Wing and a Prayer: Carillon pour un Ange by Tauer Perfumes

It's no secret that we at PST are fans of Andy Tauer. In person he's charming; he's also an extremely talented artist with an array of beautiful scents. Carillon pour un Ange is his ode to Lily of the Valley, one of my personal favorite smells and one that can go so very wrong in perfume. When it's right (Diorissimo, CdeG Leaves) it can be a transportive dream. To paraphrase a Cadillac ad from a few years ago: time to start dreaming... Carillon does plays with the angelic lily of the valley and it's clean hyacinth and orange innocence by introducing a shockingly sensual oily leather aspect to it that reminded me immediately of his (sadly) never produced Hyacinth and a Mechanic. I'm not the first person who's written that, as a matter of fact I believe he admitted as such to March at Perfume Posse. Unlike that hyacinth scent, this doesn't radiate. There's a yin and yang of the soft and sparkling flowers set against the dark and brooding leather and ambergris- it's not hard to believe that this was originally called "Gabriel" when in development. It's great to see a perfumer "spread his wings" in this way. Andy Tauer seems with each new fragrance to manage to both pare down yet broaden his reach. This might possibly be his best yet. Luckyscent is giving away bottles of this delight to two of our readers. To be included in the draw, please leave a comment. At this time we are only able to offer this giveaway to readers with US addresses. The draw will be open until Midnight on Sunday July 25th, Pacific Time. The draw is closed. Andy has also partnered with Luckyscent to do an ebook for charity called "A Moment With Lily of the Valley" in which all of us are invited to participate. Carillon pour un Ange is $75 for 15ML at Luckyscent

Perfume Review: Christian Dior Diorissimo

By Tom I wandered about this weekend in a state of perfume ennui: what to review? I had dropped by Barneys and was captivated by Malle's Bigarade Concentree, and promptly lost the sample the SA made me (I hope it fell out of my pocket into the car and not onto Wilshire Blvd). Lutens Vetiver Oriental is racing to the top of the list of "what I shall waste my rebate check on" but I am still processing it and not ready to review. I even saw in a gigantic full-page ad in the August Times that Juicy Couture had introduced a new men's fragrance and duly trekked off (to the Valley, even! Oh, okay I admit it, I went to Highland Park to Penny's which has the best French Fries in three counties and there's more parking at the Valley Macy's) to Sherman Oaks to sniff. Sniff I did. Citrus inoffensive would be a good name for it. Diet Sprite smells edgier. What to do? Then I had the good fortune of reading Beth's review of Diorissimo. Wait? I have some of that! I love that! Certainly the world is waiting for my opinion of this?!? Well, let's not go crazy.. Having the memory of your average sieve, I think that Beth and I share similar upbringings- I do remember that lily-of-the-valley were perhaps not the first sign of Spring in the part of Western New England where I was raised (that would be leaves and grass) but were perhaps the first sign that spring had really sprung and wasn't just one of those cruel jokes Spring in New England can be. Part of our backyard was a small valley, really more of a dip, that would bloom with a profusion of them; this valley was a boundary between my parents house and our neighbors and was normally just grass. Both families had a silent agreement not to mow that area until those plants were done for the year: the perfume was so heady and yet so innocent that to mow that part of the yard would be akin to murder. Diorissimo seemingly effortlessly captures that fragrance: no mean feat I am told, since that particular flower can't be juiced or steamed or whatever it is that perfumers do to render unto us the scents that we so adore. It's blissful springtime; the scent of renewal. The long cold winter is over, the heat of summer isn't here yet but the trees have gone from bare buds to a profusion of impossibly plump leaves, grass is firmly back and even the garden shadows seem green; spring flowers seem to bud before your eyes and the rain showers seem fecund. As it goes forward, Diorissimo mirrors that fecundity with woods and civet and a bare hint on me of uncured tobacco- as Colombina writes "flowers pulled out of the earth with their roots intact". Would I wear it? I don't know, I think I would need independent confirmation that I was light and innocent and not gassing people out at work (any volunteers?). It has certainly rocketed to the top of scents that I think I need to have in my life in more than a decant, to celebrate the season, to get through the admittedly mild winters the Hills of Beverly, or even to remind myself in what is arguably the Autumn of my life that there is always Spring, the Eternal Return. Even as the most extravagant way possible to scent my sheets. Oh, and Beth, if you are wearing this if ever we finally meet, I will be sniffing you hair big time...

Perfume Review: Christian Dior Diorissimo

By Beth Finally, finally it is becoming spring! This time of year you will find me in the garden singing Beatles songs with my hands happily buried in the dirt,talking to my plants! I buy flats of flowers way too early, plant huge pots of herbs and take as many long walks in the woods as I can. I just love that smell, when the last of the snow is gone and the air is fresh and green. I’m a big believer in seasonal fragrance, certain times of the year will always live powerfully in my imagination and never disappoint me. I fall in love with everything and everyone in the spring, I kick up my heels, I play, I dance and make love with abandon. I fantasize about Beltane fires, I dream of picnics in the park with my friends! I make May wine! My husband accuses me of being an incurable romantic and I’m quite sure that he’s right about that! But doesn’t spring do that to everyone? To my husbands delight, the arrival of spring means that I also begin to wear as little as possible, with the exception of Diorissimo, a fragrance by the House of Dior that hardly needs any introduction at all, especially this time of year! It is my favorite springtime perfume, an absolute classic and for me once April cometh nothing else will do. Of all of the lily of the valley fragrances, I believe that Diorissimo is truly the most beautiful and I don’t live well without it! Sometimes in the dead of winter, I’ll spray a bit of Diorissimo just to remember! I now need to bite my lip, blush a bit and admit that I tried this fragrance for the very first time at age 16 when I discovered that it was Mick Jagger's favorite. I spent many a day in front of the mirror styling my hair, lining my eyes like Marianne Faithful and trying to become as mod as possible. Before Diorissimo I had been in love with Coty’s Muguet du Bois, but once I bought my first bottle of Diorissimo I was smitten. Alas, even though I spent many a summer following the Rolling Stones , Mick never discovered that I was alive, but my husband who also lives large in my imagination (and even larger in real life!) did and he adores the fragrance! Every time I spray myself with Diorissimo, he buries his head in my hair and sighs. My son told me once that if he ever found a girl that smelled like it that he would marry her on the spot. Diorissimo may appear innocent, but it casts quite a spell! Diorissimo is Muguet du Bois on steroids, a true Lily of the Valley fragrance that seems the only one of it's kind to really capture the essence of that beautiful little flower that appears for a fleeting few weeks in May. I’m really a purist when it comes to Muguet fragrances. I really don’t understand most of the perfumes that seem to fall into that category, to me they have nothing in common with that incredible scent. Lily of the Valley is such a lovely flower and every spring I bury my head in my bunches of it. I am lucky enough to have a gorgeous patch of it that I have loved since childhood, that lives in a quiet corner in my fathers garden. It is such a fleeting moment of time, that brief two week period in May when they bloom, so very Shakespearean. Diorissimo captures that moment for me perfectly. It is innocent yet very sexy, modern and at the same time very traditional, a truly iconic fragrance. It is very dressy, totally classic with black crepe and pearls, yet completely playful with hemp and linen. It is restrained yet sensual by nature and totally chic. Diorissimo is my Chanel. Although I adore wearing it for elegant dinners, I love to wear Diorissimo when I go riding and it smells even better mixed with the scents of saddle and the wild ramps of the springtime forest. Yes I know, it’s all part of my Lady Godiva fantasy, but I can hardly help myself! At this point, you can still find Diorissimo online, but the only store that I can find it in is Saks Fifth Avenue. If you’ve never tried it please do. You will love it, I promise. For the record, this is one fragrance that I enjoy the Eau de Toilette version better than the Parfum. I’m not sure why, but it could have to do with the vast quantities of it that I spray!

Lily of the Valley Week. Day 4. Penhaligon's, Severnoe Siyanie, Shiseido, Taylor of London, Yardley

The last day my Lily of the Valley week. Penhaligon’s – Lily of the Valley Penhaligon’s call their Lily of the Valley “fresh and green”. On me, it is a rather sweet and creamy scent, certainly possessing a strong lily of the valley note, but with various other, some of them rather unexpected, notes. Firstly, in the very beginning I smell what I think is narcissus and a delicate rose. As the scent progresses, it acquires a hay-like aspect on my skin, and even – I swear!- a vaguely leathery undertone. I read reviews that said that the scent was very subtle, but on me Penhaligon’s muguet has a surprisingly substantial, “thick” quality. An intriguing scent, which I would like to own one day. Severnoe Siyanie – Lesnoj Landysh (Northern Lights – Muguet de Bois) A kind friend sent me a sample of this vintage Soviet perfume, and I thought it was remarkable. Of all the lily of the valley scents I reviewed this week, this one has the most forceful personality. It is not a loud scent, not heady, in fact it smells, for the lack of a better word, rather austere. Its unsmiling, commanding charisma that is truly striking. The scent has a strong chypre vibe. Lily of the here is not nearly as prominent as the woods and the oakmoss. Instead of a forest-glade white with muguet and some trees in the distance, I see an image of dark, tall, powerful trees, and in their brooding shade, one fragile lily of the valley. If I knew where to get some more, I would have gotten a bottle of Lesnoj Landysh in a heartbeat. (A note: I am pretty sure that the bottle I picture here is not the right one, but rather that of a new and most probably rather different reformulation or maybe even of a different company, it’s hard to tell and impossible to find the right one). Shiseido – Koto Another very charismatic, if slightly less severe, chypre lily of the valley scent, Koto has a very dry, herbaceous beginning, a complex floral heart, with lily of the valley being the strongest but by no means the only flower in the blend, and a warm, resinous, slightly leathery base. This lily of the valley should be worn to the most important business meetings. It has an imposing, although not overwhelming, presence and the kind of stern elegance that would go to so well with a sharply-tailored power suit. Taylor of London – Lily of the Valley Like Coty’s Muguet de Bois, this Taylor of London’s scent is the proof that sometimes the loveliest scents can be had for the smallest amount of money. A true soliflore, it is the scent of muguet with a dash of green leaves and not much more. Simple, effervescent, joyous and juicy, this is a delightful tribute to spring. A bargain at $17.00 for 1.7oz. Yardley – Lily of the Valley Yet another cheap find ($11.75 for 1oz), Yardley’s muguet is as appealingly straightforward as Taylor of London’s and just as enjoyable. It is a slightly greener, more “high-pitched” lily of the valley with a very subtle apple-like undertone. Easy, breathy, beautiful and ridiculously affordable. I would like to conclude the Lily of the Valley week with a hit parade of sorts. Here are the scents I reviewed in order of preference, from most to least favorite: 1.,2.,3. – all bunched together as I can’t choose- Annick Goutal le Muguet, Coty Muguet de Bois, Dior Diorissimo 4. Guerlain Muguet 5. Severnoe Siyanie Lesnoj Landysh 6. Shiseido Koto 7. Les Parfums de Rosine Muguet de Rosine 8. Jessica McClintock 9. Penhaligon’s Lily of the Valley 10. Parfums de Nicolai Eclipse 11. Floris Lily of the Valley 12., 13. Taylor of London Lily of the Valley, Yardley Lily 14. Caron Muguet de Bonheur 15. Comme des Garcons Lily 16. Art of Perfumery 3 Penhaligon’s Lily of the Valley can be found at penhaligons.co.uk, $70.00-$90.00, Shiseido Koto is often sold on eBay, Taylor of London Lily of the Valley is avialable at shoplondons.com, $17.00, and Yardley Lily of the Valley at shop1.mailordercentral.com, $11.75.

Lily of the Valley Week. Day 3. Comme des Garcons, Floris, Jessica McClintock, Les Parfums de Rosine, Parfums de Nicolai

Comme des Garcons – Lily I debated whether to include this scent in the Lily of Valley Week or to wait till the Lily week (yes, it’s coming, as well as Gardenia, Tuberose and Jasmine weeks…do you see a trend here? ). Lily of the Valley won, because, although I smell both flowers in Comme des Garcons surprising creation, lily of the valley is much more prominent. I say “surprising creation” simply because this rather conventionally pretty, frankly unexciting scent seems rather out of place in the brand’s quirky lineup of fragrances. It starts with a very green muguet, and that is the stage I enjoy the most; the scent has a dew-drenched feel of an early, cool spring morning…then the perfume grows considerably sweeter and stronger, this is when I smell lily (maybe Casablanca lily) and freesia. The latter adds an unwelcome pink heaviness to the blend; it seems incongruous in this ethereal white-green composition. After going through the very sweet phase, the scent does a full turn and becomes fresh and green again, but to me the freesia-laden heart is a good enough reason not to ever want to own a bottle of Lily. Floris – Lily of the Valley First created in 1847, Floris’ Lily of the Valley is the oldest of the muguet scents I am talking about this week (Guerlain’s Muguet was originally released in 1906). The title note is indeed very prominent here and is at the center of the composition, but I almost hesitate to call the perfume a soliflore. The rose is particularly strong; it is sweet, juicy, and very life-like. I imagine Floris’ creation to be a lovely bridal bouquet made of delicately-pink roses and dazzling white lilies of the valley. The scent is very pretty, very easy to wear, but it has too much rose for me to absolutely love it. Jessica McClintock – The Fragrance Again, this is not a soliflore, but the lily of the valley is prominent enough to warrant the perfume’s inclusion in the muguet week. The beginning is citrusy, slightly herbal, almost a little peppery, with the green basil note serving as bridge of sorts to the green lily of the valley, which will become apparent in the heart. Jasmine is almost as strong as muguet, but not quite; on my skin, lily of the valley is the dominant floral element of the blend. The drydown is softly woody, delicately sweet. The scent makes me want to don a white sundress …maybe even a sundress with ruffles…and to act all demure and a little coquettish, in other words, completely out of character…I am considering buying a bottle. Les Parfums de Rosine – Le Muguet de Rosine It is rather sad that Parfums de Rosine decided to focus on rose scents only, as the now discontinued perfumes, the opulent, fruity-ambery Coupe d’Or, the fresh and creamy tuberose Mea Culpa (one of my favorite tuberose scents of all time) and Le Muguet, are as beautiful as the rose perfumes in the collection. Le Muguet is a tricky one for me. It likes to play with me; on some days, it is green, green and green, with fresh lilies of the valley and lots of grass and not much else. On others, it is a fragrance of considerable depth and breathtaking complexity. On those days the jasmine becomes very prominent, bringing with it a vaguely indolic quality, and the rose adds to the scent a wonderful honeyed aspect. The drydown is musky and slightly resinous. An interesting, sophisticated rendition of lily of the valley, and it truly is a shame that it is now practically impossible to find. Parfums de Nicolai – Eclipse There are many "light-green" renditions of lily of the valley, Nicolai’s is "dark-green". It has sumptuous, peppery greenness of basil and oakmoss. Because of the presence of anise, lily of the valley here has sweet spiciness… or spicy sweetness. I strongly believe that there is rose somewhere in this beautiful composition, as I sense rather than distinctly smell a presence of its bordeaux-colored petals among the greenness. Much more than simply a muguet soliflore, this is a very elegant, very sophisticated blend that possesses the sort of creamy sumptuousness that I came to associate with the work of Patricia de Nicolai. Comme des Garsons Lily and Parfums de Nicolai Eclipse are available at luckyscent.com, $68.00 and $70.00 respectively; Floris Lily of the Valley is sold at florislondon.com, $45.00-$70.00; Jessica McClintock can be found at jessicamcclintock.com, $48.00-$68.00. We take a break tomorrow for Tom's report on L'Eau du Jatamansi. Lily of the Valley will be back one last time on Friday.

Lily of the Valley Week. Day 2: Coty, Christian Dior, Guerlain

Often, when I have to write about perfume classics, I feel star-struck and overwhelmed. Can my humble review possibly do justice to a Legendary Scent? So you can imagine how much trepidation I feel today, faced with having to talk about not one, but three wonderful legends. Coty – Muguet de Bois I must preface the review by saying that Muguet de Bois in question is vintage Parfum de Toilette. On the very first sniff, I am tempted to proclaim Coty’s version to be the most beautiful lily of the valley. On the second, third, and one-hundredths sniff, I am just as entranced. The delicate, virginal-white flowers are not often described as opulent, but Coty’s Muguet is truly sumptuous. Lilies of the valley, with their “high-pitched”, silvery smell, are also rarely described as warm, however Muguet de Bois has a wonderful, balmy depth. If there existed a lily of valley genus with not white but golden flowers, that is how it would smell. The beginning of Muguet de Bois has an unexpected, extremely appealing booziness, almost a fruity, honeyed undertone, most probably due to the presence of an orange note. The orange, and in the heart of the scent, roses are the elements, which, I believe, add the warmth to the scent, which make it “well-rounded” and softly-enveloping. The warm and sweet quality co-exists in harmony with a strikingly green accord, and the contrast is incredibly appealing. The base is full of sweet sandalwood, which finishes the development of the scent on a very sensual note. Muguet de Bois is truly stunning, and it is my mission now to find and try the contemporary version. Christian Dior – Diorissimo Having tried vintage and modern eaux de toilette, I can honestly say that I loved them both and that the two are not drastically different. I was pleasantly surprised to find out that the modern Diorissimo still smells very much like a Roudnitska’s creation, in that it contains the elements, which, to borrow Honore de Balzac ‘s words, make it smell like “a species of transition between the plant and animal”. That (elegantly restrained) animalic side is more pronounced in the vintage Diorissimo, but it is still perceptible in the modern version. The old Diorissimo also has a somewhat sweeter, almost fruity beginning, the new Diorissimo is heavier on jasmine; at one point it actually becomes a jasmine scent rather than lily of the valley, but that stage passes quickly. The base, on my skin, is practically identical, very Dior-Roudnitska, with soft sandalwood and that dark, earthy Something (civet?) that once made me say that Diorissimo smells like lily of the valley flowers pulled out of the earth with their roots intact, with the earth still clinging to them…and that is how I still perceive Diorissimo. Diorissimo strikes me as perhaps the most complex lily of the valley rendition of the ones that I have tried. To say that I love it would be a huge understatement. If you have a chance to try a contemporary parfum, please do. Eau de Toilette is beautiful, but parfum is absolutely stunning, slightly warmer and deeper. Guerlain – Muguet Guerlain releases a limited edition of Muguet what seems like every May; the version I am talking about is from 1999. This lily of the valley has no roots, it is all about the dazzling white flowers and green leaves. This is the version of Muguet that reminds me of another name for lilies of the valley, May Bells. Smelling Guerlain’s Muguet is akin to listening to a joyful concerto played on the tiny silvery bells. Along with Goutal’s Le Muguet, Guerlain’s creation strikes me as the most true to the scent of actual lilies of the valley. Like Le Muguet, it also possesses that potentially harsh, slightly bizarre, almost gas-like smell that real lilies of the valley have. It is intoxicating, exhilarating, it is a lily of the valley flower in close up, or perhaps it is like being inside the said flower. Muguet has a delicate fruity aspect, which makes me think not of citrus fruits, but of green apples. The green quality is quite pronounced here; I smell grass and leaves and even, very vaguely, something not unlike cucumber. The bright, incredibly realistic lily of the valley sings and my heart sings with it. The vintage Coty Muguet de Bois can be found on eBay, very cheaply; Diorissimo is available at imaginationperfumery.com, $59.99-$152.99; Guerlain Muguet, in this year’s reincarnation, is available at Guerlain boutique in France and perhaps at Bergdorf Goodman, €200.00 for 20ml.

Lily of the Valley Week. Day 1. Annick Goutal, Art of Perfumery, Caron

Annick Goutal – Le Muguet Le Muguet is a Limited Edition soliflore scent released by Annick Goutal in 2001. It is said that the company will reissue some of the other soliflores, but Le Muguet doesn’t seem to be included in the list, which is sad, because, along with Le Jasmin, it is my favorite in the series. I have read many reviews that note a harsh, almost carbide-like note in Le Muguet, so perhaps the scent wasn’t so popular as to warrant a reissue. On me, it is one of the most beautiful lily of the valley scents from beginning to finish, and yet I do see how it can possibly leave a sharply-chemical impression. The lily of the valley note here is so incredibly realistic and sumptuous, like sticking one’s head into the huge bouquet of freshly picked flowers, and the smell of real lily of the valley does in fact have that strange …metallic? gas-like? even almost garlic-like?...characteristic. As I said, I can sense a hint of that natural weirdness of muguet in Goutal’s rendition but it enhances my enjoyment of the scent rather than turns me off it. Lily of the valley perfumes in general are not ones that I would ever characterize as sweet. Having said that, Le Muguet, is perhaps one of the sweetest, I guess due to the fact that it also features a rose note. It is not a strong note, but it does make the typically virginal lilies of the valley exceptionally luscious. Honeyed, so very life-like, lilies of the valley are so appealing here, I could just…bite them. Art of Perfumery – 3 Said to have been created to evoke “a feeling of serenity”, to be “a perfume refuge”, 3 is a little bit of a paradox in that it manages to be simultaneously clean and rather sweet. The clean aspect is achieved through the use of a prominent aquatic accord, and the sweetness is caused by the presence of melon and orange. Unlike Goutal’s rendition, which makes lily of the valley so real that one feels transported to a forest-glade all white with muguet and sees oneself lying among the flowers, intoxicated by their silvery smell, 3 is not nearly as realistic. Wearing 3 is akin to being in an elegant spa, with the lily of the valley candle burning somewhere in the distance. It is lovely and indeed serene, but rather tame and “sterile”, and not the kind of “refuge” I would ever choose. Caron – Muguet de Bonheur There was time when I used to dislike lily of the valley note in perfume, and during that misspent and misguided phase of my life I used to think that all lily of the valley scents smelled the same. How wrong can one be? Trying muguet fragrances side by side reveals an astonishing variety of very different renditions. Caron’s version, first released in 1952, is perhaps one of the most refined lilies of the valley…very ladylike, very proper, white gloves and lacy handkerchiefs, modesty and chastity. It is so dainty and innocent, it feels almost out of place in our rather graceless time…But an old-fashioned feel is not something I would ever resent in a fragrance, quite on the contrary, I think that Muguet de Bonheur’s wistful patina of old-worldliness is its most charming characteristic. Neither do I mind a distinct soapy undertone of the fragrance; I feel that it only adds to the maidenly charm of Muguet de Bonheur. What I don’t like about the scent is the abundance of heliotrope. Heliotrope and I are bitter enemies, and the doughy rascal of a note has spoiled many a scent for me. Objectively speaking, heliotrope is what makes the potentially sharp lily of the valley so delicate and soft here, and those who don’t mind the copious amounts of heliotrope and those who are usually wary of the high-pitched forcefulness of lily of the valley, should find Caron’s Muguet very delightful and very wearable. Le Muguet seems to be available at overstockperfume.com, $59.99 for 1.7oz. 3 can be bought directly from Art of Perfumery, at artofperfumery.com, €59.00 for 1.7oz. 1oz of Muguet de Bonheur in Parfum is right now sold at Parfum1.com for only $85.95, 1.7oz of Eau de Toilette costs $29.95, also at Parfum1.com.