It looks like Spring is finally here, and that means time to pick the best spring perfumes for 2013!
I (Musette) am excited to be a Perfume Foregone Conclusion, wearing light, springy florals and rooty irises as well as my go-to for every Spring since the Flood: Diorella. If the Zombie Apocalypse happens in the Spring,vintage Diorella (and a crossbow) will be in my getaway bag.
I fell in love with the new Chanel 1932 and wore the petals off it. It has a crisp floral heart surrounded by a soft veil of eau de cologne. I know it’s weird to say a floral heart is ‘crisp’ but that’s what I think of when I think of spring flowers. The ‘snap’ of iris and tulips, just coming into bud, daffodils and scilla and snowdrops with their stunning, chilly sheen. That indefinable scent of hyacinth, where you can’t tell where the dirt leaves off and the flower begins…it’s all there – and in my other favorite, L’eau Mixte by Patricia de Nicolai – the blackcurrant bud provides the ‘snap’ in this one. Have you seen the film ‘Enchanted April’? L’eau Mixte is that film.
15 yrs ago I spent an insane amount of money on an Anne Fontaine blouse. White pintuck with black piping, it was an amazingly demanding piece of clothing…yet every time I put it on I felt like the most sophisticated, elegant woman on the planet. I could only wear it in Spring, with a chunky gold earring and bracelet and tailored black pants. And every time I wore it I was 10 lbs thinner and 4″ taller. Amouage Memoir body cream is like that.
Ann has some great picks here!
Robert Piguet’s Mademoiselle Piguet:
This orange blossom scent, warmed by tonka bean, isn’t fancy or complicated, but it is simply pretty; in fact, I’d almost call it a “pretty” comfort scent. I tried it on a whim, and really surprised myself by liking it as much as I did.
Byredo’s La Tulipe: This pops up on fragrance “best of” lists, and it’s no wonder. It’s the perfect early-spring floral, fresh and bright with a lovely green stem feel to it. You can’t wear a bit and NOT feel hopeful and happy, at least for a while.
This time of year, I crave the scent of lilacs. My all-time favorite, Jean Patou’s Vacances, is discontinued and as scarce as hen’s teeth, but I can get my fix fairly easily, thanks to the charming Frederic Malle En Passant and the beautiful Puredistance Opardu, both of which transport me to a gorgeous spring garden.
Portia is going into Autumn, just as we are going into Spring but flipped her psyche to accommodate us, bless her! Here’s what Portia has to say:
Spring is an excellent time because you get warm sunny days and cool wet ones, so the choices are endless. I have tried to fill the list with old, new, niche, discounters and department store.
Cuoio Nobile by Pineider 2012 is new to me and I think it’s gorgeous plush leather is exactly the way to welcome the spring. It is a fresh leather, huskier and less suede-ish than Bottega Veneta, sweeter and flirtier than Lonestar Memories
CHANEL No 19 is the classy green lady of the CHANEL range, though she is restrained and elegant you can tell it is by choice and underneath lies a heart beating molten metal. A 1970 fragrance as apt today as when it was released.
Gold by Donna Karan is a fun and flirty 2008 release that starts out all bright fresh white flowers and ends with warm hidden depths.
Joy by Jean Patou 1932 was once hailed as the most expensive perfume in the world. Now a little thinner and less explosive she still makes a lovely spring fragrance.
Aqua Allegoria Lys Soleia by Guerlain was a 2012 release that combined all the magic of tuberose with a hefty dose of sweet fruit. On my skin I get a subtle salty beach feeling that has no correlating accord in the given notes. An excellent spring choice.
Niki de Saint Phalle is a spectacular bitter, green, herbal burst from 1982 that will bring spring freshness to your olfactory system.
Premier Figuier Extreme by L’Artisan Parfumeur: This luscious, milky 2004 fig extravaganza says spring all the way. An interesting and unusual fig fragrance in a market gluttedand not outrageously expensive.
Songes by Annick Goutal from 2005 brings all the lovely white flowers and sweet warm vanilla together. If you haven’t tried Songes then this spring is the time, You will be blown away
Tobacco & Tulle by SOIVOHLE: You may be surprised that I put this in a spring top list but its glorious warmth and sparkle are perfect for awakening your senses to the new life around you. tobacco absolute, tuberose absolute, earthy natural musk (hyrax tincture, ambergris)
Ubar by Amouage, the 1995 floriental powerhouse is a perfect spring scent for those cold evenings that you need to be cuddled and coddled by your scent
Tom’s Picks:
I have two bests of spring, only one of which is really springy. The first is smell bent’s new sweet tyranny, which is a beautifully smooth sandalwood and orris scent that shows what that house can really do with expensive ingredients. The second is Uncle Serge’s La Fille de Berlin, a rose scent that even the rose-phobic (like me) can love. A big, red, shiny technicolor rose that adds in a soupçon of the musk from perhaps my favorite scent on earth, MKK. Special kudos for both of these being relatively affordable: Berlin is $120 for 50ML while tyranny is a steal at $90 for 50ML. Nice to see after weeks of seeing scents that cost half my rent for a smudge..
For more Top Picks for Spring perfumes please check out:
You are right Chanel No 19 edt and Annick Goutal’s Songes edt are excellent springtime fragrances. Perfect time to wear them.
Thanks for sharing this! I’ve never tried having a perfume for a specific season, but I was totally moved by this idea. I really like to try this and I want to thank you for listing different picks of perfume for this spring as well as putting a review in each of those picks. Very helpful.
The coming week is going to be warm in Cleveland and I am thrilled that I cap pull out some old favorites. I love wearing Chanel no. 19 in the spring and summer. Tocca Giulietta is another favorite along with Joy. Spring can be a little tricky for me. Sure, it’s warmer outside buy not that warm. It looks like now it will stay in the mid 50’s for the rest of spring.
What a lovely list – you’ve definitely inspired me to test the Chanel 1932 – a sample is on its way from STC now. In the meantime, I pulled out Apres L’Ondee, which had been moved to the back of the drawer for winter time. I’m having fun rediscovering it. Thank goodness it seems that spring is here at last!
Lovely lists! I am a spring clichéin my Chamade and Cristalle but there you go. Also love Black March and Violet Tendencies. A new spring fave is Papillon Perfumery’s Angelique, which is a gorgeous osmanthus, orris and mimosa scent grounded with cedarwood. More on that later… 🙂
I have a small precious dab of Diorissimo parfum this spring, which is lovely for special days. I’m also loving #19, as well as Jour Ensoleille, 24 Faubourg, and almost anything else with a good orange blossom note. A dab of Carnal Flower is great in our cool spring evenings. My hyacinths have bloomed, making me realize that I need to find a good hyacinth scent.
Your comment about Carnal Flower made me think of something. Why is Tuberose such a divisive flower? I’m new to fragrance and I don’t know if I’ve ever smelled tuberose or would even recognize it. But it seems like people either love it or hate it. Why does it elicit such a strong reaction?
Back to the larger post– I’m adding La tulipe, Mademoiselle Piguet, and Songes to my “must sniff” list. Those sound beautiful!
So nice to read all your picks. Sherri, I am totally stealing Tiffany diamond in a Target world. 🙂 It is finally feeling like spring in the lower Great Lakes region and I am enjoying some recent acquisitions in addition to my beloved Chanel 19: SSS Jour Ensoleillé, L’Artisan La Haie Fleurie, Nicolai L’Eau Chic (which will be perfect for summer). Oh, and Bas de Soie with it’s cold gleaming hyacinth. Ms A, Enchanted April is one of my favorite movies – I read the book last year and enjoyed it, too. The scenery is transporting and every time I watch it I can almost feel the sun on my face. I will have to try L’Eau Mixte again.
Love all your choices, and taking notes!
La Tulipe is one of my most used perfumes–not a masterpiece but so cheerful and wearable, and Portia, I’m with you on all those classics. I wore Joy a few days ago and it felt so elegant, especially with all the synthetic Kool-Aid smell all around. I felt like a Tiffany diamond in a Target world.
I also love Le Temps pour un Fete, some under loved Goutals like Grand Amour and Heure Exquise (in addition to Songes), Coeur en Mai, and so many Malles!! (I think that coffret was the best thing FM ever did. Most Malles take time to fall in love with and I now find myself totally smitten and saving for FB’s of about 4-5…wow!)!
I’m not much into scenting according to season.
But spring is hot here so Aqua Allegoria Pamplelune would be a good choice.
I do find I crave Oscar for men when it starts getting hotter.
Portia has me sold on Cuoio Nobile by Pineider and Premier Figuier Extreme by L’Artisan Parfumeu
Wanna try those now.
And I have seen Enchanted April. I looked for it forever years and years ago,
and when I finally saw it I was thoroughly underwhelmed.
Still, L’eau Mixte sounds interesting 😛
Good thought, perfume as a deterrent to Zombies. Surely something lured by the smell of flesh and blood could be thrown off by the smell of green and fresh perfume. Afterall, you don’t find them nose down in a patch of flowers. If nothing else, it masks the smell of all that rotting flesh!
I have yet to smell No.19, and I’m reading it everywhere in the last week. We must truly be hitting spring, even though it still doesn’t feel like that here in Michigan. I’m going to need to get some spring samples ordered. I do love Chamade, No.21, and my No.5 Eau Premiere come spring. But now I’m also reaching for Ormande Jayne Woman. I really want to try that 1932 too
Hackneyed person that I am, in spring my thoughts always turn to Diorissimo, especially the older version which was just so very green, green, green. Like Portia, I will also wear Chanel No 19. But the weather isn’t at all spring-like in the UK yet (it was snowing again yesterday), so right now I am still wearing cozy stuff!
Musette – will you be wearing the Diorella or spraying it at the zombies? Maybe drenching yourself in that lovely zingy juice will mean they can’t smell the human being underneath, and you can slip easily out of their clutches ……