, fresh floral that is lovely, but not unique or extremely original. No need to get your panties in a twist, because of its limited availability.
Estée Lauder Private Collection Tuberose Gardenia: my only proper white floral perfume (so far). I love it, but I have to be really craving it, otherwise it also can get too much in no time.
Puredistance Antonia: a green floral so very enticing, it is in no way restricted to just spring time, but it is a great choice on sunny and rainy days alike.
Aftelier Orchid Solid Perfume: a pure delight, catapulting me into the lush heat of a tropical garden, but it whispers about it, never screams.
Kenzo L’Eau de Kenzo Amour: a new flanker to the lovely oriental Kenzo Amour, L’Eau is a floral oriental in a devastatingly beautiful bottle, that is a fresher, lighter take on its “mother”. It is not the bee’s knees of fragrant inventions, but a lovely and solid option for spring. A bouquet of rose and jasmine, violet and ylang-ylang rest on a warm vanilla base. Comfy and yummy, but still light.
I had a much better time selecting perfumes for a summer scents mini-reviews post, that will follow at the end of the month.
Olfactoria's Travels 
Oooh love mini reviews! Antonia sounds the most appealing to me, it’s typical it’s the most pricey! Personally I adore Spring because it signals the end of winter and is all about renewal and hope for the future. Interesting to learn you feel Spring fragrances are under represented in your collection. I would have imagined your iris perfumes could fall nicely into that category, but you don’t think so?
You are right in a way, of course, the irises are spring-y. But the iris perfumes I actually own (Iris Silver Mist and Prada Infusion d’Iris) are not attached to a particular season in my mind, they are very much wearable whenever the mood strikes me, year-round. And Iris Ganache is for the cold season for sure. La Pausa is probably the most spring-appropriate, since it is as fleeting as spring itself, which is why I still don’t own it. 🙂
I will send you a little Antonia!
Ah, I see, ISM and the Prada are obviously staples in your perfume wardrobe so it wouldn’t make sense to confine them to just one season. I just thought, I should probably crack out the 31RC as that would be lovely right now.
As for Antonia, you are too kind! I know it is parfum strength so if you can spare just a drop for testing that would be wonderful. Thank-you, B!
Can you believe I still haven’t tried 31 RC properly? *walks over to the sample box and remedies that*
Spring perfumes are very “me” because I like things that are light and pretty a lot of the time! I share many of your likes in the list above – especially the OJs! – but Museinwoodenshoes and I both didn’t get on with Antonia though we expected to like it. I would add Jean Patou Vacances to the spring list, also La Chasse aux Papillons and Kenzo Eau de Fleur de Magnolia – another surprisingly good (and reasonably priced) mainstream scent from that stable. Oh and AG Le Chevrefeuille is a sunny, cheery thing, if you don’t mind tomato stems with your lemon meringue pie.
To answer your question, I love spring because I don’t like the cold. Simple as.
Oh! Nice to hear someone mention Kenzo’s Magnolia. It is delicious.
Okay, this is definitely a must-try!
I hear many good things about Kenzo these days. Must try Fleur de Magnolia, since it is a note I love very much.
Antonia can be overdosed in no time, more than one spray and I know what you mean, but in a small dosage it is wonderful.
Sorry – there were rather a lot of “things” in that comment. Must be an assonantal association thing… ; – )
I love mini veiews too, thanks. The lovely dee sent me a generous sample of Antonia but I’m saving it mostly for next Spring and Summer (it’s nearly winter here). I don’t seem to be able to wear it in cool weather.
So perhaps it’s odd that that I have a sample of Carillon Pour Ange on the way, but I selected it as part of the Tauer sample set. I’ve been wanting one for ages. Really looking forward to it. I don’t think I have ever smelled a good lily-of-the-valley. Or at least: either I don’t like Diorissimo, or I have the post-reformulation and it does not work for me. Air freshener.
My Un Jardin sur le Nil finally turned up, just in time for winter. I love it. Love it.
Glad to hear about the success with Nil!
I cannot stand the contemporary Diorissimo either, air freshener is exactly what I smell as well. Tauer’s lilly of the valley is very natural, if big.
I don’t like spring very much either. It tops my list of least favorite seasons. Then comes summer. Fall and winter are my absolute favorites. But I’m not a “winter perfume person” and like my fragrances rather light.
This spring Un Jardin sur le Nil will be high on the list. I’ve also worn Prada L’eau Ambree on a rather warm spring day (wow – living dangerously! 😉 ). Versace Versense will get some air time as well. And I recently bought Cacharel Liberté for virtually no money at all, and it’s actually quite nice as an orangey, slighty chypry carefree and and uncomplicated spring scent. Nice. Actually really nice. Will look into Kenzo Magnolia. I have Kenzo Amour, but I’m not crazy in love with it to begin with (I like it OK, but it isn’t love), but I’ll probably find the whole vanilla number a bit too much now that it’s warmer. And then there are the new Temptations: Jacomo Silences and Lalique Bella Flora – all from reading perfume blogs 🙂 That’s what got me le Nil and I don’t want to be without it. Ever.
Yes, reading perfume blogs is a dangerous business. There is a perfume for you on my post schedule this week, just a hint – JCE. 😉
Vanessa sure did a good job with that Lalique Flora Bella, I want to try it too…
How do you like L’Eau Ambrée?
More JCE – yay! 😀
I like L’eau Ambree very much – the combination of citrus and amber is just me – I only wish that it had more throw and staying power, that there were a bit more of it. Oh, wait! Does this mean that I want more amber?! Hm….. 😉
L’eau Ambree is out, sitting on my counter top and will give it a lot of wear this spring and possibly this summer as well to see how amber and heat gets along.
There is something that nags me a bit about amber scents, and that is that they seem to “melt” somehow on my skin, like a cartoon bubble or ice cream. And the more cinnamon-y they get, the more they do that, it’s the sweetness, maybe. Perhaps that’s what others love about ambers. I want something that will stand a bit more on its own, so to speak. Maybe that’s why I need the citrus.
I need architecture in my scents. Possibly not making sense here….
The short answer is: I like L’eau Ambree a lot. And more of it 🙂
I think you are working your way towards a stronger amber! Yippie! One of these days you’ll be craving Ambre Sultan et al. 😉
My arthritis tells me that you will be right 😉
Ooh yes, Versense deserves an outing, and you’ve also made me remember Omnia Green Jade on the subject of inoffensive greenish day scents!
You know Versense? Finally, I meet someone who knows it. It’s a very decent cologny scent that wears really well and has a good drydown, too. I never regret wearing it. It’s work appropriate without being boooooring.
I don’t know Omnia Green Jade but will try it if possible. I owned the original Omnia once, but couldn’t smell next to nothing of it. The green in Green Jade should take of that I imagine.
I apologize for the double negative! Ooooops.
Ain’t got no excuse.
Love your mini reviews! You can pack a lot of detail in few sentences – Bravo! I must get myself an Ormonde Jayne discovery set soon.
I think I may have found a Spring fragrance that doesn’t make me feel chilly, one that I can actually wear in Spring – Coty Paris! (courtesy of the lovely Olenska) The fragrance captures that “inky” scent of new lilacs. A joy to wear!
That is great that everybody love mini-reviews, I wrote a big mini-review post today, it is a good way to go through a lot of samples in one swoop.
The OJ set is money well spent, Joanne.
Your spring choice sounds beautiful!
Uhhhhhm, new lilacs – they smell so good 🙂
I love the idea of spring, but the reality is always colder and rainier than I would like!
Spring scents make me think of the Spring-time phase of life… teenage years with the care-free, invincible attitude that I never was fully able to embrace. Maybe that’s why spring scents don’t really do it for me? As a genre, I mean—there are several exceptions to that statement, for one, OJ Champaca! My split arrived yesterday, and I plan to happily splash away throughout spring and summer! 🙂
I can’t remember which bottles you have—do you already have Champaca?? 🙂
Champaca is great, sadly I don’t have a bottle, I chose Frangipani and Ta’if.
What you say about spring really resonates with me.
First – love the format.
Second – absolutely loved the “farm” picture 🙂
Third – my spring perfume this year is Heure Exquise. There is nothing really spring-specific about it, but I like it now and finishing my sample before buying a FB.
Thank you, Undina! 🙂
Heure Exquise is a good choice for spring, light yet substantial.
If I was to make a list of spring ‘fumes I wish I was wearing/had, this would be it!
I’m loving En Passant but haven’t purchased a bottle, maybe I will the travel size. I’m surprised by how much I like. I usually don’t like “sheer”.
The AGs, The OJs…what I’ve been wearing. I long for EL Tuberose Gardenia and Puresdistance.
I love that we have the same list! I am in great company then! 🙂