14 Prettiest Spring Floral Scents
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Arguably, fine fragrance as we know it today would not exist without the innovations and inventions humans have made in their quest to capture the fleeting fragrance of flowers. These pretty bee-beckoners bloom quickly and then fade, but via the alchemy of perfumery their scent can be suspended in time.
Floral fragrances are perhaps the most approachable of perfume genres—for surely there is a flower to please everyone? So says this fragrance connoisseur. Whether you swoon at the heady aroma of jasmine or cherish the classic elegance of true rose—or even if you prefer a perfume where the floral element is less overt—one of these 14 flowery fragrances will surely become your go-to eau of the season.
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MUGUET
The piece de resistance of the season's floral fragrances? Guerlain Muguet. The show-stopping limited-edition bee bottle—a collaboration with sculptor Anne Lopez—features exquisite 22-karat gold detailing, and the scent—created by Master Perfumer Thierry Wasser—is as perfectly dewy, green, sweet, and ethereal as a freshly picked lily-of-the-valley stem.
Notes: lily of the valley, jasmine, rose
Fleurs Sauvages
This is one of the most precious floral elixirs you will ever smell. Crafted from wildflowers using the enfleurage technique—an ancient, meticulous way of capturing the scents of blooms that cannot be distilled—Fleurs Sauvages blooms with the exuberant beauty of a field's worth of flowers. The fragrance is as intriguing as it is entrancing—and, as with of of Kindred Black's gorgeous offerings, it is housed in an exquisite glass vessel that can be re-used forever.
Notes: Canadian white violet, musk mallow, milkweed, bush honeysuckle, chamomile, wild lilac, and helichrysum
Maison Francis Kurkdjian À La Rose Eau de Parfum
Perfumer Francis Kurdjian was inspired by Elisabeth Le Brun's famous painting of Marie Antionette, in which the young queen holds aloft a single rose, when creating this scent, and its beauty is similar to that of the portrait: It is simple, straightforward, delicate, and hopeful. A rose even those who typically dismiss rose will love.
Notes: Damascena rose, Centifolia rose, Calabrian bergamot, Californian orange, violet, magnolia, blossom, cedarwood, musk
Narciso Rodriguez All of Me Eau de Parfum
Another home run from Narciso Rodriguez, whose understated, universally beloved musks have never lost their appeal. All of Me combines centifolia rose with geranium—a note most often used in men's fragrances—as well magnolia and musk to create a transparent, effortlessly wearable, alluring scent.
Notes: centifolia rose, geranium, magnolia, musk
L'Eau Rêvée d'Isa
A floral with a twist: A heart of blooming jasmine, white rose, and green tea is couched in a bed of moss, patchouli, and musk. Both light and dark, transparent and complex, L'Eau Rêvée d'Isa is for those looking for something undefinable and unforgettable.
Notes: mandarin, jasmine, green tea, musk
Caswell-Massey Honeysuckle Eau de Toilette
There are few floral scents that can tap into memories of childhood quite as directly as that of honeysuckle. The golden-yellow flowers studding vigorous vines emit a honey-sweet perfume that smells even more entrancing when carried on a breeze. Caswell-Massey's Honeysuckle captures the flower's fleeting fragrance beautifully—and every purchase supports the New York Botanical Garden's work in plant research, conservation, and education.
Notes: mandarin, neroli, honeysuckle, orange flower, musk
Pur Lilas Les Epures de Parfum
Cartier's Les Epures fragrances seek to capture the essence of single flowers, and the latest—dedicated to the voluptuous scent of lilac—is a knockout. So true to nature that it is as if you are sinking your nose into a feathery inflorescence of purple blooms with every sniff.
Notes: lilac
New York Gardenia
Gardenia is a tricky flower to replicate in perfume. It has such a ravishing, torrid strength that it can be overpowering. New York Gardenia takes on the seductive potency of the elegant white flower unflinchingly and compellingly—this is a gardenia gourmand so headily come-hither that it will have strangers following you down the street.
Notes: jasmine, tuberose, gardenia, vetiver, vanilla
Diorissimo Eau de Parfum, 1.7 oz.
Sometimes you just can't beat a classic. Diorissimo, created in 1956 by Edmond Roudnitska, is the reference lily-of-the-valley that perfumers uphold as the most perfect expression of the flower ever captured in a bottle.
Notes: lily of the valley accord, jasmine, white musk
Fleurs d'Eté Eau de Parfum
The bottle alone is a work of art. The fragrance, meanwhile, pays homage to legendary perfumer Robert Bienaimé, who created Quelques Fleurs for Houbigant in 1910—one of the best-selling and most influential floral perfumes of all time.
Notes: bergamot, orange bigarade, white lilac, jasmine, white chocolate accord, heliotrope
Carmina
A super hot floral, in which rose de mai mingles with plump cherries, bright pepper, and warm saffron. The dry-down is a cashmere-like musk that feels luxurious and intimate. Perfect for date night.
Notes: rose de mai, cherry, saffron
Flower Tuxedo Eau de Parfum
Orris, one of the costliest and most intriguing ingredients in perfumery, is extracted from the rhizome of the iris flower. Here, the note shimmers beautifully against a backdrop of neroli, sandalwood, and vetiver.
Notes: neroli, sandalwood, vetiver
Rose Attar Absolu Eau de Parfum, 1 oz.
Attars are beautiful perfume oils created according to an ancient Indian practice of macerating flowers in oil, and Lilanur has modernized the method beautifully. Here, rose centifolia from India is blended with sensual sandalwood to create a glowing, soft scent that, when dabbed on pulse points, seems to emanate from within.
Notes: rose, sandalwood
Promenade Sur Le Rocher
An elegant, breezy floral—worthy of Princess Grace herself—that evokes the atmosphere of the French Riviera with notes of rose, jasmine, ylang ylang harmoniously blended with amber, vanilla, and wood.
Notes: ylang ylang, rose, jasmine, wood, amber, vanilla
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