Spring Favorites 2012

"and it's spring when the world is puddle-wonderful" and we have a list of favorites share yours with us! Beth Oh my dears I am so predictable…..my mind wants to swing out there and write brilliant prose about some exquisite new scent and make your necks and senses tingle with flowery statements of orgasmic olfactory bliss the likes of which you've never experienced before! I can't though, because once again it's spring, the ethereal white lilies are beginning to bloom and my heart can never stray far from my beloved Diorissimo . Not much could be written about this beauty that hasn't already been said throughout the ages in one way or another, but for me it remains the only thing that I want to wear when the breezes turn soft and fresh. I buy a new bottle every year to herald the greening of spring and this year I did notice a return to something…I don't know if there's been yet another reformulation, but this new bottle of Eau de Parfum seems more as I remember it, a bit sweeter, a little more true to it's roots. Regardless of that , every spray brings me pleasure and makes me want to put on a pair of fishnet stockings, a short short skirt and a beret! I can't imagine cavorting with any other during the merry month of May! Diorissimo is like a fabulous "Same time next year" love affair…..it never disappoints and never fails to make my husband smile, so tell me why would I ever choose another? Donna Spring fragrances are some of my favorites, since I love florals so much, and there is no shortage of them in my collection. Spring florals are special; they have to be fresh, lilting and attuned to the season. There will be a number of these lovelies in heavy rotation during the height of spring, but two that will be getting a lot of attention from me are both from DSH Perfumes; the elegant, cool green floral chypre Vert pour Madame and the ethereally beautiful 1,000 Lilies. Both of them could have been made just for me, they are so close to my ideal of what a fragrance should be. Vert pour Madame smells like a great vintage classic, and 1,000 Lilies could not be more appealing to a green floral fan like me. Speaking of which, I have been waiting all winter to break out my Guerlain Chamade, a rich floral scent with a most delightful hyacinth character, and what could be better than that for the season? Kelley This time I decided to go with something I discovered locally. It's called Fleur d'Oranger by Ablu. Ablu is a small company based in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, that makes natural fragrances and soaps and lotions (and related products). Fleur d'Oranger is my favorite with a strong orange component mingled with neroli flower. It is extremely long lasting for a natural fragrance. I even detect hints of ambergris in the dry down. They can be reached at www.ablusma.com or even better, visit them when you are in San Miguel. Linda Mine is an old favorite: Bvlgari's Voile de Jasmin. It is quintessentially springlike in its cascade of tenderest blossoms of jasmine, orange, and mimosa - a soft aura of fragile petals. Anyone looking for naughty jasmine will be disappointed. This is a virginal, pretty, girly fragrance that would be suitable for a bride. It is also sweetly sentimental for me, as I got my bottle while on an uncharacteristically luxurious anniversary cruise. I just keep reaching for the bottle over and over this spring. Marian This season the scent I've enjoyed most is SMK Fragrance's Orris Civet blend. Usually I think of iris as being very austere and cool, but in this all natural composition the iris note, culled from high quality orris butter, is festooned with a charming and light-hearted violet delicacy. The real shocker is the civet. When smelled "raw" civet is so fecal that the only place I'd feel comfortable wearing it is in a tannery. Surprisingly, when blended with orris its naughty skankiness is balanced with a powdery, vanillic softness that adds a halo of child-like innocence, making this all natural blend as surprising as it is approachable and irresistible. Marina This spring my heart beat surrender to the classic Guerlains. It beats the most intenesly to Chamade. Green, slightly bitter and seemingly unyielding, it hides deep, deep...very deep down inside the sweetness and the warmth of a loving caress like a chilly spring day hides a promise of summer heat. But Chamade will only reveal its soft side to the one it loves back. To those it doesn't, it would never, never, never, never give up. Marla I've been enjoying two perfumes that play on the opposites of Spring on a Sand Dune. Shiseido's Koto, with its cool, quiet demeanor and touch of icy detachment works beautifully on the hot, humid days when anything warm would be stifling. And By Kilian's Amber Oud by Calice Becker, cuddly and warm, but also soft and gauzy, for the cold winds that blow from the North occasionally in April. Tom My favorite spring scent this year is something I had in the closet: Frederic Malle French Lover. I bought it when I was flush and had it shipped from France so I could have the "French Lover" name, since I think Bois d'Orage (what they sell it under in the states) is just silly, and the American translation "Thunder Woods" reads like a porn star. In any case, it's a beautifully done scent, green with galbanum and vetiver and grounded with cedar and warmed with spice. There's something square-jawed about it's clean green-ness that's fairly spring-like but add a little bit of dressiness to my day, when I'm not a dressy person. Not showy; it's a stainless-steel Rolex of a scent. I feel dressed up in it, even in jeans and topsiders. Please check out the other participating blogs: Bois de Jasmine, Perfume Posse, Grain de Musc and Now Smell This. Photo, Spring on 63rd, is by Marina, all rights reserved.