Springtime scents

[tziporra]

So, I LOVE the rich heady complex scents. Like:

 

Kali

Medea

Blood Countess

 

But they don't seem right for spring. And today I am seized with a desire to store all my boots, buy a suede bag, and break out the open toed shoes. Which seems to indicate that spring is on it's way!

 

I don't want to lighten up, exactly. But I do need to move toward scents that smell a little more like spring and a little less like a midwinter holiday party.

 

I like Lotus (Black Lotus is very good on me), Hyacinth and Honeysuckle - but I need a lot of depth with them to not get the "eh, nondescript floral" reaction. I like aquatics, but only the ultra-feminine ones with lots of flowers. I love Ulalume, but it reads more fall-like on me (leaves plus lots of lilies).

 

Ideas?

 

Best,

 

Tzi

[inurbanus]

Just some ones off the top of my head: Blood Lotus, Prague, Goneril, Honey Mone, Her Voice, To Helen, Athens, The Ghost, and Venice.

 

Blood Lotus is a juicy lotus. It's very fun and fresh. Prague reminds me of Ulalume (which I also love), but it doesn't have the moss and woods that make Ulalume a "fall" scent. Also, see if you can find some Goneril, which was sadly discontinued. I remember thinking that it was "Ulalume lite". Honey Mone, Her Voice, and To Helen seem like florals you might be interested in. Athens reminds me of Kali, but it wasn't quiet as "intense", if that makes sense. The Ghost is a floral, but I remembered it smelling really aquatic. Venice is a very heavy, complex floral. In fact, it might be too heady for Spring. But I thought I would put it out there anyway.

Edited February 27, 2008 by inurbanus

[naeelah]

I adore Ostara (LE from last year). It smells like springtime in a bottle. It has tons of flowers and greenery, but also cream, cakes, frankincense... it's a little bit heady, with a classic perfume quality, but it's bright and lovely.

 

What about Defututa? It's a light, creamy, golden kind of scent that I think is nice for warm weather. If has champaca flower, so if you like the florals in Blood Countess, I think you'd like the florals in this. It's rich, but light and warm, so not so mid-wintery.

 

One of my other spring favorites is Abhisarika (as well as Vasakasajja) from last year's Lupercalia. Abhisarika is representing youthful passion, so it's very spring-y in my mind. Rose, orchid, cream accord, bright musk. Vasakasajja is rich, creamy, slightly sweet florals with skin musk.

 

Have you tried Forbidden Fruit? The fresh scent of lotus hidden behind lightly scented flowers, amber, and citrus. Or perhaps The Lady of Shalott, for something aquatic?

 

I'll also throw in a recommendation for Schrodinger's Cat, because it's a very fun scent and I find it light and nice for warm weather.

[kenjari]

How about Lady of Shalott? It's a lovely floral aquatic with a bit of light musk and a little ginger which gives it some weight and depth.

Have you ever tried Delirium? It's rose, apples, and lemon. I think the combination works suprisingly well and has the effect of being both rich and light at the same time.

How does Dragon's Blood work on you? If it has a floral effect (it smells like lilacs on me), you might look for something that combines it with spices, musks, or resins. Dragon's Heart, Dragon's Musk, Dragon's Tears, Wrath.

[Ahania]

I like Kubla Khan and Katharina when I want something a bit lighter without going airy.

[hellomoonglow]

I picked Embalming Fluid and Faith as my 2 spring scents. EF smells a lot like green tea and Faith is just pure, unadulterated SPRING.

[Beatrice33]

I wanted to bump this thread to see if anyone had any new recs for spring 2008. I seem never to find the perfect spring scent because of a number of things:

 

~my skin turns many "clean" scents into dryer sheets (embalming fluid, dirty, for example)

~scents too heavy on the florals, with nothing else to ground them, just don't feel like "me" no matter how much I try (Eos, Vasakasajja, Endymion, Hell's Belle, Pele, for example)

~fruit can go overboard and way too sweet on me (Hungry Ghost Moon, Fae, Aglaea, for example)

~scents that are too "green" can go sharp on me (all the Beltanes I've tried, and Shanghai, The Apothecary--I think the tea note is hit or miss on me)

 

So, the things that come to mind and that I WANT to love for spring so often don't work on me that I'm perplexed. Some of the scents that have come closest to working on me are:

Kumiho (but it fades so quickly)

To Helen (but then the beeswax took over)

Rose Red (but I'm not bowled over by rose in general)

 

Litha and Et Lux Fuit both did something weird on my skin, which I think the more complex ones sometimes do on me.

 

My non-springy (to me) faves are: Underpants, Boomslang, Snake Charmer, Midway, Vixen, Glowing Vulva, Tushnamatay, Candy Butcher.

 

Sigh. I know I'm a pain in the arse. But if anyone has any suggestions I'd be eternally grateful. I guess I'm looking for some atypical scents that maybe I haven't thought of as spring that give that vibe to others. Maybe there are some out there I just haven't thought of that might work! Any of your faves that you can rave about might just be my new love. Thanks for any help you can direct my way!

[sionnac]

Tamora! And I'm waiting for forum bottles of Anactoria and Angeronalia. And Darkling Thrush is lovely on a rainy spring day.

[wyndham]

I'm loving Amsterdam right now. The aquatic note keeps the florals soft and quiet rather than omgsweet, and it's very pretty. The only probably is that it fades very very quickly - it can use a slather, and some reapplication too.

[sweetjane]

A scent I like for spring is Regan. The orchid vanille and stephanotis give me a floral vanilla I adore. It is light, so I slather it and then get the wonderful drift of scent during the day. Slathering works best on my decolletage.

[ladyjc]

Hanami smells just like Gee Your Hair Smells Terrific (in a good way!)...very nice for spring I think.

 

Also, I couldn't do Dirty, but Green Phoenix is a fantastic clean scent!

[samarablackcat]

The Passionate Shepherd. Heather, clover and lush, green fields blooming from the spring rain.

[smallvoice]

51, Mag Mell (give it some time to dry), Regan (as previously mentioned), Bewitched, Katharina and Mouse's Long and Sad Tale all come to mind.

[lucyintheSkywithDemons]

Hi there,

 

definetely the "Green Phoenix" and "Ostara",

 

also I think "The oval portrait" and "Antique Lace" have a beautifull stunning feeling to them...

 

Yeah, can´t wait for spring to come..

[galleywest]

I think Singing Moon is a good spring or autumn scent. It's for crisp, sunny weather.

 

I also like Schroedinger's Cat (wonderful grapefruity smell!), but it may be too sweet for you.

 

The Dormouse is a nice light "clean" scent, and Grandmother of Ghosts is a lovely woody scent with sweet undertones. I also enjoy Croquet (grassy w/ slight fruitiness) and Yggdrasil (herbal and slightly sweet). Tamora, as others have mentioned, is a lovely bright scent too. Out of all these, for some reason I think The Dormouse might be your best bet. It is a tea scent, but a little sweet too.

 

I think I need to go put on Grandmother of Ghosts now!

[Dymphna]

The Unicorn just *is* spring to me! I can't wear it at any other time--maybe a little in early summer.

 

Cheshire Moon reminds me a lot of The Unicorn, so that's a springy one, too.

 

Beltane (I have '06) is spring/early summer.

 

Katharina was already mentioned, and another very springy scent that I've been loving lately is Aeval. I think it will do well for summer, too, but it's got that sweet freshness that makes me think of spring.

 

Al-Araaf smells like lily of the valley and honey, very much a fairy circle in an enchanted springtime forest sort of scent.

 

I know there are more but that's all I can think of right now. I'm actually in the middle of change of seasons confusion when it comes to scents right now. I'm having trouble deciding whether to wear something cozy and warm or something fresh and airy. It's 3pm and I'm still scentless.

[coldandsleepy]

GCs: Croquet and Ulalume are both very springy to me. (Don't be scared by the lilies in the Ulalume notes... there's a lot of delicious, spring-y dirt and trees to balance it out.)

 

LE: Cheshire Moon's very much a spring scent for me, and the florals are way, way, way secondary to the fruits. Also, cucumber tends to scream spring to me, so Black Moon and Gibbous Moon seem very spring appropriate. (Neither goes terribly floral on me, but your luck my vary. )

 

Also, I don't know how this year's Beltane compares to old Beltanes, but I am in l-o-v-e with it. It does smell really green, though.

[Belladonnastrap]

Alice and March Hare are pretty springtime to me. Actually I think most of the Alice in Wonderland collection would suffice.

 

Also Victoria and Yvanine

[Kimocean]

I'll third Cheshire Moon. It is the springiest fruit I've found and it's got great lasting power on me. I'd also recommend The Spell of Amorous Love (Red currant, plum flowers, sake, green tea, and cherry blossom) which is a subtle fruity floral but has the green tea to cut through the sweet/floral notes.

 

Good luck!

[Beatrice33]

Thank you everyone for the wonderful recommendations! I'm busy making a list for an imp pack, or to scour the swap pages for. Great ideas, and I'm feeling hopeful I'll find something.

[Em-]

Beltane 06 is my absolute favorite spring scent.

 

Others are Two Five Seven (roses and green grass), Ides of March, Blue Moon 07. Mmmm. Need to start breaking these out more.

[vividdreamer]

Hanami smells like spring to me. I absolutely LOVE it, even though I'm not generally a fan of florals. It's just so sweet and delicate and pretty and smells "pink".

[MeiLin]

Spring, oh gosh: Passionate Shepherd is spring in a bottle, completely, utterly, amazingly spring. It's heartstopping. Also April Fool, Beltane 08, Alice, and strangely, Iambe.

[tartchef]

I started a quest late last summer, a search for more warm & hot weather scents to balance out all the woods & resins in my collection... here's what I now have on hand:

For very early spring, when the weather's still raw but I need something uplifting:

 

White Rabbit

The Darkling Thrush

The Lion

Crow Moon

Mag Mell

Harikata

 

For when the daffodils & crocuses finally bloom:

 

The Hermit

Her Voice

Selkie

Cheshire Cat

March Hare

 

For when I can start wearing cropped pants, but still need a cardi:

 

Dragon Moon

Hanami

Dream of the Fisherman's Wife

Calliope

Tzadikim Nistarim

Agony of Heartache

Tanuki

 

For when we can finally leave the windows wide open at night:

 

Lady Una

Fairy Wine

F5

Green Phoenix

Sundew

Kumiho

Caliban

Gennivre

 

Whee! That was fun

Edited April 8, 2008 by tartchef

[Beatrice33]

I just discovered Black Lily, and it may be my new spring scent. I'm not usually much of a floral gal, but occasionally a floral will rock my world. This one is elegant yet fresh, sweet yet not cloying, and oh-so-springy to me. I don't know how often I will wear it, but when I want to herald the first days of spring, this might just be the one to wear.