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Post by Gabriella

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Hello perfumed peeps!

I’ve been in a bit of a fragrance funk lately. Not much of my collection has inspired me and rummaging round the sample box and sniffing new releases have failed to set my world on fire. To get me out of this sad little rut, I decided to explore some white floral scents that have been overlooked, ignored or forgotten by the blogging community or the fragrance world at large. Happily, I have discovered some lost gems that have given me my perfume mojo back. Today, I’d like to share a selection of those with you, so I present:

Gabriella’s Top 5 Forgotten White Florals 2015

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

1. Gardenia Grand Soir by Pierre Guillaume for Parfumerie Generale 2010

Fragrantica lists these notes in one line: w
White gardenia and sandalwood

The graceful gardenia. The reaction of the blogosphere was decidedly ho hum about this and I think the words “Grand Soir” were to blame. People were expecting opulence from Mr Guillaume and while the scent is not a huge overblown gardenia, I still think it’s absolutely wonderful. Here, the flower is stripped of all of its voluptuous elements: it’s a portrait of the flower’s bud at dawn, all green innocent and pure before the sun breaks and the blooms unfurl into all their heady glory. The gauzy flowers are tempered by a soft, milky sandalwood that amplifies the creamy elements and gives almost a beachy feel. The magic of this is that it is a quiet, contemplative and elegant rendition of a flower that is usually all vava-voom and femme fatale.

2. Hanae by Yann Vasnier for Keiko Mecheri 2000

Fragrantica lists these notes in one line:
Citruses, white flowers, wild berries, yuzu and crystalline musk.

The unexpected delight. Hanae been around for years, but I just happened to discover it for the first time the other day wandering round a local department store. The scent is meant to evoke spring in a Kyoto garden and it does just that brilliantly. A melange of crystalline white petals is accentuated by the delicate citrus tones of yuzu and a hint of white musk. A fragile, delicate scent that it just pure happiness in a bottle.

3. Lily by Florence Idier for Comme des Garcons (Series 1, Leaves) 2000

Fragrantica lists these notes in one line:
Freesia, lily-of-the-valley, rose and syringa.

The uncomplicated beauty. Comme des Garcons are recognised for their quirkier creations and it’s usually the Series 2 Incense range that gets all the love. Lily is fact that the house can do simple and pretty and still come up trumps. It is a startlingly beautiful rendition of lily of the valley, something I had given up trying to find once Diorissimo was reformulated. The lily of the valley here has a verdant and very fresh quality, evoking tiny white buds after a rainshower. Rose, green notes complete the scent that has an invigorating quality akin to having a cool shower on a hot summer day.

Photo Stolen LuckyScent

4. Monyette by Tristan Brando for Monyette Paris 2007

LuckyScent gives these featured accords in one line:
Tahitian gardenia, French muguet du bois, hints of island vanilla orchid

Back in the day when I used to spend every free minute on the Makeupalley fragrance board, Monyette was mentioned frequently as one of the top tropical white florals. As time has gone on, so has perfume discourse and tastes and Monyette, along with its tropical gardenia sister, Kai, hardly ever get mentioned anymore. But if you’re someone like me that loves a creamy white floral with a definite beachy, yet sultry vibe, Monyette is a good cheap thrill of a fragrance. A simple sweet gardenia and orchid blend that evokes holidays, suntan oil and sexy, languid summer nights.

Luckyscent has the perfume oil at $45/1.8oz and samples at $4/.7ml. The EDP is $70/50ml and samples at $3/.7ml.

Photo Stolen Luckyscent

5. Whiteflowers 1.41 EDP by Yosh Han for YOSH 2010

Luckyscent gives these featured accords in one line:
Jasmine sambac, night blooming jasmine, violet, sweet pea, freesia, tea rose, rose maroc, gardenia, lily of the valley, soft lilac, Egyptian tuberose, Siberian fir, narcissus, pettitgrain

The ugly duckling to swan white floral. Whoa, yuck! Such was my initial reaction to this when I tested this. Whiteflowers opens with bracing green notes combined with a heavy indolic jasmine and rose maroc that is so sharp, I was tempted to rush and scrub it off immediately. But Whiteflowers is an example of a perfume where persistence pays. Subsequent testings had me actually looking forward to the brash, sometimes quirky opening and the drydown is just something special to me. It’s an astonishingly beautiful and understated elegant white floral that I could have easily overlooked. Jasmine, lilac, and gardenia combine fleur to create a mille fleur-style of fragrance, where white and green gauzy layers unfurl slowly and gently on the skin.

Photo Stolen Flickr

So, what are your forgotten white florals? Is there a perfume that you love that you feel has been overlooked and desrves more attention?

With much love till next time!

M x