Spring´s bustin´ out all over, and here are March´s Top 10 Spring Perfumes (yeah, okay, I cheated a little and slipped a few more in there).
These 
are things I´m loving now that I won´t necessarily be wearing in a couple of months when it´s Sultry Summer in my humid climate:
1. I Profumi di Firenze Arancia Dolce in a tiny bottle of concentrate, which is really designed to be mixed into a larger bottle of lotion. I love it because it´s a bright squeeze of orange and it reminds me of Florence, which is where I bought it (and as far as I know, the only place you can buy it – the concentrates are not exported to the U.S.) My other orange loves: Serge Lutens Fleurs d’Oranger and L’Artisan Fleur d’Oranger, and it just killed me to leave them off. There is no such thing as Too Much Orange.
2. Lorenzo Villloresi Garofano – I must have been having a Bad Skin Day when I panned this on our blind sample swap. It is a gorgeous burst of fresh, spicy carnation with a little leaf to keep it interesting. My other carnation love is Floris Malmaison — A perfect carnation with a little clove that will be too heavy once the temperature hits 80, so I´m wearing it now.
3. L´Artisan La Chasse aux Papillons – a confection of blossoms (linden, lemon, orange), jasmine, and tuberose that makes me smile every time I wear it. My also ran: Pre de Provence Linden, if you want your linden straight up. If you want your linden to stay the hell away from you because it smells like buttered socks, you’re reading the wrong blog. P and I are All About the Linden.
4. Guerlain Eau de Fleurs de Cedrat – because what list would be complete without Guerlain? By the way, I´ve smelled the new juice in the Bee Bottle, and? my old juice in the ugly bottle is better. They must have taken out the stuff that was making people´s arms drop off in that worldwide Guerlain epidemic and replaced it with the stuff that makes your nose fall off and doesn´t smell as good.
5. Annick Goutal Mandragore – I smelled this for the first time last spring in the boutique near my hotel in Paris and bought it on the spot. On me it´s pure grapefruit, with a little bergamot, and I think it´s perfect.
6. Laura Tonatto Eleonora Duse — The only Laura Tonatto I´ve fallen for. A dark, sweet violet along the lines of Molinard’s — but richer.
7. Santa Maria Novella Eva — Patty turned me onto this one. A happy, springy citrus-bergamot scent.
8. Frederic Malle Carnal Flower — the perfect smell of the tuberose while it is in the florist’s shop. The faint, almost camphorous chill of the wintergreen is either delightful (my view) or unpleasant (Colombina’s view), but it is much less intense than Serge Lutens Tubereuse Criminelle, which I find essentially unwearable (go ahead, all you TC fans — comment on what a bonehead I am.) I am not a huge white-floral fan, but this one is astonishing.
9. Bond No. 9 Eau de Noho – a bouquet of violets with a big wet smack of linden. This and the Chinatown are my only Bond loves so far.
10. Hermes Hiris – Serge Lutens Iris Silver Mist is judged superior by greater noses than mine, but on me ISM smells like the cedar tree fell on the iris and squashed it. Hiris is my Iris Holy Grail, the closest I can get to my idea of the way iris blooms smell.
10. Shiseido Saso and Shiseido Tentatrice — I can’t leave these off. I mean, they’re perfect for now, they’re fairly strong (which I like) but will be too much in our sultry summer weather. Shiseido Saso is the most amazing smell, vaguely osmanthus-jasmine-ish, and if I’m lucky my New Mexico transplant Russian olive will bloom this year so I can smell it again.
Finally — check out this Ines de la Fressange (Original Price $65, now on clearance at $20 at Sephora)
“This quintessentially Parisian fragrance is a lush blend of white roses and peonies that seduce with their alluring aroma, deep and mysterious iris, zesty mandarin and blackberry, and finished with rich, lingering neroli, musk, and patchouli.
Notes: Neroli, Mandarin, Bergamot, Blackcurrant, Lily of the Valley, Peony, Orris, White Rose, Patchouli, Benzoin, Musk, Vetiver.”
C’mon, how fuh-REAKING gorgeous is that bottle? I’m way overdue to fall in love with something they’re discontinuing. Thanks to Cheezwiz for the heads up! Hey, Patty — I’m gonna buy this. If it’s too rose-y I’m sending it to you, you rose-lover.
carnation image: www.kidlingtoncameraclub.co.uk
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