My Top Five Perfumes for Spring

My perfume habits are very heavily influenced by the changing seasons, and a change in the air brings a reshuffling to the perfumes displayed on top of my dresser. Summer brings forth coconut beaches and heady florals. Autumn's falling leaves usher in warm gourmands and more contemplative scents. Winter cold is the perfect setting for smokey scents, ambers mixed with resins, or fierce aldehydes which can only be tamed in frigid air. But perhaps my favorite change of season, and here in Texas the one with the briefest duration, is spring, when the earth awakens from her lazy slumber and we look forward to fresh rebirth.

This spring has come in like a lion. A hail storm sent ice stones hurtling down hard enough to break through two thick panes of glass on my kitchen skylights, destroy my roof, and most tragically, kill some beautiful flamingos at the nearby zoo who didn't reach shelter in time. Spring here is not the melts of the North; sometimes we have just two weeks of spring and then go straight to hot. But while it lasts, I love to wear those certain perfumes that seem made for this hopeful time of year. Here are my top five choices this spring.

1. Diptyque L'Ombre Dans Le Eau
One of my favorite fragrances to express the coming of spring is Diptyque L'Ombre Dans Le Eau; in fact, I would go so far as to say I only reach for this scent in the months of March, April and May. To me it is the perfect essence of  unturned black earth, tender green plants waiting to be tucked into their new home, and scattered rose petals ground into the damp soil. On first spray there is the aroma of dirt, then a quick tomato scent which morphs into an astringent green smell. It reminds me of my garden the first time I dig into the earth after winter to plant green seedlings. Next comes a blackcurrant note which adds freshness and tart fruitiness. This perfume never veers anywhere near a blackcurrant dessert. It is more of an elixir you might add to sparkling water or Presecco. Rose is a listed note but on my skin it is very subtle and I would never really call this a rose scent. The smell of fresh dirt, green vegetation, subtle blackcurrant, and a mere pinch of rose may not sound as if it has much promise but I find it the exact smell of working in my garden in early spring. L'Ombre Dans Le Eau has a bitter quality that may not be for everyone, but I find it wildly different and strangely appealing at this time of year. After the first hour the scent remains fairly linear and lasts the entire day.

2. Balenciaga L'Essence
Balenciaga L'Essence is a seemingly simple green violet scent that is uncomplicated and easy to wear. However appearances can be deceiving and there is a lot more going on here than is initially evident. I think L'Essence delivers a sophisticated scent in a unique way. The more I wear it, the more I love it. It's big sister, Balenciaga Paris, is an equally beautiful scent if you want more florals and a complex dry down in your base notes. Read my review for more information.

3. Jour d'Hermes
This scent never fails to thrill me with it's magical green opening, there for a moment then gone, carried away on the breeze. But the soft bouquet that unfolds next is equally pleasing. Jour d'Hermes is a perfect choice for spring and you can read more about it in my review.

4. DSH Perfumes Giverny In Bloom
Dawn Spencer Hurwitz has created a splendid rendition of a garden in bloom; one in which the green backdrop of the garden takes equal footing with the fragrant flowers. It is a watercolor rendition of a gardener's palette. Read my review of Giverny In Bloom, along with the other three perfumes from the Giverny collection, and you will see that I find this to be the perfect green fragrance to celebrate the season. I would like my house, my garden, and myself to smell of this glorious green scent!

5. Melange Perfumes Green Notes Palette No. 1
Melange Perfumes in California offers scented goodies in roll on perfumes, creams, and individual

solid perfumes, but my favorite product offered is their scented palettes which come in various note families. I have Green Palette No. 1 which includes Green Tea & Honeysuckle, Cut Grass & Paperwhite; Cucumber, Sakura & White Tea; and Mimosa, Mint & Citron. My favorites are Green Tea & Honeysuckle and Cut Grass & Paperwhite. In the first, the green tea tempers the sweetness of the honeysuckle;  I flash back to warm nights as a child, pulling out the stamen of a honeysuckle bloom and sucking the nectar like an oversized hummingbird. This smells so true to nature! The Cut Grass & Paperwhite...well have you ever smelled paperwhites? If so, I shouldn't need to say more. Heaven! Like most solid perfumes, these stay fairly close to the skin and offer minimal projection. I'm traveling later this week and this palette will be thrown in my carry-on as it makes the perfect traveling companion.

These are my top picks for spring. What is everyone else loving right now?

These perfumes were all from my personal collection. 

A Spring Beauty: Jour d'Hermes

Jour d'Hermes is the perfect fragrance to wear to welcome spring.  It is a luminous bouquet of white flowers and sweet pea, but it is the opening that for me makes it so representative of the spring awakening. Jean-Claude Ellena , who created this perfume for Hermes in 2013, performs a bit of a magic trick on the opening. With the first spray of Jour d'Hermes I get a visceral image of a tender young leaf unfurling on my wrist, opening with a joyful burst of green.  The green is soft and muted but entirely distinct in it's springlike freshness. This scent hovers on my wrist for just a moment then just as magically as it appeared, it is gone. I am not sure everyone gets this green opening. On Fragrantica the green notes are listed as middle notes.

Next I get the opening  notes of grapefruit and lemon.  On my skin the grapefruit is fairly quiet, not at all astringent. Then the blossoms of the flowers start to unfurl.  With time the slight citrus freshness dissipates and the flowers become predominant. . The white flowers, gardenia and sweet pea swirl together into a gauzy veil of pretty scent which surrounds me, wearing very close to the skin. This would make a very beautiful bridal perfume.

What distinguishes this perfume for me is the little magic moment that happens in the opening; the green note, which seems composed of the stems and  leaves of the bouquet, before the flowers make their presence known.  This little burst of fresh green is delightful and so unexpected, like a magician waving a magic wand. I would be curious to know if others experience this smell.

After a couple of hours the florals soften and the woods and musk base notes take over.This is a very pretty and easy to wear perfume, and I think Hermes has made a beautiful scent that reinforces the way I think of the brand: classy and somewhat transparent perfumes.

When I first smell Jour d'Hermes Absolu it is a bit of a let down. I do not get the burst of green present in the original formula; in fact, for the first few minutes I don't smell much of anything other than muted mixed florals. But after about five minutes, as if warmed by the skin to release their potency, the white flowers begin to unfurl and bloom. Sweet pea has been replaced by jasmine. These flowers, while still very well behaved, are a touch more sensual than the freshness of the original formula. I don't get much citrus coming forward; in this version it is all about the flowers. 

The beauty of the Absolu formula comes later. There is an animalic quality that presents after an hour or so. I can still smell the flowers but now they've been scattered and possibly battered across the sheets of the bed.  I get a mix of the innocence of the flowers, deepened by the slightly pungent skin notes.  This is accomplished by adding oakmoss to the woods and musk found in the original version. But let's be clear, this goes nowhere near skank territory; it is still polished and very elegant. I much prefer the Absolu's dry down to the original Jour d'Hermes. Maybe the perfect solution for me is to use the original version in the morning, if only to experience the spring-like opening, then apply the Absolu for the magnificent base notes.

Jour d'Hermes Gardenia was created by Jean-Claude Ellena in 2015 as a flanker to the original, and was meant to be an ultra feminine version. I have sampled this twice. The first time I was in a cool air conditioned department store. The dewy gardenia was the first thing I smelled, and it was absolutely pretty and fresh. The second time I sprayed it I was on the run, out and about in the heat, so possibly "glowing" a little bit. This time the gardenia smelled more like a beachy version, reminiscent of my bottle of Guerlain Terracotta . Maybe it was the mixture of sweat and gardenia? Anyway, not nearly as dewy and light as the first time, but still pretty.

After the initial burst of gardenia it seemed to become more similar to the florals of the original formula, and after three hours I really couldn't tell much difference between the two. It is distinctive because of it's pretty gardenia opening, but it seemed to disappear on my skin more rapidly than the original or Absolu versions. It is a pretty scent, but for the price, I wish it lasted longer.

Let me add that I find a lot to like about the bottles. They are rather plain to look at, but there is a satisfying heft when you hold it in your hands. The heaviness and solidity give a feeling of luxury and permanence, which is I imagine what Hermes intended.

I found something to admire in all three versions of this perfume. There is a Parfum version which I have not been able to get my hands on. Hermes has made a lovely perfume which is subtle enough to get away with in an office environment, but special  enough to wear for a big night out to add that extra veil of elegance.

Top photo from beautifulblooms.com, lower photo from Hermes. Spray samples my own.