Wow, that’s a long name! Dewy Lily of the Valley and Star Anise from Molton Brown is one of their new eaux de toilette and also the fragrance of a whole new line of scented products. I stumbled across it as I was leaving Neiman Marcus on May 1, having gone there for the express and sole purpose of sniffing the new Guerlain Muguet 2016, released on that date  (which I will review before the end of my May Muguet Marathon!). On my way out of the store, I passed a Molton Brown in-store boutique and stopped out of curiosity. Lo and behold, another new muguet!

Molton Brown’s new line of Dewy Lily of the Valley and Star Anise fragrances

It even comes with its own charming video that explains some of the inspiration for the scent: Dewy Lily of the Valley and Star Anise, primarily the annual “Furry Dance” on Flora Day in Helston, Cornwall. This ritual probably pre-dates Christianity in this part of Britain, and it includes a day devoted to the celebration of the coming of spring and traditional dances. The dancers wear lilies of the valley, the men on their left side with flowers pointing up and the women on their right side with flowers pointing down.

This fragrance is very appealing. Its notes are: top notes of magnolia, star anise and green mandarin; heart notes of lily of the valley, peony and white tea; base notes of ylang-ylang, sandalwood and white musk. Although it is meant to evoke a spring bouquet of white flowers still wet from the dew, I don’t get a watery vibe from it; it doesn’t have anything I recognize as an aquatic note, despite the appearance of the ocean in the video. It does have a really nice base of that sandalwood, which grounds the light flowery notes and warms them up. The fresh opening is due to the green mandarin’s citrus notes, with a light touch of lemony magnolia, which linger into the drydown; I can’t say that I pick up much at all of any anise, though there is a refreshing herbal note throughout that probably comes from it. The eau de toilette smells great on skin and is quite strong for an EDT.

The white tea adds welcome “greenery” to the lily of the valley and peony heart notes, which are well-blended; I would say that they are equally strong. In spite of the opening note of green mandarin, this scent does not feel “fruity” to me: if pressed, I would describe it as a light green floral/herbal scent. Very enjoyable! As I only have a small sample, it is possible I may buy an actual full bottle some day, though Dewy Lily of the Valley & Star Anise wouldn’t move to the top of my list ahead of several others. I’m glad to have discovered it!