May Days

Ah, the first days of May!  Soft, warm air, soft sunshine, Convallaria nodding above their spear-like leaves….ah, what a fantasyReality: 40mph winds and cold, driving rain.  40F (if we’re lucky).   Record flooding.  Smart convallaria, still hiding a bit underground.  Don’t put that Winter coat away just yet, missy.  Where yo’ gloves izz?  You’re gonna need ’em.

But, no matter the weather, 1May brings the LoTV perfume out in force!  Diorissimo!  Muguet des Bois, Annick Goutal Le Muguet…. all green and white and gorgeous.

I always wear vintage Diorissimo body lotion and edt on 1May – and I’ll tell you a secret:  application always makes me a bit queasy.  Dunno why.  But the drydown is perfection.  So I soldier through the first 5-10 minutes and then wonder why I am such a wuss.  Edmund Roudnitska’s triumph has stood the test of the eons it’s graced our senses.  I will wear it forever, whether it’s 50F – or minus-50F – on 1 May.

Before Diorissimo, though, my first LoTV was Coty’s Muguet des Bois.  More linear, less ‘involved’, it still is one of the finest Lilies of the Valley perfumes out there.  Created by Henri Robert in 1941 (Wikipedia says 1936) , it is a stunningly true to form interpretation of a highly aromatic, but difficult (impossible?) to distill flower.  Which is interesting becauuuuuse:  the scent of LotV  (the key molecule Cis-3 hexenol) was first synthesized in the 1950s.  So what was M. Robert doing in 1941?  Inquiring minds….

 

Hey, guess what?  I took a fall in the garden this weekend (stupid netting, hiding in the grass like a snake) and my already wonky shoulder is SCA-REEEEAAMING! (better than it was yesterday, but still) – so I’mo cut this short and do a quick draw, to make up for the insanity of this post just…. stopping.  Tell me your favorite early May scents – I’ll have Legal The Girl (she’s out of quarantine!  Squee!) pull a winner and send some vintage Diorissimo !

and, btw – I’m FOINE.  Just hurt.  But repairable.  Just not right this minute.

 

xoxoxo

  • Ann says:

    Oh, darling — so sorry to hear about your fall. Hope you are much better and back to normal now. Love your post and love those muguets — always such a joy to wear! PS thought you might get a kick out of this: I got a p/t job! And it’s selling vintage luxury handbags (LV, Chanel, Hermes, Gucci, Chloe, etc). Just had 6 hours of register training and my head is swimming, but I’m hoping to start early next week. Wish me luck! Watch out world, Annie’s going retail, ha!! PM me later if you want. Hugs to you, and have a lovely Mother’s Day!!

  • hczerwiec says:

    Oh no! Your shoulder! Be gentle with it! My actual lilies of the valley are just now starting to spear their way out of the ground. But I’ve also been wearing Diorissimo, along with FM’s Un Passant (lilac) and Aedes de Venustas’ signature (rhubarb). And Coty’s Muguet de Bois — I’d forgotten about that! I remember having some from the drugstore in the ’80s, and loved it. How does it hold up? Is the current version still good, or do you need to seek out vintage?

    • Musette says:

      I have two relative ‘originals’ and they’re thin – but gorgeous!!! I think they’ve held up well – and they smell better than the current iterations, imo. I love Un Passant but rarely wear it – can’t think why!

      xoxoxoA

      ps. I know Surrender to Chance has the Coty Muguet in vintage – I haz a scrab of that (to compare to mine) and theirs has held up as well (if not better) than mine.

  • Bastet says:

    I hope your shoulder feels better soon! My most-worn perfume this spring is LAP Violaceum- in fact I’m wearing it today. Thanks for the draw!

    • Musette says:

      oh! that’s a pretty one! and thanks, my shoulder is feeling much better! xoxo

  • RoseMacaroon says:

    Hope your shoulder feels all better very soon, Musette (ice!). And your poor face, Dina C! Oy, vey…lamentably, my newness to the world of parfum means that these venerable LoTV scents are purely imaginal experiencea for me at this point, so here’s hoping i get to sniff the vintage formulas one fine day. I do enjoy SIP’s Cancer but can’t say it seems like a true LoTV scent. Very happy to learn of Violette Angel, I must find that!

  • Anna Egeria says:

    Happy Spring Musette! Coty’s Muguet des Bois was my first fragrance which my mother chose for me. For May, I’m using Yves Rocher, Muguet en Fleurs and YR, Lilas Mauve EDT. I love violets so my favorite fragrance for spring is Mugler’s Violette Angel. I hope you heal quickly.

  • Jennifer S says:

    Oh no! Always the sneaky little things that’ll getcha! Where we do shelter volunteer work there are a couple of naughty goats who will butt you if you aren’t on your toes…..and if not you’ll be off them right quick cause boy..those little guys are strong!
    Not really familiar with Lotv by itself but I appreciate white and green combos.
    Glad you’re on the mend and yay for the ‘legal’ girl!

    • Musette says:

      LOL! I can just see that happening! I didn’t know there were ‘shelter goats’ – that’s so cool that you volunteer for them! xoxoxoA

  • SamanthaL says:

    I generally wear Le Temps d’Une Fête in early May, and sometimes I’ll spray on a bit of the Jacinthe de Bois that I’m hoarding! I really love lily of the valley and probably should be wearing it more at this time of year when it’s so appropriate though. I hope your shoulder heals soon!!

    • Musette says:

      That’s one of Nicolai’s, isn’t it? I remember loving that one! Thanks – it’s healing up nicely! xoxoA

  • Dina C. says:

    I’m with you Musette. I’ve got some vintage Diorissimo parfum, and that fits the bill perfectly on May 1st. I hope your shoulder feels better quickly. I fell on my face in January, and I know that’s no fun!

    • Musette says:

      HOLY SNAKES & CABBAGE! YOU. FELL. ON. YOUR. FACE? I can’t even…. how are you doing now? I hope you are feeling WAY okay! xoxoxoA

  • Kathleen says:

    I love your annual wearing of Diorissimo on May 1! I never thought to wear s favorite LOTV or spring scent every May 1.
    Spring hasn’t arrived here either, rain and more snow on its way in CO. I have worn Cristalle Eau Vert as my spring scent on the few warmer days which was lovely.
    I’ve never sampled Diorissimo, my vintage Dior has been Dioressence.
    Take it easy and heal quickly, I know there is never a gentle way to fall unexpectedly. Xx

    • Musette says:

      It’s one of those French-adjacent habits, a perfume version of their giving of LoTV on 1May. Here in IL, it’s always a crapshoot whether we’ll see the actual flower – sometimes it doesn’t happen until the middle of the month, other times, it’s nearly done by 1May, if we have a ridiculously warm Spring (one year it was 80F in mid-April and I watched, in despair, as the lilacs budded, bloomed and died within 36 hrs).

      In that Small Mercies vein, the shoulder is a better injury option than what I first thought, which was my wrist. Falls are awful! I’m almost healed, though – thank you!

      xoxoA