Pride, Prejudice & Perfume: Spring Scents

The other day my mother handed me a sprig of something green and told me to smell it. Sounds dubious, but this is a common occurrence in Mum’s quest to educate me in the wild scope of fragrant herbs she grows – my aim is to be able to differentiate between the three different types of mint growing in the same pot, purely by scent. I know, I aim high.

The green sprig was bergamot and it smelt extraordinary. Deep and fresh. It smelt new and clean, plucked freshly from the earth as it was. That’s the wonderful thing about Spring – myriad scents perfume the air as the days get longer and warmer and all that lay dormant over the colder months tips its face to the sun.

There’s the soft pinkness of crab apple blossoms, the sharpness of lavender and the eternal happiness of freesias. It’s enough to make anyone giddy and high on the sense and the scent of possibility. Because that, my little noses, is what Spring is really all about; newness and possibility. The world is waking up and it smells like blossoms, grass and the sweet, sweet sun.

With a new season comes the need, dare I say, the desire for a new fragrance. The warmer, spicier Oriental scents are lovingly placed back in the cupboard, ready to come back out and be worn with a beanie and scarf next Autumn; it’s time to usher in the lighter, softer scents to go with the lighter, softer season.

With that in mind, I’ve put together a collection of old favourites and new loves. From Hermes to Y-Yo with Guerlain and Benefit in between, from bursting floral bouquets to the zest of pure citrus, consider these delightful perfumes are your Spring Flings in a bottle.

Laugh with me Lee Lee by Benefit

She is one third of Benefit’s latest foray into the perfume world (the three piece range ‘Crescent Row’) and she’s playful, not a little bit mischievous and completely carefree. Compared to her more sensual bombshell counterparts (Sofia and Gina) Lee Lee is the one who’d probably be the most fun to have a drink with – I feel the others would be far too self absorbed and My Place or Yours Gina would definitely try and steal your boyfriend. Sparkly and fresh, Laugh With Me Lee Lee opens with a fruity burst which is underpinned by darker floral heart. The soft wood dry down means the perfume retains its zesty freshness throughout.

The foot loose and fancy free fragrance comes bottled in an old school cocktail shaker and the box folds out to Lee Lee’s front door on Cresent Row. I think Lee Lee and I are going to be great friends.

Top: cassis, melon, citrus

Middle: black violet, lily, jasmine

Base: blonde wood, amber, santal

Mojo by Y-Yo

I featured a Y-Yo fragrance in the last Pride, Prejudice and Perfume column - this Australian brand produces 100% natural, chemical free fragrances designed to uplift, relax, or in the case of Mojo, tantalise. Using essential oils with well known stimulant properties, as used by the Ancient Chinese, Egyptians and Indians to attract the opposite sex, Mojo is the perfect balance of pretty and unusual. Unlike some fragrances that use essential oils, Mojo is light and quite fresh, with just the right amount of spice.

Notes: Ylang ylang, osmanthus, spicy marjoram

Fruidelicious by Make Up Store

The unusual thing about Fruidelicious is the arrangement of the notes – opening with notes commonly found in the base of perfumes, and drying down to notes traditionally used in the top or heart, has become something of a habit for this unconventional cosmetics label. You may recall Whisper did something similar.

That’s not to say it doesn’t work. There’s nothing wrong with tweaking a formula, and it makes for consistently interesting and exciting scents – Fruidelicious is no different. This is the fragrance to take on that island getaway you’ve been planning – and the one to spray for the months afterwards every time you want to think of that night on the beach…

Top: cedarwood and White musk

Middle: jasmine, tropical fruits, white Tahitian flowers

Base: red Currant and Freesia.

Colonia Dulce by Maoli

I reviewed this charming scent earlier this year, after receiving a sample in the post and damaging my nostrils from inhaling it too often and perhaps too vigorously. This is the kind of perfume that makes you happy – call me crazy, but I’m am not the only one. When I proffered a wrist to a friend of mine, she smelt it, grabbed it, smelt it again and all but shrieked in the middle of a café, ‘oh my God, it’s so happy‘.

The happiness of the fragrance might have something to do with the premise it was created on – the sweetness of childhood. I’ll let you read more about that over here.

Top and middle: sweet wild lime, juicy Ka’u Gold oranges, pink grapefruit, orange blossoms and hand-picked pikake

Base: vanilla, nuances of cacao, caramel and coconut milk

Burberry Weekend

This is a real favourite of mine, potentially because it provides a sensory boost to my daydreams of picnicking in an English garden with a certain red headed Prince. Royalty and rose gardens aside, this is a truly delightful scent. Its citrus top notes aren’t too stringent, and the best thing is you don’t lose the lightheartedness of the fragrance in the dry-down, thanks to the floral heart and gentle base. This is a sunny English afternoon in a bottle – understated, stylish and a lot of fun.

Top: top notes are bergamot, lemon, tangerine, grapefruit and pineapple

Middle: ivy leaves, oak moss, wild rose, blue hyacinth sandalwood

Base: amber, honey, musk

Un Jardin en Méditerranée by Hermès

Created by Jean Claude Ellena in 2003, this takes a certain pride of place in my collection, not least because anything with ‘Mediterranean’ attached to it attracts me like a shiny thing does a magpie.

An aquatic unisex fragrance with a base that will have you reaching for the ouzo and tipping your face to the sun, this is worth the splash out, so you can splash on the true scent of a Mediterranean summer.

Top: mandarin orange, bergamot and lemon

Middle: orange blossom and white nerium oleander

Base: cypress, fig leaf, musk, red cedar, juniper and pistachio.

Citron Citron by Miller Harris

This is one seriously fresh scent, in the old school sort of way, before everything had to be sickly sweet. The world-of-citrus top note, combined with the aromatic mint and basil is incredibly invigorating, and the subtle spice in the base keeps it all adult. If you’re after a serious perfume, the way they used to make them, then this is your guy. Feminine, strong and classic.

Top and heart notes: Sicilian lemon, Spanish orange, Jamaican lime, cool mint, basil

Base: green moss, Moroccan cedar, cardamom

J Del Pozo In White

A genuine all time favourite. The perfumes at Spanish design house J Del Pozo created two gems when they made In Black – an incredibly sensuous potion of cherry, dark plum and woods – and its summer counterpart In White, a heady blend of all things white. The fresh opening, helped by the clean note of bamboo leaf, develops beautifully into a heart that harnesses the creamier side of white florals – Egyptian jasmine, magnolia, orange blossom and freesia. A simple base of white musk and iris means the fragrance really belongs to the heart notes, which is a good thing. A very good thing. In White is heady, elegant and oh so Spring.

Top: bergamot, bamboo leaf, lemon blossom

Middle: Egyptian jasmine, magnolia, orchid, orange blossom, almond blossom, white freesia

Base: iris, musk

More Pride, Prejudice & Perfume reading …

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