Fragrantica

May Muguet Marathon: Muguet Fleuri
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May Muguet Marathon: Muguet Fleuri

My oh my, muguet! Oriza  L. Legrand’s Muguet Fleuri opens with a decisive, spicy greenness that comes from top notes of green leaves, grass and lily-of-the-valley, per Fragrantica. The middle notes are galbanum, angelica, violet leaf and lily-of-the-valley; base notes are lily-of-the-valley, oakmoss and lily. Kafkaesque attributes the spiciness of the opening to the violet leaves, but I wonder if it doesn’t also come from the angelica. The firmness of the green top notes reminds me of the leaves of lily of the valley, which are very beautiful in their own right and offer just the right contrast to the delicate silver-white bells of the flowers on their long, slender stalks. The leaves are sculptural in their form, larger than the flowers and sometimes even hiding them. They are smooth and firm like the leaves of hostas, and reach to the sky in pairs like hands lifted in prayer.

Lily of the Valley leaves

Lily of the Valley leaves; photo from Verdure

I love the opening of this fragrance. It just happens that I am staying this week at my sister’s house, where she has an old, well-established patch of lilies of the valley, so I am able to compare the perfume and the flower directly while I type this. Continue reading →

May Muguet Marathon: Annick Goutal’s Le Muguet
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May Muguet Marathon: Annick Goutal’s Le Muguet

I have had a hard time figuring out this perfume, so let me work my way up to that. Le Muguet is a soliflore that was first released as a limited edition in 2001, then re-launched with a few other Goutal soliflores in 2011 or 2012.

Annick Goutal soliflore perfume bottles including Le Muguet.

Annick Goutal Soliflores; photo from http://www.nstperfume.com

The original nose behind it is Isabelle Doyen. The only notes that are listed for it in multiple sites, including Fragrantica, are lily of the valley, benzoin, red berries and rose, although The Scented Salamander describes notes of mustard, pepper and vanilla (none of which I detect). The bottle is simply beautiful: a heavy, classic shape of ribbed glass with a retro vibe and a solid, gold-toned cap, tied at the neck with a pretty bow of colored tulle (aqua-green in this case) and the perfume’s name in script on a gilt tag.

When I first spray it on my skin, I smell fruit. Continue reading →

May Muguet Marathon: Coty Muguet des Bois
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May Muguet Marathon: Coty Muguet des Bois

One of the most famous lily of the valley fragrances, Coty’s Muguet des Bois was created by perfumer Henri Robert, some time between 1936 and 1941. According to one source, it was created in 1936 as a tribute to the recently deceased Francois Coty, who had a tradition of giving friends and employees the usual May Day bouquets of “muguets”, but his were grown on the grounds of his personal chateau! Muguet des Bois is now available mostly in eau de cologne strength but even that appears to have been discontinued, with stock still available online. The bottle I have echoes the colors of the vintage ad above: light green bottle with a touch of yellow; aqua blue label; light violet cap. Sort of dorky but pretty!

Coty bottle of MdB

Modern bottle of Coty Muguet des Bois; photo from http://www.basenotes.net.

Fragrantica says that the top notes are aldehydes, orange, green leaves and bergamot; middle notes are cyclamen, lilac, jasmine, lily-of-the-valley and rose; base notes are sandalwood and musk. I do smell the aldehydes but not heavily so; definitely the green, green leaves; a light citrusy touch that may be notes of both orange and bergamot and then — LILY OF THE VALLEY! And yes, I meant to put that in all caps, because it just jumps right out at you. I happen to like it very much, especially as it is a very green lily of the valley and it really does smell amazingly like the actual flower. Sad to say, it quickly fades. I find I am left with a faint hint of leafy musk and that’s about it. But oh, that initial blast! It is so, so appealing.

Now Smell This found a wonderful quote about Muguet des Bois by the legendary Edmond Roudnitska, creator of Diorissimo:

I remembered that Coty had a lily that was called Muguet des Bois. No better lily note was ever made. It pushed the green note of the flower. As a lily note, it was magnificent. It was much better than the one I had made myself. I wondered how they had managed to create such a masterpiece in the Thirties, with so little means.

He went on to call it “unwearable” but it’s not clear why. He also said it wasn’t successful, but that is contradicted by the sheer volume of related products sold now on eBay! Gift sets, talcum, parfum, eau de toilette, many gorgeous ads over decades — it sure looks as if it was successful. Many of the most beautiful ads were illustrations by an in-house artist who signed his work “Eric”.

Ad for Coty Muguet des Bois perfume, 1942.

Coty Muguet des Bois, 1942.

Continue reading →

May Muguet Marathon: Caron Muguet du Bonheur
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May Muguet Marathon: Caron Muguet du Bonheur

One of the three most legendary lily of the valley fragrances is Muguet du Bonheur, by the French perfume house of Caron, the others being Dior’s Diorissimo and Coty’s Muguet des Bois. This spring, I bought a small bottle of vintage Muguet du Bonheur, mostly to try a muguet I didn’t know, but also because I fell in love with the special edition Galuchat bottle it came in!

Caron Galuchat perfume bottles

Caron perfumes in limited edition Galuchat bottles.

Muguet du Bonheur is the green bottle in the center. And it is even more charming in real life: the outer skin of the bottle is textured, the weight of the bottle is very pleasing in the hand, the cap and little charm are just as pretty as they look in this picture.

Green Galuchat perfume bottle with Caron's Muguet du Bonheur eau de parfum

Caron Muguet du Bonheur, in Galuchat bottle. Photo: http://www.beauty-cosmos.com

So, back to the actual scent! As I’ve been on this learning journey, I keep reading blog posts and reviews where people write that it took them several times to “figure out” a specific perfume. And I had no idea what they were talking about. But now, with my first and only vintage Caron, I think I do. Continue reading →

May Muguet Marathon: Lily of the Valley and Ivy
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May Muguet Marathon: Lily of the Valley and Ivy

I discovered Jo Malone’s fragrances last summer, in the Heathrow Airport where there is a boutique. Unfortunately, I was there in a wheelchair, on my way home from London where I had fallen and broken my shoulder! So my kind husband took me to Jo Malone to pick out a bottle of perfume. The one I picked that day was Red Roses, as I had been visiting rose gardens during our trip. But I also tried last year’s limited edition Lily of the Valley and Ivy, part of the “Rock the Ages” series and I liked it so much that I later bought a bottle.

Jo Malone Rock the Ages

According to Fragrantica:

The aim of the collection was to depict different periods of British history through the inspiration of drama, atmosphere and characters of each of the periods. The collection contains the following scents: Tudor Rose & Amber, Lily of the Valley & Ivy, Geranium & Verbena, Pomegranate Noir (reissued) and Birch & Black Pepper.

Lily of the Valley & Ivy is inspired by the Georgian era of pastel tenderness, green landscapes, gardens and ivy-covered fences. The fragrance opens with green ivy, pink grapefruit and sparkling black currant, with delicate floral heart of lily-of-the-valley and narcissus and the base of beeswax, amber wood and white musk.

It is a very beautiful fragrance.  Continue reading →

May Muguet Marathon: Fragrantica’s Best
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May Muguet Marathon: Fragrantica’s Best

To whet our appetites for more, more, more muguet, and on May Day, Fragrantica has presented its “Lily of the Valley Best in Show list: Best in Show: Lily of the Valley Fragrances (2016). All the contributors to the list have wonderful suggestions; some of their picks are fragrances I hadn’t heard of before, or didn’t associate with muguet. More things for me to try! Happy May Day!

Fragrantica and Pantone’s Colors of the Year
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Fragrantica and Pantone’s Colors of the Year

Well, this is fun! Fragrantica has a new article today highlighting Pantone’s new “colors of the year”, which happen to be Rose Quartz and Serenity: A Melody of Rose Quartz and Serenity. Perfect for a blog named “Serenity Now”! The Fragrantica challenge to readers is to suggest their own fragrance building blocks for scents based on those colors.

Hydrangea Blooms Fragrantica

Photo: Fragrantica.com

Fragrance Friday: Cabaret, Cirque du Soleil
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Fragrance Friday: Cabaret, Cirque du Soleil

I love reading other people’s comments on perfumes. Some are full-length reviews by known “perfumistas”, others are anonymous comments on sites like Fragrantica.com.  Many are very clever and evocative. For instance, this comment about the eau de parfum Cabaret, by Gres:

It is a rose chypre, somewhat melancholy in feeling but still alive. Like a ghost…. Cabaret is a great name…it also reminds me of my theatre background. Fresh soft florals, mostly rose at the top, and the base is a very dry clay smell. It is cool and elegant with a transparent, almost dusty smell. I think of the atmosphere backstage at every show I have been involved in. Antique wood counters in the dressing room, waxy makeup and powder strewn across them. Vases and vases of roses and lilies. That musky smell of fresh sweat from dancers just coming off stage.

The image that immediately came to my mind was a Cirque du Soleil show I saw this year, called “Zarkana.” It is described as being set in an abandoned theatre that mysteriously comes back to life for an evening, starting with the appearance of ghostly white figures of performers like ballerinas and acrobats with white-powdered hair and stage make up. At the start, the huge stage is lusciously draped with great swags of crimson velvet. The pale figures emerge from the darkness after the curtain swirls upward. And at the very end of the show, the cinematic backdrop turns into a rippling cascade of deep red roses, while the same ghostly performers and other more colorful characters come out to take their final bows.  Maybe this perfume should be renamed Zarkana. Or at least Cirque.

Finale, Zarkana, Cirque du Soleil.

Photo: Cirque du Soleil.