When I suggested to someone the other day that they needed a tiara, I told them how long I had my tiara and why I got it. But I had to replace it because my bulldog ate the tiara. I got a bigger, more sparkly tiara. But something about that phrase – The Bulldog ate My Tiara – says more about me than thousands of words could and how I find what is the best feminine perfume for me. Don’t worry, we’ll get to the By Kilian Flower of Immortality in a second
There is a part of me that is such a girlie-girl. I love all things feminine. Heels, frills, lace. My calendar is littered with hair appointments, manicures, pedicures, waxing, rolfing, yoga, Pilates, acupuncture. My closet is full of silks and cashmere. When I knit, my fingers only want to knit the softest, most plush yarns.
I also have a bulldog, and I had a truck until it got totaled a couple of months ago. I love to get dirty gardening, and sweat pours off me in buckets during hot yoga and when I run. Cowboy boots sit right next to my Laboutins. One day I load up on Annick Goutal Eau du Fier, and the next nothing but Dior Diorissimo, Dior New Look or Chanel 1932 will do. What I think is the best feminine perfume swings like a pendulum depending on how, um, forcefully feminine I’m feeling that day.
But there is one note that always hits my girlie girl trigger point.
By Kilian’s Asian Tales first two perfumes left me underwhelmed. They weren’t bad, they just weren’t memorable. Expectations were low for Kilian Flower of Immortality, except it’s Calice Becker and peaches, which could not possibly be bad, right? Notes of White peach, blackcurrant bud, freesia, iris, rose crystal, vanilla, tonka bean, white musk are part of the perfume. The Chinese tale “A Tale of the Fountain of the Peach Blossom Spring” is the inspiration for the perfume A fisherman from Wu Ling gets lost and ends up rowing next to a grove of peach treats. He follows it and winds up in Utopia.
I am a sucka for peach, it reaches deep inside me and curls its fingers around my tiara-loving femininity, sends me scurrying for some lacy underthings to put on under my sweats and even prompts me to throw a hot roller or two in my hair to get bouuuunnnncy curls. It is the part of me that weeps when the bulldog destroys my trinkets that represent my girlie-girl.
Peach a tricky note to do – easy to get into Candle or Air Freshener territory. MDCI Peche Cardinal does it right, though the perfume is more tart than Flower of Immortality. By Kilian Flower of Immortality gets the peach just right for me. It bursts open tart, juicy, sweet, and it’s so peachy perfect, my eyes literally roll back into my head and I get a case of the vapors. Yeah, see? Peach brings out my inner Southern Belle. The freesia adds the sweetness, but blessedly it doesn’t last too long and takes a back seat as a bit player, which is where freesia should go because, Lord, it can be overwhelming in perfume, though I love it so much in a live flower.
If you don’t love you some tartish sweet peach, skippity skip on by this one, you will so hate it. The drydown is much more subtle, but retains that softly fresh and juicy peach smell. It is uber-feminine in my mind and a great improvement on the first two Asian Tales perfumes. Calice peels her peach nicely for perfume.
So I do have some around and will give out 5 samples to commenters. And here’s what I need you to tell me this week – and you can choose – do you love peach in perfume or does it make you think of bathroom deodorizer? And what’s your favorite lily of the valley fragrance? That’s right, the Note Guide returns next week or maybe the week after with some spring notes, starting with lily of the valley. So I’m trying to get all the LOTV note prominent scents ahead of time! So drop a comment and be entered to win a sample of By Kilian Flower of Immortality.
Although I’m from the South and love peaches, I’m not very familiar with peach scents, and have no favorites. When it comes to LOTV, like many of the other posters, my fave would be vintage Diorissimo, but I haven’t smelled it in a long time. Kai is very popular down here, and though its supposed to be gardenia, I get LOTV from it.
Like Tara my fave LOTV is Guerlain’s and I love peach in a fragrance although some peach fragrances do suck, it’s just not the peach note’s fault! And, mmmmmmm lactonic peach perfumes.
My favorite peach is Keiko Mecheri Peau de Peche, muguet is Guerlain’s. Would love to try this new Kilian, sounds delish!
I am enamored with Flower of Immortality, and even after the 15 minute lifespan, I can still catch whiffs of it all day. I just don’t know where the whiffs are coming from, because they are clearly not on my wrist anymore! Perfect for summer and bare shoulders. Anyway, I’ve run through both of my samples, and would love another to hold me over until the bottles are released.
Oh! and my favorite LOTV perfume is Chanel 19 EDT. There is a huge dollop of it in the heart.
I must not gravitate towards peach. I tried to like Mitsouko and thought I might be defective since I actively dislike it. The one peach that smells fab is MDCI Peche Cardinal. As for Lily of the Valley, I shudder at the thought of wearing it – bad experience; however, I am looking forward to the post about LOTV – to know what to avoid and perhaps to try out recommended LOTV perfumes and cure me of my aversion. Thanks for the draw.
Mitsouko, which I like and am learning to love. And then Samsara and Coco. I realized that I really get along with this note. Im looking for a good LOTV scent so im looking forward to next week’s suggestions. Thanks for the draw!
I am half like and half dislike with the “peachy note” but mostly if it’s not very synthetic it works with me. Lilly of the Valley perfumes that I like are: Idylle EDT Guerlain, Comme Une Evidence Yves Rocher and One Calvin Klein.
Peaches are my all-time favorite fruit, but I don’t care for the note too much in perfume. I was testing out Kilian’s Good Girl Gone Bad yesterday, and I got TONS of peach! It wasn’t horrible. Looked at the notes, and guessing it’s the osmanthus? Osmanthus usually reads “apricot” to me. D&G’s The One is all apricot, and Roberto Cavalli Oro is big on the apricot, too. But the GGGB really said PEACH!!!!
As to LoTV fragrances, I reeeeally don’t care for that clean laundry scent, and LoTV is a common culprit. BUT, there are a couple of them that I can deal with – Guerlain Idylle EDT, and Yves Rocher Comme Une Evidence. LOVE Comme Une Evidence!!!
Hello, long time lurker here. I am very much looking forward to your lily of the valley post. I grow the flowers in my garden and in May can be found lying on my stomach just sniffing. Why do they seem to prefer to grow under my shrubs where it makes this difficult? Ellie from Ellie D perfumes, is a fragrance which conjures up lily of the valley along with other white flowers for me.
Peach I am a little wary of. I do try Mitsouko from time to time, but…..
Miss Patty, you have just made me swoon 🙂 I prefer the scent of an actual peach to my experiences with it so far in perfumery, same for LotV — but honestly, I’ve discovered I’m so uneducated when it comes to notes that it could turn out that I love both of them and don’t know it!
NP
My favorite lotv is penhaligons. Would love a sample of the new kilian.
I couldn’t help but read that ad copy and giggle and be glad they didn’t get all photorealistic- coz I reckon a ton of peaches could fall on that fisherman and he’d still smell like fish 😀
Looking forward to your next guide installment- they alone almost make my perfume addiction worthwhile! But lotv. Hmmm. I do like Odalisque but Yardley killed my lotv interest back in the 80’s…
I am late to the party today. Not familiar with perfumes featuring peach, but not because I don’t like peach. I’m just ignorant. A coworker let me use some of her Kiss My Face Peaches & Cream hand lotion and it smelled very refreshing after a winter of spicy, incense fragrances. However, my first ever purchase of perfume was from a drugstore in the town where I grew up and it was Muguet des Bois by Coty. It cost $1.00 + tax. I was felt so grown up riding my bike back home. Thanks for the draw!
I did get a good deal on Ineke’s Sweet William at Anthropologie. It is sweet and quite peachy and I think I will really enjoy it when it finally warms up. I also like Jessica McClintock for the LoTV. Simple, but enjoyable in the heat. Thanks for the fun reading and the draw.
I like a few peaches! (But I am weary of too-sweet peach). The Peche Cardianal is very nice and Mitzy, naturally. LOTV and I are not real friendly! But I can take a hit of Diorissimo (vintage) now and again 😉
The first Ines de la Fressange is a peach! And Carillon de la Ange is a lovely LOTV…
Thanks for the draw, I’d love to be entered. Thanks!
I haven’t tried that many perfumes with a peach note, but I love me some Mitsouko and Rochas Femme. Peach, plum and I think apricot are fruit notes I can do. Apple and berries don’t work for me so much.
I don’t honestly know that I’ve tried any LOTV perfumes, save maybe Crabtree & Evelyn’s, which I didn’t like. It’s a note I haven’t really explored, I think because of associations with air freshener.
Oh yeah, I forgot Ineke Sweet William… another peach I like. Apparently I like peach and cumin together.
I love a good peach ELdO Vraie Blonde is awesome; it’s so cute and fizzy. Bond Chinatown, on the other hand, makes me a bit retchy. Can’t really put my finger on a favorite LOTV. I generally just perceive it as that “off flower” I can’t identify. But when I read the notes, I go, “Oh yeah!” You know, in my head (usually).
The only peach I’m familiar with is Mitsouko, It took me a while to really like then love Mitsouko. The only LOTV dominant perfume that I am remotely familiar with is Diorissimo. I’m not sure if I like Diorissimo or not though. I sort of became lazy with being girly though because I mostly quit wearing makeup. Now, I’m starting to wear it more.
Hi. I’d love to be entered in the draw. I adore peaches!
My favorite peach is Keiko Mecheri’s Peau de Pêche. I wear it frequently in warm weather because I love the way it blooms in the warmth of a summer day. There is always an aspect of Almond with Peach, isn’t there? In order to amp up that particular note, I usually wear PdP over the top of a luscious almond lotion. The combination is wonderful to me.
Another peach I wear frequently is Gabriele Strehle’s Strenesse (nose is Maurice Roucel!) Soft, powdery, peachy…..I love it.
Lily of the Valley is my so-called Birthday Flower. Because of that, as a young girl, I wanted to wear LOTV all the time…..and as a result I think I overdosed. I have had a difficult time wearing that note as an adult. That and because badly done LOTV can be found everywhere, right?
Patty, I LOVED your post. That’s how I feel often, work boots next to strappy high heels. What a fun read! I also agree that perfume gives you a chance to indulge in all aspects of your personality, even ones that are wildly different.
My favorite LOTV is Diorissimo. When I wear it, I can smell my mothers huge LOTV patch in our backyard growing up. My favorite peach is harder, mostly because I have trouble teasing out notes. It strikes me that almost every single fruit I need to be icy cold from the fridge to eat. But with peaches, I crave them warm, from the tree or the sunny counter.
I’d love to be entered in the draw, I love Kilian, and I also agree the rest of the asian line I was kinda “meh” on. I’d be very interested to try this one.
They’re not notes I’ve been fully exposed to, so I can’t comment much.
The most memorable peaches were Chopard’s Casmir and 1969 by HdP. I’m not particularly fond of either, although I believe I’m fine with the peach within.
The only Lily of the valley I can think of is Carrillon pour un ange, which I definitely don’t like. I find it overbearing, and nobody else likes it either.
I had to look these up. For peach, fan of Casmir, Ghost, Dolce Vita, Mitsouko & Coco.
There is not a LOTV soliflore winner yet. I feel like a 4 year old in a tutu or princess costume. I do like Antonia’s Flowers Floret.
Peach seems to be rare in men’s fragrances, the only scents I have tried with peach are ADG, Allure Homme, and Amouage Ciel Man. I don’t get the mass appeal for ADG at all, and I don’t remember getting much peach. I like Allure Homme, but the opening is not my favorite, though I do pick up the peach it is just too much lemon for me. Amouage Ciel Man was also a massive disappointment for me, considering I love this house. In this case, I did get sort of that bathroom deodorizer smell for it, and I also don’t like lavender all that much. I am however unwilling to fully dismiss any note, so I’d love to try the new Kilian, especially since the other scents in this house are quite nice.
Peche Cardinal is the ONLY peach scent I’ve tried so far that works. I seem to morph scents into rotten peach territory rather quickly. LoTV in flower form triggers my asthma so when I smell something with that front and center, it makes me anxious much like smoke in perfume does. If it’s buried deep enough or disappears quickly it’s not an issue but I look forward to next week’s post. Surely there’s one out there for me (as I don’t have enough already).
This sounds beautiful; I love peach though I agree that it, like coconut, lilac, et al, can remind me of cheap air freshener if not handled properly. I was wondering what you thought of SoOud Ouris. I think that one’s delicious–the iris tames the peach and it is still a wonderfully juicy, wearable peach fragrance!
LOTV: Tricky because I’ve had huge variances bottle to bottle (vintage v. current; edt v. edp v. parfum, etc.): Vintage Diorissimo is the gold standard. However I have a two-year old current version of the great Diorissimo, which is at the same time, watery and harsh so I do not recommend the new version Saks has. I have one bottle of Muguet du Bonheur eau de toillette, about 4 years old that is very pretty, slightly powdery and lasts all of ten minutes; however I’ve gotten other renditions of MdB that are just horrible (the parfum extrait being notably oppressive). I have a collectible Guerlain Muguet that is a bit richer and creamier (not enough to warrant its price, imho). All in all my favorite, most reliable LOTV is Coeur en Mai, which is not a soliflore but has a strong LOTV supporting note, Rue des Lilas, also, which does not get alot of love, has a beautiful powdery LOTV note.
Perfume has helped me find my inner Girlie Girl. I have been a tom boy my whole life. I am also a southerner though, so I can play a Girlie Girl if I need to, but until perfume I never _felt_ like one. Neither did I feel that it was acceptable and desireable to be one.
I do, however, own a coronet, which is like a tiara but is more commanding.
I don’t know that I have sniffed a _good_ peach perfume, so I would love to give it a try.
Can I wear it and drink bourbon while nibbling on Pecans? Cause that would make me feel like being home.
Lilly of the Valley is a beast I do not know and kind of fear.
I love peach and always want to try anything that has this as a note. I get a lot of LOTV from Bond No 9 I Love NY Earth Day.
I think I would love peach that was done well, but so many fruity ‘fumes are just awful. I used to wear The Body Shop Mango oil perfume when I was a kid, and I loved it, and that was FRUIT to the nth degree. I love lily of the valley as a natural scent, but I don’t really own any. They grow abundantly at my parents’ house near the clothesline, and they smell like pure summer.
Patty,
Peach is my husband’s favorite fruit, so I’d like to find a great peach scent that he’d like on me. Mitsouko is my favorite one so far. As for LotV, I’m loving Gucci Envy right now, which has a nice strong, green LotV note. I found a gift set on the bay with the shower gel and lotion, as well as edt, and I’m enjoying that this winter/spring. I also like vintage Diorissimo and PdN Odalisque.
My worst LotV is the original Jessica McClintock because I used to have a coworker who drenched herself in it every day. It was her signature scent, and she had become nose-numb towards it. We worked in a very small space, and her cubicle was close to my area. My favorite LotV memory is a sweet elderly couple – Frank and Sara – who belonged to my church and grew the plants. On the first Sunday in May every year, they would each wear a boutonniere or corsage of Lily of the Valley blossoms, and of course, everyone went up to give them a hug and sniff those wonderful flowers. 🙂
You know, until some time ago when I read about your tiara, I had thought that *I* was the only grown woman who wore a tiara around the house. (I don’t often wear it, unless I’ve started feeling like I’m only the maid around here. It’s especially effective to clean a toilet wearing the tiara, because you can be all LA LA LA I AM REALLY CINDERELLA EVEN THOUGH I AM FORCED BY MY EVIL STEPMOTHER TO CLEAN ALL THE OOKY STUFF AND SOMEDAY YOU WILL BE DAZED BY MY BEAUTIFUL GIRLINESS.)
And I love peach. Just ran across it the other day in, of all things, Sweet William by Ineke for Anthropologie, a decant of which a friend was kind enough to send me. I was expecting carnations and got sexy peach. Huh. Go figure. My personal take on it was something like “Guerlain does modern Femme,” and since I’m not a huge Guerlie-girl and Femme was borderline too raunchy, I was pleased. A favorite peachy scent is the first Ines de la Fressange, the Becker one; love that stuff. It’s like bellinis in summer.
Favorite LOTV has to be Tauer Carillon pour un Ange, followed closely by Diorissimo. The old Kenzo Parfum d’Ete is pretty muguet-ish, too (the one in the frosted, veiny leaf bottle as opposed to the smooth curved leaf – that one’s far greener).
I used to like Tresor, but so many people I know have it as their signature scent, I just can’t/ I love Diorissimo, and I have a sample of Muguet from Fragonard just waiting for May 1st. Great post. I need a tiara, guess I’ll have to borrow my 2 year old granddaughter’s…now there is a princess in training!
Yes, I do love peach in fragrance, Rochas Femme being one of my favorites. And good ol’ Diorissimo is my favorite LOV perfume. Used to love Coty’s Muguet des Bois as a kid, but ingredients have been cheapened and it now goes sour on me. I was also very impressed by Lutens’ Un Lys when I recently sniffed it; mentally filing that one away as a future LOV possibility.
When I plant my peach tree this spring I will be wearing Huitieme Art Vohina with notes of peach blossom, hay and lavendar. It feels like a pastel watercolor to me.
The LOTV I wear most often these days is Van Cleef and Arpels Muguet. It’s arguably a little bit too clean, but I like it nonetheless. Vintage Diorissimo is a much better perfume in a number of ways, but there are so many memories attached to it for me that I find it very distracting to wear. I save it for the rare days that I have time to drift off into reverie.
I love peach and lily of the valley. For peach, I love Mitsouko and Rochas, and for lily of the valley I have only ever tried Diorissimo. Very sad that it smells so harsh in the newest formulation. Hopefully your lily of the valley note guide will point me to some more options, because my bottle of pre-most recent reformulation Diorissimo is being depleted rather quickly… 🙁
DNEM but Patty, I love YOU. Not peaches, though I like them well enough.
Portia xx
Patty, when you write your autobiography I’m hoping you’ll title it “The Bulldog Ate My Tiara”! That’d be so perfect.
We had peach trees at home when I was growing up; white-fleshed peaches have an amazing perfume that hasn’t been replicated, as far as I know. A tart-ish peach note in perfume sounds good to me…
As for LOTV, I pretty much like mine straight up with no chasers: Diorissimo, Muguet des Bois. Tauer’s Carillon pour an Ange is gorgeous, too.
Femme and Mitsouko immediately come to mind. I also swear there is a peach note in J’Adore d’Or although it is not listed. In general, peach is a good note for me and pear less so. Berries aren’t so good either.
I do love that Mitsouko peach, and that’s the only peach I’ve got in my collection. I love Calice Becker’s work, so who knows? My favorite LOTV is Lalique’s Fleur de Cristal, and the bottle is amazing. It’s not mentioned much on the blogs, but gets a lot of good reviews on MUA and so on.
L.o.t.v. is often too bitter for me, but I do like most fruity notes – can’t think of a peach one off hand though. Mitsouko does not work on me at all…
And your poor bulldog – I hope that tiara did not hurt his sweet tummy!
I aboslutely adore Mitsouko, so I like my peaches.
Thank’s for the draw, Patty!
Good morning Patty, you’re right about the fact that peach is very feminine. As a man, even though I’d wear unisex and some feminine fragrances, I’m not able to go for the completely peachy ones… the best peach for me is therefore Mitsouko, which blends its character with mine and develops on me beautifully as the day goes by.
Peach frightens me. I can deal with it if it smells like peach or even a good peach candle. Sadly on my skin it often turns to cat pee. I don’t want to smell like that. It doesn’t happen with every peach note so I’d love to see if this one works for me. Thanks for the draw
My favorite peach perfume is Mitsouko (not very original I know!), it was my signature scent for almost a decade. i can’t say I have a LOTV favorite, I own a bottle of Carillion pour une Ange though that should get some more use.
Oooh I’d adore a sample of this – I am permanently on a freesia-finding-mission, and peach is never a problem, either (not that I can think of many though… I do love Yvresse). My absolute favourite LOTV: Carillon pour un ange. Green perfection.
I love Mitsuko but no other peach
would love to try this one, because you consider it good
thanks for the draw
I like peach in perfumes, as long as it’s not overwhelming. I’m very curious about the new Kilian scent, I like all things feminine and sweet (but I do have a bulldog side to me, too – just like you).
Lily of the valley. Well, this is my favorite flower ever – but I haven’t smelled a perfume yet, which would truly remind me of a fresh lily of the valley bouquet. Still searching.
Just this evening, I tried a new-to-me Peach: Krigler Mediterranean Peach. The opening is oh my gosh…like biting into a big, ripe peach and watching the juice run down your arm. There was a touch of sour cream about it too; dried down to a nice floral. I’m not sure I liked the sour cream, but I’ll give it a go again.
Is PdN’s Odalisque considered LOTV? That is my nose down favorite.
I LOVE Water Calligraphy! Bamboo Harmony not so much so I’m not sure what to expect from this new one. Can’t say that I’ve tried any peach scents so I’d def be in for a sniff. I adore Diorissimo so much I made my best friend mule one for me from Paris last year..
Oooh, I love peach! Both the fruit and the perfume note. I can’t say i’ve tried many peachy perfumes though. MDCI Peche Cardinal is delicious. I also really like Rochas Femme, although sometimes it gets OTT cumin-y on me.
Being asian, I’m always interested in any asian-inspired perfume collections (which is probably a little weird, mostly because these “asian” interpretations are generally so fanciful that they’re not something i can relate to anyway..), but I’ve not had the opportunity to try anything by Kilian yet. This perfume sounds like a good one!
Another peach fan. i feel like there are so few us, and all 10 are commenting on this post. 🙂 Love Peche Cardinal, that one just makes my heart sing.
So you haven’t tried any of the Asian Tales yet? I’d be interested in what you think of them as far as if they captured an asian feel. I have no idea. They are all certainly lighter scents, more like ideas of things than the things themselves. That’s not a bad thing at all for me, I think it’s just a lot more subtle.