Advent SOTD today is Regime des Fleurs’ Glass Blooms. I like it a lot so far, but it doesn’t really suit the winter holiday season, as a light, summery floral! But that’s how Advent surprises work — one doesn’t know what one will get. This particular scent was created for the brand by perfumer Mathieu Nardin, who works for the fragrance company Mane and who has created a very wide range of scents for many brands. Perhaps most notably, he has created several for Miller Harris from 2015 to present, as well as the many he has created for Regime des Fleurs and other niche brands. The brand’s website lists these notes for Glass Blooms: Riesling grape, muguet, tea rose, peony, ylang ylang Nossi-bé, sandalwood, tonka bean absolute, ambrette and musk. If, like me, you are wondering what is “Nossi-bé”, it is the name of an island in Madagascar.

Right away, I smell the Riesling grape accord, and it is delightful. It’s not “grapey” at all, in the sense of that artificial purple, Nehi soda, grape smell and flavor. It is light and sparkling, floral but also fruity without being sweet. And of course, as regular readers here know, I love a good muguet! I wouldn’t say that muguet is dominant here, but there’s a green-and-white floral freshness to the opening of Glass Blooms that I can attribute to it. Because white wine grapes often bear the aromas of other fruits, I can also smell pears, apples, and a bit of light cherry. Really, the opening of Glass Blooms is pretty, floral like a Riesling wine’s bouquet, and charming.

The fruitiness fades a bit and the more traditionally floral notes emerge, with peony leading the way. This is a fragrance I will enjoy in the summertime, which is also when I prefer to drink most white wines. I actually don’t drink much Riesling, as so many kinds are too sweet for my taste, but last summer on a visit to Asheville, we went to the Biltmore winery and had an outstanding Riesling there. It was light and refreshing but drier than what I think of as the “usual” Riesling. Glass Blooms reminds me of that. And it’s a fitting analogy, since the Biltmore Estate is famous for its gardens and glasshouses full of flowers.

I wouldn’t say this is a very complex fragrance, but that opening is lovely, and it does have a nice progression from fruits to florals to a soft, warm, lightly musky base. “Light” is the mot du jour with regard to Glass Blooms; it floats off the skin. This would be very suitable for a workplace or most occasions; it won’t meet your needs if what you want is a va-va-voom, sensual powerhouse. There is no spice accord in it at all, which is fine by me; I like spices in scents but I don’t have to have them all the time. I’ll be looking for something a bit spicier and more winterish later today, but in the meantime, I’m enjoying Glass Blooms!

Do you ever smell wine accords in fragrances? Have you tried this or any of the others in from Regime des Fleurs?