Cavatina

Perfume Chat Room, May 2
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Perfume Chat Room, May 2

Welcome to the weekly Perfume Chat Room, perfumistas! I envision this chat room as a weekly drop-in spot online, where readers may ask questions, suggest fragrances, tell others their SOTD, comment on new releases or old favorites, and respond to each other. The perennial theme is fragrance, but we can interpret that broadly. This is meant to be a kind space, so please try not to give or take offense, and let’s all agree to disagree when opinions differ. In fragrance as in life, your mileage may vary! YMMV.

Today is Friday, May 2, and yesterday was May Day in many countries. In France, a May Day tradition is to give bouquets of maguey, or lily of the valley, to loved ones and friends. Apparently this was a tradition faithfully honored by M. Christian Dior, whose favorite flower was the muguet. This inspired, in turn, his work with Edmond Roudnitska to create the legendary Dior fragrance Diorissimo. As regular readers here know, muguet is one of my favorite scents and the flowers are one of my favorite flowers. In past years, I’ve done daily posts in May for a blogging “May Muguet Marathon”, which has been great fun!

Today I’m wearing my newest muguet fragrance, Cavatina by Parfums Dusita. I really love it, especially at this time of year when the weather shifts between late spring and early summer.

Lilies of the valley, green moss, and ferns in woodland garden
Lilies of the valley in woodland garden; image from Pinterest

Did you do anything special to celebrate May Day? Do you have any new-to-you favorite muguet or other spring fragrances?

Perfume Chat Room, April 12
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Perfume Chat Room, April 12

Welcome to the weekly Perfume Chat Room, perfumistas! I envision this chat room as a weekly drop-in spot online, where readers may ask questions, suggest fragrances, tell others their SOTD, comment on new releases or old favorites, and respond to each other. The perennial theme is fragrance, but we can interpret that broadly. This is meant to be a kind space, so please try not to give or take offense, and let’s all agree to disagree when opinions differ. In fragrance as in life, your mileage may vary! YMMV.

Today is Saturday, April 12, and I have another new fragrance by Parfums Dusita! The latest is Cavatina, a beautiful tribute to vintage muguet fragrances like Diorissimo, Muguet des Bois, and others. Listed notes include: top notes of bergamot, litsea cubeba, petit grain; heart notes of lily of the valley, tea rose, jasmine; base notes of ambrette seed, Siamese woods, vanilla. Additional notes mentioned on the website, presumably used to create the lily of the valley accord, include tuberose, ylang-ylang, heliotrope, and aldehydes.

Coty "When You're in Love" ad for Muguet des Bois fragrance, by Eric
Coty “When You’re in Love” ad for Muguet des Bois
Muguet du Bonheur ad by Caron
Close up of lily of the valley flowers
Lily of the valley; image from http://www.pixabay.com

As longtime readers here know, I adore lily of the valley flowers and fragrances, and in past years I’ve amused myself by writing a “May Muguet Marathon” series of daily posts during the month of May. (In other years, I’ve done a “Roses de Mai” Marathon).

I was curious about the litsea cubeba listed, and it turns out that it is an evergreen tree or shrub native to China. According to Eden Botanicals, its essential oil has “an intense, clean, fresh, sweet-green, lemon-like aroma with light woody-floral undertones.” Seems like a perfect ingredient to create a Muguet fragrance, since lilies of the valley share some of those fragrant traits.

Lily of the valley fragrances list on Fragrantica
Photo: http://www.fragrantica.com

Cavatina is a lovely muguet. It is light, floral, elegant. The bergamot gives it a little zing at the start, and it must be the litsea that adds the lemony note that I do smell in real lilies of the valley. The muguet accord is very realistic, even without the molecules that made Diorissimo a legend but are now banned or can only be used in tiny quantities.

I won’t be doing a May Marathon this year, as I’ll be traveling (including a trip to the RHS Chelsea Flower Show! If I did another marathon series later this summer or fall, what would interest you most?

Happy Passover to all who celebrate it!

Singers with giant flower hats and flowered dresses at RHS Chelsea Flower Show.
RHS Chelsea Flower Show, May 2019.
Perfume Chat Room, March 28
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Perfume Chat Room, March 28

Welcome to the weekly Perfume Chat Room, perfumistas! I envision this chat room as a weekly drop-in spot online, where readers may ask questions, suggest fragrances, tell others their SOTD, comment on new releases or old favorites, and respond to each other. The perennial theme is fragrance, but we can interpret that broadly. This is meant to be a kind space, so please try not to give or take offense, and let’s all agree to disagree when opinions differ. In fragrance as in life, your mileage may vary! YMMV.

Today is Friday, March 28, and last Friday was International Fragrance Day, which I totally missed! OTOH, I did visit the niche fragrance boutique that opened a few years ago in a nearby suburb, Indiehouse. I had first visited its pop-up store before it had its fixed location, and I’ve been to its intown location, which isn’t far from my house, but I hadn’t yet visited its main store. I’m delighted to say that it was lovely, with many interesting rinds, and the staff could not have been nicer.

Indiehouse fragrance boutique

I bought a discovery set I’ve been eyeing for a while, from the brand Grandiflora. If I can’t get to Australia this year, I’ll wear Australian fragrances!

Indiehouse fragrance boutique

The two sales associates were very warm and welcoming, and managed that great balance of offering help but then letting me wander around sniffing until I had a specific question. They were both knowledgeable and enthusiastic, and we had a great chat about Christian Dior, his sister Catherine, and the original Miss Dior.

I haven’t p,urged into my new discovery set yet because I’ve been enjoying the Rosarine by Parfums Dusita that I was “ given” in February. I’m using quotation marks because as usual, I bought it for myself then handed it over to my patient, nice husband to give me for Valentine’s Day! He’s a very good sport. Next up: Cavatina, for Mother’s Day, lol. The lilies of the valley I grow here (barely, they don’t seem to like the heat here) are already in full bloom and very fragrant.

Spring is in full swing now, and I’ve been very busy caring for all the roses and other plants I put in last spring and summer. All seem to have made it just fine through our erratic frosts, and I’m tackling the usual bugs and diseases early and preventatively.

Have you discovered any new stores, fragrances, or plants recently?

Indiehouse fragrance boutique