Voyage of Fragrant Re-Discovery

The weather here in April is changeable – and by that, I mean it could be 70 degrees one day and snowing a day or two later.  According to last year’s photos, we had plenty of snow around now, but this month has been very dry (not good) and also unusually warm, and I suppose I should type “not good” after that as well, but I’m loving it.  I’m still learning the drip irrigation system for the walled garden in front, and making a few adjustments. We’re ahead of schedule in terms of bloom time and watering.

Anyway, even without snow, this is very much a transitional month fragrance-wise. Here’s what I reached for during my Great Fragrance Cooler Unpacking, and how it went.

Chanel Cristalle Eau Verte – Portia’s post on Hermes H24 and our conversation in comments had me rooting around for this. It’s such an easy scent, and it combines parts of Cristalle and some sweet greenery in a way that works on me. I had a friend who wore Cristalle as her signature scent back in the day, and it smelled fantastic on her. Me? Not so much.  Eau Verte smells like fresh grass in spring but still a little chilly and chic in that Chanel way.

L’Artisan Mure et Musc – this one passed me by when everyone was wearing it – I was drawn to the odder L’Artisans and it was just too pretty. Later (much later) I sniffed it somewhere or other, probably in NYC, and immediately bought a bottle. There’s nothing wrong with pretty, you know? It seems like a consummate spring scent. Well, anosmia is strange – there are scents I can’t smell, and the weird part is it doesn’t seem to be related to how potent the fragrance is. I got whiffs of what Mure et Musc would smell like on, say, a scarf I’d spritzed last year and then tucked away. No, I didn’t keep dousing myself in it; I just sighed and moved on.

Regime des Fleurs (Shells, Vines, Falls, Leis, Waves) – if I recall correctly, I bought these in spring 2021 after noticing they were on major discount and deducing correctly that they were being d/c’d. I’d tried them on multiple times over the course of a year or more at Anthropologie before the Plague hit, and kept waffling about which two or three I wanted. Anyway, I panic-bought all five of them for not much more than I would have paid for two bottles pre-sale. Then they went into the move box and that was that. So, these I can smell perfectly well, a wonderful surprise even though I know they’re not especially strong, or complex. They’re just so, so pretty and great for layering. They’ve gotten quite a workout over the past week. I wish RdF wouldn’t launch things and then discontinue them.

Ormonde Jayne Champaca – I wore this on a blustery, cool day… I thought its incense-and-cherries scent would be perfect for the weather. Alas, I think this is one that blooms best (at least on me) in hotter weather. It was okay, but not great.

Annick Goutal Eau de Camille — oh, this is so, so lovely. Do they even make it any more? I got my hands on a bottle in a swap a few years ago. Ivy, privet, honeysuckle, cut grass.  I struggle with most green fragrances; in theory I love them, but in person they always seem too much on me — too big, sharp, or cold. This is a walk in a garden in early morning, damp grass underfoot, wearing a gorgeous white lawn gown with a wisp of cologne clinging to it. Bottle moved front and center for further wearing.

What fragrances are you digging out and trying on for your change of seasons?

images via Pexels; perfume image mine